You cannot take the heart out of the projects : the use of project management and KPIs in social activity projects

This paper covers the research of the level of project management with the emphasis on evaluation and the use of KPIs in social activity projects. The research questions are as follows; Is general project management used in organizing and executing social activity projects? And, is the use of KPIs commonly used in social activity projects? Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used, where a survey questionnaire was sent out to people who work in the social activity (leisure) sector. Also four open interviews were conducted. Two of the interviewees work as managers for the leisure division of the School and Leisure Department of Reykjavik Municipality. The other two work for non-profit organizations that provide social activities to various groups of people, among other projects. The findings of the research is that those organizations who provide social activities miss out on opportunities to add value to their work by the lack of systematic project management, evaluation, and identification of KPIs