Industry Research

The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) is soliciting its membership for Research Needs Statements to advance the state of practice in integrated project delivery.  Research Needs Statements are reviewed quarterly by the Charles Pankow Foundation Board. 

Background
DBIA is partnering with the Charles Pankow Foundation (CPF) to conduct research that advances the state of practice in the design and construction industry.  The CPF research program focus is driven by the Foundation’s mission:

The Charles Pankow Foundation exists to advance innovations in building
design and construction, so as to provide the public with buildings
of improved quality, efficiency, and value.

The CPF program goals include delivering solutions in building design and construction through scientific research grants that will:

• Improve and advance methods, technologies, and tools;
• Result in research products that will benefit the public with buildings of improved quality, efficiency, and value; and
• Diffuse solutions into adoption by practitioners, for public benefit

The research topics under the DBIA/CPF Alliance will be characterized by research products that fulfill identified public needs in the area of building design and construction, and may also have application to civil engineering and public infrastructure projects.

Format for Research Needs Statement
Prospective grant applicants can develop a proposed Research Needs Statement (concise; not more than two pages) using this outline:

1. Topic
2. Background
3. Proposed research including outputs/products
4. Market need (i.e., problem to be solved)
5. Outcomes intended from research (i.e., benefits for and impacts on building design and construction)
6. Industry champion
7. Proposed grantee and expert(s) to conduct the research
8. Co-funding sources identified
9. Estimated cost of research (even if a range)

General Notes on the DBIA/CPF Alliance
Proposed research projects must meet the following criteria:

• Research products will constitute innovative solutions that have broad applicability for public benefit;
• Conducting the research necessitates advanced professional skill to direct a project that results in demonstrable truths using scientific methods of observation, experimentation, or reasoning;
• The project must not comprise, other than as an insubstantial or incidental part, ordinary or routine testing or inspection of materials or products;
• Research results must be published so as to be available to the interested public on a timely basis, and
• The grant recipient must agree that intellectual property rights arising from the research project will enter the public domain.

The Foundation awards research grants to qualified non-profit entities. As an exception, for-profit entities may qualify for grant awards under special, “Expenditure Responsibility” provisions. All products of CPF research grants must be made available in the public domain without restriction. A project budget need not be included in the Research Needs Statement, but would be requested in a subsequent CPF Request for Proposal.

For an overview of CPF's "Goal-Based Research Strategy," click here.

To submit a Research Needs Statements contact: 

   Susan Hines
   Design-Build Institute of America
   1100 H Street NW, Suite 500
   Washington, DC 20005-5476
   shines@dbia.org

BIM Report Illustrates Growing Demand

McGraw-Hill construction released its Building Information Modeling (BIM) SmartMarket report Dec. 2, which reveals increased demand for digital models and training. With contributions from DBIA, the report shows enthusiasm for BIM among architects, engineers, contractors and owners.

According to the report, BIM use will increase substantially in 2009. Illustrating this trend, 45 percent of BIM users in the report said they use BIM at moderate or higher levels. In 2009, more than 60 percent of BIM users will use BIM on more than 30 percent of their projects.

“BIM is quickly becoming the gold standard by which firms do work,” said Steve Jones, report author and senior director of business development at McGraw-Hill Construction. “It is a notable differentiator among competitors, a time-saver, and a cost-reducer. BIM dramatically shifts businesses’ productivity and ROI. This is why we are seeing such rapid growth.”

For more information and to access the report, visit 2008 McGraw-Hill BIM Smart Market Report 

Other Resources

DBIA promotes ongoing educational and scientific research to stimulate the development of new knowledge, information, programs, and products to help address future trends in integrated design and construction processes and their impact on high performance design and construction.

Various studies are available to illustrate the current use of design-build and the current best practices in design and construction.

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology:Thomas, Stephen R., Macken, Candace L., Chung, Tae Hwan, and Kim, Inho, Measuring the Impacts of the Delivery System on Project Performance-Design-Build and Design-Bid-Build (pdf) (2002)
• Federal Highways Design-Build Effectiveness Study (2006)
• Water Design-Build Council, "Independent Comparative Evaluation of Design-Build v. Conventional Design-Bid-Build Project Delivery for Municipal Water and Wastewater Facilities" (Summary Report, 2009)