Leadership Reflections - Strengthening DBIA’s Foundation

DBIA MISSION STATEMENT, adopted November, 5, 2009: “DBIA promotes the value of design-build project delivery and teaches the effective integration of design and construction services to ensure success for owners and design and construction practitioners.”

As DBIA’s chief staff executive, I’m often asked how we are working to further the mission adopted by the DBIA Board last November. As you all know by now, DBIA’s mission is to promote the value of design-build project delivery and teach the effective integration of design and construction services to ensure success for owners and design and construction practitioners.

Without question, the most compelling part of the statement is focused on “ensuring success for owners and practitioners.” The actions of “promoting value” and “teaching” speak clearly to how we plan to get there.

Three core DBIA products are aimed at achieving this mission: education, certification and the Design-Build Manual of Practice. Why? Because they reinforce the value of design-build project delivery by promoting best practices in integrated design and construction. These staples of DBIA have been refined and enhanced over time to reflect both the dynamic nature of the industry, as well as the evolution of design-build practice. The knowledge collected in these products is the result of extensive research, broad industry input and lessons learned. Comprised of some of the nation’s foremost industry experts, DBIA’s Policy and Standards Committee continually focuses on verifying that the content of each offering provides relevant, cutting-edge information that supports the success of everyone involved in design-build project delivery.

The truest testimony to the value of design-build lies in the projects themselves. The goal is always innovative and high-quality design and construction of capital projects delivered on time, on budget and with the highest level of customer satisfaction. The best practices laid out in the MOP and the education courses members take to earn and maintain certification as Designated Design-Build Professionals should contribute in significant ways to success in design-build project delivery.

Practices, including those DBIA advocates as “best,” must always reflect rigorous research on design-build practices, trends and methodology. For this reason, DBIA is working to make its foundation of education, certification and Manual of Practice even stronger by reviewing, standardizing and updating coursework and adding new or revised MOP chapters. Just as important, we are verifying that they all reinforce one another by consistently advocating the best and most current thinking on design-build.

With nearly 1,000 professionals working to maintain certification, and several hundred in the application process, DBIA’s job is hardly done. As the use of design-build continues to grow and expand so will the need for highly qualified design-build professionals to remain at the forefront of knowledge and innovation with the help of DBIA’s educational programs, certification program and Manual of Practice.