HERA has been impressed by the number and calibre of interest from sector participants in joining the Industry Advisory Group (IAG) for our MBIE Endeavour funded project titled “Developing a Construction 4.0 transformation of the Aotearoa New Zealand Construction sector”.
Within 2 hours of publicly posting the call for expressions of interest, we had received four applications! We see this as demonstration of strong interest in transformation from amongst a broad range of participants within the sector. Today, we announce the appointment of members of the IAG, all of whom contribute to a diverse advisory group with broad representation across the sector, as well as a commitment to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and protecting Mātauranga Māori, all key requirements of our project.
The objectives of the IAG are to support the research team by:
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providing ongoing research direction from an industry/sector need and relevance perspective;
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providing advice to ensure that the research outcomes will be relevant to the industry/sector;
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identifying impediments to industry/sector adoption of the research outcomes;
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providing advice to ensure that the research outcomes will deliver the desired impacts; and
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identifying opportunities for broader industry/sector engagement and adoption of research outcomes.
IAG members have the following responsibilities:
- providing feedback on research initiatives, direction, outcomes in terms of industry/sector relevance;
- identifying improvement ideas and opportunities to ensure the research outcomes are industry/sector relevant;
- providing direction on industry/sector trends, barriers to research outcomes being adopted;
- acting as a conduit to broader industry/sector input and engagement;
- supporting the use of the Construction4.0Hub as a repository for relevant research, publications etc;
- identifying areas where the industry/sector will require related training and identifying appropriate mechanisms for that delivery;
- broadly disseminating research outcomes for the benefit of the industry/sector more broadly; and
- identifying and linking in any related initiatives.
We congratulate all who have been appointed and look forward to working with them on this project. The first meeting of the IAG is scheduled for May.