EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE The DFI of the Future D uring DFI’s 2019 Winter Planning Meeting held in February, discussions were focused on relevancy, consensus, vision and strategy. The gathering consisted of DFI’s trustees, committee chairs and senior staff brainstorming on the DFI of the future. How will DFI be structured to ensure continued service to its members? What offerings will be relevant? How can activities remain impactful and continue to create a space where members find common ground? Media outlets and technology are moving so quickly that it’s not easy to envision how our activities will evolve. However, through all of the discussions, I have no doubt that, while the method of information exchange may change, one thing will remain — a strong sense of community, where together we will provide influence and elevate the practice through promotion of quality, safety, sustainability and resiliency. When we come together, it’s about building relationships and sharing knowledge – camaraderie. It’s about addressing issues that the industries in which we participate are facing – relevance. It’s about directing research that will be useful in everyday practice – influence. It’s about bringing together a more diverse consensus voice and distributing our combined expertise to those who can benefit from that information – advocacy. To continue to do this effectively, we need to move at a quicker pace and use the latest forms of technology that are popular and most widely utilized. We need to remain nimble and provide “just in time” information in varied formats to reach the widest audience. Will it continue to be via in-person conferences and seminars, white papers and technical publications? Or, will it be webinars, podcasts, videos, apps, text messages and social media discussions? Could it be through gamification, virtual reality platforms, hands-on simulation or artificial intelligence? I venture to say yes to DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAR/APR 2019 • 9 all because DFI’s membership continues to diversify as multi- generational, multidisciplinary, increasing participation from women, engaging varied levels of expertise and areas of interest. Each group will prefer different delivery methods. To move forward and be able to accommodate these varied learning platforms and networking opportunities, we will be investing in our technology, increasing our content offerings and making them more easily accessible and easily found, adjusting our committees to collaborate more as task groups who bring their combined expertise to assist business owners and clients in multiple industries to address their issues where geotechnical design and construction are required, and increasing our visibility to related organi- zations to contribute knowledge that makes an impact in their practice. Whether we’re meeting in a building or Theresa Engler Executive Director [email protected] in “the cloud” or via virtual reality or as a hologram, I’m confident we will continue to meet, network, interact and share what we have learned with each other to raise the quality of practice. These new methods of technology transfer will bridge the knowledge gap across the globe and allow the building of relationships between members to reach further and wider, making our organization THE global forum for sharing and advancing practical geotechnical design and construction. Help us meet your needs by making suggestions for improvements, telling us what challenges you are facing and what we can offer to stay relevant and useful to you and your business. This is your association, make it what you want it to be. DFI leadership at the Winter Planning Meeting
