IMI – frequently asked questions (FAQs)

The Information Management Initiative has been jointly developed by nima and the Construction Leadership Council. A pan-industry task group was established in late 2023 to develop the approach (read more about the group’s membership), informed by consultations with a wide-ranging set of individuals, groups and organisations.

Following the launch of the IMI, a refreshed task group (supported by a nima-led management group) is being convened to help develop the IMI Framework and support organisations in taking their first steps.

The IMI aims to enable better understanding and decision-making. It seeks to simplify, clarify, create strong connections, be inclusive, and support better whole life outcomes (“With trusted, quality data, great things happen”). The anticipated benefits include:

  • enhanced competency
  • improved regulatory compliance
  • streamlined communication
  • more efficient processes
  • more standardised practices
  • better health and safety
  • greater transparency
  • more informed and timely decision-making
  • reduced risks, and …

… the bottom line: between £5.10 and £6.00 of direct labour productivity gains for every £1 invested and between £6.90 and £7.40 in direct cost savings (source: KPMG/Atkins [2021] The Value of Information Management in the construction and infrastructure sector).

Organisations can get involved in various ways. Nima and the CLC are seeking:

  1. IMI financial support (see founding sponsors below)
  2. IMI practical or ‘in kind’ support – ie: provision of individual expertise (see IMI founding sponsors below)
  3. IMI participation – including signing up to the IMI directive, and development and adoption of an orgnisation-wide IM mandate (see IMI signatories below)
  4. IMI advocacy – for example, in the case of membership organisations, advocating that members support the IM. Similarly, key influencers such as funders, insurers and regulators might encourage IMI support as a key step towards efficient and compliant information and data management practices.
  • IMI founding sponsors will be the initial champions of the IMI, helping to further develop and steer the initiative, fund its initial dissemination, and build its supporting framework. They will be recognised by the IMI as industry leaders backing digital transformation, will be able to badge themselves as IMI founding sponsors, and will be promoted at events and in IMI supporting materials. (Become a founding sponsor)
  • IMI signatories will be organisations prepared to commit to the IMI and to encourage adoption of its principles. They will be listed as IMI signatories and may badge themselves as such. (Become a founding signatory)
  1. The first major step is to sign up to the IMI. Please complete and return either a founding sponsor or a founding signatory form. We recommend that the IMI commitment is made by a C-suite level executive (the IMI champion), with follow-up activity undertaken by a designated manager (the IMI coordinator).
  2. Once your organisation is signed up, the IMI champion and IMI coordinator should start to communicate your backing for the IMI. This will typically involve i) informing your employees and ii) informing other stakeholders – for example, customers, suppliers. The IMI team can provide example letters, background information and presentation materials that can be adapted to the plans and aspirations of your organisation.
  3. The second major step is to sign up to the sector-wide IMI Directive. The IMI Directive is a more detailed expression of intent covering four high-level principles – Purpose, People, Process (business function), Data and Information. These principles outline a common and consistent approach to integrating data and information across the whole built and managed environment. Your organisation will commit to apply the IMI Directive in a manner which is relevant and proportionate to its role(s) and to its people’s capabilities.
  4. Your organisation should involve its employees in developing the organisation-level mandate. This will be guided by consideration of the desired successful outcomes:
    • Clear definitions of the data and information needed by the project client, sponsor, or asset owner, and for the standards, methods, processes, deadlines and protocols that will govern its production and review.
    • The quantity and quality of data and information produced being just sufficient to satisfy the defined information needs, while not compromising health and safety or security.
    • Efficient and effective transfer of data and information between those involved in each part of the asset life cycle.

The IMI Sector-Wide Directive sets out the principles of a common and consistent approach to the integration of data and information across the whole life cycle of assets. By signing the Sector-Wide Directive at the top level of an organisation, the commitment is made that the Sector-Wide Directive principles will be embraced and adopted throughout the organisation, in support of convergence towards a sector-wide approach to managing data and information.

Having accepted the principles of the Sector-Wide Directive, organisations will be asked to issue an internal mandate across their organisation which is specific and appropriate to them.

Within the context of the overall sector-wide Directive, the next step is for the organisation to develop and issue an internal mandate which is appropriate and proportionate to its specific roles, activities and capabilities. This involves selecting and following the specific rules provided in the IMI Framework which are directly applicable to their teams and individuals, and fulfilling the following over-arching rules:

  1. The organisation will commit to building on its existing capability to shift to its target capability, as set out in its Organisation-level Mandate, within a stated timeframe.
  2. The organisation will continue to upskill and train its teams and individuals as required to enable the stated progressive implementation of the Framework.
  3. Each participant within the organisation will follow the relevant rules for their specific activity, as set out in the Framework, proportionately and appropriately to the best of their ability.
  4. The organisation will put in place a process to encourage and monitor the level of compliance with the relevant rules across its teams and individuals.
  5. The organisation will share its progress towards complying with its internal mandate across the organisation, sharing its experience and helping to converge to a common approach across the Initiative, supporting appropriate progression of the Framework.

Ensuring that the specific rules are relevant to any particular participant within an organisation – whether as a team or as an individual – ensures that the lowest tier of activity is empowered to learn and support data and information management on a day-to-day basis.

The IMI Framework builds on the existing UK BIM Framework, based on the ISO 19650 series and its continually evolving set of supporting and related core international and UK standards. Compliance will require a shift from documents and drawings to integration of data and information through assets’ whole lives.

The IMI Framework can provide the rules which are required to fulfill the organisation-level mandate. What is specifically required can vary across the organisation in relation to different teams and different individuals. This process of filtering and setting out the specific IMI Framework rules that participants need to follow, is the core feature of the organisational-level mandate.  By being specific, it becomes more feasible for individuals and teams to comply with the mandate, and easier for organisations to measure their level of compliance. This also enables organisations to assess and elevate capabilities across their business at team and individual level.

Change and adoption will not occur overnight. As such, it is proposed that further guidance and resources will be developed, dependent on the availability of funding. This will support different starting points and journeys toward compliance, enabling an inclusive approach towards implementing the IMI while facilitating convergence towards sector-wide consistency.

The IMI is envisaged as a long-term change management programme. Some organisations may feel they are able to meet IMI objectives in weeks or months – others may take several years. In allowing for this, the IMI encourages the sector to move forward in a progressive and pragmatic manner, leading the way in building momentum which ultimately will encourage adoption by UK Government. 

No. Every individual engaged in work for organisations in the built and managed environment is a recipient and user of information and data (“We are all information managers now”). Your work will often result in the creation of further information and data to be used by others. This use may be in the immediate short/medium term or it may be used in the future by your organisation and/or during the life cycle of the relevant built or managed assets.

If your organisation isn’t already involved with the IMI, talk to relevant colleagues about how it might benefit your organisation (see the FAQ on What benefits will the IMI deliver?). And if you have an interest in information management, please also consider getting involved as a volunteer at nima.