Requiring digital delivery in BC's public projects.
The BC Digital Delivery Alliance calls on the Government of British Columbia to require digital delivery on all publicly funded construction projects — with a phased rollout, clear standards, and transparent reporting.
- The Honourable David EbyPremier of British Columbia
- The Honourable Christine BoyleMinister of Housing and Municipal Affairs
- The Honourable Bowinn MaMinister of Infrastructure
- The Honourable Josie OsborneMinister of Health
- The Honourable Diana GibsonMinister of Citizens' Services
- The Honourable Brenda BaileyMinister of Finance
- The Honourable Gregor RobertsonMinister of Housing and Infrastructure of Canada
"BC must deliver a record program on time and on budget — meeting climate commitments, fiscal pressure, and the public's expectation of accountability."
With more than 40,000 new homes needed in Vancouver alone and $45.9 billion in capital investments planned for health care, transit, and schools, British Columbia must run this record program with certainty, efficiency, and accountability across the entire portfolio of public projects.
A standardized digital delivery approach enables higher productivity, lower costs, shorter durations, better collaboration, waste reduction, and fewer errors — running projects on shared, live information so changes are visible in real time and owners receive structured data for operations.
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Four pillars of a standardized approach.
A Digital Delivery Standard
Run projects on shared, live information so changes are visible in real time and owners receive structured data for operations. Making digital delivery the default in public projects generates trustworthy data, enables earlier intervention and faster feedback loops, and raises cost and schedule certainty at both project and portfolio levels — supporting clearer permits, more competitive tendering, better logistics, safer operations, smoother commissioning, and stronger foundations for asset management.
The Opportunity for British Columbia
Reliable project data stimulates jobs and growth, builds institutional knowledge in public agencies, supports SMEs and startups, and enables prototyping, prefabrication, modular delivery, AI, and advanced manufacturing. Because the built environment accounts for almost 40% of global energy-related emissions, a digital delivery standard also supports BC's climate goals through credible lifecycle assessments. Peers — the UK, Germany, Spain, Norway, and Singapore — are already mandating digital delivery through public procurement.
Core Principles of the Standard
Digitize processes based on project needs — not software choices or volume of deliverables. The standard should give clear guidance on Owner Information Requirements, a project-level Common Data Environment, and a BIM Execution Plan with shared definitions and classifications that ensure consistency, traceability, and an audit trail. We propose the Province leads the initiative, with the BC Digital Delivery Alliance providing templates, KPIs, training, advisory capacity, pilots, and knowledge transfer — at no new provincial funding cost.
Implementation Strategy
A four-year PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Adjust) rollout. Year 1: collaboratively develop the first version of BC's digital delivery standard. Year 2: apply it to targeted pilot projects, enforced from procurement (RFQs/RFPs). Year 3: extend to priority and complex buildings (Part 3). Year 4 onward: full coverage including simple buildings (Part 9), with annual reviews. KPIs and quarterly reporting track data completeness, quality, rework reduction, and handover readiness.
A four-year, PDCA-driven rollout.
Province and Alliance collaboratively develop BC's first digital delivery standard, with proportionate requirements by project type and scale.
Apply the framework to selected high-value, high-risk pilot projects. Review and update the rollout — one PDCA cycle.
Extend the framework to all high-value, high-risk, and complex buildings (Part 3). Review and update again.
Cover all projects including simple buildings (Part 9). Institute annual reviews and updates thereafter.
Adopt digital delivery as the default for publicly-funded projects in British Columbia.
We request that each ministry appoint a senior liaison to work with the BC Digital Delivery Alliance — to coordinate scope, confirm next steps, and enable commencement of Year 1 at the earliest opportunity.
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