Research to Practice Program

The Research to Practice Program aims to engage the higher education community in investigative green building research through multi-disciplinary student teams working on their campuses and communities to transfer project-based knowledge to practice through the development of tangible tools or resources.

Launched in the fall of 2011, the program attracted teams from 35 higher education institutions representing over 300 individuals studying nearly 450 buildings. Teams, with the help from a faculty or staff advisor, brought together students from architecture, engineering, real estate development, urban planning, interior design, construction management, building and construction technology, energy management, environmental psychology, historic preservation, policy, economics, physics, environmental science, and biology.

Below are executive summaries from Phase I research taken directly from the student reports. The most successful teams are refining their research and creating their Phase II resources due in June 2012. The program outcomes will be shared on the Center for Green Schools website and several teams selected to be showcased at Greenbuild 2012 in San Francisco.

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  Research to Practice Program Phase 1 Executive Summaries

  From September through December of 2011, university teams from across the country and globe participated in Phase I of the Research to Practice Program, conducting detailed research on a variety of on-campus green building topics, including return on investment, post-occupancy behavior, energy use, occupant comfort, storm water management and more. Multi-disciplinary teams were composed of undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. candidates with various academic backgrounds. Many of the Phase I reports and conclusions will support recommendations to university sustainability councils for improving the built environment and campus quality of life.

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  Colorado State University Phase II Roadmap

  The Institute for the Built Environment (IBE) at Colorado State University piloted Phase II of Research to Practice in the fall of 2011. This roadmap outlines successful procedures, sequence of work, development of educational products with clear learning objectives, and lessons learned. This roadmap intends to provide guidance to teams embarking on Phase II of Research to Practice project development, the creation of “teaching case studies”. The goals of a Teaching Case Study are to convey general principles, to illustrate the application of these principles in a specific situation, and to give learners the tools to apply these principles in their own unique situations. Teaching Cases include issue-based stories and guided analysis.

For more information on Research to Practice, please email USGBC with questions.