Liverpool has been selected as the first pilot area for an £85 million national programme focused on construction productivity and delivery methods. The Industrialising and Digitalising Construction Challenge will test new approaches to building housing and public infrastructure.
The initiative will be delivered through a partnership between Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and High Value Manufacturing Catapult, with funding from the UK Research and Innovation R&D Missions Accelerator Programme.
Programme objectives
The pilot will test standardised components, digital coordination and manufacturing-led processes in construction. Two social housing schemes operated by Onward Homes and Torus Developments will serve as testing grounds, with results intended to inform a national model.
The findings will also be applied to assess broader public sector construction applications, including schools, hospitals and prisons.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Having started my own career as a bricklayer, I understand first-hand the pressures facing the construction sector. But to deliver on the government’s mission to get Britain building again, it needs to adapt with the times.”
Economic impact
The construction sector currently operates at a productivity level approximately 23% below the national average. Analysis indicates that closing this productivity gap could generate up to £27 billion in additional economic output and support up to 380,000 jobs over time.
The programme represents the largest initiative within the R&D Missions Accelerator Programme Growth Mission. Its stated aims include improving build times, reducing waste, increasing cost certainty on publicly funded projects, enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability, strengthening domestic supply chains, and supporting higher-skilled employment.
Lord Vallance, UK Science Minister, said: “The digital technologies and manufacturing methods developed here will help us speed up how we can build more homes, schools, and hospitals right across the UK.”
Katherine Bennett, CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, said: “By bringing together manufacturers, housing providers and public clients around shared standards and clearer demand signals, we can give industry the confidence to invest and expand capacity.”
The pilot programme will provide data on whether industrialised construction methods can be scaled nationally across both residential and public infrastructure projects.
