Submitted by Angela Walters on Thu, 12/08/2021 - 11:35
Building a global evidence base to support government investment in built environment innovation that delivers benefits for people and places
Following its launch, the Global BIM Network is now initiating a Call for Knowledge to all public sector organisations across the globe to build upon its Information Collection, an open access evidence base and repository for global public sector professionals seeking guidance, tools and evidence related to the introduction of built environment information management into public policy and public sector project delivery.
A free-to-use online resource, the Global BIM Network’s curated Information Collection showcase and digital transformation initiatives driving built environment innovation across the world. The aim is to share good practice and resources of global in-country experiences implementing national strategies to digitalise the built environment and deliver societal benefits including improved transparency, efficiency, sustainability and resilience. This community of public sector officials from around the world offers free, open access to guidance, documentation, protocols, operational manuals, case studies, tools, training materials, workshops and events. Resources cover all scales including organisational, national and regional, and each resource has links to downloadable documents or official websites of governmental and non-governmental organisations that are active in championing innovation in public sector construction and infrastructure projects.
“There is wide recognition that digital transformation is a critical enabler for the public sector which manages government expenditure on community services, utilities and infrastructure delivery and operation,” said Adam Matthews, Chair of the Global BIM Network. “The aim of the Call for Knowledge is to gather information from across the world to build a credible, diverse, legitimate knowledge base that is open and useful to all. By learning from each other, we will avoid duplication of efforts and foster a common understanding of built environment standards and policies that help us reach our shared global goals around achieving net-zero, enabling the digital economy and recovering from the impacts of COVID-19.”
The current digital opportunity of the global infrastructure and construction sector is huge – the sector itself is valued at around $10 trillion globally per year1 and the estimate for savings that digital can bring to that is around $250 billion a year. Digitalisation of the built environment also brings opportunity for a more sustainable approach to reduce carbon in the design, construction, maintenance and operation of our built assets, and better data-informed decision-making to address and mitigate grand global challenges including climate change, net-zero, pandemics and resource constraint while supporting socioeconomic prosperity.
“There is much to gain from engaging with the Network and contributing to the Call for Knowledge,” said Matthews. “The continued evolution of our Information Collection will enhance the global evidence base which provides a valuable resource for public sector professionals seeking to make the business case and identify benefits of implementing a national digital strategy for the built environment. Sharing our resources and lived experiences – our local, national and regional digital transformation journeys – brings benefits to all public sector stakeholders and beyond, to people, places and societies.”
Engage with the Call for Knowledge
Building on the established Information Collection evidence base at www.globalBIM.org, the Call for Knowledge seeks information and expertise from people, organisations and stakeholders across the public sector with direct experience or knowledge of guidance, tools and evidence related to the introduction of built environment information management into public policy and public sector project delivery. Adam Matthews said: “Responding to our Call for Knowledge and being part of the public sector Network community is an opportunity to co-develop guidance and tools, collaborate across borders, learn from each other, and create new opportunities as part of a national digital strategy that drives collective and sustainable economic growth that serves the public good.”
Click here to find out more about Call for Knowledge, including how to submit a resource, click here.
To find out more about joining the Global BIM Network, visit www.globalBIM.org.
The Global BIM Network
The Global BIM Network (the Network) was launched at the Global BIM Summit, held online in March 2021, to provide a forum for policy makers, public procurers and infrastructure investors to foster a more productive and collaborative global digital built environment through the implementation of digital strategies that deliver benefits for people and places. The Network connects members working on similar developments in different parts of the world with similar challenges to share insights, resources, project outcomes and lessons learned.
Governments across the world are transforming the way infrastructure is designed, built, operated and integrated by implementing digital strategies to improve social, economic and environmental outcomes. By encouraging the adoption of BIM across the value chain, benefits are delivered to both the public and private sectors.
Current members of the Network include representatives from government ministries and agencies (economy, finance, construction, business and industry) and multi-lateral organisations (the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Inter-American Development Bank, and Asia Development Bank). There are now over 125 public sector members of the Global BIM Network across 40 counties – the launch event attracted more than 1000 representatives from 97 countries.
Reflecting on the societal and economic gains of collaborating across borders to drive digital transformation in construction and infrastructure, a number of founding members of the Global BIM Network contributed to panel sessions held as part of the Global BIM Summit in March 2021:
“There is a strong relationship between the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), technology and infrastructure projects. Infrastructure directly or indirectly impacts all the SDGs – including poverty and education. We try not to look at infrastructure as separate assets but as networks that provide services to communities. If infrastructure is resilient and it can continue to provide these services, then everyone is a beneficiary at the end of the day,” said Nigel Muñoz Oro, Regional Project Management Advisor, UNOPS
“We learn a lot from sharing. Having examples from other countries helps us to push the roadmap in our own country. No country has to start from scratch because other countries can show us what needs to be done,” said Ngoc-Binh TA, Head of BIM Team, Vietnam
“We are facing a climate emergency, and this is our top priority for the years to come. Everything we do in the built environment has to look towards this direction to decarbonise the building stock. The greater goal is the people and the planet,” said Ilektra Papadaki, Policy Officer, European Commission
“Collaborating has borne fruit. One of our biggest successes as a result of having a formal network has been securing funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for three years. Our organisation is currently one of only two regional BIM networks in the world, the other being the EU BIM Task Group,” said Carolina Soto, President of the Latin American Governments' BIM Network from the BIM Network of Latin American Governments.
The Global BIM Network is supported by the HMG Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Construction Innovation Hub (the Hub).
Editor’s note
• BIM is the global methodology that provides a ‘common language’ for introducing digital practice and standards to the procurement, design and delivery of public social and economic infrastructure that optimises social, economic and environmental benefits for the public and private sector, and users of the built environment.