Sarah Davidson receives nima honour
Professor Sarah Davidson, a volunteer who has contributed extensively to nima since it was originally founded as the UK BIM Alliance in 2016, was announced as the latest winner of the nima Outstanding Contribution Award.
A virtual presentation to Sarah was made by nima chairman Dr Anne Kemp OBE during the nima Virtual Conference 2025 on 6 November. Sarah had been part of a panel discussing education about information management in the built and natural environment. She had been sharing insights gained from teaching existing and future industry professionals at Nottingham University as well as from her experience as a co-author and editor of guidance for managing information better (based largely on the renowned international standard series: ISO 19650) contained in the IMI Framework (formerly the UK BIM Framework – May 2025 news).
Anne thanked Sarah for her years of input to the Framework (alongside David Churcher and others) and for her ongoing support to nima – delivered despite a busy teaching workload.
Surprised by the unexpected accolade, Sarah thanked Anne and the rest of the nima community for the award. She also thanked David Churcher, Mo Shana’a of Morta, and others involved in continued development of the IMI Framework. Since June 2024, it has featured a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) toolset trained on the content of revamped ISO 19650 guidance, and Sarah led a video campaign in early 2025 highlighting the Framework capabilities. The IMI Framework has now had nearly 300,000 views and is becoming embedded in practice. As the early parts of ISO 19650 are currently being reviewed, she anticipates further and more extensive enhancement of the framework in 2026.
The nima Outstanding Contribution Award is made annually; the next winner should be announced in late 2026.
