Survey of A/E/C firms regarding "the future of print" (Part 3)

cop-out n. Slang 1. A failure to fulfill a commitment or responsibility or to face a difficulty squarely. 2. A person who fails to fulfill a commitment or responsibility. 3. An excuse for inaction or evasion.

Several weeks ago, I said that I was going to conduct a “survey” of A/E/C firms. I’m not going to complete that project.

I did create and post a survey, and I did contact a bunch of different AIA chapters and ABC and AGC chapters to explain what the survey was about and to ask them to let their members know of the survey, but I got almost-a-zero response to the survey.

While I do think that a survey would help reprographers determine their future course(s) of action – strategic planning, if you will – apparently I’m not the right “entity” to conduct a survey. I’m just “one individual (and a retired one at that), and I don’t think that AIA chapters or ABC and AGC chapters paid much, if any, attention to the survey project I let them know about and requested their help on.

Since I do believe that surveying A/E/C firms would benefit reprographers – and since I was made aware that many of my reprographer friends believe that such a survey would be useful - I’ve got a suggestion to make - and I’m making this suggestion on my blog because I know that some of my blog-visitors are with ARC or are members of The PEiR Group, ReproMAX, RSA, and/or are board members and/or officers of the IRgA.

My suggestion is that the IRgA, perhaps in conjunction with RW Baird & Co, take on the survey project. IRgA has the “standing” that an individual (such as I) doesn’t have. RW Baird & Co has been conducting quarterly surveys of reprographers. How about directing one survey to customers who use reprographers?

I’d be delighted to turn over everything I’ve done to date – including a copy of the survey I put together, a list of suggested survey questions that my blog-visitors e-mailed to me, and the contact information I used for my e-mails to AIA Chapters and ABC and AGC Chapters – to the IRgA (or to RW Baird & Co’s survey-makers-takers).