Chapters

BuildingSMART International is organised in Regional Alliances representing a country or a group of countries acting together. Currently, buildingSMART International has Regional Alliances serving Australasia, Benelux, China, the French Speaking countries, the German Speaking countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), the Iberian countries (Spain and Portugal), Italy, Japan, Korea, North America, the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), Singapore and the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Each Regional Alliance is a separate organisation and is established according to local custom. For instance, in North America and the United Kingdom, the Alliances are incorporated as not for profit companies. The German Speaking Chapter, however, is established as a form of Technical Association.

The organisation of buildingSMART International starts with the member. The member is an organisation that shares the interoperability vision of buildingSMART International and wants to contribute towards 'making it happen'. A member organisation may be:

• an architect, engineer or contractor involved in day to day design and construction or facilities management,
• a building owner or operator,
• a product manufacturer,
• a research or academic institution,
• a government agency,
• a representative body or technical association,
• a software vendor.

Regional Alliances fund their operation through membership fees, sponsorship and sales of services. These funds are used to:

• Host meetings and conferences of the Regional Alliance;
• Pay for business management and technical coordination activities
• Contribute towards the cost of key developments and maintenance of the IFC Model that have to be achieved centrally
• Provide services and organise projects.

A Regional Alliance sets its own level of membership fees according to its own requirements and contributes to the funding of core international activities. It usually has a Business Manager and a Technical Coordinator acting as permanent officers.

For information on how to form a regional alliance follow this link.