An agreement was signed on Thursday, 24^th May that will see the construction industry and eleven universities in the east of England working together to improve the built environment.

Industry body Constructing Excellence and i10, the service that makes it easy for business to access academic expertise, have joined forces to promote more and better collaboration between the construction industry and academics working on research and development projects that will lead to better planning, design and build.

Jonathan Hogg, head of marketing and business development at i10, said: "The universities in the east of England have excellent departments with relevance to the construction industry including land economy, public art, environmental sciences, engineering, architecture and the built environment.

"Our job is to help planners, developers and builders tap into that wealth of facilities and experts in order to drive up industry standards and to meet the needs of a thriving region which is witnessing a housing boom and is due to host the Olympics in 2012." John Hall, Director of Constructing Excellence in the East of England, said: "This partnership is important because improved industry performance will come about through the development and application of new technology and fresh thinking - which the academic world provides."

The agreement was signed at a construction industry event on sustainability, which was hosted by CRed (Community Carbon Reduction Project) in the Zicer building at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. The award-winning building, which includes a range of innovative energy-saving technologies, is itself an example of how academia and the construction industry can work together to design a ground-breaking environmentally-friendly building.

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Notes to Editors

Case study available: Anglia Ruskin University and the Blackwater Sailing Club in Maldon, Essex.

For further information contact Donna Barker or Susie Lockwood at Band & Brown Communications on 01603 417722 or email susie.lockwood@bbpr.com

About Constructing Excellence in the East of England

Constructing Excellence in the East of England works to promote sustainable homes, buildings and places to live and work in the region by collaborating with every link in the construction supply chain. Partners that Constructing Excellence in the East of England works collaboratively with include: Inspire East, Constructing Industries Council - East, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA). The sustainability event was organised by Constructing Excellence in the East of England, hosted by CRed and promoted by the Constructing Industries Council - East with funding from EEDA, ESF and Inspire East.