After its official launch in April 2020, the new ACEC Research Institute, formerly the Research and Management Foundation, wasted little time in fulfilling its mission of becoming the industry’s leading source of knowledge, research, and thought leadership for creating a more sustainable, safe, secure, and technically advanced built environment.
Led by its Chairman, John Carrato, president and CEO of Alfred Benesch & Company, and Vice Chair Michael J. Carragher, president and CEO of VHB, as part of a 12-member Institute Board of Directors, the Institute first collaborated with FMI Capital Advisors on a survey on ownership transition. It revealed engineering firm owners believe they are better prepared for ownership transition and management succession than they actually are.
That initiative was followed by a comprehensive sevenpart COVID-19 Business Impact Survey, conducted March 17 through May 29, which generated more than 4,200 Member Firm leader responses.
Key survey findings included: Nearly nine out of 10 engineering firms (88 percent) applied for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and nearly all (94 percent) were approved. Also, a strong majority of firm leaders (71 percent) would not allow staff air travel to meetings or events attended by more than 10 people, as a result of COVID-19.
The Institute’s mission to provide effective thought leadership was boosted when the Institute coordinated a three-part Future of Engineering roundtable series featuring some of the nation’s top industry and business analysts. Topics included The Impact of Technology on Engineering, where panelists predicted a heightened awareness of infrastructure in the future; another session focused on The Buildings We Live and Work In, where panelists described why buildings must be adapted for the COVID-19-fueled new normal, and finally Funding in the New Normal, where panelists predicted that it could take years for many major engineering markets to recover from COVID-19’s impact.
“It’s encouraging how the Institute, even in its infancy, has already generated and presented valuable insights from so many business and industry leaders on what they see is happening regarding day-to-day operations and the marketplace,” says Carrato. “The Institute has, and will continue to provide, extremely valuable business intelligence for our Member Firm leaders.”
Looking ahead, the Institute will embark on several more thought leadership initiatives, such as:
As the Institute’s new promo video describes, “If knowledge is truly power, then precise knowledge of those threatening business issues, along with growing business opportunities, must be available at a moment’s notice for our members and our industry.”
For more information on the ACEC Research Institute, visit www.acecresearchinstitute.org.