IFMA’s new Research Advisory Committee to reshape built environment through future-oriented research

The International Facility Management Association has created IFMA’s Research Advisory Committee. This international panel of multidisciplinary subject matter experts will reshape the built environment to improve both people’s well-being and buildings’ sustainability. The panel consists of academic and business-oriented researchers focused on human experience and engagement, human-machine interfaces, facility management, real estate, sustainability and more. Together, this panel will help create IFMA’s future research agenda. 

“The facility management (FM) industry faces several inflection points induced by the sudden shift toward hybrid ways of working, ongoing sustainability challenges, rapidly digitizing operations and the adoption of circular approaches to building management. As a result, the industry needs to transform,” stated Jeffrey Saunders, IFMA Director of Research. “We need a  globally-oriented and multidisciplinary team of advisors to help IFMA set a future-oriented  research agenda, and we are truly excited to see what they will recommend.” 

Led by Saunders and overseen by Lara Paemen, Managing Director of IFMA Europe, Middle  East and Africa (IFMA EMEA), the Research Advisory Committee includes: 

• Ryan Anderson, VP, Global Research and Insights, MillerKnoll (formerly Herman Miller). 
• Colleen Conklin, Client Relations Executive and Former Director of Research, Sodexo Global  Corporate Services. 
• Dr. Duygu Erten, Director, IKLIMER, Climate Research Center, member of LEED International  Committee and advisory committee of WGBC, co-founder of Turkish Green Building Council,  former board member USGBC. 
• Prof. Dr. Moacyr Eduardo Alves da Graça, Professor at the Escola Politécnica da USP, Brazil.
• Dr. Joseph Lai, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
• Dr. Kathy Michell, Associate Professor, Deputy Dean (Undergraduate Studies), Faculty of  Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Cape Town, and member of the editorial board and regional editor (Africa) for the Journal of Facilities Management. 
• Professor Dr. Mark Mobach, Lector Facility Management at the Hanze University of Groningen,  Lector Spatial Environment and the User at The Hague University and Leading Lector of  NoorderRuimte, the Hanze Research Center for Built Environment. 
• Thomas Nørmark, Global Head of AI and Robotics, NTT Data, member of the Board of Advisors,  AI Innovation House, and Chairman of the Copenhagen AI Festival. 
• Professor Dr. Andreas Pfnür, FRICS, chair of Real Estate Business Administration and  Construction Management at the Department of Law and Economics of the Technische  Universität Darmstadt, Germany, and member of the boards of directors of the German Real  Estate Institute and the German Federal Association of Public-Private Partnership (BPPP e.V.  Netzwerk Infrastrukturmanagement). 
• Dr. Peggie Rothe, Chief Insights & Research Officer, Leesman Index. 
• Nancy Sanquist, Author, Member, IFMA Foundation Board of Trustees, Former SVP, Global  Strategic Marketing, Planon. 
• Pa Sinyan, Managing Partner, Gallup Europe. 

“Thought leadership is – and always has been – paramount for IFMA,” said IFMA President and CEO Don Gilpin. “With this new globally diverse panel, IFMA will increase the number of resources provided to the FM community. We’re excited to see how the Research Advisory  Committee will help IFMA evolve and innovate as we make the FM industry, and world, a better place.” 

IFMA will not only conduct novel research surrounding the ongoing FM transformations but also examine global trends, innovations and more shaping the future of FM.