We are writing to share good news! After meeting with DesCan and our colleagues at RGD, the City of Vancouver has revised its approach to the FIFA Host City poster competition.
We are pleased to announce that the City listened to our concerns and amended their RFI. While we still do not endorse competitions, the City of Vancouver is now open to two types of entries: one that includes speculative work (a competition), and one that considers a statement along with past work (portfolio) as evidence of capabilities and approach.
However, we acknowledge that the RFI does not indicate how the host committee will select five finalists (who will be paid for additional work) or how FIFA will select a winning design (they reserve the right NOT to publish its selection criteria). Thus, in DesCan’s opinion, it is unclear how the two streams will be evaluated with balance and fairness.
This is a significant global event, and I am sure many of you wish to participate. Like any tender, we encourage you to read the RFI thoroughly, know your rights, and know your obligations—our code of ethics and the terms of reference outline related to ownership and copyright.
DesCan members interested in submitting portfolios for committee consideration must register their expressions of interest by September 27th. Please let the City know if you have questions or comments (the address is in the RFI document).
We thank all of you who reached out to the City with your concerns. When we began this process, we intended to address the competition AND speak with the city’s Office of Procurement. After our meeting with the City—followed by the City arranging a meeting with RGD—both national design organizations combined efforts’ convinced the City to amend the competition.
We must also acknowledge that the City of Vancouver respects our concerns and the need to stand up for the design-member community. We thank the Office of Procurement for their influence in this competition.
As always, we’d be happy to help with any spec work requests that you come across—please send them directly to director@descan.ca and ethics@descan.ca.
Thank you,
DesCan Ethics Committee