Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program

About the program

The Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program recognizes that digitalization can increase productivity in the construction sector and that performance-based design and building requirements help drive innovation. The program aims to apply these 2 underlying concepts to support the Government of Canada's Policy for Green Procurement and contribute to the emerging low-carbon economy. The program includes:

• Performing initial research to support the implementation of performance-based construction codes
• Developing a roadmap to help guide the digitalization of the construction sector
• Performing R&D to encourage greater environmental and productivity benefits from modular low-carbon solutions
• Performing R&D to support the development of digital portals for submitting electronic building plans and permits and to support virtual inspections

Areas of focus

Working with the best Canadian and international partners from academia, industry and government as well as other interested stakeholders, the program focuses on 3 key areas in the construction sector:

• Accelerating innovation through performance-based regulation
• Digitalization of construction processes
• Accelerating low-carbon solutions and retrofits through advanced construction practices

Collaborative projects will be defined under each key area as they are developed further.

Collaborate with us

If you're a professional from the academic, public, not-for-profit or private sector or from an Indigenous government or organization, we invite you to express your interest in working with us. We are seeking collaborators with research expertise in performance-based codes, building information management, e‑permitting, virtual inspections, modular construction and advanced manufacturing methods, including the use of artificial intelligence.

There are a number of ways to collaborate, including:

• Eligible collaborators who offer complementary expertise: Grant and contribution funding may be made available through the NRC's National Program Office, which may include collaborative R&D funding or for equipment needed for research.
• Firms interested in business innovation and technology development: Collaborative one-on-one or multi-party agreements to facilitate targeted R&D activities designed to produce outputs to help firms increase competitiveness and commercialize IP.
• Firms and stakeholders interested in assessing and de‑risking innovative technologies and construction methods: Validation testing and demonstration projects in laboratory and in situ settings to objectively support adoption of novel solutions by the construction sector.