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Fueling Innovation in Boston

Boston Society for Architecture

How the Boston Society for Architecture is leveraging member expertise to increase its impact.

31

submissions received from innovators in the Boston region working on equity and sustainability challenges

Five

innovation teams invited to pitch ideas

For more than 150 years, the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) has offered its members a way to find connection and support from like-minded creatives. But as systemic inequities and climate change have come into the fore, the organization wanted to reflect the field’s evolution. So, BSA set out to redefine its role, both as a supporter of its 4,500 member architects and a convener for the broader and more diverse Boston community of residents, academics, students, policymakers, and developers. IDEO led the BSA through an internal rebrand, including a new model of measuring success. The collaboration helped BSA pivot from a networking organization to one that focuses on impact through community-led challenges and proactive calls for ideas.

A diverse group of people at a co-design session

“IDEO gave us the confidence and tools we needed to shift the culture. Four months after the work we did together, we’re looking at this transformative set of tools that we’re using to guide us.”

Billy Craig

Managing Director, Boston Society for Architecture

With 36% of global energy going to buildings and 8% of global emissions caused by cement alone, the architectural community is inextricably intertwined with both the causes and solutions related to climate change.

According to a survey conducted by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the architecture profession in the United States is less diverse than the population as a whole. This lack of diversity can contribute to a disconnect between architects and the communities they serve.

To foster creative projects that spoke to the needs of local communities and environments, the BSA began to engage its members in collaborative, user-led design. The organization launched its first-ever innovation challenge, putting out a call for all members to pitch their ideas for projects in the built environment.

The BSA expected those pitches to have dollar signs attached. To the organizer’s surprise, only one asked for funding. The rest requested less tangible, but equally meaningful support: advice, connections, specific expertise. Those are resources that the BSA has aplenty, but hadn’t learned how to leverage well.

From that first go at an innovation challenge, the BSA learned how to better support its members. It also learned that to lead with purpose and make strategic choices, one must develop the confidence to say no. Instead of spreading itself thin across many projects, the organization decided to take small steps, focusing on one initiative at a time, so that it can deliver focused impact and stay true to its evolving mission.

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