Widening the Vision: A Holistic Evaluation Framework for Megaproject Performance

Megaprojects are critical drivers for the advancement of global economy and for the development of entire countries. Because of their relevance and impact on local communities, social value delivered, social impacts, and public perception have become paramount dimensions to be evaluated. The assessment of megaproject performance, though, is still far from maturity, and often relies on outdated paradigms. Furthermore, the traditional paradigms are limited in properly representing the value added provided by megaprojects, and they only highlight their delays and cost overruns. Thus, the need for a holistic evaluation framework of megaproject is addressed, identifying relevant dimensions to obtain a comprehensive assessment of the performance. Considering both objective and subjective parameters enables a more nuanced evaluation, offering a better understanding of the challenges faced by megaprojects. Such a framework fosters indeed a learning-oriented approach, enabling the analysis of specific project aspects and their influence on success or failure. This paper contributes to the research on megaprojects by identifying and describing evaluation parameters that reflect what modern society values, enabling a more conscious and reliable assessment of megaprojects’ performance.