Merging academic research and construction industry development requirements : a conceptual framework

Academic research in built environment consists of cognitive and affective, as well as behavioural components. There is a broad consensus in the literature that successful communication between researchers and research users is crucial for the effective utilisation of research in decision-making in policy and practice. It is argued that academic researchers and the construction industry practitioners do not collaborate closely in construction sector. The need for sharing knowledge between research institutions and industry has become increasingly evident in recent years. Therefore this study aims to uncover the strategies in merging academic research with industry development requirements where this paper presents the literature review findings in a form of a conceptual framework. The importance of transfer, barriers for transfer and way forward to both academia and construction industry is presented within the framework with highlighted inter-relationships. The framework will be developed into a model after analysing findings of a field study which is to be conducted in the future with the use of Delphi technique. In that, the model will be validated with an expert survey where the panel includes both the academics and industry practitioners. Results of the study therefore are expected to serve both academia and industry in merging their interests towards the development of the sector.