The mission of the AIA Small Firm Exchange (SFx) is to advance the mutual interests of architects practicing in small firms. The objectives of the AIA SFx are three-fold:
1. Advocate the value of small firms, the national SFx, and local SFx groups, both within the AIA and to the public.
2. Curate and disseminate the most pertinent resources and information, from the AIA & elsewhere, that benefit small firms.
3. Inform the AIA of current issues facing small firms and areas in which current resources/information are lacking.
Approximately 75% of all firms within the AIA are small firms (less than 10 employees), which equates to 14,459 small firms within the organization.
~26.8% = sole practitioners = 5,173
~33.5% = 1-5 employees = 6,459
~14.7% = 5-10 employees = 2,827
For context, small firms share of staff is 16.0% and share of billings is 12.0%
We need to find ways to leverage that size for collaboration and influence, just like the individual large firms do.
Some real talk:
Most firms are NOT signatories (1,200+ of 19,000+ are).
Two-thirds of signatories do NOT have a Sustainable Action Plan.
Most signatories do NOT report any projects in the DDx.
Few signatories report ALL projects.
The goal is to move the needle. The commitment, the plan, the DDx, is all about helping you help us to push the profession to meet the imperative for our work to be carbon-neutral by 2030.
This handout includes some comments we hear a lot and some resources to help you say YES!