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Mr Jim Meikle
Honorary Professor
The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction
Faculty of the Built Environment
- Joined UCL
- 1st Sep 2008
Research summary
For many years I have been interested in international construction
price comparisons. I have worked for the European Union, Eurostat, OECD,
the World Bank and the African Development Bank on methods for, and the
production of, Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs). I am currently a member
of a Regional Expert Group for Africa as part of the International Comparison
Program.
I have a wider
interests in construction data and the measurement of all aspects of
construction, including, for example, construction productivity and informal
construction. With Rick Best of Bond
University, Queensland, Australia, I have co-edited two books on construction
frameworks and the measurement of construction prices, output and productivity.
Another research interest is the growth and development of construction professional services firms. While with Davis Langdon, I worked on studies for the Royal Institute of British Architects (architectural practice in Europe), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (the future role of the quantity surveyor) and the Association of Consulting Engineers (the market for engineering services in Europe). In 2009 I researched and wrote a history of my old firm, Davis Langdon LLP, and since then I have published a number of papers on the development of, and mergers and acquisitions in, construction consulting firms.
Biography
I undertook a professional apprenticeship in quantity surveying with a
small private practice in Glasgow in the 1960s followed by short spells in
Cumbernauld New Town and a multidisciplinary design practice in
Edinburgh. During the 1970s I worked on international development
projects in Nigeria (education), Libya (urban development) and Egypt (health
and urban planning). In 1979 I joined the research department of Davis
Belfield & Everest and in the mid-1980s established the unit that eventually
became Davis Langdon Management Consulting (DLMC). I retired as a partner
of Davis Langdon in 2005 and currently work as an independent consultant, in
addition to my part-time chair at the School.
With DLMC I worked on market, economic and management consultancy studies in the UK and internationally. Major assignments include management of the UK Construction Research and Innovation Strategy Panel (1998 - 2005); A Structure Conduct and Performance study of the UK Building Materials Sector (2000); Construction Sector Studies in Egypt (1982), the Russian Federation (1992), Vietnam (1995); studies of architectural practice in France and Italy (1991); and management of a European Construction Price Comparison Study (1980 - 2005).
Since 2005 I have worked on international construction price comparison
studies in the West Balkans (for the European Union), and Africa (for African
Development Bank) and on comparison methodology development for the World Bank;
studies on construction productivity in Singapore; a study of the construction
sector in Abu Dhabi; and studies of informal construction in Africa.