CLC biennial review provides an IMI update

A new March 2026 report sets out the Construction Leadership Council‘s key priorities for 2026 and details the progress made during 2025 under each of the CLC’s four strategic pillars: building safety; net zero, resilience and circular economy; people and skills; and next generation delivery. The latter incorporates CLC’s work on digital and data, including the joint nima/CLC Information Management Initiative (IMI), while nima has also contributed to other related digital and data projects.

2025 highlights

• Establishing the Construction Skills Mission Board to support the delivery of the £625m Construction Skills Mission, and developing over 40 competency frameworks through the Industry Competence Steering Group;
• Working closely with the Building Safety Regulator, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Health and Safety Executive to implement the Building Safety Act across the industry;
• Responding to the consultation on tackling late payment and to reform the practice of retentions;
• Growing the CO2nstructZero programme to involve over 300 companies;
• Continuing to embed the use of the IMI Framework across the industry and Government.

CLC digital objectives for 2026

Drilling into the detail, the IMI also features in CLC’s 2026 digital objectives (overseen by nima chair Anne Kemp and industry consultant Kevin Reeves, MD of KJR Digital):

• Refocus the efforts of the workstream to prioritise progress on the digitalisation of the planning and building control systems, in partnership with MHCLG and wider industry stakeholders (nima recently responded to the MHCLG consultation on the single industry regulator – 25 March 2026 news).
• Continue to accelerate the roll-out and industry adoption of the Information Management Initiative, with a focus on marketing and micro/SME business support.
• Secure 150 organisations signing the IMI Call for Action, support to 50 to establish a compliant mandate and 50 to achieve their first steps in implementation.
• Build on the successful establishment of Construct AI, securing 100 organisations as members and exploring funding opportunities for a new industry AI Lab.

Digital and data: 2025 Achievements and progress

• The Information Management Initiative has moved into implementation phase following its launch in November 2024, with 50 organisations responding to the call for action, and over 200 individuals – through nima membership – committing to its
  principles. The Initiative has been endorsed by the IM 4 Public Sector (IM4PS) Group and a number of resources have been, and are being, developed to help, including IM Essentials Training, a Maturity Measurement Framework and an IMI Methodology.
• Construct AI launched with over 20 organisations contributing to define high level outcomes. A workshop has framed opportunities in support of digital transformation of planning and building control. (nima recently published guidance on AI – news.)
• Across the wider CLC, the role of data as an asset remains an imperative, with the following initiatives highlighted:
  • Alliance Data Standards – Aligning data standards across the lifecycle (BESA, CIBSE, NBS, RICS).
  • Manufacturers Information Hub – A single gateway for construction product manufacturers to share their data.
  • Industry Data Pool – BMF and NMBS initiative to create a centralised digital platform for product data exchange.
  • Lexicon – Construction Products Association and Construction Innovation Hub collaboration to standardise construction product data.
  • Bridge AI – Accelerating AI adoption across the construction industry, funding pilots and change management. (As part of the Bridge AI programme, nima vice chair Emma Hooper was technical author of PAS 1958:2026 – recently published by BSI – which maps the built environment built environment data and information standards landscape, helping organisations prepare for more effective use of AI – news.)

Two international organisations, a consultancy and a contractor – AtkinsRéalis and ALEC Engineering & Contracting – have been able to progress through the requirements of the Initiative and are now sharing and assisting other signatories to do the same.

Clients are getting behind the initiative, understanding that procuring services from organisations demonstrating commitment in improving their information management practices leads to improvements in delivery, and realisation of the outcomes that they require – such as more efficient running of their operations, better information to inform critical decisions and gain competitive advantage, complementing better environmental, societal and business outcomes. IM4PS have endorsed the IM Initiative,
encouraging their collective supply chains to respond to the Call for Action.