Good thinking and poor value: On the socialization of knowledge in construction

Chapter 7 of the Pearce Report (2003) elaborates succinctly on the role that technical progress should fulfil within a construction sector committed to the sustainable generation of social and economic value. Caught between technological macro-analysis and policy-steering objectives, and possibly overwhelmed by the difficulty of treating the subject within the limited scope of the report and time available, the chapter offers a few aggregate industrial data and some commendable, albeit generic, recommendations about innovation. Yet, as part of work conceived under the aegis of a strategic and development initiative, the chapter underplays the opportunity of highlighting two issues that have and should condition the policy debate on construction innovation in the future. The first issue is concerned with the project-based nature of the sector and its consequent ability to spur or thwart change. The second involves the definition or indication of practical institutional strategies that can trigger the changes foreseen or promoted within such a context. Based on this critique, a rationale is developed in the present paper for the strategic creation of technical progress by drawing attention to two specific elements: (1) the cost-benefit equation in the generation of new knowledge, and (2) the possible qualitative distribution of research investment opportunities in the industry. It is shown that although construction-related innovation and project-based innovation are naturally connected, a critical difference exists between the two. For the latter to develop and have an impact on the industry, both political support and wilful patronage are required.