Constructing Futures: Industry leaders and futures thinking in construction

There is growing interest in future scenario planning of the construction industry but a disconnect between thinking about the future at the policy-making level and implementing real change. Constructing Futures: industry leaders and futures thinking in construction takes a thematic approach to the future of the UK construction industry by presenting the results of a series of in-depth interviews conducted with leading construction figures and structuring this material into chapters addressing the key contemporary issues in the industry. These high-profile figures are drawn from a wide range of stakeholder groups representing the realities of construction, including architects, client organisations (public-sector and private-sector), consultants, contractors, developers, lobby groups with special interests, policy makers, professional institutions, and trade unions. A total of 15 influential figures were interviewed for the book, from Sir Michael Latham and Bob White to Wayne Hemmingway and Kevin McCloud. Part One looks to the past by reviewing a series of foresight studies undertaken of the construction industry and re-presenting stories of our interviewees' lives to explain the development of leadership in the context of the construction industry. In Part Two, the authors look at the present and discuss two fundamental issues: sustainable development and governance of the construction industry. In Part Three the book concludes with an afterthought for the future, highlighting key lessons learnt putting forward a series of research questions derived from this scholarly reflection of 'futures thinking' in construction. Throughout, the authors juxtapose the views of the 15 influential figures interviewed with a review of the salient points found in the relevant and authoritative sources of theoretical literature, both in the mainstream literature and the field of construction management. This allows the reader to benefit from the practical insights of those interviews whilst gaining a rapid understanding of the key debates of the theoretical subject under scrutiny.

Table of Contents:
About the authors xi Preface xiii Part 1 Tracing the past 1 1 Introducing foresight in construction: exploring the missing link of personalising futures thinking 3 Chapter summary 3 Setting the ‘scene’ 4 Construction foresight studies 7 The ‘future’ agendas since the Second World War 7 Contemporary foresight reports at the turn of the century 9 Synthesis of critical trends and implications from the foresight reports 16 Critical appraisal of foresight studies 17 A note on the methodology 22 The structure of the book 24 Part 1: Tracing the past 24 Part 2: Eliciting the future 24 Part 3: Towards an afterthought 25 2 Influential people in the UK construction industry: what makes leadership in construction? 26 Chapter summary 26 Introduction 27 Leadership theories and application in construction 28 Development of leadership theories 28 Application of leadership theories in construction management research 30 Looking forward but learning from the past 30 So what makes a ‘leader’ in construction? 31 Critical antecedent: people 31 Critical antecedent: place 34 Critical antecedent: events 35 To be or not to be? The age-old question of nature and nurture 37 Closing thoughts 41 Part 2 Eliciting the future 45 3 Developing a sustainable future: theoretical and practical insights into sustainable development 47 Chapter summary 47 Introduction 49 Connecting people, profits and planet: the rise of the sustainability agenda 50 Interactions between people and places 51 Role of political leaders and infrastructure development 58 Industry response to the sustainable development agenda 68 Role of education and research 70 Summing up the thoughts of our leading figures 75 Sustainability: definitions and perspectives 78 Man-made capital: problems with an output-driven model 78 Human capital: the rhetoric versus reality of investing in people 81 Natural capital: consensus gained or paradise lost 86 Social capital: building trust and sustainable communities 94 The measurement problem: are efforts towards sustainable development doomed to fail? 100 Closing thoughts 102 4 Connecting up government, corporate and community stakeholders in governing the future of the construction industry 105 Chapter summary 105 Introduction 107 Governance of the industry: seeking an institutionally coordinated response to meet the challenges of the future 108 Think global act local 109 The changing role of government: relinquishing control to the private sector 115 Public–private interface 122 People and managing relationships in construction 128 Bringing interactions to the fore: exploring the intersections between government, corporate and community actors 140 Shifting perspectives of governance 142 Political governance: governance without government 143 Corporate governance: the rise of corporate social responsibility 145 Community governance: revisiting social capital 147 The need for joined-up governance 150 Governance in construction: the trends of privatisation and community engagement 155 The relationship between government and construction 155 Structure of the industry 161 Changing landscape of professionalism 165 Connecting political, corporate and community governance in construction: the importance of human relations 172 Closing thoughts 173 Part 3 Towards an afterthought 177 5 The last word: synthesising lessons learnt from the journeys... 179 Chapter summary 179 Introduction 180 Recap on previous chapters 181 Leadership as an emergent process: moving away from individualistic notions of leadership in construction 181 The missing social link of sustainable development 182 The aspirations of joined-up governance 182 Key conclusions 183 Futures thinking as emergent thinking 183 Disrupting boundaries: the age of hybrids 184 Tensions, ambiguities and paradoxes 185 Knowledge gaps to frame the research and practice agenda of the future 187 Epilogue 187 Appendix: Brief biographies of influential figures interviewed 189 Alan Ritchie 189 Bob White 189 Chris Blythe 190 Chris Luebkeman 190 George Ferguson 190 Guy Hazelhurst 190 Jon Rouse 191 Kenneth Yeang 191 Kevin McCloud 191 Nick Raynsford 192 Sandi Rhys Jones 192 Sir Michael Latham 192 Stef Stefanou 193 Tom Bloxham 193 Wayne Hemingway 194 Notes and references 195 Index 219

About the Author :
ABOUT THE AUTHORS Paul Chan, Lecturer in Project Management, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, UK Rachel Cooper, Professor of Design Management, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, University of Lancaster, UK

Review :
“Overall, I found this book to provide useful insights into the past and present issues faced by the construction industry, and feel that the authors have indeed succeeded in their intention to ‘initiate a first step in providing a more scholarly reflection to the journey of constructing a future for the construction industry.”  (Construction Management and Economics, 6 April 2012) "This academic treatise on the state of the construction industry synthesizes the thoughts and experiences of fifteen influential actors in the UK building community to present a fresh look at future research topics in project management. Divided into three sections dealing with the past, the present and the future, the work covers such topics as foresight in construction planning, leadership traits in construction, sustainability, balancing the needs of development stakeholders and directions for future studies. An appendix provides a brief biography of each of the construction leaders interviewed for this work." (Reference and Research Book News, February 2011) "For those new to the industry, or wanting an overview, it will provide a useful summary of the some of the key issues - leadership, sustainability, and governance. The first chapter also provides a useful review of recent forsight studies and this is recommended as a reference source for anyone working on long term planning." (Competitive Advantage Consultancy Limited, January 2011)