SDA Fellows Program Guidelines

Purpose

The purpose of the SDA Fellows Program is to recognize individuals who have made exceptional contributionstotheSocietyandtoexcellence in design firm management above and beyond participating in ordinary national and chapter Society events or performing normal duties as an officer.

The SDA Fellows Program differs from the Lifetime Achievement Award as it is a self-nominated application process that will encourage SDA members to undertake roles within the organization, further their education and self-development,and attain certification, as well as participate in the A/E/C community at large to improve practice management overall. The Fellow designation also encourages members to participate in continuing future activities that will lead to further self-development and the development of other SDA members.

Onlythoserecognized by this process will be entitled to use the FSDA designation. The SDA Fellows Program allowsthishonortobebestowedbyapanelofpeers(theFellowsJury)whoevaluateeachapplication individually. (Until there are fourSDA members with a Fellow designation, the jury will be comprised of two SDA Past Presidents and two members of peer organizations who have attained the status of Fellow (e.g. FAIA, FNSPE, FCSI, FSMPS).

The Role of Fellows in SDA: Three Goals

Honor Outstanding Individuals.SDA Fellows are individualswhohave made contributions above and beyond the norm to SDA, the A/E/C industries, and their communities. Fellows have the responsibility ofcontinuing to accept leadership roles in the Society, mentoring roles within the profession, and service to the A/E/C community.

Meet the Needs of Fellows and Members.Fellows will help the Society define the leadership and management issues to be addressed in SDA members’ professionaldevelopment by attending education,networking,andsocialeventsheld for and by them.

Use the Talents of Fellows.Fellowswillbeexpectedtoserveasleadersthrough activities suchas:
Writingarticlesforindustryperiodicals, contributing to the SDA Forums and Blog, writingWhitePapersor otherbodyofknowledge-relatedresources, and contributing to SDA’s social media presence.
Servingasmentors, trainers, and advisorstoindividuals.
ServinginleadershippositionsatthechapterandSocietylevelsofSDA.

Program Guidance and Management

SDA Fellows Program policy is governed by the SDAExecutive Committee, which shall have exclusive authority to modify or interpret these guidelines. The immediate past president on the Executive CommitteewillguidetheSDA FellowsProgramwith the SDA Past Presidents’ Council (SDA PPC) andmaintaincontactwithFellows (Fellows Liaison).TheFellows Juryappointedannuallyby the SDAPPC toconsidercandidateswillhavefullauthoritytoruleonthequalificationsand eligibility of any candidate during their consideration of applications. The SDA Headquarters staff willimplementandmanagetheprogram.

Eligibility

To be considered for the Fellow designation, a self-nominated designation, a candidate must:

Have10years’experienceasa manager or administrator intheA/E/Cindustries.
HavebeenanactivememberofSDAforatleast7oftheprevious10consecutiveyearsandcurrentlybeamemberingoodstanding.
HaveheldacurrentCDFAcertificationdesignationforaminimumoffiveyears.
Complete a detailed application that documents the candidate's work history, education and professional development, professionalaccomplishments,associationparticipation,andperceptionofthemeaningofthe Fellowdesignation.

Limitations

JuryreservestherighttonamenoFellowsineachyear.
TheJury’sdecisionisfinal;thereisnoappealsprocessinthisprogram.An application may be resubmitted once in a subsequent year with a $50 reprocessing fee.
The Fellow title is valid only for regular SDA members and Emeritusmembersingoodstanding.Itshallbe writtenasname,FSDA(noperiods). Both professional and associate members are eligible.
One must remain an active or emeritus SDA member to be a Fellow. If membership lapses the Fellow designation may no longer be used. Following an interruption in membership, if SDA membershipissubsequentlyreinstated,Fellowstatuswillautomaticallyberestoredatthesame timeatnoadditionalchargetotherenewingFellow.
AllFellowsarerequiredtomaintaintheirCDFAdesignationtokeeptheirFellowstatus.

Required Information

Candidateswillcompleteanapplicationontheformspecifiedandsubmitoneelectronic copyofthe application to the SDA Headquarters Office. The candidate’s application and all attachments, including endorsement and testimonial letters, should be formatted to 8-1/2" X 11".

Candidates are required to present their application in an organized, concise manner. The quality of the application will be a factor in the Jury’s deliberation. Please do not include copies of newsletters, meetingannouncements,and/orotherprintmaterials. Applicationsareevaluatedstrictlyonthequality of the content and thoroughness of the responses to the criteria, and information included therein should be substantiated by the candidate’s references and endorsements. Narratives must express in a concise yet compelling manner the candidate’s contributions to their firm(s), to the Society, and to the professionatlargebeyondSDA.

The terms “management,” “administrative,”“practice management,” and “design firm management” are interchangeable terms and are inclusive of the Society’s five (5) Professional Emphasis Groups (PEGs), which are administration, marketing, human resources, accounting, and project management. Experience in all areas is not required. Experience can be in one or more of the PEGs.

Theapplicationrequiresthefollowing:

Name,address,telephonenumber,ande-mailaddress
Year became aCDFA
SDAmembernumberandyearsofmembership
Education and professional development history
Work history, organized with most recent first, describing in detail at least 10 years’ of A/E/C experience, as well as the candidate’s practice management experience in each position, and including information on the level of responsibility for managementand/oradministrative decisions within the firm. List the same employer twice if your job title changed significantly during your tenure, e.g. accountant to controller to CFO or HR specialist to HR Director
Anessay, with evidence and specific examples, of significant sustained contributions the candidate has made to SDA (500-wordlimit).ProvidespecificexamplesofchapterandSocietyleadershipin the areas of education, finances, membership, management, or other activity which has had value to members and/or the Society.
Anessay, with evidence and specific examples, of significant sustained contributions the candidate has made topractice management in the A/E/C industries, beyond SDA, and how thosecontributions made a difference to excellence in design firm management (250-word limit). The contributions should relatetoatleasttwoofthefollowingtopicsandmayincludepublishing,training,and/orspeaking, orsignificantcontributionto the body of practice management, ingeneral:
Education of A/E/C professionals in practice management (e.g. BizTrak, individual presentations)
Practice management education to A/E university students (e.g. presentations, round tables, advisor)
Advisor within firm’s ADP, EIT, LSIT, (or similar) program
PEG specific education to other industries (e.g. accounting to SHRM or SMPS members or project management to software designers)
PEG specific programs to other peer organizations (e.g. AIA, ACEC, NSPE)
Service on a peer organization committee, event, or task force
Significant contributions to governance of an organization’s documentation including establishing criteria for excellence programs, e.g. certification programs.
Anessay, with evidence and specific examples, of a significant sustained contribution the candidate has made to an individual or organization as a role model(e.g., an advisor, trainer, mentor, or participant in public/community service). (250-word limit). Examples of these activities may include one- on-one interaction OUTSIDEthecandidate’sfirm.
Theindividualmaynotbeaco-workeroremployeeofthecandidate.
The organization must be a public or community service organization in or outside the A/E/C industry (e.g. Canstruction®, Habitat for Humanity, Girl Scouts, Kidstruction)
The individual or organization must confirm the participation with a certificate, commendation, or letter. If a letter, it should not exceed one page. This letter should describe just the relationship betweenthecandidateandtheindividual or the candidate and the organization,indicatingthenatureanddurationoftheexperience, with examples. This letter should discuss only the relationship and benefits vis a vis theindividual or organization, and not be a general testimony as to the candidate’s skills, experience or other contributions to SDA and the profession, like those testimonials discussed in items 2 and 3below.

Candidates will submit a letter of endorsement from their SDA chapter, signed by a past or present member of the Chapter Board, attesting to significant contributions to the Society at a Chapter level. The letter is given to the candidate and included in the application package. If the candidate is not affiliated with a chapter, a chapter letter will not be necessary, but a letter from the national organization may be substituted to verify the cited contribution.
In addition to the letter from the individual or community service organization and the chapter, candidates will submit twotestimonial letters from individuals, at least one of whom isan SDA member with the electronic submission. Letters should substantiate each of the significant contributions (i.e., to the profession, to SDA, and/or to the individual or public service organization), providing specific examples of the applicant’s abilities and accomplishments. No testimonial letter may be longer than two pages, and no more than two testimonial letters will be considered.
Note: All letters should be addressed to SDA FellowsProgram (use SDA headquarters mailing address)and include the writer’s contact information (both phone and email). The letters are given to the candidate and included in the application package. The Jury has the right to request the Fellows Liaison call the candidate’s protégé, the chapter board member who endorsed the candidate, and/or the authors of the three testimonial letters for clarification. The feedback will only be shared with members of the Jury.

4.Candidates will also prepare a statement (700 words max) describing to the Jury what becoming a Fellow means to the candidate and how the candidate expects to continue or expand his or her contributions to the profession and to the Society if elected as a Fellow. As part of this statement, the Candidate must answer the following question: What is the most important contribution you have made to excellence in design firm management and what was the outcome? The answer must be supported with evidence or examples of the contribution.

Candidateswillconfirmbysignaturetheirunderstandingthat:

Informationontheapplicationwillbeheldinconfidence
Reviewoftheapplicationwillbebasedonlyupontheinformationcontainedinthewritten applicationandintestimonialletters
TheymaynotapproachanyJurorconcerningtheapplicationduringorafterJurydeliberations andanysuchactivitywillresultininvalidationoftheapplication
Theymaynothavebeenconvictedforillegalactivityordismissedbyanemployerforillegalor unethicalbehavior
TheyagreetoabidebytheSDACodeofEthics
TheJury'sdecisionisfinalandmaynotbeappealed.NoticeoftheJury’sdecisionwillbe providedinwritingbytheSDAFellowsLiaison.

Chapters,endorsers,andtestimonialsubmittersareprohibitedfromcontactingJurorsdirectlyfor anyreason.QueriesabouttheprocessmaybedirectedtotheHeadquartersOffice.

A nonrefundable fee of $250 must be submitted with the application.A Fellows Program Escrow fund will be established with the fees and the funds used for Fellow activities.

Applications Processing

TheHeadquartersstaffwillprovideallnecessaryadministrativesupporttotheFellowsJuryandthe FellowsLiaisonthroughouttheapplicationandselectionprocess,including:

Receive and log-inapplications
Screenapplicationsforcompleteness
Verifycurrentmembershipstatus,CDFAstatus,andnumberofyearsasamember
Returnincompletesubmittalstocandidates
Forward applications toJury
AssisttheFellowsLiaisoninnotifyingcandidatesoftheJury’sdecision
Havecertificatesandpinsprepared
RecordFellowinformationinthememberdatabase
Coordinatesuccessfulcandidates’attendanceatEDSymposiumtoberecognized
Maintainconfidentialityofallinformation.

Juror Recruitment(Interim – until there are Fellows)

The Jury will be comprised of two Fellows or SDA PPC members and two members of peer organizations who have attained the status of Fellow, recruited according to the following process.

AllmembersoftheJurywillbeappointedtoone-yearterms.The Fellows Liaison will request one of the Fellows or SDAPPC members to be Chair of the Jury forthefollowingyear,to ensure continuity.
Each year the Fellows Liaison will solicit Jury volunteers from the current roster of Fellows, SDA PPC members and the community A/E/C fellows. Preference will be given to Fellows andSDAPPC members who have not previously served as Jurors. The names of Jury volunteers will be placed on a jurist resource list. From the jurist resource list, the Fellows Liaison and the newly-appointed Jury Chair will select the required number of new jurists. The FellowsLiaisonwillthencontacteachproposedjurist,bothnewly-selectedandthosecontinuing fromtheprioryear,toconfirmtheirwillingnesstoserveontheJuryforthecomingyear.
TheFellowsLiaisontotheSDAExecutive Committeewillserveasanex-officiomemberofthe Jury (with novote).
NoJurormayservemorethantwo one-yeartermsinafive-yearperiod.

The jury will continue to be partially composed of SDAPPC members and members of peer organizations until such time as there are sufficient Fellows to maintain the anonymity of the jury.

Jury Conduct and Process

ThecompositionoftheJuryandtheidentityofallJurors,includingtheJuryChair,shallbe maintainedinstrictconfidence.AllcommunicationbetweencandidatesandtheJurywillbe conductedthroughtheHeadquartersstaffortheFellowsLiaison.
Jurors,theFellowsLiaison,andstaffwillconductallbusinessviatelephone,andnoin-person meetings areanticipated.
Jurors are prohibited from providing endorsements or testimonials for candidates. If a Juror is contactedbyacandidateforaletterofendorsementoradvice,theJurormayacknowledgehis/her participationontheJurytothecandidateintheprocessofrefusingtherequest.
Jurorsarerequiredtosignaconfidentialitystatement.Judgingwillbekeptin complete confidence,bothduringandaftertheselectionprocess.
Aconfidentialevaluationform,incorporatingapointscoringsystem,willbeusedtoevaluate applications.Candidates’scoreswillnotbedisclosedtomembersorcandidates.
Each Juror will evaluate each candidate by assigning points on each of the parameters on the application.Themaximumpointscoreis100.AmajorityoftheJurorsmustawardacandidatea totalofatleast90pointsforthecandidatetoqualifyasaFellow.
EachJurorwillwriteabriefparagraphabouteachsubmittalontheevaluationscoresheet.The Fellows Liaison may use these comments anonymously, or paraphrased summaries of the comments,tonotifyunsuccessfulcandidatesofthereasonsfortheJury’sdecision.
EachJuror'sevaluationandparagraphwillbesubmittedinconfidencetotheChair.
TheJuryChairmayconveneteleconferencessothatJurorsmaydiscusssubmissionsandassist eachotherininterpretingandunderstandinginformation.
The Jury has the right to request the Fellows Liaison call the candidate’s protégé, the chapter boardmemberwhosponsoredthecandidate,and/ortheauthorsofthethreetestimoniallettersfor clarification.ThefeedbackwillonlybesharedwithmembersoftheJury.
Jurorsagreethattheirassessmentsanddecisionswillbebasedonlyuponinformationsubmittedin the application and the evaluation form. However, if any Juror has substantiated knowledge of illegalorunethicalbehavioronthepartofacandidate,suchinformationwillbecommunicatedto the Jury Chair, who will determine whether to (a) invalidate the application, (b) share the informationwithotherJurors,or(c)ignoretheinformationasirrelevantorunsubstantiated.
JurorswillreporttotheJuryChairanylobbyingorinappropriatequestionsbycandidates, endorsers,ortestimonialgivers.Suchactivitywillautomaticallyresultinapplicationdenial.
When the Jury has finalized its evaluations and scores of the candidates have been tallied by the Jury Chair, the Fellows Liaison will notify each successful candidate via a courtesy telephone call,followedbyanofficialnotificationletterwithcongratulations.TheFellowsLiaisonwillalso notify each of the unsuccessful candidates by an official notification letter. If desired, the unsuccessful applicant can request a debrief from the Fellows Liaison who will summarize the reasons for the Jury’s decision. It’s important to note that any deficiencies found by the Jury are the opinions of the current Jury only, and future Jury members will have no knowledgeofpreviousdeficiencies.
TheJury’sdecisionisfinal;thereisnoappealsprocess.
Successfulcandidateswillbeannouncedthroughout SDA’s publications, website, and social mediaas well as honoredattheannualEDSymposium gala.

Thefollowingitemsarecontainedontheapplication.AnevaluationformwillbeusedbytheJurors,andit willbeconsistentwithprogramrequirementsandtheapplicationform.

Forgreaterobjectivityitmaybehelpfultothinkofeachsection(orevenitssubsections)intermsofletter grades(A,B,C,etc.).Jurorsagreethat of the possible 100 points, atleast90pointsfromamajorityoftheJurors, is required to become aFellow.

1.Education/Professional Development and WorkHistory

Asummaryofeducation/professional developmentandworkhistoryemphasizingexperiencein one or several of SDA’s PEGs andindicatingthelevelofresponsibilitywithintheorganization. Education/professional developmentreceives no points and is used for information only.

Juror Considerations:

Progressionshowinggrowthinmanagementpositions

Experienceinmanagementleadershipposition

Benchmarkagainstothercandidates(especiallyifnumberofsuccessfulcandidates allowed is anissue)

Contributions made toSDA

Societyleadershiproles:listchapter,and/orSocietyoffices,committeeandprogramroles, andawards.Includeyearsofserviceandawardsreceived.

If both chapter and national participation

Chapter Level ...... 10 points

National Level ...... 10 points

If no chapter and only national participation

National Level ...... 20 points

An essay,withevidenceandspecificexamples,ofsignificantsustainedcontributionsthe candidate madeto SDA. Provide examples of chapter or Society leadership in education, finances, membership, or management or other SDA activity which has a value to the A/Eprofession. (If no chapter, the entire 20 points shall be assigned to national level with a corresponding increase in contributions required. (500-wordlimit)

Substance of contribution ...... 5 points

Juror Considerations:

Levelofleadershiproleinchapter(i.e.,presidentratherthancommitteechair)

National Society leadershiproles

Significant,sustainedcontribution(longerthanoneyear,notsporadicoroccasional)

Individualaccomplishment(vs.awardforachapter’saccomplishment)

ContributiontoSDA(vs.participation)

Contributions Made to theProfession

An essay, with evidence and specific examples, of significant sustained contributions the candidate made to the profession of practice management in the A/E/C industries through publishing, training, and/or speaking, and related to at least two of the following areas (500-word limit):

Education of A/E/C professionals in practice management (e.g. BizTrak, individual presentations)
Practice management education to A/E university students (e.g. presentations, round tables, advisor)
Advisor within firm’s IDP, EIT, LSIT, (or similar) program
PEG specific education to other industries (e.g. accounting to SHRM or SMPS members or project management to software designers)
PEG specific programs to other peer organizations (e.g. AIA, ACEC, NSPE)
Service on a peer organization committee, event, or task force (AIA chapter Finance committee, AXPAdvisory Committee, ACEC Finance Forum, CSI committee, SMPS event)
Service to a governmental body associated with the building industry (architectural review board, county zoning boards)

Substance of accomplishment...... 15 points

Degree to which accomplishment is attributable to the candidate...... 10 points

Juror Considerations:

Supportandadvancementoftheprofessionwithintheirfirms

OutreachtotheA/E/CindustriesbeyondSDA(i.e.peerorclientorganizations)

Impactofcontributionsindemonstratingthevalueofpractice managementintheindustry

Sustainednatureofcontributions(notsporadicoroccasional)

Writing, speaking, and training

Mentoringotherthanwithdirectreports--e.g.,withanotherdepartmentwithinfirm,withthe leadershipofyourfirm,orwithsomeoneworkingforanothercompany.

Individualaccomplishmentasopposedtobeingamemberofateamorcommittee

Contributions Made as aRole Model

An essay,withevidenceandspecificexamples,ofsignificantsustainedcontributionsmadebythe candidate as a mentor (advisor, teacher, or coach) to another individual or individuals in his or her professional development. Examples of mentoring activities would include the candidate’s participationinamentoringroundtableprogramsponsoredbythecandidate’schapterorone-on-one mentoringofaprotégéwhoisemployedOUTSIDEthecandidate’sfirm.Note:Theprotégémustnot beaco-workeroremployeeofthecandidate’sfirm.Mentoringactivitiesforindividualsemployedby theCandidate’sfirmwillnotbeconsidered.(250-wordlimit)

Clarity of leader or mentor role definition ...... 5 points

Positive effect on protégé or organization, who has confirmed the value of

candidate’s mentoring in a testimonial letter...... 10 points

Juror Considerations:

Theletterfromanindividual or an organization isimportant.Thelettershouldcontainspecific examplesofhowthecandidatewasabletosupportandguidetheindividual’scareerdevelopment or contribute to the organization’s success.

Significancetocareerprogressionofpersonmentored or organization to meet a goal

Active andstructured

Directreportsarenoteligibleasindividuals

Candidate’sStatement

Candidate has provided a compelling personal statement explaining what it means to him or her to become a Fellow and how the candidate expects to continue or expand his or her contributions to the profession and to the Society.

Endorsements and TestimonialLetters

A.Chapter endorsement letter was provided...... □

If the candidate is not affiliated with a chapter, no letter is necessary. (yes or no; no points)

B....Inadditiontotheletterfromtheprotégéandchapter,candidatesmustsubmittwotestimonialletters from individuals, at least one of whom is anSDA member, and one of whom is a nonmember.Letters should substantiate each of the significant contributions (i.e., to the profession, to SDA, and/or to individuals/organizations), providing specific examples of the applicant’s abilities and accomplishments. No testimonial letter may be longer than two pages, and no more than two testimonial letters will be considered 5points

Juror Considerations:

Specifics in allletters

Lettersfromsenior-levelpeople

Uselettersforoutsidecorroborationforsections34

PersonalreferencesifcalledbytheFellowsLiaison

Quality ofSubmittal

Candidate has provided their application in an organized, concise manner. The quality of the application will be a factor in the Jury’s deliberation.

Juror Considerations

Well written andconcise

Freeofgrammaticalandspellingerrors

MaximumEvaluationtotal100points