Procurement

State Designer Selection Board

Background:
The State Designer Selection Board (DSB) was established in 1974 to allow for a non-political process of selection of designers for State building projects. The board is made up of seven volunteer members representing the designers, contractors, the public and owners and utilizes the qualifications based selection (QBS) process to determine the most qualified firms for projects.  The board has made over 650 project selections since its inception. A study was conducted in 2007 by a task force made up of ACEC/MN, AIA MN, AGC, the Minnesota Arts Board which generated a series of recommendations to improve the DSB process. Nearly all of the recommendations were accepted by the Department of Administration, which oversees the activities of the board, and have been implemented. Teh design and construction community continuously monitors the activities of the board.

ACEC/MN Position:
ACEC/MN strongly supports the continuation of the State Designer Selection Board. The board has proven to be highly successful and is accepted by both the state agencies and the design community that utilize the service. We would like to see the state provide additional resources to the board to assure that the staff supporting its activity has the capabilities and resources available to effectively carry out its mandate.