Bringing the Information Management Initiative (IMI) to life
As a digital leader the benefits of BIM were immediately obvious, but articulating the benefits in a way that made sense to a wider construction business was a
challenge to say the least, recalls Kevin Reeves, MD of KJR Digital, Digital Lead of the Construction Leadership Council, and a member of the IMI advisory board. On 4 June 2026 at Digital Construction Week, Kevin will describe how organisations can direct their IM activities to achieve some quick wins, satisfy both business and project outcomes, and equip themselves to work in a sector increasingly embracing industrialised construction.
I was first introduced to Building Information Modelling (BIM) back in 2012 during my tenure at Costain, who were an early adopter of the emerging PAS 1192 standard across several major UK programmes. As a digital leader the benefits were immediately obvious to me. However, being able to articulate the benefits in a way that made sense to the wider construction business was a challenge to say the least.
As time progressed and value was demonstrated through various trials, information
management (IM) emerged as a core capability, with dedicated BIM roles being posted across the majority of infrastructure projects (water, energy, transport and defence). The UK Government mandate in 2016 further strengthened the need for robust information management, and made justifying the investment case to budget holders a little easier.
If we fast forward to today, reports from a wide range of organisations paint a mixed picture. The annual NBS digital construction reports (the 2025 edition, for example) have repeatedly highlighted that, while digital adoption and understanding across major infrastructure programmes and Tier 1 contractors is strong, wider adoption across the construction sector and in particular among SMEs lags behind.
Within the Construction Leadership Council we recognised that more work is needed
to build on the success of the original mandate. Rather than UK Government issue
another mandate, it was agreed that industry is best placed to accelerate adoption of the now international ISO 19650 standards.
As a result the Information Management Initiative (IMI) was launched in November 2024, seeking to help organisations – big and small – to realise the benefits from good information management, with the IMI being led by industry for industry. This is no small feat given the size of the sector. We must be able to articulate the why, what and how of IM in a way that is relatable and helps individuals, as well as organisations, understand the value to them. The best way to spread the message is through community and this what the IMI represents: a safe, collaborative space for people to come together
and learn as a collective.
The last 12 years have highlighted the transformative value of good IM. Now we must come together to create shared value across our wonderful sector, setting the foundation for generations to come.
