Industry insiders have confirmed that the Cabinet Office is preparing an update to the 2011 Government Construction Strategy, the document which first established the 2016 BIM mandate.
However, the same industry sources have said they know very little about the plans, and one commented that he “wasn’t expecting it to be the biggest show in town”.
He added: “There’s been very little engagement with the industry.”
And a senior figure in industry BIM circles told BIM+ that he was unaware that the document was being prepared.
A report in Building magazine last week suggested that the updated document would address “improving client skills, tackling industry skills shortages and further adoption of BIM”.
Apparently, the document could be published as soon as this week – possibly following the Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday (25 November) – or shortly afterwards.
Building says that Cabinet Office minister Nick Hancock will take responsibility for delivering the updated strategy, as the government’s chief construction adviser Peter Hansford has already come to the end of his tenure.
The Government Construction Strategy 2011 was instigated by the former chief construction adviser, Paul Morrell. A “one year on” progress report was published in July 2012.
Meanwhile, the department of Business, Innovation and Skills remains responsible for delivering the Construction 2025 industrial strategy for construction, published in July 2013.
A spokesman for BIS, which funds the BIM Task Group, said that it was not involved in the Cabinet Office project.
Picture: Cabinet Office, Whitehall, London, UK – by Smuconlaw (Wikipedia)
