STRATEGIES FOR STRENGTHENING THE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP OF SINGAPORE �S BUILT ENVIRONMENT SECTOR WITH THE COMMUNITY

Abstract

The Singapore’s Built Environment (BE) sector has been plagued with negativity relating to various social issues from safety to workers’ welfare in recent years. The problem with the BE sector lies with the conflicting agenda between advancing project progress and upholding social welfare. This research hopes to offer a mitigation by proposing strategies to strengthen the social relations of BE sector with the community.

Three research objectives were set out to: (i) propose a sustainable model of engagement between the BE sector and social sector; (ii) identify opportunities of purposeful community service where existing assets and expertise of the BE firms can be tapped on; (iii) explore the means of making community engagement more practicable to BE firms.

The qualitative research is conducted through the use of case study. Data were obtained from interviews conducted with 20 subject matter experts from both the BE and social sector. Content analysis of the responses from BE sector revealed: uniqueness of resources BE firms have, existing networks and associations as good leverage points, high social impact of partnerships, strategic alignment of CSR policies, wide variety of social initiatives, good leadership and system as key motivations and limited resources capacity and bureaucracy as key challenges. Findings from the social sector also revealed: migrant workers as an underserved community, scope for wider accessibility initiatives and potential fit of ex-offenders to BE.

The research recommends that BE firms adopt a system thinking mindset to run sustainable initiatives and include social elements in its business functions.