Project Controls & Delivery · Dubai 2027
Project Controls Summit Dubai 2027
Project controls tell leaders the truth about delivery: what a project will cost, when it will finish and what could stop it. Project Economy Forum Dubai puts that evidence in front of the executives who act on it.
Project Economy Forum Dubai · 27–28 January 2027 · Dubai, UAE
The evidence behind every delivery decision.
Project controls is the discipline of planning, measuring and forecasting project performance: cost estimating and control, scheduling, risk management, change control, earned value and progress reporting. It turns the activity of a project into information leaders can act on.
Good controls do more than report. They give early warning, test whether a plan is still achievable and show the cost of a decision before it is made. That is why controls leaders increasingly sit alongside portfolio, finance and executive teams, not only project managers.
Project Economy Forum brings project controls into that wider conversation. Delivery and risk is one of eight areas on the agenda, and the Forum’s programme asks why big projects miss, and what the best do differently.
What project controls leaders are responsible for.
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01
Planning and scheduling
Building and maintaining schedules that reflect the real logic and constraints of the work.
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02
Cost control
Estimating, budgeting and tracking cost, and forecasting the final outturn honestly.
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03
Risk management
Identifying, quantifying and managing the risks to cost and schedule, and holding the right contingency.
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04
Change control
Assessing and recording every change to scope, cost and time, so decisions are made knowingly.
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05
Performance measurement
Measuring progress objectively, including earned value, so that trends show early.
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06
Reporting and assurance
Giving leaders and boards a consistent, trusted view of delivery across projects.
The questions on delivery.
- 01
Why do forecasts stay optimistic until late?
Reporting often lags reality. Leaders want forecasts that move when the evidence moves.
- 02
How much contingency is enough?
Too little hides risk; too much hides inefficiency. The answer depends on how well the risks are understood.
- 03
Can controls work across a whole portfolio?
Consistent data across projects lets leaders compare performance and move resources to where they matter most.
- 04
What will AI and automation change?
Scheduling, forecasting and reporting are being automated. Leaders are deciding what to trust and what still needs judgement.
- 05
How do we control delivery through contractors?
Much of the work, and the data, sits with partners. The contract decides what the owner can see, and when.
- 06
What should a board see?
A few measures that reveal the true state of delivery, rather than volumes of status reports.
Project controls across the life of a project.
Every Forum follows a project from first decision to final proof. Controls provide the evidence at each stage. Decide, Fund, Deliver, Prove
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01Decide
Realistic from the start
Estimates and schedules that make selection decisions honest.
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02Fund
Baselines worth approving
Budgets, contingency and controls a funder can rely on.
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03Deliver
Seeing trouble early
Performance measurement, forecasting, risk and change control.
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04Prove
Knowing what happened
Final cost and schedule, and lessons that improve the next estimate.
Project controls and delivery at Project Economy Forum Dubai.
27–28 January 2027 · Dubai, UAE. Day One is the Executive Dialogue, a private working session for CEOs, COOs, CFOs and strategy leaders. Day Two is the Forum: one stage following a project from first decision to final proof.
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Deliver
Why big projects miss, and what the best do differently
Seeing trouble early, delivering with contractors and partners, and transformation that sticks.
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Fund
Who decides, and on what evidence?
Holding the business case to account, and governance that speeds delivery up.
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Lunch
The Leaders’ Tables
A hosted table for Delivery & Risk, one of eight.
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Prove
Did we get what we paid for?
Measuring value delivered, and what the board must be able to prove.
Heads of project controls take part alongside the heads of capital projects, portfolio management, technology, R&D and transformation, and the CEOs, COOs and CFOs who rely on their forecasts.
Head of function and above. Every place reviewed. Indicative programme.
Questions.
What is project controls?
The discipline of planning, measuring and forecasting the cost, schedule and risk of projects, so that leaders know where delivery really stands and can act early.
What is a project controls summit?
A gathering of the people responsible for cost, schedule, risk and performance on major projects. At Project Economy Forum Dubai, controls leaders meet the executives and portfolio owners who rely on their forecasts.
Is this a project delivery conference?
Delivery runs through the whole programme. Day Two follows a project from first decision to final proof, with a stage on why big projects miss and what the best do differently.
How does project controls relate to PPM?
Controls provide the delivery evidence that portfolio decisions depend on: which projects are on track, which are at risk, and what it will cost to finish them.
Who attends?
Heads of project controls, capital projects and portfolio management, with the CEOs, COOs and CFOs they report to. Places are for heads of function and above, and every request is reviewed.