In the case of Spain or Sweden, even though these materials can be shipped by boat (lower carbon emissions per nautical kilometre), the distances are so large that they amount to more than double the emissions from road only transportation.

Of course, digitising the entire planning process is an enormous goal, and for efficiency’s sake, the process will have to begin with a single use case.Ricketts feels the best and most informative starting point is building safety, highlighting MHCLG’s external wall system survey as a good example of data collection and collation..

The MHCLG project asked local authorities to research and report back on the materials present in the external walls of all buildings above 18 metres within a particular borough.Although it sounds like a straightforward task, in reality it presented some unexpectedly complex questions and issues to surmount.What is a building?

Is it the postal address?The single address with three blocks in it?.

Next came the question of how best to approach obtaining the information.

Ricketts says local authorities were using a combination of approaches, from trawling through records (building control, planning and housing), to looking at GIS mapping, and even cycling the borough.Rather than tabling a design solution too early and possibly forcing the conversation to a preconceived solution, we encourage stakeholders to speak freely about what matters to them.

Through structured questioning and diagramming on flipcharts and whiteboards (or their digital equivalents), we turn those concerns and desires into clear objectives.The aim is to ensure that all stakeholders understand each other’s drivers and that we develop an agreed set of objectives that everyone feels is comprehensive and fair.. We turn that knowledge into an initial, digital model.

The model captures all the systems and their interfaces, and represents all aspects of the overall solution that affect the objectives of the various stakeholders.This initial representation allows us to agree what kind of expertise we require to develop a solution.