Resource
The ACEC Research Institute’s 2025 Community Building Roadmap provides a snapshot of how participating engineering firms are integrating inclusion, engagement, and community-building practices across four key domains: workplace, workforce, marketplace, and supplier/community.
Key Finding:
- Overall results place the typical firm in the “Emerging” maturity category, with strong executive commitment and cultural initiatives evident but uneven integration of structured strategies, analytics, and external engagement.
- Workplace practices show the highest maturity, supported by executive commitment, cultural initiatives, and internal messaging.
- Workforce systems and Supplier/Community engagement present the greatest opportunities for advancement, with many firms still in early stages of development.
The findings highlight that although many firms have established visible commitments and programmatic initiatives, broader institutionalization, accountability mechanisms, and data-driven approaches are needed to achieve best-in-class performance.
Methodology:
The 2025 Community Building Roadmap reflects a refreshed framework and updated methodology, repositioned from the former Diversity Roadmap to better capture a broader range of organizational and community practices. Results represent a standalone snapshot of participating firms’ self‑reported practices at the time of assessment and are organized into standardized maturity categories: Aspiring, Emerging, Managing, and Optimizing.