Meeting the challenge
From the CEO
David Parken LFRAIA
The effects of the global economic downturn in 2009 made it a tough year for many businesses and organisations, and the Institute was no exception. However I am pleased to report that we rose to the challenge and instigated a number of sound measures to reduce expenditure while ensuring services to members remained unaffected.
We were able to maintain a high level of optimism throughout the year, as witnessed by our launch of the A+ Membership scheme. Since the Institute launched A+ in 2009, the take-up from members has surpassed our expectations. Now, more than 1000 practices have taken advantage of the benefits which A+ offers, including significantly lower individual membership fees (up to 50% less than present levels), tailored payment options, online access to Acumen, Environment Design Guide and Australian Standards. A+ proved to be a real benefit to all our members and especially to sole practitioners and smaller practices that were able to obtain additional services at a significant cost reduction.
To assist our Chapters through this difficult year, other measures were put in place to help nail-down expenses and eliminate all non-essentials. We instigated monthly meetings between the National office and Chapters to discuss the maintenance of their financial integrity. Based on our Strategic Plan, our business units introduced operational plans that responded to the downturn, and the budget setting process that resulted was a resounding success.
I wish to thank all of those who were involved, as by mid-year the results were promising, with Institute operational expenses reduced by around $1 million. Combined with an excellent performance by our subsidiary, IBL Ltd, whose business actually grew in non-architectural areas, the Institute finished the financial year ahead of budget. This is in stark contrast to many other building industry organisations that suffered staff reductions and program cuts. I am proud to say that the Institute did not have to implement any staff redundancies or cuts to programs.
On an organisational structural level, 2009 saw the introduction of a Chief Operating Officer. In this new role, Ross Clark’s appointment has been twofold: it gave me a greater opportunity to engage with government on policy priorities and which resulted in 18 submissions being made to government last year; it also created a better day-to-day focus on operations within the Institute which helped us to finish the year within budget.
We launched our new-look website, and feedback in regard to its ease of navigation and design has been very well received.
On the policy front, the National Council unanimously agreed to concentrate on three policy priorities:
- Sustainable communities
- The push for the appointment of Government Architects in all states and territories as well as federally
- The introduction of DAF leading practice model to improve planning reforms
We maintained our strong partnership as a co-host of Built Environment Meets Parliament (BEMP), and jointly released a policy document to the Federal Government on the principles needed for planning sustainable communities.
We also have maintained our involvement with the Australian Construction Industry Forum and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council and support their work to try and improve the industry in terms of its sustainability, productivity and social responsibilities.
Despite the downturn, I am pleased to say that all our national corporate partners have stuck by us during this difficult time. This is an outstanding achievement for us, and it demonstrates the value of those partnerships in the long-term. We wish to thank BlueScope Steel, Dulux, Lockwood, Assa Abloy, Kingspan, Virgin Atlantic, Autodesk and AWS for their tremendous support throughout the year.
In other matters, 2009 kicked off with a round of very successful events, including the Awards program (which enjoyed a record number of entries), and Parallax, the National Conference. Another success involved our ongoing plans for the 2010 Venice Biennale that, last year, saw the appointment of Creative Directors, John Gollings and Ivan Rijavec. Another masterstroke was the inspired appointment of Janet Holmes a Court as Commissioner for the Australian Pavilion at the Biennale. Janet hit the ground running and made a significant contribution to the Biennale program. For the first year ever we have received significant financial support from government, and our thanks extend to the State Governments of Victoria and Queensland whose tremendous generosity is helping to fund Australia’s contribution to the Biennale.
On a personal level I wish to thank former Institute President, Howard Tanner, and outgoing President Melinda Dodson, for the commitment and professionalism both brought to the role.
It was also a pleasure to work with supportive and collaborative National Council who seized the challenge of the economic downturn and helped to turn it into a positive outcome for the Institute through wise decision-making and commitment to the task. With over 100 Institute committees, our members’ dedication and voluntary time is valued and appreciated, particularly when so many were experiencing other challenges.
Finally, our Institute staff has my full admiration for the dedication and hard work shown during a difficult year, and it’s through their efforts that the Institute continues to prosper and grow for the benefit of our members.