This year’s CSIC Partner Strategy Day brought together partners and academics to identify and discuss pressing industry challenges that CSIC’s future research agenda will seek to address.
Robinson College hosted the fully-booked event, which attracted 30 partners from across infrastructure and construction organisations and focused on issues relating to global challenges, climate change, resilience and resource scarcity. The Partner Strategy Day took the form of round table discussions and comprised three separate sessions, each dedicated to a different topic:
- Session 1
Looking 20 years into the future and in the context of global challenges (climate change, resource scarcity, ageing infrastructure, climate shocks), how do you think the infrastructure and construction industry should/will have to operate? What are the gaps in the way we currently deliver, manage and operate infrastructure in the context of these global challenges which will prevent the industry from reaching this vision? - Session 2
What are your most pressing needs to enable engagement with these challenges and reach this vision? - Session 3
How can CSIC act as a catalyst for the wider industry to be bold in addressing these challenges? What are the research priorities? How does data enable better decision making in this context?
Discussion also considered the role of data as a critical tool to help address these challenges, and how future research outputs of CSIC can support Industry Partners to be ready for and respond to change.
Three short thought-leadership interventions set the scene between each session including: Dr Jennifer Schooling OBE, Director of CSIC; John Pelton, Technical Managing Director Strategic Estates Parliament; and Tim Embley, Group Research & Innovation Director, Costain.
“Our annual CSIC Strategy Day is a chance for our partner organisations – including the owners and operators of infrastructure, consultants, contractors, asset managers and the technology and information supply chain – to learn from each other’s experience and consider the industry in the light of global challenges. It is also an opportunity to identify potential collaborative projects that address real industry challenges and demonstrate the value of innovation.”
A paper will be produced from the CSIC Partner Strategy Day which will be distributed to attending partner organisations.