Role of academic research in sustainable construction practice

Abstract

Higher education is becoming a major driver of economic competitiveness in an increasingly knowledge-driven global economy. A university is a scholarly organism committed to inquiry, investigation and discovery at all levels with an embedded symbiotic relationship between teaching, research and practice. In addition to the primary duty of delivering good quality teaching, universities have another key responsibility: that is to add new knowledge to the wider society through research. Furthermore, the outcome of the research should serve educational needs and the development of the region and its economy. The construction industry being one of the important industries in the economy, it's stakeholders need to adapt complex and changing conditions continuously to sustain and proliferate through innovation. Research and Development acts as a valuable input for the construction organisations innovation in many ways. Therefore, it is important to move beyond the traditional practices in the construction industry to adopt sustainable construction practices arising from research and development activities. This paper argues that the research conducted by university academics in the built environment discipline should be directed towards this industry need of sustainable construction practices. Within this context, the aim of the study is to address the role of academic research in sustainable construction practice. A comprehensive literature survey was conducted through referring to refereed published material in the related area. Study revealed that academic research can play a major role in developing sustainable practices in construction. The paper reports only the findings of the literature review. Field study will be done using case study approach to explore the actual situation in Sri Lankan context.