Fifth International Conference on Construction in the 21 st Century (CITC-V) “Collaboration and Integration in Engineering, Management and Technology” May 20-22, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey Measuring Construction Innovation Beliz Ozorhon Salford Centre for Research and Innovation, University of Salford, Salford, UK b.ozorhon@salford.ac.uk Carl Abbott Salford Centre for Research and Innovation, University of Salford, Salford, UK c.abbott@salford.ac.uk Ghassan Aouad University of Salford, Salford, UK g.aouad@salford.ac.uk Abstract Innovation is a complex and multidimensional process that has received the attention of researchers in all fields due to its contribution to economic growth and competitiveness. Innovation in general terms is the creation and adoption of new knowledge to improve the value of products, processes, and services. Although there are numerous studies investigating the implementation and management of innovation in construction, more research is required to develop appropriate metrics for different types of innovative activities that are carried out throughout the lifecycle of a construction project and at different sectors of the construction industry. Innovation in construction generally tend to be process and organization-based; construction companies invest less in R&D but rather adopt new technology and new ideas to improve their operations. Therefore, such innovations are difficult to capture with the standard indicators used for technology-intense sectors. The major objective of this study is to discuss the difficulties associated with measuring innovation in construction and provide recommendations to overcome the limitations for developing relevant metrics. In this respect, the appropriateness of metrics used for construction innovations will be investigated and how these metrics can be improved will be discussed. Keywords Innovation measurement, Construction industry, Built environment 1. Introduction Innovation is regarded as one of the key factors contributing to national economic growth, competitiveness, and higher living standards. As far as the strategic role of intangible assets is concerned, innovation is at the heart of the knowledge-based economy of the countries as well (OECD and Eurostat, 2005). There is not a single and complete definition of innovation, however it may be defined as creation and adoption of new knowledge to improve the value of products, processes, and services. Innovation can be technological as well as non-technological including organizational and marketing aspects. Patterns and types of innovation differ both at sector level and firm level. The characteristics of innovation in the service industries are different from those in manufacturing industries (OECD and Eurostat, 2005). 659