A consortium of North East organisations renowned for driving
transformation in the global construction market have been shortlisted for the
chance to secure up to £50million to boost the region’s economy.
Led by Northumbria University, Newcastle, the International Centre
for Connected Construction, known as IC3, is one of just 17 projects from
around the country that will receive £50,000 in seed corn funding.
The funding, announced today, Tuesday 11 August, will enable the
project team to prepare a detailed bid for up to £50million from UK Research
and Innovation’s flagship Strength in Places Fund – a competitive scheme to
support significant local economic growth using a place-based approach to
research and innovation funding.
Bringing together a wealth of expertise from across the North
East, IC3 is designed to attract more investment, skills, and jobs to the
region. It proposes to provide a range of interventions to build on the
impressive reputation of the North East as a hotbed of innovation in digital
construction.
IC3 will be a global hub for the creation and dissemination of
knowledge and understanding about connected construction. The IC3 team will
curate a selection of key building projects regionally, nationally, and
internationally to demonstrate the expertise of the partnership, and the value
of new ways of working to inspire the sector.
It will work as an accelerator to nurture and catalyse new
commercial businesses and ideas that solve major challenges in the industry; as
well as leading an intensive industrial research programme designed to develop
new products, services and processes from the region.
Encompassing both Northumbria and Newcastle universities and
various public sector organisations, the IC3 consortium is dominated by industry
representatives including NBS, Ryder Architecture, Arup, Cundall and Dynamo
North East – the region’s digital network. It has also received
strong support from various public sector organisations, including the North
East Local Enterprise Partnership which last year provided funding to the
project via its Local Growth Fund. This enabled the IC3 team to engage
in extensive consultation with over 100 stakeholders, developing a full
business case for the centre, and creating the perfect foundation for the
Strength in Places bid.
These
strong links between higher education, public sector and industry are critical
to its success, and represent a key differentiator for the Centre.
Professor Andrew Wathey CBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief
Executive of Northumbria University said: “Today’s government announcement
highlights the critical role the North East region will play in leading a
digital revolution in the construction industry. The scale of activity planned
by IC3 will place the region at the forefront of excellence for digital
construction with global impact.
“We are delighted to play a leading role in this
consortium, which brings together some of the region’s foremost organisations.
IC3 will use innovation, research and development to open up global market
opportunities and ultimately bring jobs and investment to the North East.
“This is particularly important as we move into
regeneration following the COVID-19 pandemic, and IC3’s success here
demonstrates the important role our region has to play in the national and
global recovery.”
Pat Ritchie, Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council, said: “The
North East is renowned as a world-leading centre of innovation and we are proud
to be part of the IC3 bid which will place our region at the cutting edge of
global construction.
“The city is poised to get started on a number of construction
projects and this project will provide a welcome boost to business and job
creation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic; laying the foundations for us
to develop and retain local skills and attract further investment to the region.”
In response to immediate and arising challenges facing the
industry, IC3 will focus on three main areas to underpin more effective and
collaborative ways of working that lead to better outcomes for businesses,
occupants, society, and the environment.
It will transform the way buildings are procured to ensure
lifetime value in social and environmental terms rather than lowest cost, and
implement recommendations from the post-Grenfell Hackitt Review that stipulate
all buildings must have up-to-date digital records to ensure assurance and
traceability, and ultimately safety. It will also improve the performance of
buildings to ensure they are sustainable, healthy and safe places to live and
work.
Rob Charlton, CEO of Space Group and co-founder
of BIM Show Live, the original show dedicated to Building Information Modelling
launched in Newcastle, said: “The North East has, for a long time, punched way
above its weight when it comes to the impact on the global construction market.
“The close proximity of key industry players has driven a unique
ecosystem here where even the biggest competitors come together to make
positive changes. But we’re at a critical stage where other destinations are
catching up, and we need a mechanism to support and boost what we have already
created.
“IC3 is the perfect vehicle for that, and now, as the industry
looks to build back better post-COVID-19, is the perfect time.”
IC3 plans to work with partners across the construction ecosystem
over the next five years to bring to life 15 demonstrator projects that
incorporate and exemplify the digital technologies and processes developed
through IC3. These will encompass a range of building projects from tourism and
leisure, to social housing and hospitals and infrastructure.
Alongside this, IC3 will provide innovation support to around 100
businesses in its first three years and will work to create up to 20 new
businesses in the same period, helping to develop new products, services,
processes, and spinouts.
The consortium will also lead on collaborative research projects
between industry and academia and will work towards reforming and revitalising
education for construction, through the creation of new programmes that will
upskill the existing workforce and inspire the next generation.
Dame Kate Barker, chair of the Strength in Places Fund panel said:
“The Strength in Places panel was pleased to recommend this bid for early stage
funding. It provides evidence of excellent research that meets business need
and great potential for collaboration, by bringing together a consortia to
contribute to increased growth and productivity in areas of local economic
activity.”
Alan Welby, Innovation Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "Congratulations to
the IC3 team in being shortlisted. This is testament to the strength of
partnership, clarity of proposition and hard work of the bid team. However, competition will be fierce among the final 17 projects shortlisted and
the next stage will require us to take our proposal to the next level. I have confidence that we can do this and that
we can develop an undeniable and compelling case for further
investment.”
The IC3 consortium is led by Northumbria University, in
partnership with Arup, BIM Academy Cundall, Dynamo North East, NBS, Newcastle
City Council, Newcastle University, North East Local Enterprise Partnership,
North Star Ventures, Ryder Architecture, Space Group, Waterstons and Womble
Bond Dickinson
Find outmore about IC3 and opportunities to get involved with the consortium.
