Involvement

– Who will be involved when?

Different types of involvement are needed throughout the campus development process. In the planning of the unified campus and construction of new university buildings, we need knowledge to support good decisions on the project. NTNU Campus Development is therefore adding up to broad involvement of end-users and stakeholders.

A user involvement programme ensures that the process is predictable and accountable for staff members, students, managers and other stakeholders. At the same time, it helps to ensure that Campus Development has the knowledge it needs about the activities for which the campus is being built.

User involvement in the various phases

During a development and construction project, different types of involvement will be needed. The involvement work follows the phases in NTNU's campus development.

User groups in the design phase

Workshop digital user-involvement — Digital workshop with theme user group on special areas. Photo: NTNU Campus Development

During the design phase, the organisational units that will use specific building areas are linked more closely to "their" projects. At the same time, there is a need for topics that run across NTNU's various construction and development projects to be explored and addressed.

In the spring of 2021, NTNU established five cross-cutting topic-based working groups related to the area categories; learning arena, hub, workplace and special areas, as well as a theme user group for operations and management.

When?

Involvement in this phase was on an exploratory or decision-making basis and primarily involved decision-makers, elected representatives and leaders from various stakeholder groups.

The main purpose was to gather the knowledge needed to decide on the strategic framework for the project.

The phase ended with an open hearing on the strategic framework from 12 August to 21 September 2016.

The purpose of involvement in this phase is to obtain the knowledge needed to define individual projects and to develop concepts for the design of NTNU’s campuses. In this phase, it is important for the project to become familiar with the end-users’ situation. It is important to understand the activities for which the buildings are intended.

In addition, at NTNU we have professional expertise in many areas relevant to the campus and development of buildings. These experts should also be involved in this phase, making it possible to design buildings that are well adapted to the activities that will take place there. At the same time, the areas should be innovative, effective and sustainable.

In 2017 and 2018, the main activities in the phase are concentrated on the unification of the campus in Trondheim and consist of:

Physical plan
Mapping and concept development
Location of academic functions

This is the phase where the units that will use specific buildings are linked to “their” project. End-users describe their needs in a space and facility plan. The involvement should also result in precise figures about students, employees and other end-users who will use the building.

The space and facility plan is the “requirements specification” that architects and contractors used to design specific buildings and create a construction programme that describes how the organization’s requirements can be met through physical design.

In this phase, involvement has two main purposes:

An important part of this phase will be quality assurance and transfer of competence from NTNU’s organization, which will use the premises, to the contractors who will construct the buildings. This is especially relevant for areas or equipment with special requirements, such as laboratories or teaching spaces designed for a particular discipline.
In addition, this is the phase in which the organization must prepare to start using the new premises. This includes organizing who should sit where, packing and moving equipment, and moving in.

In preparation, end-users should establish rules for the use of the different types of space. For example, allocation of teaching space, workplace-related rules for use, and use of shared facilities.

After the move into new premises, there will be a period of trial operation, and responsibility for the premises will be transferred from the project organization to the operating organization.

In this phase, they will be tests and opportunities to evaluate and reveal any need for adaptations. There may be a need for technical adjustments, or to adapt the use of the premises.

Together with safety representatives and the HR line, local managers will have a particular responsibility for any organizational measures during this period.