Dubai Municipality in collaboration with PMO Global Alliance UAE Community Hub, the world’s largest project management office specialist organization, organizes the second session of the Project Management Offices Forum (PMO Connection Day) to discuss and participate in the modern project management practices. The forum witnessed the participation of over 300 professionals and specialist participants from project management offices as well as several strategy experts and governors from the government and private sectors. Held in Dubai Safari Park, the forum served as a platform for sharing experiences and knowledge and highlighting the municipality’s pioneering role in this field, especially as it is the first to receive international recognition for excellence in the Project Management Office for two consecutive years.
H.E. Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, highlighted the significance of the Project Management Offices Forum, considering the key role of project management in attaining excellence and leadership across institutions. In addition, it offers a chance to evaluate varied ways in which project management contributes to the success of large-scale transformative projects, particularly those linked to sustainability, environment, and digital transformation. It also helps advance quality of life, which supports the UAE’s plans, strategic objectives, and government priorities, while solidifying the country’s leadership in global competitiveness indicators.
“The Forum provides a dynamic platform to understand Dubai Municipality’s journey as a pioneering global model in the areas of portfolios, programs, and project management offices by employing best practices within a range of successful quality projects. Furthermore, it offers an opportunity to support and develop proficient offices, institutions, and personnel locally, regionally, and globally, and promote the use of the current trends in project management to attain sustainability,” Al Hajri added.
Heba Bilal Al-Shehhi, Director of Project Management Office at Dubai Municipality, said: “The forum succeeded in congregating a multitude of national and international project management experts, specialists, and professionals to review and exchange best practices in handling project management offices. The participants shared their experiences regarding various management techniques of project management offices that help to attain global leadership. In addition, the forum covered the role of offices in fostering corporate sustainability, business and corporate agility, and its influence on overall change management and capacity to adapt quickly to organizational changes. Additionally, it shed light on the operations of the Project Management Offices, its advantages to the organization, prospects, cutting-edge techniques and procedures, and future expectations under accelerated technical variables.”
Notable global recognitions
In past years, Dubai Municipality secured various global recognitions for its project management excellence, the most notable being joining the Global Project Management Council (PMI Council) as a permanent member in 2023. Furthermore, it won the Best Project Management Office of the World for the Year 2022 from the Institute for Project Management, during the World Project Management Summit held in the USA, which made Dubai Municipality the first recipient of this recognition in the Middle East and Asia (MEA) region. During the Global PMO Awards, it received the Best Project Management Office Award for 2021 from the International PMO Global Alliance, which resulted in the title over 40 rival international universities, placing them in the top tier globally.
The Municipality also signed several agreements with the most renowned international organizations and entities in the field of project management, to support their strategic plans and projects, strengthen strategic cooperation, share experiences and knowledge with other parties, and provide an integrated project management reference database.
In addition, Dubai Municipality founded its Enterprise Management Office under the guidance of H.E. Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, due to the significance of an all-encompassing, updated, and efficient enterprise management system and methodology in diverse business domains. The establishment of the office also exemplifies the role it plays in facilitating the planning and execution of municipal projects across a range of its activities, advocating for ambitious strategic plans for Dubai, further attaining leadership and excellence in the business sector, enhancing flexibility, and staying up to date with regional and international advancements.