i-BUILD: Infrastructure BUsiness models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery

Completed

Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Energy system analysis)
Not Energy Related
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)

Basic and strategic applied research

SOCIAL SCIENCES (Business and Management Studies)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Politics and International Studies)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Civil Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)

Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation)

Dr RJ Dawson
Civil Engineering and Geosciences
Newcastle University

Standard

EPSRC

01 August 2013

31 March 2018

56 months

£3,567,862

Energy

North East

LWEC : LWEC

Dr RJ Dawson, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University

Professor CJ Baker, Infra. Engineering & Management, University of Birmingham
Professor PT Blythe, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University
Professor D Bower, Civil Engineering, University of Leeds
Professor N Brookes, Civil Engineering, University of Leeds
Prof A Brown, Leeds University Business School (LUBS), University of Leeds
Professor JR Bryson, Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences, University of Birmingham
Professor J Coaffee, Centre for Interdisc. Methodologies, University of Warwick
Dr TJ Foxon, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Mr GD Garrod, Agriculture Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University
Professor S Glendinning, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University
Professor A Gouldson, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr I Jefferson, Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham
Dr N Metje, Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham
Professor A Pike, Geography Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University
Dr P Purnell, Civil Engineering, University of Leeds
Dr AD Quinn, Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham
Professor CDF Rogers, Infra. Engineering & Management, University of Birmingham
Dr D Spencer, Leeds University Business School (LUBS), University of Leeds
Dr J K Steinberger, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr N Thorpe, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University
Professor MR Tight, Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham
Professor J Tomaney, Bartlett Sch of Planning, University College London
Dr S Wilkinson, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University

Project Contact, Malvern Hills District Council
Project Contact, Newcastle Science Central
Project Contact, Ove Arup & Partners Ltd
Project Contact, Balfour Beatty Plc
Project Contact, Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network
Project Contact, Marine Scotland Science
Project Contact, Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
Project Contact, University of Salford
Project Contact, National Underground Assets Group Ltd
Project Contact, Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
Project Contact, National Grid plc
Project Contact, Price Waterhouse Coopers
Project Contact, Worcestershire County Council
Project Contact, University of Padua (Padova), Italy
Project Contact, Climate KIC UK
Project Contact, NEL Fund Managers
Project Contact, Halcrow Group Ltd
Project Contact, Newcastle City Council
Project Contact, Carillion Plc
Project Contact, North East Local Enterprise Partnership
Project Contact, Tipping Point
Project Contact, Birmingham City Council
Project Contact, Pipeline Industries Guild
Project Contact, Network Rail Ltd
Project Contact, UK Water Industry Research Ltd (UKWIR)
Project Contact, The Northern School of Art
Project Contact, Leeds City Council
Project Contact, Atkins
Project Contact, Building Research Establishment (BRE) Limited

Our national infrastructure - the systems of infrastructure networks (e.g. energy, water, transport, waste, ICT) that support services such as healthcare, education, emergency response and thereby ensure our social, economic and environmental wellbeing - faces a multitude of challenges. A growing population, modern economy and proliferation of new technologies have placed increased and new demands on infrastructure services and made infrastructure networks increasingly inter-connected. Meanwhile, investment has not kept up with the pace of change leaving many components at the end of their life. Moreover, global environmental change necessitates reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved resilience to extreme events, implying major reconfigurations of these infrastructure systems. Addressing these challenges is further complicated by fragmented, often reactive, regulation and governance arrangements. Existing business models are considered by the Treasury Select Committee to provide poor value but few proven alternative models exist for mobilising finance, particularly in the current economic climate.Continued delivery of our civil infrastructure, particularly given current financial constraints, will require innovative and integrated thinking across engineering, economic and social sciences. If the process of addressing these issues is to take place efficiently, whilst also minimising associated risks, it will need to be underpinned by an appropriate multi-disciplinary approach that brings together engineering, economic and social science expertise to understand infrastructure financing, valuation and interdependencies under a range of possible futures. The evidence that must form the basis for such a strategic approach does not yet exist. However, evidence alone will be insufficient, so we therefore propose to establish a Centre of excellence, i-BUILD, that will bring together three UK universities with world-leading track records in engineering, economics and social sciences; a portfolio of pioneering inter-disciplinary research; and the research vision and capacity to deliver a multi-disciplinary analysis of innovative business models around infrastructure interdependencies.While national scale plans, projects and procedures set the wider agenda, it is at the scale of neighbourhoods, towns and cities that infrastructure is most dense and interdependencies between infrastructures, economies and society are most profound - this is where our bid is focussed. Balancing growth across regions and scales is crucial to the success of the national economy. Moreover, the localism agenda is encouraging local agents to develop new infrastructure related business but these are limited by the lack of robust new business models with which to do so at the local and urban scale. These new business models can only arise from a step change in the cost-benefit ratio for infrastructure delivery which we will achieve by:(i) reducing the costs of infrastructure delivery by understanding interdependencies and alternative finance models,(ii) improving valuation of infrastructure benefits by identifying and exploiting the social, environmental and economic opportunities, and,(iii) reconciling national and local priorities. The i-BUILD centre will deliver these advances through development of a new generation of value analysis tools, interdependency models and multi-scale implementation plans. These methods will be tested on integrative case studies that are co-created with an extensive stakeholder group, to provide demonstrations of new methods that will enable a revolution in the business of infrastructure delivery in the UK. Funding for a Centre provides the opportunity to work flexibly with partners in industry, local and national government to address a research challenge of national and international importance, whilst becoming an international landmark programme recognised for novelty, research excellence and impact

26/09/13