Strategic planning for building research-a process oriented methodology

This paper explains and discusses the development of a strategic plan for the management of research in building in a planning horizon of 8-10 years. The plan has three major elements: (1) a knowledge base with ranked long range research needs in each discipline; (2) a second base which defines the main objectives of the building sector and the major interdisciplinary problems that must be solved in order to attain them; and (3) the procedures to be followed in order to initiate and carry out an annual research program in view of the strategic plan and the current information maintained in the two bases. This paper dwells first on the special features of research as a knowledge building and problem solving tool, and then describes the process of the actual development of the strategic plan for building research in Israel, including the construction of the knowledge bases and the generation of the annual research programs. Special attention is given to the objectivity and accountability of the process.