August 21, 2009
 

Projects Sought for Pro Bono Design Book
The national nonprofit organization, Public Architecture, seeks pro bono design projects for inclusion in a forthcoming book to be published by Metropolis Books/Distributed Art Publishers. Public Architecture takes a broad view of “for the good” projects, with preference given to free and reduced-fee work for nonprofit and community organizations that could not otherwise afford to work with an architect or designer. Projects are sought in the areas of education, health, housing, open space, and arts and culture.

Anywhere, Anytime Learning Boosts Profitability
Many studies have been completed in an effort to estimate the impact of training on a firm’s bottom line. It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine the exact impact of a training program on a firm’s profitability—similar to measuring the impact of advertising on sales. Several studies, however, show there is a clear correlation between the amount of investment in training and long-term profitability. It has been estimated that training programs bring as much as a 100 percent return on investment ($2 in increased revenue or reduced expenses for every $1 spent on training). One thing is clear: organizations that view training and development as an investment rather than as an expense tend to have better long-term profitability and staff retention.

Improve Communication Connections with Your Headquarters
One of the biggest challenges a firm can face is creating an environment for effective communications. Communicating is often already a struggle in one office or even within a small department. However, if you find yourself operating a branch office hundreds of miles away from headquarters and need to communicate with people you have never worked with in person, it has completely different meaning. It’s very common to face barriers and obstacles to work effectively and efficiently with headquarters.

 
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Welcome to the Practice Zone
This is the home of the weekly Best Practices column, news of tips and tools that you can use in your day-to-day practice and case studies illustrating “how-tos” and “lessons learned” for all stages of practice. The Practice Zone also features reports of research in architecture and related fields.