Stakeholder engagement is a central commitment required by the PfS. The engagement process under the BSF should enable discussion between the ProjectCo, the local authority and schools, enabling better identification of sustainable energy needs. Indeed, several studies have highlighted the contribution of customers and users to the innovation process. Gardiner and Rothwell (1985) emphasize the role of the customer in the innovation of aircraft and agricultural machinery and go so far as to argue that the customer should be a full “partner” in the design process. According to them, “difficult customers” stimulate superior designs (Gardiner and Rothwell, 1985). Miller et al. (1995) echo this argument and draw attention to the role of the customer as a key source of knowledge for complex product innovation. Albers and Walker (1997) also emphasize that change must be customer-driven. In the context of the construction industry, Slaughter (2000) argues that the complex “multi-agent” nature of construction projects requires the collaborative efforts of key project stakeholders, including the client, to drive innovation . Nam and Tatum (1992a) studied the instruments used to stimulate innovation in construction projects; one of the main instruments reported is customer participation. Nam and Tatum (1997) also showed that in such a context, customers can play the dominant role of “champions” of innovative products and processes. This was echoed by Bröchner and Grandison (1992) and Mitropoulos and Tatum (2000), who argued that customer involvement is a key driver of innovation. Customer engagement is essential to implementing energy-saving design innovations. Since customers will ultimately finance most of the cost of innovation, middle of paper ...... said: "It is therefore very useful to think of design as being promoted through networks [ ...] rather than as being developed on the “supply side” and then passed over a wall to the “customer” (p. 498). Stakeholder engagement is a central commitment required by the PfS. The engagement process under the BSF should enable discussion between the ProjectCo, the local authority and schools, enabling better identification of sustainable energy needs. It can also help to develop a solution based on a better understanding of the exact needs of the local authority and school. Proposition 2: Supporting the BSF engagement process for effective communication and collaboration between the ProjectCo, the local authority and the school will provide the ProjectCo with the opportunity to better identify sustainable energy needs and the incentive to innovation.