Modern Methods of Construction Data Dashboard

The Government’s Housing for All (HfA) plan, first published in 2021 and updated in 2022, is a multi-annual, multi-billion-euro plan which will improve Ireland’s housing system and deliver more homes of all types for people with different housing needs. As part of the pathway to increase new housing supply, Action 23.9 (HfA 2021) calls for a culture of good quality sustainable innovation in residential construction through the development of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). MMC is a term used to describe a range of offsite manufacturing processes and onsite techniques that provide alternatives to traditional construction. Typical MMC systems include timber frame, steel frame, and precast concrete. This action is led by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Enterprise (DETE) and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) and DETE has established and chairs a MMC Leadership and Integration Group to drive implementation and to coordinate cross-Government initiatives in this area. Several specific MMC-related actions were included in the updated Housing for All plan that was published in 2022. Action 13.12 tasks DETE with the development of a dashboard of metrics to benchmark and track levels of MMC adoption in Ireland. This is the focus for this request for tenders. The output from the proposed study will enable the Department to create a baseline assessment of the levels of MMC adoption in the Irish construction sector and provide a framework or dashboard of metrics that can continue to inform the Department’s ongoing work and policy impact over time in the area of MMC adoption and promoting innovation in construction, which is a key focus in the Government’s Housing for All Strategy. Given the data on MMC adoption available for Ireland, it is expected that the study will need to gather raw data through survey work. The study will also provide an assessment of and methodology for tracking the productivity impacts of greater MMC adoption in the Irish construction sector, and residential construction in particular. It is intended that the metrics developed and data collected for this assignment will form a part of the Housing for All Data Insights Service (a cross-Departmental project being led by Department of the Taoiseach) and the study will need to consider how data can be updated and mainstreamed over the longer term for the purposes of the Data Insights Service.