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If we want to involve communities in the production of their built environments, we need to rethink the relationships between providers, contractors, clients, and community groups. This project addresses the need to develop new types of contracts and procurement pathways that manage risks and promote social value in housebuilding, ensuring quality and clear responsibilities in areas such as liability, quality control, valuation, health and safety, to name a few. We are working with a network of partners in the development of a novel contractual framework to safely promote community participation in the delivery of their own built environments.

There is abundance of data and technologies available for the climate transition. A key shift to stimulate their implementation is, however, the need to upgrade contracting and procurement strategies that leverage the opportunities offered by the digital and green transitions. For example, by promoting the participation of communities in the production of their built environments, we can speculate a higher degree of pride and engagement with their neighbourhoods, the creation of upskilling and employment opportunity, or the creation of local social networking and neighbourhood cohesion opportunities.

At the moment, however, typical contracts do not allow for community engagement. This could generate health and safety risks, the need for oversight and additional planning, or additional expenses necessary to upskill or train members of the community. We hypothesise that, however, new contractual frameworks focused on social value and place-based principles could provide a relevant direction of travel for more socially-aware and participatory built environments.