BDQ in the Community

Community Partner – Youturn

BDQ’s Community Partner – Youturn

Youturn Youth Support is a not-for-profit that was started 30 years ago to help address youth homelessness in the Noosa region.

Since then, they have grown substantially and now work across Queensland with young people and those that support them, with a focus on three core focus areas – Child Safety, Homelessness and Mental Health.

As our first-ever Community Partner, our relationship provides an opportunity for Building Design Queensland to directly support a community activity, increasing awareness of both our selected partner and the work, skills and capabilities of our members.

Find out more about Youturn

About Member Advisory Panels (MAPs)

Youturn runs a variety of building projects throughout the year, which is where our Member Advisory Panels (MAPs) come in.

We run a MAP for each project, filled with volunteer members who are willing to provide pro-bono advice in their area of expertise on the project. This gives our members a great chance to get involved in a small project for a great cause, no matter where they are in the state. It’s an opportunity for them to connect with other members, work on a project you might not otherwise work on and give back to their community. Being involved in these projects across the state gives BDQ and the profession of Building Design positive visibility within these communities – it’s just one of the ways we’re supporting our members to create better built communities.

FAQs

Each MAP has a Project Coordinator and several Supporting Panel Members. Project Coordinators must be a licensed Building Designer and a BDQ Full Member. They’re the main point of contact within the MAP for Youturn and report back to BDQ via Head office regularly. Supporting Panel Members don’t need to be licensed or a Buildign Designer – they just need to be a BDQ member.

Have marketing and promotional opportunities for award nominations or wins.

When Youturn has a project, BDQ will be sent a project brief and call for Expressions of Interest via a short form on our website. Members will need to fill in this EOI form, and once the EOI period closes we’ll get in touch with suitable members.

Can learn from over 20 industry and professional service partners that provide technical and small business advice, and presentations on a range of topics.

Can collaborate with other associations, including HIA, QMBA and Design Associations.

These roles will not require our members to do design work – they’re advisory roles only. However, we require members to hold their own PI insurance that covers them for any advice they give.

Joining a MAP means you’ll be working with other designers and professionals towards a worthy community cause. It’s feel-good work that supports local communities! The aim of MAPs and our partnership with Youturn is to bring awareness to the work that Buildign Designers do and raise the profile of BDQ. You may find you get to work on a project you wouldn’t normally get a chance to work on, or with members you might not normally interact with!

Yes! MAPs are a great learning opportunity for emerging designers. Because we require members to be insured for the advice they provide on these panels, you’ll sit as observing members only.