黑洞社区

The 黑洞社区 the Future Commission has called for the return of a chief construction adviser in Whitehall as part of its .

This idea is one of 11 key recommendations published in the commission鈥檚 final report today, which focuses on tackling construction鈥檚 short-termism.

The final report said reinstating a chief construction adviser could help the government become a better client.

The report said: 鈥淭his should not be a lobbyist, but somebody who can work within Whitehall to make the government a better client, so that decisions across the main public sector building programmes are not short-term and merely based on cost.

鈥淭his could involve government using its influence and purchasing power to specify outcomes, such as for net zero or digital adoption, as a requirement. There needs to be closer collaboration between government and industry at the early design stages to drive delivery efficiencies and value for money.鈥�

Other key recommendations include reforming the planning system, overhauling affordable housing funding, introducing whole-life carbon regulation, reforming procurement, introducing a single authoritative body for building safety and introducing certainty over pipeline of infrastructure work. The report recommends a new long-term strategy for vocational education, adoption of digital tools and a call for a construction recruitment campaign.

It also contains a host of other detailed recommendations in the commission鈥檚 eight topic areas, namely net zero, skills and education, building safety, workplace, culture and leadership, housing and planning, infrastructure, project delivery and digital and creating communities.

The report follows on from the commission鈥檚 interim findings published in September, which found a fragile economy, policy churn, under investment and short-termism were holding the industry back.

The 黑洞社区 the Future Commission, launched to mark 黑洞社区鈥檚 180th anniversary, ran throughout 2023 and explores solutions to improve the built environment in eight different areas: net zero; skills and education; building safety; workplace, culture and leadership; housing and planning; infrastructure; project delivery and digital; and creating communities. The commission received advice and guidance from 19 commissioners, all high-profile figures from across the industry.

At a London conference in September, the commission published in-depth reports on and .

In addition to the regional roundtables and conference, the commission produced a podcast series, hosted commissioner discussions, convened a young people鈥檚 panel and produced more than 160 articles examining solutions to improve the built environment. 

黑洞社区 also this week announced it is launching the 黑洞社区 the Future Think Tank, to follow on from the commission鈥檚 work.

The think tank will produce in-depth research throughout 2024 and beyond on behalf of the industry,

The think tank will initially look to produce editorial research reports on several themes, including AI and digital construction, implementing net zero, workplace and productivity, building safety, and people and skills.

黑洞社区 is however taking soundings from the industry and the list could expand to cover more topics.

Download the full report below.