Membership in the Digital Fabrication Alliance will be managed through an online database of people, companies and projects related to digital fabrication. This online database hosted on the DFA web site will allow members to find potential collaborators, research innovative fabricator strategies, and promote their projects and research.
How does the Digital Fabrication Alliance serve its membership?
Seeking to be a resource that helps its membership, the Digital Fabrication Alliance is targeting 6 areas of outreach: Forum, Events, News, Grants and Awards, Publications, and Advocacy. While the Alliance will not fully implement all areas in 2012, it will enable its Mission by first establishing those that are most beneficial to the membership — Forum, Events and News. Ultimately the DFA will progress into the three remaining areas of Grants and Awards, Publications, and Advocacy.
Below is a brief description of each of the Digital Fabrication Alliance’s 6 areas of interest.
Forum is the DFA website’s community function for informal discussions on equipment, materials, jobs, techniques and other issues relevant to the digital fabrication community. It will enable the people from around the world to create and maintain active working relationships.
Events will serve the community by hosting workshops, exhibitions, competitions, and international conferences. The aim of Events is to help support and promote the digital fabrication community through local, regional, and international collaborations.
News will be a prominent feature within the web site with articles and posts relevant to the digital fabrication community. News will help keep members up to date on emerging trends, tools, and processes.
Grants and Awards will support innovation within the community to the membership for research and development of new fabrication techniques, software, tools, and exemplary projects to promote the best work in the DFA community.
Publications are essential so to highlight member projects and enable the discussion and awareness of research being developed by the DFA membership. They will include work produced at conferences, exhibitions, and competitions.
Advocacy of Contract Document and BIM Construction Document standards regarding Paper vs. Model is a key to the DFA’s outreach. Advocacy will also target the introduction and integration of digital fabrication at all levels of education.
