Collaborative Research - Better Value for Construction

A Harvard Business School professor Jeffrey Sachs recently announced in the World Economic Forum that Hong Kong has slipped to 13th place from seventh in its macro-economic competitiveness index (Pritchard, 2001). Analysis by the Construction Industry Review Committee (CIRC) also found that the average construction cost for producing high quality high-rise office buildings is some 49% more expensive than that in Singapore (CIRC, 2001). Traditionally, the industry has a fragmented structure and as a result the construction process is not conducive to the effective delivery and promotion of research and development with a client focus. What is needed is a collaborative model, which harnesses the concerted efforts between the industry and academia towards serving Hong Kong’s future needs. This paper presents a Construction Industry Institute (CII) model, which is established recently in Hong Kong to help the industry to work in collaboration with the local research community. The mission of the newly established organisation, the Construction Industry Institute, Hong Kong (CIIHK) will be discussed. Its operational model and governance structure will be described. A framework of research interests consistent with the CII mission will also be presented.