Transforming Construction Network Plus (N+)

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The purpose of the Network Plus (N+) is to create a new community of researchers and a body of knowledge to inform future construction policy and practice. The N+ is one of the investments within the Transforming Construction Challenge (TCC), a programme supported by the UK government's Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The overall aim of these investments is to transform the way the construction and built environment sector operates. Within this, the N+ focuses on supporting research that takes a holistic approach, which means thinking of construction as a production 'system' for built assets that adds value to cities and their infrastructures. Transforming design, construction and operation of buildings is a problem that demands input from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, which is why major, coordinated investments are being made through the TCC. Within this, the research supported through the N+ 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 N+ will address a future in which the UK designs, constructs and operates buildings by realising the potential for integrating advanced offsite manufacturing with state-of-the-art digital design and energy generation and storage technologies. By exploring and synthesising knowledge of how people and communities experience and interact with the built environment, N+ will foster new approaches to the provision of inspiring buildings that give rise to greater user satisfaction and productivity. Our ambition is that the N+ should help transform the way buildings are designed, built, powered, managed, and used in the future. The N+ will bring academics together, with industry and policy representatives, through networking activities (such as workshops and conferences) and skills-building events. It will issue two open calls for small research projects, funding up to 20 academic-led and user-inspired projects to generate new research findings. Academics from a range of disciplines will take part and work together with users, as project partners, to develop new ideas for transforming construction. Multidisciplinary research is to be expected (i.e. researchers from different disciplines working together), but interdisciplinary enquiry will be preferred and actively encouraged (where enquiry is problem-focused, and uncoupled from disciplinary norms). The N+ will be particularly mindful of the needs of early and mid-career researchers, because supporting them helps to create a community of collaborative thinkers for the future. It will liaise with other major initiatives, such as the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC), with its complementary brief to advance the science and engineering of the wider infrastructure and cities context. Opportunities to engage with the N+ include participation in the small projects, attendance at events (organised by the N+ and other TCC projects); web and printed media will be used to disseminate ideas, calls and project results. Those who are not involved in the small projects will still be able to access the N+ events, website, research digests, workshops and conferences. Particular effort will be made to broaden the range of disciplines that typically participate in research on the construction industry, and the N+ will support those who seek new types of engagement with users. A dedicated team of researchers will capture data from leading practice, to extend understanding of the regional innovation systems involved and conduct review that will not only lead to high-quality academic outputs, but will also be summarised in easy-to-digest summaries, with support from the N+ team.