Channelling research funding into civil engineering

The major problems the world faces—ranging from energy, water and food supplies to poverty, primary resource depletion and terrorism—are the key drivers to the European Union's publicly funded research programmes. For civil engineers, however, it is research into business processes, materials, design and construction technologies that is needed if they are to remain competitive and able to adapt to change. As this paper explains, attracting research funding means promoting the direct benefits of the profession to society and showing how research will enhance and extend those benefits.