Hello PMI Phoenix,

I (Dr. Emily Mertz) and my colleague, Dr. Elizabeth Castillo, with the Faculty Leadership and Integrative Studies at Arizona State University, invite you to participate in completing a survey as part of our research on sustainability in project management, A Pilot Study: A Multi-Scale Study of Factors that Enable and Constrain Sustainability Change and Green Project Management in Organizations.

We are conducting a research study to: 1) explore how to operationalize sustainability in practice and apply it to specific projects; 2) bridge the disconnect between academic knowledge and practical need for tools, techniques, and methodologies for sustainability solutions; and, 3) develop a systems view of how elements at multiple scales (e.g., individual project managers, project management offices, and organizational culture, policies, and structures) intertwine to promote or constrain adoption of sustainable project management practices and organizational sustainability initiatives.

Despite the emerging recognition of the importance of integrating sustainability and project management, there remains a lack of understanding on how to operationalize sustainability in practice and apply it to specific projects.  Your participation in this research study will allow us to assess this gap by identifying relevant factors at multiple scales to generate recommendations and a toolkit that facilitates the adoption of sustainable project management in various organizational types (e.g., private, public, nonprofit) within different industries.  This research could contribute to a critical gap in project management on how to operationalize sustainable project management theory into practice.

Your participation in this study is voluntary.  If you choose not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there is no penalty to you.  There are no foreseeable risks or discomforts to your participation. You must be 18 or older to participate in the study. 

The anticipated time frame for the collection of the survey data is June 19 - July 7.  This survey will be followed with recruitment to participate in focus group interviews anticipated July 24 -August 11, 2023, depending on participant availability.  We expect that individuals will spend 15 minutes participating in the survey followed by a one-hour focus group (if you choose to participate) for a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes for the proposed research activities.  If you are interested in completing this 15-minute survey to help advance research in sustainable project management, please follow this link to the survey.

If you are interested in learning more about the study proposal or the research grant, please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a copy.