RFP Application

Construction Management Association of America (CMAA)

Request for Presentations (RFP)

CMAA California Rising CM Conference

The Rising Construction Management (CM) Conference will be held this year on Saturday, November 14th, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Cal Poly Pomona. This event is hosted by the CMAA Southern California, San Diego, and Northern California Chapters and offers our California Student Chapters, as well as Students and Emerging Professionals in the AEC Industry, the ability to network with our many CM Partners and Industry Associates throughout the state.

OVERVIEW OF COMPETITION

Applicants are given two options to participate and win scholarship awards by responding to competition requirements for each submission category. Applicants are eligible to submit in one or more categories but must attend the conference to be able to receive the award. Only California students enrolled in Architectural, Engineering or Construction (AEC) related programs are eligible to participate.

1. Category One: Student Chapter or Club A/E/C Theme Challenge
2. Category Two: Individual Students

CATEGORY ONE

STUDENT CHAPTER OR CLUB A/E/C THEME CHALLENGE PROMPT – Maximum Award $5,000

The prompt, described below, forms the basis of this competition, and should be referenced when responding to this request.

1.0 CHALLENGE PROMPT:

The construction industry faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Natural disasters, climate change, aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, technological disruption, and economic uncertainty require the next generation of construction leaders to think differently about how projects are planned, delivered, and recovered.

This year's competition challenges student teams to develop innovative solutions focused on the theme: "Resilience and Recovery."

Teams will identify a challenge impacting the built environment and develop a creative, practical, and scalable solution that demonstrates how construction management professionals can improve resilience before disruption occurs and accelerate recovery afterward.

Solutions may address, but are not limited to:

• Disaster preparedness and recovery
• Wildfire, earthquake, flood, or hurricane resilience
• Infrastructure rehabilitation and modernization
• Workforce development and labor shortages
• Supply chain disruptions
• Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies
• Sustainable and resilient building practices
• Community recovery after major events
• Emergency construction management strategies
• Project delivery innovations
• Public sector resilience initiatives
• Energy resilience and grid modernization
• Housing recovery and reconstruction

2.0 ELIGIBILITY & TEAM COMPOSITION

2.1 Institutional Requirements

• Participation is strictly limited to CMAA student members, currently enrolled in an accredited Architectural, Engineering, or Construction (AEC) related degree program.
• All members of a team must be registered at the same academic institution. Intercollegiate teams are not permitted.

2.2 Roster Limits

Each competing team must strictly adhere to the following roster framework:

• Active Presenters: Minimum of three (3), maximum of five (5) student members.
• Alternates: Maximum of one (1) designated alternate student.
• Advisory: Exactly one (1) Faculty Advisor OR one (1) CMAA Emerging Professional Coach.

Note on Coaching: If a student team is unable to secure a faculty advisor, they must contact their local CMAA Chapter no later than October 15, 2026, to be paired with an industry professional coach.

 

 

 

 3.0 Competition Phase

3.1 Phase 1: The Audition Pitch & Rationale (Pre-Conference Screening/Audition Tape)

Teams must submit a 200 word abstract of the pitch along with a pre-recorded video pitch via the conference portal. The primary goal of Phase 1 is to define the problem statement and establish a clear case for why this specific challenge requires immediate industry innovation.

A video presentation not exceeding five (5) minutes must fulfill the following:

Topic Selection & Rationale: Explicitly identify which "Resilience and Recovery" challenge your team has chosen and provide a data-driven justification for its importance to the AEC industry.

Vulnerability Assessment: Clearly demonstrate how this disruption impacts the built environment, project schedules, budgets, or workforce safety.

The Conceptual Teaser: Outline your team's overarching strategy and explain the expected high-level outcomes and benefits without needing to dive into granular data sets or technical workflows yet.

Duration: Maximum of 5 minutes (hard stop). Videos exceeding this limit will face an immediate point deduction.

3.2 Phase 2: Entering the Tank (Live Solution Finals/Live Shark Tank)

The selection committee will shortlist the highest-scoring teams from Phase 1 to advance to the live finals at Cal Poly Pomona. This phase is entirely focused on “The Solution and The Execution”.

The Live Pitch (5 Minutes): Finalist teams take the stage to pitch their fully developed solution. This must include technical implementation strategies, software/AI integration, and realistic construction management principles (such as high-level cost/schedule impacts and alignment with CMAA Standards of Practice).

The Shark Attack Q&A (5 Minutes): Following the pitch, judges will grill the team on their specific solution, testing their financial assumptions, risk management logic, and technical construction understanding.

CATEGORY TWO

MINIMUM SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUAL SCHOLARSHIPS – Maximum Award $2,000

Those interested in being considered for an individual scholarship shall submit the following information:

• Letter of Interest (PDF): Include name of institution, degree level, program major, and full contact information (Name, phone, email).
• Professional Resume: A one-page professional resume.
• Personal Statement:  PDF format comprised of 750 to 1,000 words or up to a 5-minute prerecorded video describing the following:

o    Goals you have for your career.

o    Your involvement with CMAA and what you have benefited most from the Programs provided.

o    What makes you passionate about the construction industry?

o    What do you expect to learn as you enter the workforce?

o    How do you plan to push the limits of what’s possible?

o    Include any hardships or challenges you have or will need to overcome.

Students who have previously submitted scholarship applications during the 2025-26 academic year to one of our CMAA California Chapters and are still enrolled in school will be considered in addition to any new applicants by simply confirming your information in your letter of interest so that we can verify your application submission. There is no need to provide a personal statement or video.

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS & DEADLINES CATEGORIES ONE AND TWO

Submissions must be received and uploaded to the registration site no later than Monday, November 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST. Follow the instructions on the registration site and note that no combined file size greater than 10MB will be accepted.

Document Package Checklist

• Letter of Interest (PDF): Documenting the school’s name, degree level, program major, and full contact roster (Name, phone, email) for all students, alternates, and coaches.
• • Category One:  Must include a 200-word abstract of the pitch.
  • Category Two:  Must include  750 to 1,000  Personal Statement or video
• Professional Resumes: A one-page professional resume for every student member and alternate listed on the roster.
• Video Link: A functional, non-password-protected URL (e.g., YouTube, Google Drive, Vimeo)
• • Category One: Must include a Phase 1 audition tape.
  • Category Two:  Optional video
• File Size Constraint: The combined size of all uploaded text/PDF documents must not exceed 10MB.

Students may participate in one or more categories. Submissions will be reviewed by the selection committee and ranked. Top presentations will be highlighted during the event. Winners of the scholarship prizes will be announced before the end of the conference and will be contacted after the conference to confirm payment information.

Plagiarism: All concepts, data models, and case studies must be the original work of the student team. Plagiarism or uncredited utilization of professional consulting plans will result in negative points.

Attendance Requirement: Shortlisted teams must attend the conference in person at Cal Poly Pomona to deliver their pitch and receive scholarship award.

Scholarship Awards: Top-ranked teams and individual scholarship winners will be recognized during the CMAA California Rising CM Conference.  Checks will be issued following the event.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

In addition to student presentations, school participation is also a consideration in selecting the winning team(s). Be sure to encourage students from your school to register for the event and increase your ranking even if submitting as an individual.

Presentations must be submitted via the registration web portal (instructions are provided upon registering).

QUESTIONS

All technical questions should be directed to Ashish Rajmane, CMAA California Rising CM Conference Committee Co-Chair, ashish.rajmane@cumming-group.com