Innovative Housing Programme: Research to Understand Lessons Learnt From Construction Year 2

Tender description

The client will award an 8-month research contract valued at between GBP 40,000 to GBP 45,000 (exc. VAT) to understand the construction lessons learnt from the schemes supported in the second year of the Innovative Housing Programme (IHP). The Welsh Government will use this research to further understand the barriers and opportunities that are present in the development of low carbon housing. The Welsh Government wishes to commission an experienced contractor to undertake research into the construction lessons learned from all schemes funded in year 2 of the Innovative Housing Programme (IHP). The Innovative Housing Programme was first announced in February 2017 by the then Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children and has since been developed to support the development of new and innovative approaches to delivering housing in Wales. The IHP has a fund of GBP 155m over the years 2017/18 to 2020/21 to support schemes to meet a target of 2,000 affordable homes.This programme forms an important part of the Welsh Government’s overall target for 20,000 new low carbon homes to be built by 2026. The Programme seeks to support innovation in a broad context, covering construction techniques, delivery pathways and housing types across all tenures, with the exception of the refurbishment of existing residential dwellings. In Year One (2017-18), the IHP was open to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and Local Housing Associations (LHAs), including local authority owned housing companies. The 2017-18 programme was aligned with the Social Housing Grant (SHG) programme, including its monitoring and evaluation requirements. An evaluation of the Year One lessons learnt was conducted in 2020 and published on 15th September 2020. This research reported findings relating to: navigating the planning process; construction challenges; workforce challenges; comparisons between IHP and typical build programmes; and progress to date against outcomes. For Year Two (2018-19) the scope of the programme was extended to cover: - market housebuilders (including large house-builders and SMEs) - other developers (e.g. charities, co-operatives and individuals) In order to evaluate Year Two of construction, a comparison to findings from Year One would be needed, as well as an exploration of any different experiences with market housebuilders and other types of developers. This would include a comparison between RSLs and LHAs alongside additional barriers or successes.