The membership benefits of CIB are set out here by category of membership. The value of CIB membership is described qualitatively below.

Participation in Expert Commissions

CIB Individual Members and all employees of CIB Organizational Members may join CIB Commissions and thus:

  • meet experts from all over the world and exchange information and cooperate in international projects
  • have immediate access to state-of-the-art knowledge and information and be able to present and validate their own knowledge and information
  • in general: be part of a network of renowned experts and develop strong professional and personal relationships worldwide.

CIB has over 40+ Commissions that collectively cover most relevant technical, economic, organizational, social and other aspects of building and construction.

Members of CIB Commissions include researchers, academics and innovation-oriented practitioners from all over the world, representing all different types of stakeholders in the planning, design, engineering, construction, use, maintenance, management and deconstruction of buildings and the built environment.

CIB Commission Members are all people who embrace exchange and cooperation and do so without any prejudice against race, politics, religion or gender.

There are other organisations that facilitate international exchange and cooperation related to research in building and construction. However, while their scopes are often restricted to one technology or to one type of building or infrastructural work, CIB’s scope encompasses all aspects of buildings and the built environment. CIB can bring together all possible relevant interests, stakeholders and areas of knowledge and scientific expertise from all over the world and facilitate in-depth and multi-faceted research and consensus building on a vast range of topics.

In general CIB Commissions have a Member meeting each year. In addition they organise international conferences and have online meetings. Such commission meetings and conferences can take place all over the world and are hosted by CIB Member organizations who participate in such commissions.

CIB Commissions publish conference proceedings, state-of-the art-analyses, best-practice presentations, guidelines for practitioners, R&D Roadmaps, research reports and pre-standardization documents.

Senior researchers, academics or practitioners have the opportunity to assume leadership positions in CIB Commissions, which will contribute to establishing and demonstrating their roles as conceptual leaders.

For younger researchers, academics and practitioners being a Member of a CIB Commission offers opportunities for career enhancement, especially if they pursue a career in the research, academic or innovation environment in their country.

It is often suggested that nowadays all information can be found via the Internet and that we live in a world of virtual contacts. It is our belief that face-to-face meetings of peers and the subsequent establishment of personal relationships are substantially more effective in support of interpersonal exchange and collaboration than having virtual contacts only.

Mark of Quality

CIB involvement in a conference, as organiser or cosponsor, is considered a mark of professional quality and relevance, as is CIB’s responsibility for its publications. Quality assurance by CIB Commissions and on behalf of the CIB Board, form a sustained basis for this.

Network of People and Organizations

CIB was established in 1953 with help of the United Nations and holds a special UN Consultative Status. CIB has grown into a network that encompasses 95 organizations and 200 individual members, 3000 experts in over 55 countries.

Being part of the CIB network through CIB Membership offers easy access to all those experts and expert organizations, who all will consider a request for information or cooperation or for help in organizing a local visit or study tour more favourably if it comes from a fellow CIB Member.

Free Information and Publications

The value of CIB membership includes news about CIB Commissions, CIB-related Conferences, CIB Student Chapters and new CIB Publications is published in the free CIB Newsletter, available to everyone with an interest in research and innovation in building and construction.

Most CIB related publications, including more than 3000 state-of-the-art conference papers each year, are freely available.

Value for different types of organisation

Below is outlined the value of CIB membership to the different sectors.

Research

Research programming and funding organizations benefit from:

  • first-hand insight into the world’s leading knowledge and information and into who are the world’s most prominent experts
  • the ability to assess a country’s relative position in the world regarding state-of-the art knowledge and technology
  • access to high status and consensus-based international R&D Roadmaps, research agendas and technology and policy development strategies
  • exchange of experience in the applications of different principles and models for research programming and funding in different countries, for example in the context of providing leadership and support to industry development.

University researchers and research institutes benefit from:

  • Platforms to present and validate their institute’s state-of-the-art knowledge and technology
  • Engagement in the production of high status international state-of-the-art reports and in that context present the institute’s own knowledge and technologies
  • The production of high-status international R&D Roadmaps that give guidance to research funding and programming agencies
  • Opportunities to host international CIB Conferences and other events that enhance their reputation as ambitious research leaders
  • Networking with researchers with a similar interest from all over the world and establishing long-lasting international cooperation between research institutes
  • Incorporation of staff with an indication of their expertise in publicly searchable online CIB databases.

Universities

CIB Membership is open to individual departments, faculties, schools, colleges and other organizational units within a university, or for the university as a whole. The following CIB membership benefits refer especially to the educational activities at universities. For universities’ research activities the benefits listed above under Research Institutes apply.

With special regard to their educational activities, universities in general benefit from:

  • Participation in CIB Commissions offering direct access to the world’s state-of-the-art knowledge and information for incorporation in educational programmes
  • CIB’s Working Commission W089 – Education in the Built Environment – devoted to higher education for building and construction that focuses on topics like educational programmes and models, education and certification and other issues of special importance to educators
  • Networking with academic peers from all over the world, providing a strong basis for long-lasting international collaboration between universities
  • Raised international profile which can positively affect global rankings and attracts students and faculty
  • Career development opportunities including webinars and conferences.

Students benefit from:

  • CIB’s encouragement and facilitation of the formation of CIB Student Chapters in member universities. Especially for the more international and research-oriented students a membership of such chapters offers opportunities for exchange and cooperation with members of CIB Student Chapters in other universities and with senior experts worldwide
  • The opportunity for students to join Working Commissions related International Student Chapters and become part of worldwide networks of students and senior experts with a similar scientific interest
  • Access to CIB’s research database to aid literature searches
  • Many research conferences providing a platform for submission and presentation of papers as well as networking with peers and seniors around the world
  • Career development webinars through the ECR network
  • Opportunities to enter awards.

Industry

In this context the term “Industry” refers to all companies and agencies (including their respective professional associations and staff/ employees/practitioners) engaged on a professional basis in the planning, design, engineering, construction, use, maintenance, management and de-construction of buildings and the built environment. This includes contractors / construction firms, construction materials, product and equipment suppliers, HVAC companies and architectural and engineering consultancies; commercial project developers, housing associations, government building agencies and other professional client and owner organizations; facilities managers and other professional building use related organizations; and organizations engaged in the financing and assurance of buildings and the built environment and in related legal services.

Many of CIB’s Commissions focus on topics of special relevance to one or more specific professional interests. Professional associations and industry agencies especially benefit from:

  • Keeping track of global practices
  • Opportunities to assess their countries’ industry’s and professionals’ performances against the world’s best practices and state-of-the-art knowledge and technologies
  • Demonstrating involvement in the global research and innovation agenda.

Companies and especially companies operating internationally, benefit from:

  • Knowledge of the world’s best practices and state-of-the-art knowledge and technologies
  • Presentation of leading practices in webinars, conferences and publications.

Practitioners, and especially industry innovators, benefit from:

  • Exploring and validating innovative ideas in a stimulating and non-competitive environment of experts with a similar interest from all over the world

Research funders including charitable foundations

Organisations who fund or commission research benefit from:

  • Insights into global trends and best practices in different regions
  • Access to global networks of expertise in their area of interest 
  • Research roadmaps and other publications which identify future research priorities at a global level 
  • New high quality outputs co-branded with CIB, a leading NGO 
  • Global profile in the research and innovation community including researchers and industry.

Members in Developing Countries

Developing countries in this context are defined as countries with a GNIpc of less than USA $ 7000. Such Members are offered a 25% discount to their annual membership fees (and one of 50% in case of a GNIpc being less than USA $ 1000).

CIB Members in developing countries benefit from:

  • Participating in CIB Commissions that focus on issues of special importance to developing countries, such as construction industry development in developing countries and informal settlements
  • Engagement in all CIB Commissions and the opportunities this offers for free worldwide exchange of information on state-of-the-art knowledge and technology, and involvement in voluntary international research collaborations
  • Global profile with research funders and potential research collaborators.

Through active engagement in CIB, members from developing countries are in a strong position to contribute to the enhancement of industry performance and to grow recognition of the importance of the research and academic infrastructure in their countries.

Benefits for Board members

The CIB Board consists of 25 persons who hold senior leadership positions in their countries’ research and academic communities. CIB Board Members include CEOs of national building research institute and agencies, directors of building and construction departments in prestigious national research organizations, deans at internationally renowned universities and R&D directors in worldwide leading architectural engineering and construction companies.

Membership of this Board gives access to a renowned global network of research leaders in building and construction, with possibilities for exchange of experiences and for establishing cooperation that are potentially of high value to their organisations.

CIB Board meetings take place 2-3 times a year in countries all over the world or using online technology. They offer unique opportunities to meet the research leadership in that country, to learn about local issues and to explore options for new strategic partnerships.

Our document below outlines the value of CIB membership.

CIB Membership Brochure June 2023Download