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A project's autonomy, the degree to which a project can evolve without constant interference from the parent organization, is a key feature of innovation projects. The literature treats autonomy as a passive phenomenon and underestimates how projects as temporary organizations interact with more permanent forms of organizations. A dynamic and contextually sensitive understanding of project autonomy is valuable; autonomy can change over the course of the project's lifecycle and evolve into extreme isolation. We show how autonomy is shaped through practices of isolation and how this influences project outcomes. Two innovation projects were studied through qualitative\055interpretive methods and we analyzed symbolic, discursive and spatial practices of isolation. These practices facilitate the exploration of innovations but limit the transmission of these innovations to the parent organization. We contribute to the literature on temporary organizations and project-to-parent integration by illustrating and theorizing the role of practices of isolation in this process., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., Design & Construction Management, Public Commissioning

Successfully sharing knowledge through interactions between projects and the organization is, especially in a situation of changing work processes, an important capability for organizations to learn. The aim of this study is to gain insights into the process of project-based learning, specifically by studying how project-based learning relates to project autonomy. Drawing on the data of two teams in collaborative projects, we found that in both projects symbolic, discursive, and spatial practices of isolation were developed that changed the relationship with the permanent organization. We show how these practices contributed to the project teams moving from operating autonomously – whilst still having their goals aligned with the organization – to operating in isolation from the permanent organization. The findings indicate that project autonomy is beneficial for explorative forms of project-based learning, but when turning into isolation project autonomy inhibits the dissemination of knowledge to the wider project-oriented environment., Public Commissioning

In complex product system industries such as construction, innovation and explorative intra-project learning are critical aspects for developing and delivering complex and customized products. Some research has, however, demonstrated that it is difficult to utilize learning from development projects in the permanent organisation. Hence, the project learning paradox explains that the unique and discontinuous character of project-based activities creates intra-firm boundaries that hinder the transfer and use of valuable knowledge gained within particular projects. In this paper we aim to gain further understanding of the obstacles in project based learning in a public client organisation by illustrating the impact of the learning paradox on daily practices in complex urban area development projects. This paper is based on the data from three qualitative case studies at a large Municipality in the western part of the Netherlands. We present results of a set of 15 semi-structured interviews with different actors representing the project organisation and the permanent organisation. Each interview was individually analysed on the basis of an analytical framework based on layers of knowledge governance and were then further analysed within the project team. The results indicate six contradictions; three contradiction in the learning structure of project organisation and permanent organisation, and three contradictions in transferring and capturing knowledge by project organisation and permanent organisation. This contributes to unravelling the complex phenomenon of organisational processes of knowledge governance in PBO’s since the temporary versus permanent dichotomy appears to problematic in its pervasiveness., Public Commissioning

This paper studies the design of co-located spaces and how organizational actors experience such spaces. The literature on co-location is ambiguous about how reduced physical distance increases collaboration. To address this problem, we draw on an ethnographic study of a co-located railway control center, housing the largest Dutch railway organizations under one roof. Although the intention of the co-location was to improve collaboration by bringing different organizations into closer proximity, our findings tell a different story. Railway employees developed several territorial practices (preserving existing boundaries, creating new boundaries, and the situational use of boundaries) through which they resisted the design of the control center, thereby changing the control center from co-located to “dis-located.” We argue that understanding the relationship between co-location and collaboration should not only focus on how such spaces are designed but, rather, account for how spaces where collaboration is demanded are experienced and used by employees., Este artigo estuda o desenho de espaços co-localizados e como os atores organizacionais experimentam esses espaços. A literatura sobre edifícios co-localizados é ambígua em explicar como e se uma diminuição na distância física leva a maiores esforços colaborativos. Abordando este problema, traçamos um estudo etnográfico de um centro de controle ferroviário co-localizado onde as maiores organizações ferroviárias holandesas estão alojadas sob o mesmo teto. Embora a intenção da co-localização fosse melhorar a colaboração aproximando as diferentes organizações, os nossos resultados contam uma história diferente. Os empregados ferroviários desenvolveram várias práticas territoriais através das quais resistiram ao projeto, criando um espaço do centro de controle “des-locado” em vez de co-locado. Argumentamos neste artigo que tentar entender a relação entre co-locação e colaboração não se deve apenas concentrar em como esses espaços organizacionais são desenhados e planejados mas, pelo contrário, em explicar como esses espaços onde a colaboração é exigida são experimentados e praticados pelos seus funcionários., El presente artículo estuda el diseño de espacios co-locados y cómo los actores organizacionales experimentan dichos espacios. Hasta ahora, la literatura sobre edificios co-locados era ambigua sobre cómo una reducción de la distancia física lleva a mayores esfuerzos colaborativos. Para abordar este problema, recurrimos a un estudio demográfico de un centro de control ferroviario co-locado en el que se localizan bajo el mismo techo los transportadores de las mayores organizaciones ferroviarias holandesas. Aunque la intención de la co-locación era mejorar la colaboración al acercar a diferentes organizaciones, nuestras conclusiones cuentan una historia diferente. Los empleados ferroviarios desarrollaron varias prácticas territoriales a través de las que se resistieron al diseño, cambiando el centro de control de co-locado a “des-plazado”. En este estudio, planteamos que las tentativas de comprender la relación entre co-locación y colaboración no debería concentrarse solamente en cómo dichos espacios son diseñados y planificados, sino en explicar cómo dichos espacios donde se demanda colaboración son experimentados y usados por los empleados.

This paper studies the ways in which members of inter-organizational teams collectively make sense of unexpected events and how they decide upon engaging in action. Frequently, ambiguity dominates such change processes aimed to create common understanding. Using the notion of the duality of intrinsic and constructed ambiguity, a detailed analysis of the collective sensemaking efforts of an inter-organizational team of railway coordinators in the Operational Control Center Rail was conducted. Building on team meetings observations during the days preceding a large and potentially disruptive winter storm in December 2013, the case study describes the process of collectively making sense of the disruptiveness of the storm. The findings show that contextual and temporal factors determine whether collective sensemaking unfolds as either a shared or a negotiated process., Integral Design and Management