Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1199133
34 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2020 Rowe: It's important to remember that nobody likes change. Recently, we started to look for emerging engineers. We have embraced the younger community, so we're trying to bring designers together to move it forward into the future. We want to bring this whole group un- der an umbrella to move the whole industry forward in a way that is not disruptive but brings out the best in people. And we recognize the fact that even we work virtually. We understand that we don't need to be face-to-face to have a productive meet- ing. From that perspective, we want to be able to get those people together who can't drive the five hours to the nearest chapter or even across town for a meeting in the evening. But design- ers might be able to carve out a slice of time to have a meet- ing if they're sitting at their computer at work or at home, so we want to include them as well. Shaughnessy: Is there going to be a cost to any of this? Crawford: No. We aren't doing this as a new way to make money; this is an opportunity to give back to the design community. If chapters want to help subsidize their activities or may- be some sort of endowment for scholarships, we'll still leave that up to them. The chapters will maintain autonomy in that regard, and we encourage them to do so. Shaughnessy: Who is the leader of IPC Design? Crawford: At the end of the day, the designers are going to be in charge; we want IPC Design to be from designers and for designers. The Design Community Leadership Team will be their earpiece to receive comments from the industry through the regional advisors. Then, using their expertise and knowledge about how this design engine works, they will rec- ommend programs to IPC, and we will work with them to explore how we can implement those programs at the chapter level. Shaughnessy: Who would a chapter president call for help or advice after this is all set up? Crawford: Call the Design Community Leader- ship Team. You would talk to the chair, and they would help you. And in our technical standards committees, they use IPC Works, which is an online platform that allows groups to come together and share ideas, files, fo- rums, etc. It's an awesome tool. We would like every design chapter to have its own IPC Works page. It could be where they share the meeting min- utes, new activi- ties coming up, or a centralized calendar. It could also be where they plan and schedule with groups from across the world, instead of having to use Skype, etc. Rowe: IPC Works is an intranet-based tool, so it allows internal communications, messages to the group, places to store files, and places to post updates. There's a newsfeed, so if there's information they want to push to the group, they can. We rolled this out on March 4 of last year, and it has grown and been embraced very positively by our standards development activities. Shaughnessy: That would definitely help— anything to make the communication more uniform. Thank you both for speaking with me about this. Rowe: We're excited. Crawford: Thank you for helping us get this in- formation out. If you're interested in becoming involved with IPC Design, contact Teresa Rowe (tere- sarowe@ipc.org) or Patrick Crawford (patrick- crawford@ipc.org). DESIGN007