Journal article 2025
IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management Vol. 72 · pp. 2783–2797
Resilience projects are shaped effectively when managers work with the institutional context, mobilize collective knowledge and future-proof interventions, while actively managing divergent time horizons and multiple possible futures.
Projects are increasingly used to strengthen the resilience of society and the environment, yet their front-end shaping remains difficult because future disturbances, beneficiaries and long-term impacts are uncertain. This research investigates resilience projects in the European Space Economy and asks which forces help or hinder managers during the shaping phase. It develops an empirically grounded framework that connects managerial practices with three theoretical principles of resilience project shaping: holism, materiality and prospectivity.
What are the drivers and barriers in shaping resilience projects?
The study draws on 38 interviews with managers involved in resilience projects developed in the European Space Economy and triangulates interview evidence with secondary data. The analysis identifies recurring drivers and barriers, then links managerial practices to the theoretical principles of holism, materiality and prospectivity. The resulting framework contains three drivers, two barriers and 13 practices for shaping projects intended to create long-term societal and environmental resilience.
Managers shape resilience projects by sensitizing institutions to the project’s societal and environmental impact and by gaining institutional support. This reverses the usual emphasis on institutions shaping projects and highlights how projects can also influence their institutional environment.
Future-oriented shaping depends on combining knowledge across actors and using tangible evidence and participatory practices to make future benefits and disturbances discussable. Divergent time horizons and the difficulty of dealing with multiple futures remain central barriers.
Managers can strengthen resilience by broadening project scope, experimenting before scaling and preserving flexibility in project outcomes. These practices help move beyond rigid rationalist planning toward interventions that can adapt as future conditions and societal needs evolve.
The study extends resilience-project theory by showing how holism, materiality and prospectivity explain what happens in the shaping phase. It also adds a future-oriented perspective to project-shaping research, where uncertainty is not simply a risk to control but a condition that managers must actively explore.
For managers and policymakers, the 13 practices offer concrete ways to shape projects whose benefits depend on future societal and environmental conditions. The framework is relevant beyond space to other long-lived infrastructure and technology domains where resilience, institutional support and uncertain futures are central.
Paravano, A., Locatelli, G., & Trucco, P. (2025). Drivers and Barriers in Shaping Resilience Projects: An Investigation in the Space Economy. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 72, 2783–2797. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2025.3568298
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