Transforming Construction Network Plus
With £1m to invest in a raft of new research projects over the next two years, the Transforming Construction Network Plus (N+) mobilises a new movement in the construction community, bringing together experts from a range of disciplines to tackle the most pressing problems across the digital, energy, construction, and manufacturing space.
The vision for the N+ is to deliver transformational impact by adopting an integrated approach, situating construction as a production system for built assets that adds value to cities and their infrastructures.
The N+ unites academic researchers with industry and policy representatives through networking and skills-building events, creating a new community and body of knowledge to inform future construction policy and practice.
The aim of the N+ is to provoke, enable and amplify innovation, through four main objectives:
- Knowledge: to inform new research and development (R&D) models and government policy that link digital, construction, manufacturing and energy to improve productivity
- Community building: to advance collaborations through knowledge exchange and debate, beyond what is currently possible
- Business models: to produce user-informed, practical resources that accelerate pathways to manufacture and delivery
- Investment and legacy: to de-risk and increase construction sector business R&D spend and enable new R&D collaborations that outlive the grant
The N+ provides funding for research projects that aim to address some of the biggest problems currently facing the construction industry. The research supported will focus on the gaps, inter-relationships and under-explored regions of this domain, spanning digital, energy, construction and manufacturing expertise, in line with the expectations of the Industrial Strategy Construction Sector Deal. The small projects will unite academics from different universities to synthesise and bring the best existing and new knowledge to the rest of the programme and maximise exposure across industry.
The first round of funding calls for Small Projects awarded 4 small projects:
- Challenging Space Frontiers in Hospitals - UCL
- Developing consistent benchmarks to drive improved performance in construction projects - University of Dundee
- Digital Enablers for Construction Transformation (DECONT) - Loughborough University
- Putting people at the heart of future social housing design and manufacture - Teesside University
Find out more about the successful small projects on the N+ websiteLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window.
Funded by UK Research and Innovation through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, the N+ is a joint project between UCL, Imperial College London and WMG, University of Warwick.
Find out more about the upcoming events and funding opportunities on the N+ website. Join the mailing list and follow the N+ on Twitter to hear about latest N+ news.