Responding to widespread demand, DBIA has developed a national individual membership program. As a result, anyone can now join DBIA as a practitioner, owner or academic and receive benefits in five key areas:

Industry Leadership: Individual members can actively influence design-build’s future by getting involved at the local, regional, and national level.

Advocacy: They can assist in the promotion of integrated services and participate in the elimination of laws and regulations that impede its use.

Information: Members can learn about and participate in the latest industry updates as well as critical "how to" technical information by receiving 11 issues of the newly expanded DATELINE, four issues of Design•Build Magazine, the "members only" section of our Website, plus other publications. A biweekly electronic newsletter also is in development.

Education: By earning Design-Build Professional designation and taking advantage of other learning opportunities, members can enhance their professional skills through numerous educational programs at local meetings, regional workshops and the national conference.

Networking: Central to most local activities is networking, which allows members to form new relationships with others who share similar interests in design-build project delivery.

Concurrent with the development of the individual membership, DBIA is revising its Industry Partner membership benefits and developing two new categories: Owners and Academics. Owners and academics now can join as Industry Partners and receive a CD of the Manual of Practice as well as member firm benefits. This new development enables both groups to collaborate with colleagues easily and participate proactively in the advancement of design-build project delivery at a greatly reduced membership rate.

For more information about individual membership or industry partner membership contact Ellyn Lester, vice president of membership services at (202) 682-0110 or elester@dbia.org.

2005 Water/Wastewater Projects Conference

The Design-Build Institute of America and co-sponsors–the Water Environment Federation, American Water Works Association and American Public Works Association invite owners and practitioners to participate in Design-Build–From Fantasy to Reality, a two-and-a- half-day conference scheduled for Feb. 9-11, 2005, in Orlando, Fla. The water specialty conference will provide significant quality educational and networking opportunities for public utility owners and the water community.

Join water industry leaders and explore the hallmarks of integrated project delivery. Attendees will discover the possibilities, share the realities and learn new integrated strategies. The conference will provide opportunities to discuss current issues, best practices and challenges facing professionals in the water/wastewater design-build industry. It also will explore the application of integrated design and construction techniques and promote opportunities for a self-directed, facilitated learning environment with an interactive forum.

Over 300 attendees (30% owners) participated last year and an even greater turnout is anticipated in 2005. This is a must-attend event for the industry. For more information or to register, visit www.dbia.org, or contact DBIA at (202) 682-0110.

November Conference CD-ROMs Now Available

DBIA’s 2004 Annual Conference was a huge success as over 1,300 attendees converged on Chicago to gain additional design-build knowledge and tools. It is not too late to benefit! CD-ROMs from all sessions now are on sale.

More than 30 sessions provided attendees with innovative, replicable, and effective techniques to guarantee success as part of an integrated design-build team. Focused sessions combined with case studies to provide an exceptional learning experience.

CD-ROMs with high-quality audio and PowerPoint presentations (when available) are on sale so that everyone can take advantage of these learning opportunities. To order a particular session–or the full conference set—visit www.netsymposium.com, or call 1-(800)-679-3646. The cost is $16/session, or $229 for the entire set.