SEV: innovation in housing

 

SEV (The Steering Committee for Experiments in Public Housing) is an independent organisation active throughout the Netherlands, which actively supports a broad range of innovations in housing and construction. This support includes experimental programmes extending over a number of years. Together with the most innovative parties in the field, we test the limits of what is feasible and, indeed, how desirable the ideas are. Our partners include house builders, municipalities, care providers and private individuals with an interest. We develop ideas, assess their practicality, and communicate the results.

Practical experiments
Our experiments cover the entire field of housing and building. SEV’s aim is to provide everyone with the widest choice possible, to improve the safety and quality of housing, address social injustice, and strengthen the social and cultural dimensions of housing.

Innovation can often provide an answer to the challenges and problems experienced in this field. However, not every theoretical innovation is necessarily an improvement. In practice, things can turn out to be quite different. Experiments can demonstrate the real value and practicality of proposed innovations.

The SEV approach - Each SEV experiment goes through six stages:

Inception

The initiative for an experiment might be taken by SEV or it might be proposed by another organisation. The purpose of any experiment should be to take innovative ideas a step further. This is done by testing them in practice, or undertaking demonstration projects to show how new developments can be implemented in practice.

Acquisition and selection of partners
The SEV is constantly on the look-out for partners to turn proposals into practical experiments, offer ideas and make improvements.

Implementation
For the implementation stage SEV brings in professional partners in housing and building. The partners involved in the implementation of an experiment could include housing associations, project developers, municipalities, architects and consultants, care providers, and consumer organisations. Any organisation involved with housing and construction is a potential partner for experiments.

Evaluation
SEV carries out an independent evaluation of each project to assess the value of innovations and refine concepts. Innovations must be followed up as soon as possible. Therefore, SEV makes recommendations to the participants in the experiment on the basis of the evaluation. Policy recommendations made to the relevant ministries may lead to regulatory changes.

Knowledge transfer
SEV ensures that the knowledge generated by the experiments is widely disseminated among a large professional audience. It issues publications about completed experiments and organises conferences, symposia and study meetings every year.

Application
An experiment can only be said to be successful if the results are actually applied in housing and construction. For this reason, SEV advises the parties taking the results further on potential implementation strategies.

Experiment partners wanted
SEV cannot undertake experiments on its own, neither would we want to. Partners in the field are essential, for it is only in practice that experiments can take shape. The SEV is therefore always on the lookout for new partners, not only to test ideas in practical experiments but also to come up with suggestions and introduce improvements.

Organisations active in housing and construction can submit ideas for experiments to SEV. SEV also initiates experiments itself, and will then look for suitable partners.

Independent
SEV is an independent organisation which receives financial support from the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM).


SEV
P.O. Box 1878
3000 BW Rotterdam
tel: 010 - 282 50 50
e-mail: sev@sev.nl
www.sev.nl