The task force's report then needs to be submitted to Congress and published to the members. Several rounds of drafting and public debate will be needed. This needs to embody an open and participative process.Ī priming document needs to be published, and submissions sought, received, considered and published. The design and drafting of a constitution with these characteristics needs active involvement of the membership, rather than being driven entirely by the Management Committee or Congress.Ĭongress needs to establish a task force, with appropriate terms of reference, composition and resourcing. On governance matters, communication channels are needed outbound from the society to members, inbound, and across the structure, among members. In a large country with diversity of scale and regional cultures, there is a need for functional groupings of members (such as communities of interest) to be complemented by regional groupings of members (branches and chapters), each with the scope, powers and resources to inform and to draw information from engaged members. This includes direct voting by professional members not only in elections, but also to approve the key documents that define the society and its operations, priorities and initiatives.įurther, the organisation's governing and other committees need to draw on the full body of professional members, not on a small minority of insiders. Responsibilities, powers and resources need to be delegated to appropriate levels within the organisation, with accountability mechanisms back up the chain. More specifically, the constitution needs to embody the society's values, and to ensure that the behaviour of both the society and its professional members is consistent with those values.īusiness lines must be appropriate to the society's nature, and priorities for the application of surpluses from business lines need to reflect the society's key functions. ![]() The principles to guide the design and drafting of ACS's new constitution start with recognition of the centrality of the professional membership.Īny professional society has to be for the members and of the members, and needs to satisfy its ethical responsibilities by servicing needs beyond the members' own interests. ![]() When establishing a constitution for an organisation, form must follow function. Principles for a professional society's constitution These key functions make a professional society quite distinct from a commercial or for-profit corporation, and very different also from an industry association. ![]() These have to do with standards, accreditation processes for members and for educational institutions, continuing professional development, collegial interaction, services to the membership, and contributions to the formation of public policy. It must also ensure that its members apply their knowledge, and exercise their skills, in the interests not only of themselves and their employers, but also of society as a whole.įrom this arises a set of key functions that every professional society must have at its core. It must establish and encourage standards of behaviour of both a technical and an ethical nature. To fulfil the role, ACS has to operate within a recognised body of learning that arises from research, education, training and deep experience. ![]() The ACS needs a constitutional document that establishes structures and processes appropriate for a professional society.Īt the Congress meeting on Friday 19 June, I was invited to present the views of myself and the many other members who expressed concerns about the constitution that was considered during the second half of 2019.Īs a starting-point, it is important to consider the nature of professional societies, and of the special status that they enjoy.
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