CEDIA has unveiled its new strategic plan that will prioritize the work of the association over the next three years. Developed jointly by the CEDIA staff and board, with input from members and guidance from esteemed strategy expert, Dr. Rebecca Homkes, the plan aims for significant advances and leadership in three key areas: education; increasing professionalism though standards, guidelines, and best practices; and deeper engagement and partnership with the design and build community.
“The strategy process provided an unparalleled opportunity to align the values, interests, and input of all of CEDIA’s key stakeholders,” says David Humphries, CEDIA Chairman. “We have been able to build consensus on what success should look like for CEDIA at the end of this strategy and how we as an organization will get there.”
Tabatha O’Connor, CEDIA Global President and CEO, adds, “CEDIA is committed to members and their success, and this process created clarity around the priorities that provide the most meaningful benefit to them individually and to the industry as a whole.”
Educating the Workforce
“The overall health of the industry is dependent upon a well-trained and professional workforce, and CEDIA’s responsibility is to deliver education pathways to support that. CEDIA will seek to enhance the overall education experience through refining, curating, and developing new, relevant, and compelling courses. This will include an improved digital experience as well as expanded regional education offerings,” says O'Connor.
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For 2018, CEDIA has scheduled over 50 regional training events in 12 countries. CEDIA education offerings will be available across the U.S., Canada, and Europe as well as India, Colombia, Australia, and China.
Setting Standards
The second area of focus is creating standards, developing best practices, and defining guidelines to elevate professionalism and drive member and industry success.
O'Connor says, “The ever-evolving nature of technology makes it especially important to ensure the highest level of expertise, which leads to consistent, successful client outcomes. We will be deeply engaged with relevant standards bodies to create and influence the direction of industry standards. We know time is a limited resource, so we will distill down these technical documents to deliver the information in a way that is quick and easy to understand and can be immediately implemented.”
CEDIA will also collaborate with manufacturers to facilitate adoption of the standards in new product development: The association will also seek to better understand product road maps and how CEDIA education can advance awareness, understanding, and implementation of these new technologies.
Engagement with Design/Build Community
The third directive outlined in the strategy is to develop deeper engagement with the design/build community.
“Throughout this process, we looked long and hard at how to move the needle for the industry and for CEDIA members, we determined that it was by building awareness and creating demand for CEDIA members’ services with architects, builders, and designers,” says Humphries.
Efforts have been ramping up over the last two years, highlighted by the successful CEDIA Technology Solutions Pavilion at Design and Construction Week, which welcomes 80,000 architects, builders, and designers at the annual trade show.
CEDIA also currently has a proven, successful initiative supporting this effort — The CEDIA Outreach Instructor programme — that will get more emphasis and focus ongoing.
“Additionally, we plan to engage in an integrated marketing campaign including hiring a media relations firm specialized in this area to ensure that architects, builders, and designers know who we are, what we do, and why they need to work with their local CEDIA member,” he continues.
“We are incredibly energized about the future — for both our industry and our association. We look forward to sharing our progress and success with the members,” says O'Connor.
