Many practices are aware of the tax credits for research and development (R&D) that they may be entitled to. However, architects are much more reticent in applying for the research funding available from the UK government, charities and institutions than their peers in other sectors of the built environment.
The government’s Transforming Construction initiative recently opened two major R&D funding programmes. The larger of the two has a total of £26m to invest in ‘demonstrator projects’ that set new benchmarks for productivity, quality and performance for the UK construction industry. To be eligible, the project’s total costs must be between £500,000 and £8 million.
The funding criteria state that a project should advance modern methods of construction (MMC) or digitisation of design and construction, providing new business models and new approaches to whole-life performance.
It is seeking state-of-the-art developments ‘at scale’: successful proposals are likely to be for projects at the market-ready stage or close to it. This funding is entitled ‘demonstrator projects’ for a reason: it is more for proposals that can provide ‘proof of concept’ in a live demonstration than those that require significant laboratory-level development.
The parallel competition is ‘Transforming UK construction round 2: MMC, digital and whole-life performance’. It is arguably of more interest to practices as it is a collaborative research and development (CR&D) fund, and is open to everyone from micro-businesses to leading design and construction firms. Eligible project costs must be between £150,000 and £1.5 million.
To be eligible, projects must focus on one or more of five themes:
- digital information management, tools, systems and standards
- MMC and platform-based approaches
- whole-life asset performance, including active buildings
- business models, procurement, analytics, benchmarking and metrics
- financial, assurance, warranty and lending products
Innovate UK’s head of construction, Simon Hart, is keen to stress that assessors are looking for projects that sit within the wider context of construction research, and which build on or link with other research projects that are ongoing or completed. There is a video recording of Innovate UK’s briefing which provides more details.
Applicants have a lot of reading to do, Hart said. Where appropriate, links should be made with objectives set out in the Transforming Infrastructure Performance (TIP) or Transport Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy (TIES) strategies. He also points out the MMC Working Group: Developing a Definition Framework report.
Headline objectives of the government’s strategy for construction include halving the energy use of new buildings by 2030; delivering new construction assets at a third of the cost (and significantly quicker); and providing assets that are cheaper to run, smarter and safer.
Hart points out that CR&D applications must involve collaborations; single company bids simply will not be eligible. It is worth noting that project partners can include non-UK businesses, with their costs counting towards eligible project costs.
Such CR&D projects must demonstrate that they already have investment in place (beyond any Innovate UK award), but small and micro-practices can receive a higher proportion of cost reimbursement than large companies.
Helen Taylor, Director of Practice at Scott Brownrigg, says the practice has been developing three potential proposals, two of which might be ‘demonstrator projects’, although she anticipates that these will probably be whittled down to one.
They are collaborating with Oxford Brookes University, with whom the practice already has a strong relationship developing architecture apprenticeships.
Applications must provide evidence of project investment upfront, with a proportion of costs being reimbursed later (on a sliding scale between pure research and practical application).
Scott Brownrigg are therefore approaching the application process much like a fee proposal that must be costed. Taylor adds that she believes future R&D tax credits can be part of the equation. Keeping in mind the emphasis on collaboration, Taylor is anticipating that a collaboration involving a client, a university and an SME will offer them the best chance of success.
Hart stresses that applicants should above all consider ‘linkage’ with broader programmes of themed research. He is encouraging all potential applicants to liaise with research umbrella groups such as the platform-focused Construction Innovation Hub, the Active Building Centre, and for infrastructure i3P.
Not only are these organisations good sources of information about what research projects are already out there within relevant themes, they may also be able to suggest collaborators with similar interests.
Closing dates: 30 October 2019 for C&RD proposals; 6 November 2019 for demonstrator projects.
Simon Hart will give a presentation explaining the two Transforming Construction competitions at this year's RIBA Smart Practice: New Ways of Working conference on 1 October 2019, at the RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD. Tickets are still available.
Thanks to Helen Taylor, Director of Practice, Scott Brownrigg; and Simon Hart, Head of Construction, Innovate UK.
Text by Neal Morris. This is a Professional Feature edited by the RIBA Practice team. Send us your feedback and ideas
RIBA Core Curriculum Topic: Design, construction and technology.
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Posted on 26 September 2019.
