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The paper discusses the outcome of a study conducted to formulate the strategic perspective of the construction industry in Botswana. The study was sanctioned by the two influential entities namely the Ministry of Infrastructure and BOCCIM Construction Sector. The two entities not only represent the demand and supply side of the construction industry but also represent key professions, trades and interests of the industry. A focus group approach was used based on workshops to formulate the strategic perspective. Workshop participants were drawn from various organisations that play a role in the delivery of construction projects. Individually they also represented the various professions, trades, occupations and interests relating to the construction processes in Botswana. Specific statements for industry’s vision, mission, values and goals were formulated through constructive discussions and debates to describe the future desired state of the construction industry. These are to serve as guiding tools for the industry’s reform process. The paper provides a step by step approach that integrates several scholastic frameworks for developing a strategic perspective for the industry.

PurposeThis paper aims in the first part to document experiences encountered in dealing with challenges facing students embarking on their postgraduate research journey. It gives a brief background on the consequences for not being able to handle properly the research processes. It also identifies factors that contribute to postgraduate attrition and long completion periods focusing on the perceived major contributor to problem – the lack of skills in research on the part of students especially in the early part of the research process. Second, the paper aims to describe and discuss the proposed framework for approaching the research project definition and design process in a systematic and logical manner after formulating a research framework.Design/methodology/approachExperience recording method is used by reflecting on the authors' supervision experience at honours, masters and doctoral level. A reflection on these experiences is compared with good practices in research approaches to identify gaps which need to be addressed. The second part of the paper is used as a building block in producing a fully fledged research proposal. Two tasks forming the backbone of writing a research proposal at post framework are at the centre of this paper – developing an outline of literature review and the actual writing of the proposal.FindingsIt is clearly established that major reasons for the problems facing student researchers are the lack of hands‐on skills in the research process on the part of students especially in the early part of the research process (research definition and design) and hence the need for a facilitative framework. The second part of the paper discusses in detail the three main components of the research proposal. Finally, the paper reveals the “final picture” of the research proposal made out of the three components, and an emphasis is put on the need to treat the proposal as a plan which is highly likely to change depending on the research environment forces faced by researchers as they embark on the research journey in the post proposal phase.Originality/valueThe original value is two‐fold. First, there is an opportunity for educators to identify common problems facing student researchers, hence this information could be used when supervising student researchers. Furthermore, the student has an opportunity to understand the dynamics of research approaches and this provides a good base to avoid bad practices. Second, the paper provides solutions towards overcoming typical problems, and this will help both educators and student researchers to manage the dynamics of research processes. The proposed research framework in order to facilitate the research thought process in a more systematic, logical and integrated manner is an encompassing recommendation which should be used by educators and research students.

Purpose – Result-based management (RBM) is common approach used in the development sector to initiate, plan and implement projects. However, to the knowledge of the authors the approach has hardly been used in delivering projects in other sectors, for example, information technology, infrastructure or business. The purpose of this paper is to document a case study in which the RBM approach was used to guide the delivery of a business project in Botswana. Design/methodology/approach – A case study strategy was used to document the delivery process of the project. Data were collected from a variety of sources that included review of documents, interviews, focus discussions and a site visit. The content analysis technique was used to analyse the collected data. Findings – The case illustrates the possibility of using the RBM approach to initiate, plan and implement a project in the business sector. Research limitations/implications – Being a case study, the approach needs to be tested with more case studies. Practical implications – Apart from illustrating the possible use of RBM approach, the paper illustrates systematic processes used in the case study for project delivery. It also outlines some of the resultant challenges which may be appreciated by practitioners, academics and trainees. Originality/value – The use of RBM approach in guiding the delivery of a business project.