About The Forum

Our Mission

To facilitate the collaboration of all the stakeholders in the STL Region’s built environment in creating inclusive, robust employment and economic growth.

Our Vision

Social equity, economic opportunity, economic growth.

History

On April 18, 2011, publisher Tom Finan, a third-generation member of the region’s construction industry and fifth-generation St. Louisan, wrote and disseminated a white paper outlining a strategic plan for the formation of a “St. Louis Construction Leadership Forum”. This document became the blueprint for what has evolved into Construction Forum.

The 2011 document noted, “Our construction industry is based on traditions and relationships. Unfortunately, those traditions and relationships have become tarnished and fractured in the past few years. Bluntly, what worked in the past is no longer working. Change is necessary if we are to have any possibility of recovery or growth.”

The white paper, later developed into a business plan proposed candidly addressing the issues with racially- and economically-inclusive dialogue, assembling statistical evidence, and identifying tasks for collective pursuit.

Key elements of the proposed Forum included executive summits; a an aggregating website, and original academic-guided research.

The primary issues that the proposed Forum would address were workforce (union and non-union), project collaborative environment, regionalism, and inclusion/diversity.

The 2011 document was never implemented, largely because key industry stakeholders wanted to steer the conversation and the agenda of the nascent organization. Ironically, the delay worked for the better.

In late 2012, attorney Joe Blanner, founder of a networking group based on an online platform, suggested revisiting the Forum concept to Tom Finan. In late 2013, with three other founding board members, the Forum was launched as Construction Forum STL, a 501(c)4 member-less civic nonprofit.

Three weeks later, 350 persons attended the Forum’s first program at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Since then, over 7 million emails have been sent. The website (www.ConstructForSTL.org) receives over 250,000 page views per year. There have been over 10,000 event registrations.

Over the six years following its founding, the  Forum received recognition, awards, and media coverage for work in diversity/inclusion, regional collaboration, public policy, workforce, immigrant/refugee support, and mental health.

Taking the Next Steps

In the fall of 2019, the Forum staff and board undertook a three-month strategic process, working with a veteran public policy strategist.

They identified the need for an organization to fill the role of convening, communicating, collaborating and advancing improvement in the workforce/social equity/economic growth space.

They agreed that programs to date have not been effective. Metrics – where they have been kept – are poor. Collaboration, which can improve outcomes, is lacking.

The Forum saw the need for leadership, risk mitigation, opportunity development. and business creation. They believed that leveraging the tools and credibility the Forum has built can serve as a focal point and hub for change in the built environment community.

The new strategic agenda focuses on four major initiatives:

1. Leadership Institute: Which will incorporate the Forum’s newsletter, website, programs, Emerging Leaders Group, and a planned executive summit.
2. Digital Hub: A proactive approach to information and data gathering and sharing that will include an aggregator and curator of articles and other media; collection of metrics on workforce-related programs and other industry indices, a communication channel, and a relational database dubbed the “Big Rolodex”.
3. Coordinating Council: Programs and working groups focusing on introducing and building collaborations among various players in the youth/education/workforce space.
4. Knowledge Lab: A curator and supporter of research and pilot programs.

In May 2020, the Executive Board amended the by-laws and approved new governing policies. An extremely diverse slate of 20 new directors – in addition to the five founding directors – took office on Aug. 19, 2020.

In recognition of its new direction and regional focus, the functions of Construction Forum STL were moved under the corporate umbrella of what had been the Construction Forum Education Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity nonprofit, and the name was changed to Construction Forum.