CSIC board expands to drive cultural change across Scottish construction

Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) has appointed 11 new members to its governance board, reflecting the increasing appetite for collaboration across the construction industry

Six women were among the 11 new CSIC board additions, with a seventh, Margaret Watson, sector lead, construction, forestry and timber technologies at Scottish Enterprise, joining as a stakeholder observer.

The CSIC board provides industry-driven guidance and direction to the Innovation Centre. When looking to expand it made an effort to seek out new and diverse voices from across industry.

Representatives chosen have a variety of skills, experience and specialisms – from Anne Johnstone, who has over 18 years’ experience in environment, energy and corporate sustainability across the construction industry to Alexander Holt, who is passionate about the benefits of digital transformation within the sector and Lynne Sullivan OBE, Architect, Government advisor and low and zero-carbon building champion.

CSIC board to drive cultural change across Scottish construction

The CSIC board has chosen specialists from across the industry to help it achieve its mission to drive innovation and cultural change across the Scottish construction industry and to support the delivery of CSIC’s industry-led phase two strategy over the next five years. The phase two strategy addresses four key areas: Culture Change, Digital Transformation, Accelerating Industrialisation and Building Sustainably, all of which integrate around the need to support the construction sectors transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.

The new board members include:
• Anne Johnstone, partner and head of environment, energy and sustainability at Hollis
• Emma Marriott, director of Emma Marriott Consulting
• Jo Green, chief officer, performance and innovation at SEPA
• Lynne Sullivan (OBE), founder of LSA Studio
• Madeline Smith, head of strategy, the Innovation School at Glasgow School of Art
• Mandy Mair, performance team lead at Scottish Water
• Alexander Holt, founder of CivTech
• Andrew Mallice, managing director of Hart Builders
• Paul Dodd, head of infrastructure technology at Scottish Futures Trust
• Stewart Dalgarno, director of product development at Stewart Milne Group
• Stewart Brown, assistant director of property & capital planning at NHS Health Facilities Scotland.

The 11 new CSIC board members join chair John Forster, CSIC chief executive Stephen Good and industry experts Mark Farmer, Alison Watson, David Philp, Jeanette McIntyre, Sara Thiam and Steve Petrie, bringing the number serving on the board up to 19.

John Forster, CSIC board chair, commented: “As a board we have a collective wealth of experience and are increasingly well equipped and motivated to deliver CSIC’s aims for our industry. We have big ambitions for the future, focusing on the cultural barriers across the industry and will aim to address issues like new innovative procurement models, diversity and inclusion, internationalisation, collaboration, productivity and investment in R&D and innovation.

“We have a unique opportunity at CSIC to harness Scotland’s innovation capacity.  The 11 new board appointments represent some of the finest expertise available across the industry and will be instrumental in building a sustainable, dynamic and opportunity-focused Scottish construction industry fit for the 21st century and capable of leading the world in tackling climate change.”

Margaret Watson joins Gary Bannon, Scottish Funding Council,  Steven Hutcheon, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Andy McGoff from Edinburgh Napier University as CSIC’s funding partner observers and host institution.

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