APM North West Network

North West Network is delighted to be running the Project Management Challenge within our Network this year.

Entries have closed for this year, but you can register your interest for 2025/26.

Read about last year's winning projects.

The social and economic importance of the North West region of England has long been championed. Before Levelling Up, there was the Northern Powerhouse, the coalition government’s vision for a well-connected, globally competitive economy in the north of England, that would not only improve quality of life for local people but also rebalance the UK economy.

Developing infrastructure, collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders, and attracting and retaining skilled workers are vital to both initiatives. It’s clear from this that Project, Programme and Portfolio (P3M) professionals will make a major and essential contribution. This presents many opportunities to the project profession, along with unique challenges.

Members of APM’s North West Network and other project and programme specialists from the region met recently to discuss these topics and others. This collaborative discussion – which featured contributions from many diverse sectors – helped strengthen connections across the local project community, and helped delegates understand cross-sector synergies and opportunities.

This paper summarises the conversation, with supplementary material from additional sources.

APM hopes this conversation will continue, and our Regional Networks are helping to facilitate this. As always, APM’s volunteers are playing a crucial role in supporting their local communities, not just in North West England, but across the UK.

If you would like to be part of this conversation, we hope you may consider volunteering with APM, or becoming involved with your local APM Regional Network.