Return on Investment from Project Management Education: A case of British Project Management Professional Development Programme

Expenditure on project management education represents an investment for which there would be the expectation of a beneficial return to the investing organisation. However, corporate sponsorship for project management education programmes appears to have been to date a leap of faith. This paper presents the Return on Value (ROV) concept towards education and training evaluation, derived from a 4 years investigation into the effectiveness of a case study modular distance delivered Project Management Professional Development Programme (PMPDP). A qualitative comparison of knowledge, application and job performance of PMPDP delegates and graduates with the control group is reported. Findings which are based upon 35 structured interviews explore differences between the knowledge levels, the way it is applied and changes in job performance of the two groups. The majority of these changes are central to individuals leading to tangible benefits for the companies. The extent to which there is a financial return arising from professional development programmes is difficult to assess. The paper draws upon the difficulties in quantifying benefits of such programmes. Suggestions are made how best to measure the effectiveness of CPD programmes.