Overview of the AIA's Design Assistance Team Program and the 'Snowball Effect' it creates in communities.

1. The Design Assistance
Team Program
Presentation to the CACE Annual
Meeting
Minneapolis, Minnesota
August 7, 2014

2. Since 1967…Collectively the DAT program,
a public service of the AIA, represents over
1000 professionals from more than 30
disciplines providing millions of dollars in
professional pro bono services to more than
200 communities across the country. The
program has catalyzed over one billion dollars
in new investment in just the past 5 years..

3. R/UDATs & SDATs

4. DAT Impacts in large cities over
the years…
• San Francisco
(Embarcadero)
• Portland (Pearl District)
• Seattle (Downtown
housing)
• Denver (LoDo/16th Street
mall)
• Austin (Downtown
Revitalization)
• Santa Fe (Railyard
Redevelopment/Park)
• Process adaptation in
UK and across Europe

5. SDAT vs. R/UDAT
• SDAT is…
– 3 day process
– Costs $5,000 (AIA
covers up to 15K team
costs)
– Community
presentation
– Report 2-3 months
later
• R/UDAT is…
– 4.5 day process
– Community covers
cost of hosting the
team
– Community
presentation
– Report delivered on
site

7. What distinguishes the DAT?
• We are NOT:
– Another Consultant Team
– A process to produce a
planning document
• “Please don’t give us
another plan. We have
plenty – they all sit on the
shelves. We need
implementation strategies.”
– Almost Every community
– Government-focused
– “Green”-focused
– Building-focused
• We ARE:
– Public Service in the Public
Interest
• “Consultants work for
somebody. Design
Assistance Teams work for
everybody.”
– Action-Oriented
– Community-focused
– Holistic, Customized
• “It’s about the space
between the buildings, and
the people that inhabit that
space”
– Catalytic, Momentum-
generating

8. How Does the DAT Program
help?
• Transcends local political dynamics – moves beyond
narrow interests and constituencies to broader, shared
community interests
• Re-defines public work to include the whole
community and set the stage for civic leadership and
partnership
• Creates a broad sense of community ownership by
collaborating on an authentic community process
• Builds customized frameworks, action-oriented
strategies and priorities
• Positions a local jurisdiction for major investment
(private, federal, etc)

9. “We have no public resources to
implement”
• Volunteerism = $171 billion (only 64 mill people)
• Total Charitable Giving = $298.42 billion.
• Non-profits = $300 billion in investment into local
communities
• Over half of all states have enacted legislation to enable
private-sector participation in infrastructure projects, where
there is an estimated $180 billion to be leveraged
• Crowdfunding - $3 billion, and growing

10. The Snowball Effect
“a figurative term for a process that starts from
an initial state of small significance and builds
upon itself, becoming larger and faster at every
stage”
Applied to a community, this is a
transformational principle…

11. “You gave us hope. Back in 1992, your ideas seemed
like dreams. Now we are living those dreams.”
– Rick Smith, San Angelo Times-Standard, 2012

12. CASE STUDY:
Newport, Vermont
2009 R/UDAT Project

13. Newport – 2 year ‘snowball’
• Newport, Vermont (2009)
• Last town in state to receive
downtown designation,
double-digit unemployment
• Citizen: “I’ve seen Newport
come, and I’ve seen it go”
• Newport, Vermont (2011)
• $250 million in new
investment, and 2,000 new
jobs coming online
• “The biggest change here
has been one of attitude.
Now we realize that
through partnerships, we
can do anything. Now,
nothing is impossible.”

14. CASE STUDY:
Port Angeles, Washington
2009 SDAT Project

15. Port Angeles, WA 2009 SDAT: 2 months later, 43
buildings repainted with volunteers and donated paint,
led to a façade improvement program, then private $

16. Today: Millions in New Investments

17. Transforming Downtown

18. Waterfront: from SDAT to
Masterplan to…

19. Realizing their aspirations

20. Award-winning design

21. Bringing People Back to the
Waterfront

22. Creating an Attractive Sense
of Place

23. Snowball Effect: $100+ million

24. And, it keeps going

25. Case Study – Birmingham, AL
2011 R/UDAT Project

26. Catastrophic Impact

27. Frustration
• "I think everyone in the neighborhood is tired," said Patricia
Montgomery. Montgomery and others are tired of seeing their
neighborhood look the way it does. Trees are still down,
homes have been abandoned. While many are rebuilding,
others are not and Montgomery says lately it doesn't seem
like a whole lot of work is being done. "I understand it's
going to take a while to get stuff done but when you look out
your house everyday and you see trees just laying, dead trees
just laying there it makes you like, I'm so sick of this," said
Montgomery. "I'm willing to get out there and help. My
neighbors, I'm sure there are willing to get out there and help
but we don't know where to start."

28. Immediate R/UDAT Outcomes
• “it is a plan than we can use as a guide as
we go back to restoring our community to
not just the way it was, but better than it
was before.”-Mayor William Bell
• ‘Greater Pratt Partnership’

29. Birmingham R/UDAT Outcomes
• $8 million in federal funds within 2
months
• June 2012 – TIGER Grant of $10
million
• “The coalition of communities and
organizations that have come together
behind this grant is incredibly
impressive. I think we all know we are
working in an environment of finite
resources, so from a federal standpoint
it is always extraordinarily helpful to
see a large commitment from the local
community, the private and public
sector and the region as a whole
behind one project.” – Federal official
• 2013: another $17 million in federal
community block grants

30. Two Year Anniversary - 2013

31. Three-Year Anniversary:
‘Tragedy to Triumph’ Celebration
“No one thought we
could get this much
done in just 3 years.
We have done it
together. We are a
community on the
move! Aint no
stopping us now! I
can’t wait to see what
we will have done in
ten years. –
Neighborhood Assc.
Leader

37. 2011
2014
…and it keeps going

38. How do DATs help AIA
Components?
• Visibility with the public & public officials
• Engagement with current/future Members
• Economic Development & Job Creation
• Community Impact & Pride

39. Public Sector Impact
“A few days ago, Mayor Bell of Birmingham gave
welcoming remarks at our Alabama AIA state convention,
and his comments centered on this work. Wow. Mayor
Bell got the message about the value of design for the
public. Not only did he appreciate the outcome of the
work, but he praised the impact of good design on our
communities and expressed fervent appreciation of the
work we architects do. We could not have written a script
more complimentary. The real value of this design
assistance effort is a renewed credibility of our
profession and a commitment for future collaboration.
These AIA dollars were a great investment.”
– AIA National Board Member, 2013

40. Remaking Cities Congress, 2013
“Thank you and the American Institute of
Architects for all you have done to help move
Birmingham forward.” – Mayor William Bell

41. Economic Impact
“Thank you for the project you did
in Port Angeles. Our firm won the
million dollar contract to do the
master planning for their
waterfront!” –AIA Member

42. Emerging Professionals Impact
"Thanks so much for inviting and letting our CRC students participate
in the AIA R/UDAT for Rio Vista. What an educational experience!
Each of them, as they move along their educational pathways into their
architectural careers, will remember this experience and benefit from it
for the rest of their lives. To learn about how to take a global look at
creating livable, sustainable and vibrant communities will have a
profound multiplier effect and impact their design decisions as
professionals. I interviewed each of them in front of the rest of our
ARCH 332/334 class and, to a person, they were so excited to have
participated in the process and felt the learning was invaluable.”

43. Community Impact
A primary outcome has been that
the process awakened community
pride and inspired a “together we
can” attitude.” –Nathan West, Port
Angeles Community Development

44. A Tool for AIA Repositioning
• “Guide the conversation by creating more
occasions to engage the public.”
• “The AIA’s sweet spot is the intersection of
collaborative, passionate/visionary, and
problem-solving.”
• “Building relevance is ultimately a matter
of demonstrating impact.”

45. Training Institute
& Tech Assistance
• Training Platform: Public Participation, the
Design Assistance Model
• Technical Assistance in implementing local
DATs, providing guidance on public
participation, process design,
communications, and methods for your
specific situation.

46. Questions?
http://www.aia.org/about/initiatives/AIAS075265