GOVERNECE BY PROJECTS AS A METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS IN UKRAINE

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20998/2413-3000.2026.12.7

Keywords:

governance by projects; project governance; strategic development; adaptive governance

Abstract

The transformation of Ukraine’s higher education system under conditions of European integration, decentralization of public governance, and wartime challenges necessitates a shift from administrative–hierarchical models toward adaptive, results-oriented forms of governance. The purpose of this article is to substantiate the concept of governance by projects as a methodological foundation for the strategic development of educational and scientific institutions in Ukraine. The methodological framework of the study is based on governance theory, project and portfolio management concepts, and approaches to interactive and adaptive governance, combined with methods of systems analysis, bibliometric review, and formalized modeling. The evolution of university governance models within the European Higher Education Area is analyzed, and institutional drivers of the transition toward project-oriented forms of strategy implementation are identified.The external and internal dimensions of project governance are examined, within which projects are conceptualized as the basic units of strategic goal implementation, while project portfolios serve as instruments for aligning resources, priorities, and expected outcomes. The study synthesizes approaches from leading international project management frameworks and demonstrates the importance of integrating contractual, relational, and governmental governance mechanisms to ensure strategic coherence and institutional resilience of universities.The scientific novelty of the research lies in the development of a mathematical model of adaptive project governance that formalizes the relationships among strategic development objectives, project portfolios, resource constraints, risks, and performance indicators. The proposed model enables quantitative evaluation of managerial decisions, supports scenario-based planning, operationalizes “stop / review / scale” decision mechanisms, and enhances the robustness of strategic choice under conditions of uncertainty. The practical significance of the results consists in the applicability of the model for designing strategic management systems in Ukrainian higher education institutions during periods of systemic transformation and post-war recovery.

References

National Erasmus+ Office, HERE Team. Overview of the key reforms and priorities in higher education of Ukraine. Kyiv: Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, 2024. URL: https://erasmusplus.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/neo_heres_ukrainian-higher-education-reforms_2024-1.pdf

Eurydice. National reforms in higher education – Ukraine. Brussels: European Commission, EACEA, 2025. URL: https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/ukraine/national-reforms-higher-education

Україна. Кабінет Міністрів України. Про реалізацію експериментального проєкту щодо надання державних грантів на здобуття вищої освіти: постанова Кабінету Міністрів України від 18.07.2024 № 822. URL: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/npas/pro-realizatsiiu-eksperymentalnoho-proektu-shchodo-nadannia-derzhavnykh-hrantiv-na-zdobuttia-vyshchoi-osvity-i180724-822

Україна. Кабінет Міністрів України. Про схвалення Стратегії розвитку вищої освіти в Україні на 2022–2032 роки: розпорядження Кабінету Міністрів України від 23.02.2022 № 286-р. URL: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/npas/pro-shvalennya-strategiyi-rozvitku-vishchoyi-osviti-v-ukrayini-na-20222032-roki-286-

Міністерство освіти і науки України. Стратегія розвитку вищої освіти в Україні на 2022–2032 роки. Київ, 2022. URL: https://mon.gov.ua/osvita-2/vishcha-osvita-ta-osvita-doroslikh/strategiya-rozvitku-vishchoi-osviti-v-ukraini-na-2022-2032-roki

Міністерство освіти і науки України. Освіта 4.0: український світанок. Київ, 2022. URL: https://mon.gov.ua/static-objects/mon/sites/1/news/2022/12/10/Osvita-4.0.ukrayinskyy.svitanok.pdf

European Commission. Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027. Brussels: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, 2021. URL: https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-education/actions

OECD. Education at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2023. doi: 10.1787/e13bef63-en

Про внесення змін до деяких законів України щодо розвитку індивідуальних освітніх траєкторій та вдосконалення освітнього процесу: Закон України. Відомості Верховної Ради України. 2024. № 29. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3642-20#Text

Magalhães A., Veiga A. Reconfiguring education and research in the European Higher Education Area. Revista Lusófona de Educação. 2018. No. 42. P. 11–25. doi: 10.24140/issn.1645-7250.rle42.01

Magalhães A., Veiga A. Models of higher education governance in Europe: From organised anarchy to business-corporate organisations. International Journal of Film and Media Arts. 2022. Vol. 7, no. 3. P. 49–63. doi: 10.24140/ijfma.v7.n3.04

Bleiklie I., Enders J., Lepori B. Managing universities. Cham: Springer, 2017. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-53865-5

CHEPS. The extent and impact of higher education governance reform across Europe. Brussels: European Commission, DG Education and Culture, 2007. URL: https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/5149063/Enders06extent1.pdf

European University Association. University governance models: Toolkit for higher education institutions. Brussels: EUA, 2020. URL: https://www.eua.eu/publications/briefings/evolving-models-of-university-governance.html

Bleiklie I., Kogan M. Organization and governance of universities. Higher Education Policy. 2007. Vol. 20, no. 4. P. 477–493. doi: 10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300167

de Boer H., Enders J. Working in the shadow of hierarchy: Organisational autonomy and venues of external influence in European universities. Managing universities. Cham: Springer, 2017. P. 57–83. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-53865-5_3

Schimank U., Lange S. Germany: A latecomer to New Public Management. University governance. Dordrecht: Springer, 2009. P. 51–75. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9515-3_3

Wilkins A. W., Mifsud D. What is governance? Projects, objects and analytics in education. Journal of Education Policy. 2024. Vol. 39, no. 3. P. 349–365. doi: 10.1080/02680939.2024.2320874

Kalebar R. U. et al. Strategic management in higher education: Navigating challenges and opportunities. Journal of Informatics Education and Research. 2024. P. 97–104. doi: 10.52783/jier.v4i2.717

Kayyali M. Fundamentals of strategic management in higher education: Challenges, opportunities and future trends. Hershey: IGI Global, 2024. doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-6967-8.ch009

Jakobsen R. Public sector projectification – A systematic review of the literature. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration. 2022. Vol. 26, no. 4. P. 91–112. doi: 10.58235/sjpa.v26i4.10588

Ahola T., Ruuska I., Artto K., Kujala J. What is project governance and what are its origins? International Journal of Project Management. 2014. Vol. 32, no. 8. P. 1321–1332. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2013.09.005

Kononenko I. V., Fadeyev V. A., Kolisnyk M. E. Project scope optimization model and method on criteria profit, time, cost, quality, risk. Integrating Project Management Standards: Proceedings of the 26th IPMA World Congress. Hersonissos, Crete, Greece, 2012. P. 286–292. URL: https://repository.kpi.kharkov.ua/bitstreams/8b6084a8-21be-4b22-a263-8f51d9e74030/download

Müller R., Zhai L., Wang A., Shao J. A framework for governance in the realm of projects: Governmentality, governance structure and projectification. International Journal of Project Management. 2016. Vol. 34, no. 6. P. 957–969. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.05.002

Musawir A. U., Abd-Karim S. B. Project governance: Enabling organizational strategy. 2016. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311843793_Project_Governance_Enabling_Organizational_Strategy

Musawir A. U., Serra C. E. M., Zwikael O., Ali I. Project governance, benefit realization, and the strategic impact of projects. International Journal of Project Management. 2017. Vol. 35, no. 4. P. 852–866. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.03.005

Bekker M. C., Steyn H. Project governance: Definition and framework. Journal of Contemporary Management. 2009. Vol. 6. P. 214–228. URL: https://scielo.org.za/pdf/jcm/v6n1/12.pdf

Luo L., Liu Y., Yang Y., Xie J., Wu G. Interactive roles of megaproject governance mechanisms and their effects on governance performance. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. 2024. doi: 10.1108/ECAM-10-2023-1081

Torfing J., Peters B. G., Pierre J., Sørensen E. Interactive governance: Advancing the paradigm. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199596751.001.0001

Thiry M., Deguire M. Recent developments in project-based organizations. International Journal of Project Management. 2007. Vol. 25, no. 7. P. 649–658. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.02.001

Dewulf G., Garvin M. J. Responsive governance in PPP projects to manage uncertainty. Construction Management and Economics. 2020. Vol. 38, no. 4. P. 383–397. doi: 10.1080/01446193.2019.1618478

Duit A., Galaz V. Governance and complexity: Emerging issues for governance theory. Governance. 2008. Vol. 21, no. 3. P. 311–335. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0491.2008.00402.x

Klakegg O. J., Williams T., Shiferaw A. T. Taming the “trolls”: Major public projects in the making. International Journal of Project Management. 2016. Vol. 34, no. 2. P. 282–296. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.03.004

Brunet M., Aubry M. The three dimensions of a governance framework for major public projects. International Journal of Project Management. 2016. Vol. 34, no. 8. P. 1596–1607. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.09.004

Aubry M., Brunet M. Organizational design in public administration: Categorization of project management offices. Project Management Journal. 2016. Vol. 47, no. 5. P. 107–129. doi: 10.1177/875697281604700508

Fumasoli T., Hladchenko M. Strategic management in higher education: Conceptual insights, lessons learned, emerging challenges. Tertiary Education and Management. 2023. Vol. 29. P. 331–339. doi: 10.1007/s11233-024-09134-5

Loch C. H., Kavadias S. A dynamic model of portfolio selection in new product development. Management Science. 2011. Vol. 57, no. 1. P. 1–18. doi: 10.1287/mnsc.1100.1243

Bertsekas D. P., Tsitsiklis J. N. Neuro-dynamic programming: An overview. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 1996. Vol. 41, no. 11. P. 1576–1596. doi: 10.1109/9.544067

Published

2026-05-31