Mainstreaming Sustainable Social Housing in India Findings and insights from the MaS-SHIP project
This report describes the wider context, objectives, methodology and findings of a two-year research project entitled MaS-SHIP. Funded by the United Nations Environment’s Sustainable Buildings and Construction programme of the 10 Year Framework Programme. MaS-SHIP has produced a comprehensive data framework, tools, evidence-based knowledge, insights and policy recommendations for mainstreaming sustainable social housing in India.
A socio-technical approach was adopted in the research, bringing together primary and secondary data collection with both quantitative and qualitative assessments, using literature review, stakeholder engagement, online and field surveys, statistical tests and thermal simulations. The construction and policy ecosystem were examined to identify barriers and opportunities in adopting sustainable building materials and related design and construction practices, so as to develop policy recommendations. First, MaS-SHIP created a framework of 18 attributes in collaboration with developers, practitioners and academics to measure the performance of 17 established and emerging building systems, against four criteria, including resource efficiency, operational performance, user experience, and economic impact. The findings were collated into catalogues for each material, while the methodology for calculating the mix of qualitative and quantitative attributes were developed into a new data framework. The multiplicity of attributes required rationalized valuations relative to each other. To establish consistency, inputs of a representative sample of housing experts in India were invited to weigh each attribute.
