Application of Project Management Tools in the Executive Authorities in the Russian Federation: Analysis and Recommendations for Improving the Project Approach

In recent years, the number of studies on the application of the project approach in the public sector has been growing, and the executive authorities of the Russian Federation are introducing project principles and tools to improve the efficiency of their activities. Nevertheless, a retrospective assessment of the implemented tools and processes is almost not found in the academic community. Thus, the aims of this study were to study the use of project management tools in executive authorities and conduct the set of recommendations for the development of the project approach in public authorities of the Russian Federation. The authors used qualitative data obtained during semi-structured interviews with 11 civil servants in Russia who are actively involved in project work in executive authorities. The results obtained in this study showed that project management in public authorities is heterogeneous and varies depending on the level of the project being implemented. Two main groups of project levels were identified, the first of which includes national projects, their derivative federal and departmental projects, projects included in state programs, the second consists of internal projects and subprojects. In the further analysis, the maturity of the project management process was assessed in the context of the above two groups of projects. The assessment showed that the project work within the first group of projects is at the third level of maturity, within the second group – at the first. The main practical results of this study are recommendations for improving project activities in the executive authorities of the Russian Federation in the context of the second group of projects. These recommendations include the use of the proposed project life cycle, project documentation templates, the implementation of works related to the main subject areas of project management and the refinement of the GAS "Management" system to create an additional module in it.