Procurement, Contracts, Ethics, and Sustainability

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Procurement

Procurement means acquiring goods and services from outside the project team. The eighth edition of the PMBOK Guide moved procurement to an appendix because many project managers work with a separate procurement department (Millpond, n.d.), but the basics remain useful.

Common contract types are fixed-price (the seller carries cost risk), cost-reimbursable (the buyer carries cost risk), and time-and-materials. Research projects often involve data-sharing agreements, material transfer agreements, and collaboration agreements; seek advice from your institution's research office before signing.

Intellectual Property and Data

Be clear from the beginning about who owns the results, code, data, and publications, and about authorship. Check university policy and any sponsor requirements. Comply with data protection law and your ethics approvals.

Professional Ethics

PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is built on four values: responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty. They apply to students as much as to professionals:

Report progress and problems honestly.

Acknowledge others' work and contributions.

Avoid conflicts of interest, and disclose them when they exist.

Respect confidentiality.

Do not misuse resources or falsify results.

Universities also have research integrity rules on fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism, and policies for the responsible use of generative AI, which generally require disclosure and human accountability (Thesify, 2026).

Sustainability

Sustainability is now a principle in the PMBOK Guide's eighth edition, "integrate sustainability," and a performance target in PRINCE2 7 (Scanme, n.d.; Knowledge Train, n.d.). Consider the environmental, social, and economic effects of your project, such as energy use, materials, travel, and the long-term impact on the people affected. Even a small project can reduce waste and choose lower-impact options.

Legal and Regulatory Requirements

Know which laws and standards apply: health and safety, ethics approvals, data protection, export controls for some technologies, and professional standards in engineering. Document compliance.

CHAPTER 13