IRNOP 2026: Hopeful projects in response to radical uncertainty

The role of projects contributing to a sustainable future increasingly dominates societal and research agendas. Such projects frequently involve many years, during which geopolitical, economic, societal and environmental events can disrupt their planning and execution. These projects need not to predict the future, but to develop strategies that are robust and resilient to radical uncertainty, which are events that we can’t anticipate upon. Hope is a powerful potential response to simulate resilience in projects. Hope is a positive motivational state that contributes to project managers and employees expending the requisite energy necessary to pursue and attain project goals. We need hopeful projects to overcome the passive pessimistic or overly optimistic views on constructing a sustainable future. We need hopeful projects to navigate in a world of radical uncertainty.