CIBS Frequently Asked Questions

• How do members participate in project selection?

  One time a year, at one of our in-person bi-annual meetings, the IAB will vote on their preferred projects. Months prior to this meeting the CIBS faculty will engage with the members to discuss ideas which will then be solidified into project proposals, based on the needs of the industry. These ideas are formally proposed to the center, both written and orally. After proposal, the IAB vote occurs and the list of projects that are awarded are finalized. 

• How are members involved in the center projects?

  There are two mechanisms for involvement, baseline and Industry Mentorship (IM). The baseline involvement includes providing feedback at the quarterly reporting intervals. Two of the quarterly updates coincide with the in-person CIBS meetings and two are written. At the in-person events you will be asked to provide written feedback for each of the projects and evaluate their progress. The second involvement mechanism is through our Industry Mentorship (IM) program. This program assigns IAB members to specific projects to provide broad oversight and advice for the project team (denoted by the dotted line in our org chart). The IM and project team will decide how best to meet and at what intervals. These informal arrangements provide more insights into the project activities for the IM as well as an efficient means for the project team to ensure outcomes remain relevant to the IAB. 

  

• How do I join?

  Contact the CIBS director (CIBS Faculty-Staff) to start the process

• What does membership cost?

  Membership levels, per annum, are provided below for the three tiers CIBS provides:

  Membership Level	Fee	Applies to
  Full Member	$50K	All firms/organizations
  Small Business or A&E/Construction Services	$10K	Any firm/organization that qualifies as a small business per the USSBA and/or provides construction, engineering, or architectural services as its primary source of revenue.
  Double Full Member	$100K	All firms/organizations

• How much time should I expect membership to require for people at my company?

  That is largely up to you and your company. At a minimum, we expect one person to attend our bi-annual meeting of the center and represent your company on the IAB for 1.5 days each meeting. We additionally offer opportunities for, and encourage, participation at a much deeper level through our Industry Mentorship program, which allows people/groups to connect with specific projects ane meet with the project teams on a regular basis in between bi-annual meetings. These connections are critical to generating value for your company from CIBS and ensuring relevant outcomes from our research. 

• Is there a minimum length of commitment for membership?

  No. The membership is year-over-year and members can leave at any time. We encourage giving the center at least two years to provide tangible outcomes and demonstrate value for your company but that is not required. We do require 90 days' notice to cancel membership.

• I'm a member, where do I find member-specific information?

  We have a sharepoint site that is dedicated to sharing information with the CIBS IAB. Access to this site will be provided immediately after joining the center.

  CIBS Member Sharepoint

• Do all members share project outcomes? 

  Yes. All project outcomes are provided to all members of the center

• How do I find out what expertise is available in CIBS?

  Check out our research page and our faculty page to see what experience our faculty have 

• How do you decide what research to focus on?

  With help from our members! Roughly once a year we will develop research strategy update and interact with our members to solicit feedback on your technical needs and your vision for the future of our industry. We distill this into an update to our broader strategic plan for the center. This plan is used to solicit specific projects as well as guide the IAB decision making process when projects are selected. 

• How will members interact with student within the center?

  Each in-person CIBS meeting will provide opportunity for face-to-face interaction with the current CIBS students. Additionally, participating as an Industry Mentor (IM) provides additional opportunities to interact with the students with more regularity

• Will members have an opportunity to present employment opportunities to CIBS students?

  Absolutely! Our members are welcome to discuss employment opportunities directly with the students or ask the faculty to share opportunities with the students