Forming a building committee deserves more analysis than it usually receives. You should resist the temptation to select supporters, members of the construction industry, and the usual people that you count on for help. Forming a building committee is one of the first things you can do to insure the success of your project. They will be determining the goals for the project are and how to achieve them.
Most of the people that you will want to serve on your building committee are busy and successful in what they do. You will want to make the job of serving on your building committee as easy as possible so that they stay engaged. Be prepared to: meet when it is convenient for them, provide a comfortable and distraction-free venue for meetings, offer a meal or snack and refreshments, keep meetings focused on decision-making rather than open-ended discussions.
The skills that you are looking for in your building committee members are Facilitating, Coordinating, Organizing, Marketing and Communicating. Ideal Committee Members are people who know how to plan and manage. The virtues of a committee member are open-mindedness, diligence and perseverance. Examples of the individuals you are looking for are executives, entrepreneurs, educators, administrators, and managers. The ideal focus for the Building Committee is primarily the process and only secondarily the specifics.
Involvement in the construction industry isn't necessary, and usually it is a handicap. Specialists who diagnose and implement a solution aren't accustomed to the analysis of all the alternatives that need to be explored when multiple requirements need to be balanced. Be aware that “symbolic” members of the Building Committee will require special handling. For example, your largest potential donor might not be able to see the needs of other stakeholders.
The ideal building committee size is five to ten people. As the size of the group increases, participation in meetings and focus on the agenda decrease; so think "smaller is better", and "quality not quantity". Keep in mind the need for a chairperson who will set the agenda, maintain the committee's focus and communicate and coordinate with the stakeholders.
Ideally the building committee should remain focused on the big picture and rely on staff and consultants to do the research, assembly of information, and implementation of decisions. The big picture consists of six key issues: determining needs, analyzing obstacles, considering context, establishing a budget, setting a timetable, and selecting the process. Together these six issues are aspects of the goals for the project. The building committee needs to first formulate the project goals during a planning phase. Then the committee oversees the implementation of these goals during the following phases of design, procurement and implementation.
The Checklist for Building Committees is among our downloadable Resources.
Most of the people that you will want to serve on your building committee are busy and successful in what they do. You will want to make the job of serving on your building committee as easy as possible so that they stay engaged. Be prepared to: meet when it is convenient for them, provide a comfortable and distraction-free venue for meetings, offer a meal or snack and refreshments, keep meetings focused on decision-making rather than open-ended discussions.
The skills that you are looking for in your building committee members are Facilitating, Coordinating, Organizing, Marketing and Communicating. Ideal Committee Members are people who know how to plan and manage. The virtues of a committee member are open-mindedness, diligence and perseverance. Examples of the individuals you are looking for are executives, entrepreneurs, educators, administrators, and managers. The ideal focus for the Building Committee is primarily the process and only secondarily the specifics.
Involvement in the construction industry isn't necessary, and usually it is a handicap. Specialists who diagnose and implement a solution aren't accustomed to the analysis of all the alternatives that need to be explored when multiple requirements need to be balanced. Be aware that “symbolic” members of the Building Committee will require special handling. For example, your largest potential donor might not be able to see the needs of other stakeholders.
The ideal building committee size is five to ten people. As the size of the group increases, participation in meetings and focus on the agenda decrease; so think "smaller is better", and "quality not quantity". Keep in mind the need for a chairperson who will set the agenda, maintain the committee's focus and communicate and coordinate with the stakeholders.
Ideally the building committee should remain focused on the big picture and rely on staff and consultants to do the research, assembly of information, and implementation of decisions. The big picture consists of six key issues: determining needs, analyzing obstacles, considering context, establishing a budget, setting a timetable, and selecting the process. Together these six issues are aspects of the goals for the project. The building committee needs to first formulate the project goals during a planning phase. Then the committee oversees the implementation of these goals during the following phases of design, procurement and implementation.
The Checklist for Building Committees is among our downloadable Resources.