Posted in Club of Rome News, News on Aug 12, 2026.
Young Person’s Toolkit for Responsible Project Management: How To Get Things Done.
Contributors: Karen M. Thompson, Krushang Mistry, Nigel L. Williams and Matias Lara Responsible Project Management, The 50 Percent and University of Portsmouth, UK
Published by: University of Portsmouth. First edition November 2025.
Returning to our series highlighting significant publications in 2025, we spotlight the Young Person’s Toolkit for Responsible Project Management: How To Get Things Done. Developed as a collaborative initiative between Responsible Project Management (RPM), The 50 Percent (supported by The Club of Rome), and the University of Portsmouth, this toolkit serves as a practical companion to the Young Person’s Guide to Systems Change.
It challenges traditional, highly technical views of project management, offering a fresh approach tailored to youth leaders and changemakers. The core objective is to bridge the gap between abstract ideas and tangible impact while prioritising the wellbeing of both people and the planet.
Core Principles & Philosophy
• Challenging Complexity: Traditional project management is often viewed as rigid, corporate, and overly bureaucratic. This guide deconstructs those barriers, making project execution accessible to grassroots changemakers.
• People and Planet First: Projects are framed not merely as outputs or financial deliverables, but as interventions that must actively protect and nurture ecological and social systems.
• Systems Integration: Operating as a direct follow-up to systems thinking frameworks, the toolkit encourages users to look at the wider context of a problem before jumping straight into task execution.
• AI-Powered Enablement: The resource uniquely integrates practical methodologies with modern artificial intelligence prompts, helping users rapidly brainstorm, structure, and troubleshoot their initiatives.
Key Objectives for Users
Turn Ideas into Impact: Provide step-by-step methodologies to translate community or global concerns into structured, actionable projects.
Navigate Challenges Realistically: Equip young leaders with adaptive tools to overcome obstacles without burning out or compromising ethical standards.
Foster Collaborative Action: Shift away from isolated efforts ("overachiever syndrome") towards community-driven shared leadership and collective intelligence.
Empowering Roadmap
The toolkit acts as an empowering roadmap for anyone seeking to transform their community. By combining foundational project management structures with modern prompts and a regenerative mindset, it ensures that young leaders do not just dream of a better future, but have the operational competence to build it.
