A Pacific island experience of knowledge transfer to build human capital potential

An Australian Pacific Islands aid project that is in an advanced state of delivery is used as a case study. One of the authors, who is project manager of this project, provides valuable reflection of practice insights together with feedback and data from the aid recipients. The project brief extended beyond building physical infrastructure to be extended to building human capital in the form of construction expertise and both the artisan skills and management skills to facilitate local construction management capacity. Reflections and experiences are provided that are in turn linked to theoretical concepts of knowledge creation and transfer. A capability maturity model approach is used to illustrate and assess progress towards the knowledge transfer goal of the project. Many projects of the type exemplified by the case study are funded by aid agencies. This paper makes a contribution by presenting an evaluation tool for intangible project outcomes. The findings may influence the design of project success measures.