# BIM Policy Trends in Europe: Insights from a Multi-Stage Analysis
## 5 Conclusions  
The study delineated in this manuscript provides a significant contribution to the domain of building information modelling (BIM) policy and implementation across Europe. It offers an extensive review of BIM strategies, regulations, and standards, illuminating the digital transformation within the construction sector. The research integrates data from varied sources, including government regulations, scholarly articles, and industry publications, to provide a detailed panorama of BIM across European contexts. Despite the pre-existence of some references, the compilation and analysis of such a comprehensive dataset to articulate BIM policies and implementation across Europe represent a substantial scholarly addition. The manuscript is likely to have significant implications for a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. By evaluating the BIM policies across various European countries, the study potentially reveals the effectiveness of these strategies in driving digital advancements in the construction sector. Insights from this research are valuable for researchers assessing the impacts of BIM policy trends. For practitioners, the findings offer guidance on adopting and operationalizing BIM, while policymakers can derive insights for developing BIM policy frameworks suitable for their specific contexts. This research was executed through a meticulous, multi-stage study leveraging an extensive database to explore the BIM implementation and policy landscape. It commenced with a structured data collection process that included defining the research objectives, selecting and designing the data collection methods, and aggregating the data. The primary aim was to unearth regulations mandating BIM usage in public procurement and to discern BIM trends through a text mining approach using predefined keywords across major scientific databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. A systematic literature review (SLR) highlighted an increasing trend in publications discussing BIM implementation, policy, and mandates, particularly focusing on countries like Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany. These countries either have or are planning BIM mandates. The bibliometric network visualization demonstrated significant co-occurrences of BIM with keywords such as \"_life cycle assessment_ (LCA)\" and \"_energy efficiency_\", which align with the European Commission's _Industry 5.0_ proposal for digital and ecological transformation. The most frequently cited articles included discussions related to these proposals, indicating a significant emphasis on the digital twin concept for smart cities, a prevailing trend in contemporary scientific literature. The research also entailed detailed searches using specific phrases in the official languages of the target countries via Google. Despite the challenges posed by language translation, the process was rigorously managed to ensure the accuracy of the data. Additionally, the review of the European Construction Sector Observatory Country Fact Sheets provided further insights into BIM policies within the EU and the UK. This process yielded over 230,000 records, with duplicates subsequently removed for qualitative analysis. The rigorous verification of information from official government websites and public agencies that have implemented or plan to introduce BIM requirements assured extensive coverage. However, due to the broad scope and linguistic challenges, omissions may have occurred. Despite this, the compilation of diverse sources of BIM policies lays a groundwork for future updates and extended research. Future studies could benefit from direct inquiries to specific institutions, focusing on more nuanced regional details, which would be facilitated by the insights of this study. Additionally, investigating the reasons behind disparities in BIM policy adoption across different countries could provide deeper insights.