Global Alliance for the Project Professions

The Global Alliance for the Project Professions, commonly known as GAPPS, is an international nonprofit initiative focused on improving the comparability and portability of project-management standards and qualifications. Rather than acting as a conventional training provider, certification body, consultancy, or commercial publisher, GAPPS brings together participants from government, industry, professional associations, standards and qualifications organizations, and academic or training institutions. Its work is intended to provide neutral reference points that can be used alongside existing project-management bodies of knowledge, competence baselines, qualification systems, and organizational assessment processes. GAPPS emerged from international discussions about project-management standards that began in the mid-1990s. During the late 1990s, the International Project Management Association initiated global working parties, including one concerned with standards. Participants identified a gap between knowledge-based standards and the practical, performance-based evidence needed to demonstrate that a project professional could perform effectively. The proposed solution was a globally applicable framework that could complement established approaches such as PMI's PMBOK Guide, the IPMA Competence Baseline, the Association for Project Management's Body of Knowledge, Japan's P2M guidance, and related national or sectoral standards. A Global Steering Committee meeting hosted by Services SETA in London in August 2002 preceded the first GAPPS working session in Lille, France, in February 2003. That session included representatives from major professional bodies, government standards organizations, educational institutions, and industry. The initiative was initially associated with the name Global Performance Based Standards for Project Management Personnel. Its development model relied heavily on geographically diverse volunteers meeting in intensive working sessions, generally several times each year, rather than on a large permanent staff. The alliance's principal work has included performance-based standards for project managers, role-definition tables, program-management frameworks, assessment guidance, and mapping documents that compare different standards and qualifications systems. Its best-known project-manager levels are Global 1, or G1, intended for junior project managers, and Global 2, or G2, intended for senior project managers. These standards are deliberately generic. They describe performance and competence in a way that can be adapted to different industries, countries, regulatory environments, and organizational methods, while leaving detailed technical or methodological content to complementary standards. GAPPS encourages professional associations and qualification organizations to use its standards to strengthen the performance dimension of their existing systems. It also supports adaptation for local requirements and promotes mutual recognition of qualifications. Organizations may use the frameworks for internal development, accreditation, recruitment, and assessment, particularly when project personnel work across borders. At the same time, GAPPS defines limits around its role: it develops, approves, publishes, promotes, maintains, and reviews standards and guidance, but does not itself provide individual training, certification, qualifications, consulting, or opinions based on those standards. Membership is open to public or private organizations and government agencies. Members are grouped into standards and qualifications organizations, project-management professional associations, academic and training institutions, and industry participants. GAPPS materials have generally been made available for download without charge through its website. The current operating condition of the organization, including its active membership, leadership, and publication schedule, is not sufficiently documented in the supplied sources and should be verified against current official records.

GAPPS developed from a series of international conversations about project-management standards held during the 1990s. Participants recognized that widely used frameworks often emphasized knowledge, processes, or prescribed methods, while employers and qualification bodies also needed ways to evaluate whether project personnel could perform competently in practice. The proposed alliance was therefore designed to create performance-based standards that could complement, rather than replace, existing professional and national frameworks. In 1999, the International Project Management Association initiated Global Working Parties, including a group dedicated to project-management standards. The working party brought together representatives from different countries and sectors and identified the opportunity to establish globally usable standards for project personnel. The intended benefits included responding to industry needs, improving the profile and effectiveness of project management, supporting the development of project management as a profession, and increasing recognition of performance-based assessment. A Global Steering Committee meeting hosted by Services SETA in London in August 2002 helped move the initiative toward a formal working program. The first GAPPS working session took place in Lille, France, in February 2003. Participants included professional associations such as PMI, AIPM, the Singapore Society of Project Managers, and the Project Management Association of Japan, together with government standards bodies, academic institutions, and industry representatives. The initiative was originally described as Global Performance Based Standards for Project Management Personnel before becoming known as the Global Alliance for the Project Professions. The alliance's operating model has been largely volunteer-based. International working sessions were used to draft, debate, and refine standards, with meetings typically organized several times per year. This structure reflected GAPPS's goal of producing standards with broad international legitimacy rather than standards controlled by a single professional association, country, vendor, or examination provider. Its project-manager standards were organized around Global 1 and Global 2 levels, corresponding broadly to junior and senior project-management responsibilities. The standards were intentionally generic so that they could be used with established knowledge-based and competence frameworks, including the PMBOK Guide, IPMA's competence baseline, the Association for Project Management's Body of Knowledge, P2M, PRINCE2, and national qualifications systems. GAPPS also developed role-evaluation and role-definition tools, program-manager materials, mapping documents, and guidance for assessment. GAPPS's institutional proposition is coordination rather than direct professional credentialing. It encourages professional associations and standards organizations to adopt or adapt its frameworks, adding performance-based evidence to existing qualifications and supporting the transferability of credentials between jurisdictions. Employers can also use the standards in internal development and accreditation systems. The alliance does not present itself as a provider of training, individual certification, qualifications, consulting, or standards-based opinions. The organization has made its standards and related documents available for free download through its website. However, the available reference material does not establish the current status of its operations, leadership, membership, or publication program. Those details require verification from an active official source.

• 2003

  First GAPPS working session held in Lille

  [1]Global Alliance for the Project Professionsen.wikipedia.org

  The first working session took place in Lille, France, with participation from professional associations, public standards bodies, academia, and industry.

• 2002

  Global Steering Committee meeting in London

  [1]Global Alliance for the Project Professionsen.wikipedia.org

  A steering committee meeting hosted by Services SETA helped prepare the initiative for its first dedicated working session.

• 1999

  IPMA establishes standards-focused Global Working Party

  [1]Global Alliance for the Project Professionsen.wikipedia.org

  The International Project Management Association initiated working parties, including one dedicated to project-management standards and the development of global performance-based approaches.

• 1990

  International discussions on global project standards begin

  [1]Global Alliance for the Project Professionsen.wikipedia.org

  Project-management professionals began meeting at international conferences to explore standards that could work across countries and complement existing knowledge-based frameworks.

An independent, volunteer-driven standards alliance positioned as a neutral international reference point for performance-based project-management competence, mutual recognition, and comparability across professional and national systems.

• Project manager standard

  Global 1 (G1)

  A generic performance-based standard intended for junior project managers. It focuses on demonstrable project-management performance and is designed to work alongside more detailed bodies of knowledge, organizational methods, and national qualification requirements.

• Project manager standard

  Global 2 (G2)

  A performance-based standard for senior project managers. Its generic structure is intended to support comparison and adaptation across industries and jurisdictions rather than prescribe one project-management methodology.

• Role-evaluation framework

  CIFTER Table

  A GAPPS tool for evaluating project-manager roles. It supports analysis of role complexity and responsibilities so that organizations can relate project positions to suitable competence and assessment expectations.

• Program-management standards

  Program Manager Standards

  A set of materials addressing program-management roles and six categories of program manager. The work is complemented by the ACDC table, which helps define and compare program-manager responsibilities.

• Standards mapping

  Comparability Maps

  Documents that map GAPPS concepts against selected project-management standards and frameworks, including AIPM, ANCSPM, IPMA's competence baseline, P2M, PMI's PMBOK Guide, PRINCE2, and a South African qualifications standard.

• Assessment assurance

  Endorsed Provider Program

  A program intended to provide assurance that assessments based on GAPPS standards are equivalent or comparable. It supports organizations that use the standards without turning GAPPS itself into an individual certification provider.

• 2003

  Adopt a generic, performance-based standards modelStrategy

  Background

  The initiative sought to address the difference between knowledge-based project-management standards and evidence of practical competence across countries and industries.

  Action taken

  GAPPS developed standards centered on demonstrated performance and designed them to complement, rather than replace, established professional, national, and methodological frameworks.

  Aftermath

  The model was intended to support adoption, adaptation, comparison, and mutual recognition of project-management qualifications.

  Source

• Define a non-certifying role for the allianceStrategy

  Background

  GAPPS distinguishes standards development from training, consulting, assessment, and individual qualification services.

  Action taken

  The alliance stated that its role was to facilitate, develop, approve, publish, promote, maintain, and review standards and guidance, while not providing training, certification, qualifications, consulting, or standards-based opinions.

  Aftermath

  This positioning allows professional bodies, employers, and assessment organizations to use GAPPS materials within their own systems.

  Source

1. 1Global Alliance for the Project Professionsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2GAPPS official websiteglobalpmstandards.org