Post-occupancy interventions: a review of stakeholders' roles in the decision making process

School buildings and supporting facilities makes significant contribution to the quality and experience of education especially at the pre-tertiary stage. In the UK, the government spends a significant part of the education budget on providing and maintaining school properties throughout the country. In recent years, particular emphasis has been placed on replacing ageing facilities, however, in the current economic climate, the performance renewal and upkeep of school buildings is receiving more focus than the complete replacement of existing facilities. Building on previous research, the aim of this study was to understand factors that affect the effective delivery of post-occupancy interventions in schools. The study pays particular attention to stakeholder requirements and factors that affect user satisfaction. The focus / steering group as the research methodology of choice was to ensure direct insights into the cause and effects of intervention problems. This methodology also ensured that strategies that can improve the process from design intent to delivery are co-created with stakeholders. The findings emphasised the need for a coherent and robust information and knowledge process during the conceptualisation stages of post-occupancy interventions/work. The importance of effectively capturing user requirements at the inception stages and ensuring that these requirements are integrated into the project and design brief was also found. The findings also highlighted the long term consequence and impact of the fore mentioned factors on the day-to-day operational and maintenance activities of school buildings. The main contribution of this paper is to highlight the complexity of design decision making in schools, present the view point of stakeholders and make recommendations based on findings.