News & Insights

Acquisition Expands B&D’s Capabilities to Guide Colleges and Universities in Strategic Energy Planning and Management, Including Assessing the Value of Public-Private Partnerships

(WASHINGTON, DC – February 3, 2020) – Development and management advisory firm Brailsford & Dunlavey has announced the expansion of its energy advisory practice through the acquisition of Fovea, a privately held company focused on system capacity planning, carbon mitigation strategies, life-cycle cost analysis, and risk mitigation strategy development.

Led by co-founders Rob McKenna and Dave Karlsgodt, Fovea has worked at more than 50 colleges and universities across the country, including at a number of University of California schools, Cal Tech, Columbia, Cornell, The Ohio State University, and University of Texas. Fovea has also worked with organizations like Ford Motor Company, Siemens, and Polaris.

The integration of Fovea into B&D allows the firm to expand its advisory services across its national footprint of college and university clients. B&D uses a proprietary project and program definition process to set criteria and drive decision making for schools looking to transform their real estate and operations; Fovea will integrate its expertise to expand this methodology to campus energy assets. This will include the evaluation of whether public-private partnerships (P3s), including asset monetization strategies, are viable and sustainable within a specific campus context.

B&D’s current clients in the higher education energy advisory space include Rutgers University, University of South Carolina, University of the District of Columbia, and the University of Illinois-Chicago.

“The work that we’ll be able to do with Fovea on the B&D team is absolutely inspiring and thrilling,” said Paul Brailsford, CEO of B&D. “We moved into the energy advisory space in recent years, and know the combined team’s expertise in facilitation, training, data visualization, and scenario planning will be game-changing for our clients in higher education, PK–14, and municipals. Energy is the next frontier for mission-based organizations working to control expenditures and operate responsibly; to advise in this space fits naturally with the work B&D does every day to empower and advance our schools and communities. Fovea’s shared commitment to building sustainable communities is exactly why it was an ideal candidate to bring into B&D. We value the strategic decision-making frameworks Fovea develops for its clients, as this echoes our own philosophies and working practices. This move has a positive impact on every aspect of our service continuum within every market that we operate.”

Fovea co-founder McKenna said, “Joining B&D provides us with the resources and added expertise to be even more impactful with our clients. B&D and Fovea are a powerful match in another way as well, as both firms prioritize bringing solutions to our clients that most importantly make our communities stronger and more sustainable.”

Fovea co-founder Karlsgodt added, “B&D’s reputation and credibility in the higher education sector will provide us a platform to highlight how we can help colleges and universities address energy-related issues and opportunities critical to a sustainable future for all of us. As an example, many universities are now faced with building a climate and sustainability action plan. They know they want to be, or need to be carbon-neutral and 100% sustainable—but many aren’t sure what that means exactly. We are able to come in and help them accomplish this—by addressing and answering the questions that include: Am I set up to do this effectively? How much will it cost me? What am I not thinking of?”

Specifically, Fovea brings to B&D its expertise in three key areas:

1. Roadmap services. Roadmaps provide decision makers with the right level of detail, enabling a campus to set goals that are both ambitions and achievable. Roadmap services are comprised of a facilitated planning process, reporting framework, and inventory support.
2. Navigation services. Creating a map outlining the destination and path to get there is prudent planning, but what happens when a fork in the road appears that isn’t on the map? Transforming campus facilities and energy system contains what can seem to be an endless maze of forking paths. Navigation Services ensure clients move through each critical decision while staying on course to reach their strategic goals.
3. Business services. Making decisions based on data, let alone imperfect data, can be a complex, imposing task. Customized insights and trainings enable senior leaders to make these important decisions, bolstered by data analysis, automation, and analytical training.

With the acquisition, B&D will also bring into the fold Fovea’s successful Campus Energy and Sustainability Podcast, in which Karlsgodt interviews leading campus professionals, thought leaders, engineers, and innovators on topics like energy conservation and efficiency, planning, finance, and building science.

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About B&D
Brailsford & Dunlavey (bdconnect.com) is a Washington, DC‐headquartered national advisory and program management firm with comprehensive in‐house planning and implementation capabilities, dedicated to serving public agencies, professional sports organizations, educational institutions, and non‐profit clients. B&D has more than 130 people in nine offices throughout the U.S.

About Fovea
Fovea is a privately held virtual company based in Seattle, WA, and Salt Lake City, UT, wholly owned by its principals. Fovea’s principals are experts in campus energy-system capacity planning, carbon mitigation strategies, life-cycle cost analysis, what-if scenario planning, and risk mitigation strategies. Support staff members add capabilities such as data analysis, graphic design, software automation, and web-based reporting. Fovea regularly partners with other firms with expertise in engineering, architecture, energy efficiency, and project financing.

For more information, please contact Doug Kotlove at 202-266-3410 or dkotlove@bdconnect.com.