Back for its second year, the SMPS Foundation’s Emerging Trends Roundtable returns as a must-attend pre-conference experience at Amplify A|E|C. This session previews the 2027 Emerging Trends in AEC Marketing & Business Development research, developed in collaboration with research partner Stambaugh Ness.

The AEC industry is facing one of the highest levels of change in decades: a worsening workforce shortage, an Industrial-Revolution-level wave of technology, and a buyer who increasingly starts the search with AI. Yet two things matter more than ever: human relationships and your existing clients.

This is your chance to unpack what that means for your firm, alongside the people doing the work.

This is a working session, not a lecture. We’ll spend a short portion previewing key trends found in the research, then turn the room over to you: facilitated small-group discussion and interactive exercises where you’ll pressure-test the findings, compare notes with peers, and leave with ideas you can act on.