This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Small Firm Round Table .
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The AIA approved the formation of the Small Firm Round Table in 2009 and we are in our second year. This group's main mission is to advocate for the small firm in the AIA and provide small firm feedback on the benefits and services provided by AIA. We identified a small firm representative from each of the 18 regions and 17 of those along with the SFRT Executive Committee met in Dallas at the end of March. Jeffery Potter, FAIA and Dennis Andrejko, FAIA from the leadership were also in attendance. We formed 4 task groups to cover Knowledge Access, Controlling Exposure, Outreach (explaining what small firms can do) and Resource Optimization, all of which have met and are moving forward on their top priorities.
The group has a KnowledgeNet page that is open for membership to expand networking oppportunities. We are encouraging the SFRT ExCom and members to provide a voice on advocacy issues and contract documents development. At the March meeting, Contract documents staff participated in the March meeting by conference call to discuss the A105 and B105 documents and obtained feedback on possible changes to ensure the documents can be used by small firms. The SFRT provided a written 2-page recommendation to AIA leadership on the SBA issues of raising the threshold from $4.5K to $19M.
Please provide your feedback on issues you think need to be advocated for at the AIA by SFRT. We hope that the SFRT will continue to become a strong voice for the small firm members at AIA.
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Linna Frederick AIA
Principal
Frederick & Frederick Architects
Beaufort SC
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