In November 2004 the Nordic Council of Ministers together with the Nordic countries, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland decided to initiate a collaboration by approving an action plan for improved co-operation between the countries concerned in the area of construction and building.

The co-operation will take place through the following activities:

• to make market information and information on national regulations accessible to potential actors on the market
• to expand the basis of experience and newfound knowledge in housing construction
• to undertake a comparative analysis of regulations within the building sector intended to serve as a basis for deliberations on possible harmonization
• to make it possible to compare competency requirements imposed on certain actors in the building process
• to establish a network for joint research and development on issues relevant to the plan of action.

In this report the first phase of the Nibcor project is presented. The objective is to facilitate the establishment of a network for joint research and development on issues relevant to the plan of action. Three areas for joint R&D have been identified: Meeting client and users requirements Transformation of the Construction Sector Digital Built environment An activity plan for establishing a regional network in these fields is presented.