# How to Adopt BIM in the Building Construction Sector across Greece?
## 3 European Strategy on BIM--What's Happening in Greece?
### The Situation in Greece
During the first five years of the crisis (2008-2013) an important fall was recorded in construction activity, since on 2013, construction was 3.5 percentage points (in GDP participation terms) lower than the average EU-28. Since 2017, a small gradual increase has been noted in construction activity taking into consideration the number of construction licenses issued per year (Figure 2). This tendency permits the prediction of an increase in construction activity and the application of BIM seems to be the medium for saving time and cost for the realization and management of construction. Currently, the issue of BIM is limited to the representation of Greece to the EUBIM Task Group with two members: A representative of the Ministry of Environment and Energy and a representative of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TCG). Indeed, the only application of BIM that has taken place at a national level was for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (Figure 3). This pilot application was developed on a 3D model before the construction process started. However, it was not used and the conventional approach was preferred. Figure 2: Statistics concerning building activity in Greece. Source: [36; 37]. In order to reinforce interest in the use of BIM, the Ministry of Environment and Energy undertook the initiative to establish an \"Interministerial Group for the Promotion of the modelization of BIM construction information\". This initiative aims to: (a) the reinforcement of Greece in the EUBIM Task Group with the composition of the \"BIM Promotion Group\" (up to 5 members in total according to the European specifications) and (b) the relative common coordinated action undertaking. The Task Group's work includes: (a) the compilation of a \"Strategic Plan for the adoption of digital modelization of BIM construction information\" in application of the Directive 2014/24/EE and the European Protocols and (b) the proposition of a specific action plan in order to take the necessary steps for: the creation of an institutional framework for new constructions and the maintenance of the existing ones, the development of the sector skills, the creation of standard tools (for the scholars, the constructors, the suppliers and the public sector), the standardization and certification, the creation of a measurement system for the period of data introduction, the solution of relative legal issues, the proposition for targeted financing tools, and the promotion of case studies and pilot projects. This working group, comprising the general secretaries of the ministries and the representative of the TCG, undertakes the promotion and integration of BIM. Then, sub-working groups will be created with executives from other ministries, the professional associations and authorities, in order to represent all the stakeholders in the construction sector. The whole venture will also be supported by academic institutions, institutes and innovation bodies. Today, the working group is focused on the development of the first roadmap, given the European protocols, the directions of the EUBIM Task Group, as well as the strategic planning examples of other European countries. The target-groups on which the adoption and integration of the BIM is aimed are the following:  
Figure 3: Research design and methodology based on the official procedures for the integration of building information modelling (BIM) in Greece. Source: own elaboration. - project), owner (operation and maintenance), public executives (policy, regulations, standards, control and certification procedures development);
* Private sector: scholars, contractors, constructors, suppliers, owners, enterprises;
* Educational bodies: academic institutes, chambers, associations, Training Institute of National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government (EKDDA), private education bodies. The initial roadmap includes the following:
* Determination of a strategic action plan for the development of 3-5 BIM maturity phases and coordination of the sub-working groups that will operate in various ministries.