Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the Construction Industry Club (CIC) Start Online project, its context, aims, objectives, partnership, management, outputs, dissemination methods, membership, legacy and beneficiaries. As the project enabled successful collaboration of seven Scottish universities with industry in developing and testing innovations for sustainable building design and refurbishment, attracting 2,385 members (at the time of writing as new members are joining after the end of the project in February 2013 to be able to access all the project outputs), this chapter explains how this was achieved. Various online communication tools were used, not only for dissemination of the project outputs but also for direct engagement with membership nationally and internationally, management of various project activities, co-ordination of the assessment of applications submitted for funding through CIC Start Online and communication with the project partners. This aspect of the project management and delivery was crucial for efficient inter-institutional collaboration, dissemination and creation of the searchable online Knowledge Base which enables easy access to all the project outputs.