Bent Flyvbjerg stands as a preeminent scholar in economic geography and megaproject management, recognized globally for his transformative insights into large-scale infrastructure initiatives. He currently serves as the Villum Kann Rasmussen Professor and Chair in Major Program Management at the IT University of Copenhagen, where he leads the Research Centre for Government IT and the Danish Institute for IT Program Management. Prior to his appointment at ITU, Professor Flyvbjerg held the distinguished position as the first BT Professor and Inaugural Chair of Major Programme Management at Oxford University's Saïd Business School until 2021. His academic foundation was established through a PhD in urban geography and planning from Aarhus University with additional research conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles, creating the basis for his lifelong investigation into decision-making processes and infrastructure development. Throughout his distinguished career, he has also held professorships at Aalborg University in Denmark and served as chair of the Department of Infrastructure Policy and Planning at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Professor Flyvbjerg's seminal research on megaprojects has revolutionized the understanding of why large-scale initiatives frequently exceed budgets and timelines while failing to deliver promised benefits. His development of evidence-based frameworks for project management, including the influential reference class forecasting methodology, has become an industry standard adopted by major international organizations including the World Bank and European Investment Bank. His scholarly contributions include the widely cited Megaprojects and Risk, the comprehensive Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management (2017), and his latest work How Big Things Get Done (2023), which synthesizes decades of research into actionable principles for managing complex undertakings. With extensive practical experience consulting on over one hundred billion-dollar projects worldwide, his work has demonstrated that systematic application of replication and modularization significantly improves project success rates across transportation, energy, and information technology sectors.
Beyond his academic contributions, Professor Flyvbjerg has profoundly shaped infrastructure policy through his service on the Danish Infrastructure Commission and directorship of the Danish Court Administration, influencing national decision-making processes. As a Senior Research Fellow at St. Anne's College, University of Oxford, he continues to mentor emerging scholars while expanding his research into the psychological and organizational factors that determine project outcomes. His methodological approach to social science, particularly through the concept of applied phronesis described in Real Social Science, has established new standards for rigorous research in the field. Professor Flyvbjerg's frameworks remain increasingly relevant as societies worldwide confront the challenges of implementing large-scale infrastructure, digital transformation initiatives, and climate adaptation projects, ensuring his work will continue to guide effective project management practices for generations to come.
