UKREiiF 2026: One Big Idea

They don’t always arrive fully formed. More often, they start as half-thoughts, frustrations, “what ifs?” or conversations scribbled on the back of a notebook between meetings. But in the built environment – an industry facing unprecedented pressure – those ideas are more important than ever. 

That’s why, heading into UKREiiF 2026, we’re asking a simple question: 

The property, construction and investment sectors are being asked to do more than ever before. 

Deliver more homes. Hit net zero targets. Create places people actually want to live and work in. Make them affordable. And do it all faster, cheaper, and with fewer resources. 

That tension between ambition and reality is exactly where big ideas matter most. 

One Big Idea is our way of creating space for bold thinking at UKREiiF 2026. It’s not about who shouts loudest or has the biggest brand. It’s about surfacing ideas that could genuinely move the industry forward, whether they’re commercial, policy-led, people-focused or something entirely new. 

Your idea could be: 

• A product or service that changes how we deliver
• A new way of tackling one of the industry’s biggest challenges
• An innovative concept that rethinks how places are planned, funded or experienced
• Or simply a better way of doing things we already do 

If it makes the built environment work better, we want to hear about it. 

Why we’re doing this 

From our work across the built environment, one thing is clear: the best ideas don’t always come from the loudest voices. 

They come from: 

• Early-career professionals who see the cracks in the system
• Public sector teams trying to do more with less
• Developers, consultants and investors under pressure to balance purpose with profit 

One Big Idea is about giving those perspectives a platform and connecting them with an audience that can help turn ideas into action. 

For practitioners, it’s a chance to showcase thinking beyond your day job. 
For leaders, it’s a way to spot what’s coming next. 
For the industry, it’s a reminder that progress starts with people willing to think differently. 

Big ideas don’t have to be perfect. They just need to be brave enough to start a conversation. 

Submit your One Big Idea 

Got something worth sharing? 

Visit our One Big Idea homepage and submit your suggestion for the chance to become part of a wider conversation about where the built environment goes next. 

Your submission will be reviewed by a panel of industry experts, and the best three will be selected to be presented at our One Big Idea Breakfast on Wednesday, 20 May at UKREiiF 2026. 

But rest assured that if your entry isn’t selected for the shortlist, it may still be shared with the world as we’ll be looking to include as many as we can in our One Big Idea report, which will be available post-event. 

Want to spark an idea? 

Nobody knows your challenges better than you, but if you need some inspiration on what some of the biggest questions facing the built environment in 2026 are, keep an eye out for our head of construction Katie Nelson’s blogs on the topic later this month. 

And if you’ve already got a lightbulb moment? We can’t wait to hear about it.