Dr Francesco Di Maddaloni and Dr Armando Castro awarded seed grant by UCL Global Engagement Funds

Dr Francesco Di Maddaloni (lead applicant) and Dr Armando Castro (co-applicant) has received a seed grant from UCL Global Engagement Funds (GEF) for their study on how construction firms and local authorities can effectively engage communities to achieve better project performance and social impact. 

This seed funding is set around three main activities: creating new networks, data collection, and educational purposes, and will facilitate the start of a new partnership through an interdisciplinary research collaboration between The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction and the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil. The joint study developed from the collaboration aims to improve the inclusion and knowledge transfer between communities and local governments involved and affected by major infrastructure projects. 

Improving the way local authorities achieve sustainable economic growth and infrastructure; reducing urban inequalities and creating wide-ranging partnerships in society as highlighted by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 9,10,17) remain global challenges that needs to be addressed by researchers and policymakers. Using a polar comparative case study strategy of two major infrastructure projects in the UK (Tideway) and Brazil (Suape Port), this research aims to investigate how construction firms and local authorities can effectively engage communities to achieve better project performance and social impact. 

This global project aims to achieve real-world impact by advancing current stakeholder/community local policy engagement, answering the following questions: 

• How are local authorities currently equipped to deal with the impact of construction megaprojects in their surrounding environment?
• How are project organizations involving local authorities in the decisions affecting the life of their local communities?
• How can the knowledge transferred from projects to local authorities create better feedback mechanisms?