Project Management Institute Recognizes the Projects Reimagining Our Future with the Release of 2021 Most Influential Projects Lists

Project Management Institute (PMI) today announced the top 50 influential projects of the past 12 months on its third annual list of Most Influential Projects. The list, which made its debut in 2019 in honor of PMI’s 50^th anniversary, highlights compelling projects around the world and across industries that achieved significant milestones and impacted our society.

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Projects are the primary way to turn ideas into reality, and an idea is only an idea until we make it real through a project. The 2021 Most Influential Projects list demonstrates how project managers and changemakers have found resourceful ways to bring projects to life amid global disruptions, including the continuing pandemic.

“As a for-purpose organization, PMI is dedicated to supporting and uplifting those who are enabling change around the world,” said Michael DePrisco, Chief Operating Officer of Project Management Institute. “Our 2021 list of Most Influential Projects proves how creativity, collaboration, discipline, and determination can turn the boldest of ideas into a reality and change the world that we live in – even during the most challenging times.”

The main list of the 50 Most Influential Projects includes innovation in transportation, renewable energy, architecture, technology, and more. Some of the top-ranked projects include mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines, 2022 Winter Olympics, and the Crew-1 Mission. Additionally, PMI released 30 lists recognizing the Top 10 most influential projects in a variety of regions and industries. In total, the lists include more than 250 breakthrough efforts across a wide range of industries.

Members of the project management community—including experts, volunteers, academics, and industry leaders from across the globe—provided input and nominations for this year’s list. The pool of candidate projects, which numbered in the thousands, was then vetted by a PMI^® thought leadership team. The final list represents PMI’s vision of projects, and the project professionals and changemakers behind them represent the creative spirit shaping how the world collectively reimagines a new future, makes ideas and dreams reality, and, as a result, change the world.

Honorees include momentous triumphs such as creating a framework to futureproof the world’s ocean economy; taking commercial spaceflight to a new dimension; and fast-tracking the long-simmering shift to more flexible work arrangements; in addition to highly impactful, but lesser-known victories such as the Mumbai Metro and the Museum of the Future. The top-ranked project on the top 50 list is the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines created in under a year by companies Moderna, Pfizer, and BioNTech.

To view the complete list of projects and industry- and region-specific “Top 10” lists, visit pmi.org/most-influential-projects-2021. The list is also featured in a special edition of PMI’s award-winning PM Network^® magazine.

The Top 50 Most Influential Projects*

1. mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines - For fast-tracking coronavirus vaccines
2. The Great WFH Experiment - For fast-tracking the long-simmering shift to more flexible work arrangements
3. Give it 100% - For creating a framework to futureproof the world’s ocean economy
4. COVAX - For acting as the world’s conscience on global vaccine equity
5. Sand Dollar - For establishing the first government-backed digital currency
6. 2022 Winter Olympics - For going green
7. Riyadh Metro - For introducing the power of public transportation to Saudi Arabia’s largest city
8. When You See Yourself NFT - For taking nonfungible tokens into the musical mainstream
9. Energy Island - For revolutionizing renewables—yet again
10. Crew-1 Mission - For taking commercial spaceflight to a new dimension
11. Regenerate Australia - For protecting an iconic ecosystem with a future-proofing climate plan
12. Perlmutter - For mapping the universe at warp speed—and that’s just for starters
13. Mumbai Metro - For digging deep to make transportation safer in one of the world’s most populous cities
14. Atala Prism - For using blockchain to improve educational outcomes—and drive positive socioeconomic change
15. Andes Renovables - For building a sustainable energy source and powering up the local economy
16. Trojan Shield - For outsmarting some of the world’s most sophisticated criminals with a simple app
17. Mineral - For cultivating next-gen tech to feed the world
18. Al-Nouri Mosque Complex Reconstruction - For using architecture to help rebuild a community emotionally and economically
19. Tiangong Space Station - For building a space station for the future
20. Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic Plant - For helping the UAE diversify its energy—and its economy
21. Clubhouse - For unfollowing the leaders in the social media space
22. Expo 2020 Dubai - For working around COVID-19 to make a megaevent even bigger
23. Perseverance - For heading back to Mars—helicopter in tow
24. Maldives Floating City - For boldly shoring up a more resilient future for coastal cities
25. Bridgerton Costume Design - For outfitting a global pop culture phenomenon
26. Propel Center - For challenging systemic racism by fueling next-gen thinking at Black universities
27. Burberry Social Retail Store - For creating a tech-forward retail space, complete with social currency
28. Business Alliance to Scale Climate Solutions - For giving big business its own climate collective
29. National Wildlife Census - For generating hard data to save Kenya’s animals—and its tourism sector
30. Voyager Station - For taking space tourism closer to reality with an out-of-this-world luxury hotel in low Earth orbit
31. Project Earth - For reinventing retail through sustainable shopping
32. Microsoft Game Accessibility Testing - For leveling up on inclusion in video games
33. Wasteless - For helping supermarkets waste less, while giving shoppers a good deal
34. Tulsa Race Massacre Excavation - For helping bring closure to a community rocked by racial violence
35. PlayStation 5 - For literally changing the game
36. Multi-Node Quantum Network - For taking another step closer to an unhackable internet
37. Galapagos Islands Rewilding - For restoring delicate ecosystems while developing sustainable economies
38. Daylight - For listening to LGBTQ+ customers—and then delivering a banking experience for their needs
39. Hot Heart - For pioneering an AI-powered renewable energy solution that doubles as an urban playground
40. Edo Museum of West African Art - For creating a space to welcome home long-dispersed artifacts
41. Overture - For taking supersonic flight to new heights
42. Atal Tunnel - For moving mountains to improve transportation in the Himalayas
43. Aeson - For bridging the gap between heart failure and a transplant
44. Wufengshan Bridge - For combining high-speed rail and road transportation
45. Museum of the Future - For embedding its future-focused purpose into its next-gen design and construction
46. Pandora Brilliance - For taking lab-created diamonds into the mainstream
47. Airlander 10 - For promising premium air travelers a smoother, eco-friendly upgrade
48. Thinking Hut v1.0 - For trying to end educational inequalities with a school that can be built in under a week
49. Tokyo Toilet Project - For giving public restrooms a much-needed makeover
50. Operation Hijab Design - For creating a hijab that improves job performance—and boosts inclusion

Visit the Region-Specific Top 10 Most Influential Projects Lists

• Asia Pacific’s Top 10 Most Influential Projects
• China’s Top 10 Most Influential Projects
• Europe/United Kingdom’s Top 10 Most Influential Projects
• Latin America’s Top 10 Most Influential Projects
• Middle East North Africa’s Top 10 Most Influential Projects
• North America Top 10 Most Influential Projects
• South Asia’s Top 10 Most Influential Projects
• Sub-Saharan Africa’s Top 10 Most Influential Projects

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About Project Management Institute (PMI)

Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world's leading association for those who consider project, program or portfolio management their profession. Through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research, we work to prepare more than three million professionals around the world for The Project Economy: the coming economy in which work, and individuals, are organized around projects, products, programs and value streams Now 50 years in the making, we work in nearly every country around the world to advance careers, improve organizational success and further mature the project management profession through globally-recognized standards, certifications, communities, resources, tools, academic research, publications, professional development courses and networking opportunities. As part of the PMI family, ProjectManagement.com^® interactive website creates online global communities that deliver more resources, better tools, larger networks and broader perspectives. Visit us at www.PMI.org, www.projectmanagement.com, www.facebook.com/PMInstitute and on Twitter @PMInstitute.

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