Neil Shah, Managing Director, Americas, for RICS (left) and National Institute of Building Sciences President Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA (right), shake hands in Washington, D.C., on July 15, upon signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations to advance and promote the building sciences.

Jul 15, 2015 -- The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) recognized their mutual interest in the design, construction, operations and maintenance of high-performance buildings when they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) yesterday to advance and promote the building sciences.

The two organizations have recently worked on several significant projects together. In March of this year, the Institute and RICS co-hosted a U.S. Consultation Workshop for the United Nations (UN) Global Compact and RICS Responsible Business Best Practice Toolkit for Land, Construction and Real Estate. In June, they began jointly exploring ways that public-private partnerships (P3s) can be used to achieve high-performance buildings and plan to issue a report on the topic in 2016.

The MOU serves to cement the relationship of these two leading organizations that share a mission to advance the built environment. Both organizations were established by government to serve that purpose. (The Institute was established by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1974. RICS was founded in England in 1868 and received a royal charter in 1881.)

“We are excited to be entering into this Memorandum of Understanding with the National Institute of Building Sciences,” said Neil Shah, Managing Director, Americas, for RICS. “By combining the expertise of NIBS on building science with that of RICS on real estate and construction, we look forward to improving the built environment through collaboration between our two organizations. This agreement embodies the necessary focus on whole-building/life-cycle integrative design considerations by supporting engagement between building science and valuation, cost-consulting and asset management.”

The MOU also supports the development of coordinated approaches to tackle important industry issues such as resilience, sustainability and the workforce. For example, both organizations have signed the Industry Statement on Resilience.

“The U.S. Congress established the Institute to serve as an authoritative source of innovative solutions for the built environment in the United States,” said NIBS President Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA. “By solidifying our relationship with RICS, which has a worldwide presence, we hope to gain a greater understanding of asset management, construction loan monitoring and international best practices to better inform our councils, committees and overall organization, with the goal of advancing the nation’s built environment, both now and in the future.”

About RICS

RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, property and construction. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards – bringing confidence to the markets we serve.

We accredit 118,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers valuation and management across all asset classes; the costing and leadership of construction projects; the development of infrastructure; and the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and land. From environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in an emerging economy; if our members are involved, the same professional standards and ethics apply.

In the Americas we have staff in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Barbados.