Carter, K (2005) ConSus: a decision support tool for the procurement of sustainable social housing. PhD thesis, Heriot-Watt University, UK.
Abstract
In terms of policy level interpretation there is a general consensus on the principal of sustainability. The UK Government has adopted the principles of sustainable development and encourages its integration into all publicly funded construction work. Social housing projects have a requirement to demonstrate sustainability, yet the people involved in their procurement have a varied understanding of the term. The research explores the interpretation of sustainability from the perspective of a housing association and develops a model of sustainability for the procurement of social housing. A grounded theory approach is used to explore the interpretation of sustainability in the procurement of social housing. A set of paradigm models are developed that explain the fundamental contextual issues and actions relating to sustainable development of social housing. The findings are confirmed by a national survey of the social housing sector that provides a snapshot of the industry. This confirms that a gap exists between policy and practice and highlights a need for a structured approach to delivering sustainability in a building project. A mixed methodology is used to develop a framework for stakeholders to reach consensus on sustainability in the procurement system. Based on the Delphi method, ConSus, is a web-based decision support tool enabling the explicit integration of sustainability into the procurement process. This approach provides a practical tool for use in the social housing sector.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | grounded theory; government; housing projects; integration; policy; sustainable development; stakeholders; decision support; sustainability |
| Index terms: | housing association, methodology, integration, sustainable development, housing project, procurement process, decision support, social housing, paradigm, construction work, procurement system, grounded theory, Delphi method, national survey |
| Subjects: | institutional client, operations management, research products and data, contractual arrangements, data collection methods, housing and residential development, organizational analysis, decision analysis, theoretical framing, education and knowledge transfer, research methods, health safety and environment |
| Topics: | Procurement, Risk Management, Project Management, Health and Safety, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here