Digital Tool for Resource Efficiency in Built Environment and Construction sectors
To develop a prototype for the Built Environment and Construction sectors with a focus on cost, environmental, and performance metrics to allow resource efficient selection of materials and components in design practice.
During this project, the principle investigators reached out to industry members to jointly work on the problem definition and an applicable solution to improve resource efficiency in the built environment and construction sector. A steering committee was established early on with bi-annual meetings and 1-2-1 interviews and follow-on discussions where deemed necessary. With the strong focus towards developing a tangible outcome, an iterative, start-up like approach was selected for the prototyping of solution. The prototype was well received and is now under consideration for commercial development by industry partners. During the project lifetime, the knowledge generated was converted into peer-reviewed publications including a collaborative work with the UN. See Gregor Herda; Robert Sangori; Maximilian Bock (2017) Low cost, low carbon, but no data: Kenya's struggle to develop the availability of performance data for building products. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 38, pp.452-460. Challenges faced arose from too ambitious or ambiguous expectations by stakeholders, which far exceeded the available resources for research and development. Regular meetings and discussions to align views and expectations helped to overcome these challenges. Further difficulties arose when administrative processes created far greater overheads than was anticipated and capacity to manage these took essential time away for the project activities. We highly recommend more generous time allocations for managing administrative processes, especially in cross public-private initiatives, especially as overhead times are being significantly under-allocated within organisations to match efficient funding allocations by funding bodies. Further, engaging stakeholders early is helpful and important for the future adoption of the proposed solution. However, we recommend training ahead of such meetings to help create enthusiasm whilst creating realistic expectations.
