ACEC & TVA Sign Partnering Charter
ACEC and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) signed a partnering agreement on September 30 to formalize an acknowledged shared vision that the two parties can benefit from increased cooperation on international projects. The charter calls for the two organizations to improve communication and collaboration among their respective member companies and to establish and implement a model of public-private partnership on projects outside the United States.
The goals of the agreement are to enhance U.S. private sector competitiveness abroad and to support the retention of specialized, institutional knowledge and expertise within TVA by:
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Establishing a formal linkage between TVA and ACEC member companies in support of international project alliances;¨
Supporting TVA efforts to assist U.S. economic development, particularly within the Tennessee Valley;¨
Facilitating discussion between TVA and ACEC on matters of mutual interest and concern, such as perceived domestic competition and procurement policies, in order to improve cooperation between the two parties;¨
Helping ACEC member companies use TVA. s expertise in river basin management on international projects;¨
Sharing partnering (subcontracting) opportunities on appropriate international projects.As a U.S. government entity, TVA can lend credibility and prestige to a U.S. project team, particularly when dealing with government clients in developing nations. TVA's reputation for river basin resource management can improve the competitive advantage of U.S. project teams over those from competing nations that often include public sector technical assistance and financing.
The two organizations have established an International Partnering Board to oversee implementation of the agreement. The Board will meet at least once a year to review implementation plans, assess progress, and discuss other matters of mutual interest and concern.
Independent Research on ACEC Name Reveals Interesting Findings
Majority of members surveyed support alternative name . . .
In September, hundreds of ACEC members participated in live interviews and an e-mail survey conducted by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide on ACEC's behalf.
These interviews and survey were the first part of the independent research Ogilvy conducted under the direction of the ACEC Public Relations Committee in order to evaluate ACEC's image as well as the recognition, understanding, and value of its name among key audiences.
Research results: The word "consulting" detracts from ACEC's ability to influence prime audiences that are crucial to its mission. Furthermore, with ACEC's broadened membership, increasingly multi- and cross-disciplinary engineering membership, and changing public perceptions, the self-limiting nature of the name causes confusion among several audiences about ACEC being a business-oriented organization.
These research results were of considerable interest at ACEC's San Diego fall conference where they were disseminated by the ACEC Public Relations Committee.
Among the "key audiences" included in Ogilvy's research were member companies, Member Organization executives, firm clients, prospective members, state and federal legislative staff and ACEC leadership. Among the key findings:
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ACEC members view ACEC as the organization that addresses the business interests of private engineering firms.¨
Government relations and business management programs are two of the most important services ACEC provides.¨
ACEC is fundamentally an organization of engineering businesses.¨
The term "consulting engineer" is confusing and is not understood outside of engineering circles.¨
Although most ACEC members consider themselves "consulting engineers," they often use other terms to describe themselves and the work they do.¨
"Engineers" not "consulting" is the most important word in ACEC's current name.¨
"Engineering" is seen as a stronger word than "engineer" because "engineering" conveys the practice and suggests action.¨
There is no single term to describe the numerous disciplines that ACEC represents.¨
An organization's name must be clearly understood by its key audiences. This is particularly true for associations.¨
There are three concepts that the name of this organization should convey. They are: "business," "engineering," and "association." These concepts represent both the membership and the scope of the organization.At the request of the Public Relations Committee, in November Ogilvy undertook a second step in its research to assess specific new name options and to help ACEC determine which will best represent ACEC for the long term and not work against ACEC's many purposes across its various domains.
Working with an even larger sample of one-on-one personal interviews with ACEC's key audience members, including potential public and private clients, Ogilvy also completed another e-mail survey that included specific name options, plus the opportunity for responders to comment and weigh in with their own name suggestions. The survey elicited 300 replies and the results of the research revealed that:
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Nearly 66% of those surveyed/interviewed preferred the name "American Council of Engineering Companies" (ACEC),¨
"Engineering Companies of America" (ECA), was preferred by 3% of the responders, and¨
"Engineering Businesses of America" (EBA), was preferred by 3% of the responders.Read the Jan./Feb. issue of American Consulting Engineer magazine (now in press) for additional details about the research. Watch this space in future editions of The Last Word for updates on this evolving issue.
The Price of Government "Red Tape" in Federal Engineering Design/Construction
ACEC recently released an in-depth analysis of the impact of federal government regulations, legislation, executive orders, and restrictive material and technical specifications on the cost of engineering and constructing projects for the federal government. Conducted by the Logistics Management Institute, the study surveys ACEC member firms every three to four years (since 1989) to ascertain the cost of these federal mandates.
Titled Impact of Federal Government Contracting Requirements on Design and Construction Costs , the study assesses how compliance with federal contracting requirements raises the price tag on federal projects. The study found that compliance increases engineering design costs by as much as 6 percent and construction costs by as much as 9 percent. This impact exists in spite of the Government Performance and Review Act's initiatives in the past few years to reduce government impact and eliminate "red tape." This additional cost is based on a comparison with similar projects completed for typical private-sector clients.
"The burden associated with unreasonable contracting requirements is a major area of concern to design firms that do business with the federal government," said ACEC Executive VP Dave Raymond.
The survey identifies 44 contracting clauses that have federal regulatory, legislative, or presidential origin that may have an effect on the cost of doing business with the federal government. These clauses fall into five requirement categories: socioeconomic; cost control and accountability; business protection; labor statute; and technical and material specifications. For a full copy of the report, visit www.acec.org/programs/impact.pdf.
Don't Miss 2001 "Academy Awards of the Engineering Industry" in Nation's Capital
Join colleagues, prominent leaders for March 13 gala celebration
Still angry about missing the Academy Awards on TV last spring? Not to worry; for this spring, ACEC's engineers have developed a solution. Now you can catch all the great winners-engineering winners, that is-at the "Academy Awards of the Engineering Industry" in our nation's capital.
Celebrating the nation's most significant engineering achievements of the past year, the ACEC annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) Banquet on March 13 will spotlight engineering accomplishments in a grand context: the ballroom of the famous Mayflower Hotel. For the first time ever, ACEC is holding the EEA banquet in conjunction with its annual Consulting Congress Day, when ACEC members visit Congress to educate members about important engineering business issues.
This EEA gala-a formal, black-tie event-will be an excellent opportunity for invited Members of Congress and the national press to see firsthand how America's private engineering industry powers our great economy and enhances our quality of life.
All ACEC members are invited to attend this prestigious event, and ACEC encourages firms to consider participating as a sponsor. Consult the ACEC web site (https://www.acec.org/secure/forms/eea.htm) for full information about sponsorship opportunities, hotel reservations, and other details. This is a great way to increase the visibility of your firm!
Editor: Francis George (fgeorge@acec.org)
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