Knowledge

The ambition of this web site is to provide information and guidance to colleges looking to develop a capital project. The knowledge available on this web site is a starting point and colleges should use it as a base to obtain an understanding of the issues they face and the knowledge they need to make decisions on their own project.

Exemplar Schemes

Knowledge of what other colleges have achieved, where they have faced challenges and the solutions to them are an important background to developing a project vision, brief and specification.

Exemplar schemes or elements of them should be studied and understood to give inspiration and to act as a benchmark to measure against. Looking at buildings and visiting them, looking at how they work are useful ways of gaining knowledge. Talking to colleagues who have delivered a similar project will always be informative. It is also worth looking at projects outside the Further Education sector to get ideas and inspiration for the project.

It is constructive to visit exemplar schemes with the project team, the design team and key stakeholders so as a group all participants in a project can share an understanding of how the exemplar elements relate to the project specific needs and the vision and values of the client body.

Knowledge workshops are a useful tool in ensuring benefit from exemplar study. Reviewing exemplars as a team and debating how they relate to the proposed project is a way of establishing base requirements for the brief and specific things to be avoided.

Consultation

To build project knowledge it will be important for the client body to consult with:

• Key stakeholders
• Professional advisors
• Peers

Key stakeholders from within the college or its immediate community will have significant knowledge to build an understanding of both project need and experience of other situations that have either been successful or should be avoided.

Professional advisors bring experience and knowledge of design and process from other projects. They can also advise on project specific issues including context, specification and deliverability to build an understanding of the feasibility of a project.

Peers are a useful sounding board. As already noted, discussion with a colleague who has been through the process can be invaluable in understanding not only the opportunities of a project but also the pitfalls.

Clients should always feel able to seek process and design support. Through this web site and its related e-mail communication it is intended that independent consultation and sharing of information will be possible. The LSC Regional Property Advisors and the RIBA LSC Forum are groups that are able to offer support to colleges.

Other groups, particularly CABE are also available to provide knowledge, exemplar schemes and consultation.