Abstract
Traditional project management frameworks, organised around scope, schedule, and budget, lack the conceptual architecture to address sustainability imperatives now confronting organisations globally. This paper introduces Regenerative Project Management (RPM), a biomimicry-informed framework that extends the conventional five-phase project lifecycle in two directions: Phase 0 (Systemic Understanding) before initiation and Phase 6 (Ongoing Stewardship) beyond closing. Drawing on living-systems ontology, RPM reconceptualises project governance through adaptive, nature-inspired mechanisms including living project charters, mycorrhizal stakeholder networks, and regenerative success metrics. The framework is developed through interpretive analysis of four empirical sources: an IRB-approved student survey (n = 303), longitudinal biomimicry education data (n = 407), practitioner sensemaking dialogues (n = 12), and classroom-based action research across project management courses (200+ students annually). Findings demonstrate that students readily engage regenerative project thinking when pedagogical architecture supports it, and that the primary barrier to sustainability-integrated PM is structural rather than motivational. Contributions are advanced to project lifecycle theory, adaptive governance, and sustainability integration within professional PM standards.