Action Agenda Overview

from the May 31 - June 1, 2001

National Forum

I. Action Agenda Objective

II. Statement of Needs

III. Actions

IV. Preliminary Action Agenda

On May 31–June 1 a national forum, "Building Smarter in the Digital Age," brought together in Arlington, Virginia, 95 government and industry leaders to explore the benefits information technology can bring to the process of providing safe, affordable buildings. The objective of the forum was to develop an action agenda to streamline the nation’s building regulatory process through innovative uses of information technology. Forty-four national organizations and government agencies sponsored and cosponsored this forum.

Through panel presentations and work group sessions, the forum’s participants developed for national consideration a Preliminary Action Agenda. The forum closed with a call to the nation’s construction and information technology communities to join with national associations and agencies from all levels of government to fulfill the action agenda’s purpose of enabling the nation’s construction industry to "build faster, better, safer at less cost."

On July 12, 2001, the National Governors Association and the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards hosted a follow-up meeting of the forum’s sponsors and co-sponsors to finalize the Action Agenda. At that meeting participating organizations and agencies: finalized the agenda, approved a timetable for implementation of the Action Agenda, formed a National Alliance for Building Regulatory Reform in the Digital Age and two task forces to implement the agenda, and affirmed their commitments to this project.

The following Action Agenda was assembled from notes and actions taken at the July 12 meeting and is available for review and public comment on the NCSBCS website. The website also contains background information on the May 31-June 1 national forum, a copy of the agenda, presentations of speakers, and materials generated by four work groups at that meeting.

A list of Alliance members and Affiliated organizations is found at the end of the Action Agenda.

1. Action Agenda Objective

Use information technology to transform the nation’s building regulatory process to enable the nation’s construction industry to build "faster, better, safer and at less cost".

 

2. Statement of Needs

  A. The current building regulatory and construction system is:

• Fragmented, uncoordinated, and unpredictable among the 44,000 jurisdictions, which adopt and/or enforce regulations governing the design, construction, and operation of all buildings.

• One in which jurisdictions are seen primarily as regulators and not facilitators of the construction process.

• Hampered by the long-standing cultural and political process.

• Restrained by barriers which limit the use of information technology including: sources of funding, high costs, lack of standards on operations of software systems, cultural differences, training, and limited information on currently available hardware, software and intermediate ware.
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2. Given:

• The speed of change in technology in this nation.

• The growing demands from both the public and private sectors for governments to operate more effectively and efficiently in providing services.

• The fact that the nation’s construction community is looking for ways to reduce the regulatory time and cost of building safe, durable and affordable housing and other structures.

There is the need for a coordinated national effort involving government, the construction and information technology communities to:

1.  Identify best practices and share information regarding available regulatory streamlining practices and information technology hardware, software and intermediate ware products and services. regulatory systems to assure that they function efficiently and support the action agenda’s objective. It makes no sense to apply information technology to a chaotic and cost inefficient regulatory system.

2. Work with existing national I.T. initiatives to identify and develop for all levels of government to adopt and use:

• procurement standards for information technology,

• supporting standards for digital signatures,

• simple common permits and plans review software systems,

• systems requirements including interoperative data elements and data models.

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