The BIM Task Group is thought to be celebrating a new allocation of funding from the Treasury following last week’s budget – and 10 days ago splashed out by hiring a PR firm.
Building magazine today reported, quoting an anonymous source, that the funding to support ongoing work in developing Level 3 BIM could be as much as £15m – more than the funding made available for Level 2 BIM in 2011-16.
Enquiries by BIM+ have not been able to verify this figure. But it seems that the funding tap has allowed the BIM Task Group to hire PR firm Beattie Communications earlier this month to manage its communications, with a brief to “make a noise” to mark mandate day on 4 April.
[Update 21 March: After this story was written, BIS confirmed to BIM + that there is indeed £15m for Level 3 BIM. More information here. Beattie Communications has also asked us to make clear that there is no connection between its appointment 10 days ago and last week’s funding allocation. It apparently tendered for the role in January.]
The aim is understood to be to “try to celebrate the achievements, and get the maximum amount of publicity”.
Responding to the £15m report, a spokesman for Beattie Communications told BIM+: “We can’t say anything on the record.”
However, someone connected with the BIM Task Group said: “It’s a continuous process, no one’s walking away, no one’s going anywhere, and how that goes forward is all part of the plan. It’s going to be an ongoing process."
“You wouldn’t have the mandate just to walk away from it. Everyone on the Task Group is looking forward to supporting Level 2 adoption, and everyone is looking forward to Level 3.”
On 1 March, the BIM Task Group’s David Philp told BIM+ that the group would be winding down in September 2016 for a “hand-over back to the industry”.
It’s also understood that the BIM Task Group has commissioned Arcadis to produce best practice guidance for the industry on Level 2 BIM, which will be published at some point between April and October this year.
The guidance is likely to have a particular focus on subcontractors.
You wouldn’t have the mandate just to walk away from it. Everyone on the mandate is looking forward to supporting Level 2 adoption, and everyone is looking forward to Level 3.– Member of BIM Task Group
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We are working hard at building the bridge between FM and ‘design and build’ to ensure that the full potential of BIM can be achieved across the whole life cycle. This includes opening the eyes of those at the early stages of the process to the importance and benefits FM can bring to the design stage and encouraging FM to recognise the life term benefits BIM can bring to their operation both operationally and financially.