FIG Commission 1 - Professional Standards and Practice

Work Plan 2011-2014

Original work plan in .pdf-format

Title

Professional Standards and Practice

  Ms. Leonie Newnhamn, Chair of Commission 1.

Terms of reference

  • Professional practice, legal aspects and organisational structures
  • Codes of ethics and applications
  • Changes to society and ways of working and the corresponding impacts on professional practice
  • Community perceptions and understanding about the surveying profession
  • Participation in FIG Standards Network and Young Surveyors Network

Mission statement

The mission of Commission 1 is to:

  • build the capacity of professionals to adapt to changing circumstances: Changes are affecting the operation of surveying practices, their management and their professional structures under the challenges of widening professional activities and a changing world.
  • create a community of practice to share knowledge about professional standards and practice challenges and responses by surveying professions.
  • build links to regional and world structures for surveying professionals that focus on issues around professional standards and practice.
  • support professionals in their work by providing them with tools and approaches to dealing with common practice issues.
  • develop individuals as professionals and provide opportunities for them to continue to develop as part of the surveying community.

General

Commission 1 will continue the work on the changing nature of surveying work and the role of the professional, work at connecting with other like professional commissions operating in regional organizations, building supporting knowledge and materials for surveying professionals. The Commission will continue its work in the Standards and Young Surveyors Networks.

In general the 2011-2014 work plan aims to:

  • Share understanding on the challenges facing professional practice in a changing environment of work and within a changing world.
  • Provide opportunities for an ongoing exchange of information around issues on professional standards and practice using new technologies.
  • Share knowledge of professional practices around ethical delivery of services.
  • Connect with other groups in member associations that promote and develop surveying professional standards and practice to share knowledge and develop possible joint activities.
  • Work with Commission 2 to develop ongoing pathways of professional education that support the concept of ongoing professional development.
  • Promote cooperative development opportunities and the development of new initiatives by growing knowledge from working together with other commissions on the current and future role of the surveyor, the definition of the surveyor as well as the age-structure within the profession.
  • Build activities with world wide standards development and certification through the Standards Network.
  • Build activities with Young Surveyors through the active support of the Young Surveyors Network.

The Commission will host the inter-commission working group to consider the current and future role of the surveyor, the definition of the surveyor as well as the age-structure within the profession. The other joint working group hosted by Commission 1 will study the technological, methodological and practical as well as legal aspects on the demarcation of international boundaries.


Working Group 1.1 - Changing Nature of Work and the Role of a Surveyor (Joint Working Group with Commission 2 )

Policy issues

  • To consider the current and future role of the surveyor
  • To review the definition of the surveyor
  • To study the age-structure within the surveying profession and prepare proposals how to response to the competition to market the profession for new generations
  • Surveying professionals work in a variety of work environments and are required to respond to constant changes in how they deliver services. This creates challenges to them in how they practice and challenges on how to adapt to change. Identifying and sharing new ways of working from around the world will provide practical examples of ways others have successfully adapted and will build a set of case studies on change.

Co-chairs


Ms. Winnie Shiu,
HONG KONG SAR, CHINA,
 e-mail: mswinnieshiu[at]gmail.com  
Mr. Curtis Sumner,
USA.
E-mail: Curtis.Sumner[at]acsm.net

Specific Project(s)

  • To consider the current and future role of the surveyor
  • To review the definition of the surveyor
  • Age structural survey within FIG (implemented by Cecilia Lindén, Sweden)
  • Prepare proposals how to response to the competition to market the profession for new generations

Workshop(s)

  • Participation in FIG Working Weeks and other major FIG events with dedicated technical sessions and/or workshops as appropriate.

Publications

  • To be determined

Timetable

  • Final report at the FIG Congress 2014

Working Group 1.2 - Regulation Approaches that Provide Secure Tenure

Policy issues

  • Regulation is a way to develop secure land tenure and through this the alleviation of poverty through one of the basic principles of a secure tenure – integrity of the system and the control (elimination) of corruption.
  • Reviewing practice around the world provides an opportunity for professionals to share ideas on what has been done in various countries, consider how it was done and learn from others experiences of implementing regulation..

Chair

Mr Brian Coutts,
NEW ZEALAND,
e-mail: brian.coutts[at]otago.ac.nz 

Specific Projects

  • Develop case studies on how countries operate legislative systems that monitor the surveying profession.
  • Review aspects of regulation, survey controls systems, the role of educational and professional development systems to develop practice examples.

Workshop(s)

  • Participation in FIG Working Weeks and other major FIG events with dedicated technical sessions and/or workshops as appropriate.

Publication(s)

  • Publish case studies on regulation approaches around the world.

Timetable

  • Final report at the FIG Congress 2014

Working Group 1.3 - Community of Practice on Professional Standards and Practice

Policy issues

  • All professionals face professional standards and practice challenges and find ways to respond effectively. Anyone facing a problem or issues can be certain that somewhere in the world, someone has solved a problem that might be very similar. Developing a way to share practice issues using Web 2 technologies would provide a way for surveying professionals to develop a place where they can share the knowledge of others in dealing with current issues. This will be supplemented by professional standards and practice issues workshops held at each Working Week and the Regional Conference. Through this regular updates on emerging issues around the world can be obtained.
  • There are regional and other structures in place where members also interested and committed to issues around professional standards and practice for surveying professionals. These groups develop ideas and produce papers and possibly publications that are part of a world wide knowledge bank that FIG could access. Building links to regional and world structures for surveying professionals that focus on issues around professional standards and practice will expand our understanding and access to knowledge and resources.

Chair

  Stephen Djaba,
GHANA,
e-mail: Stephen@ghana.com 

Specific Project(s)

  • Linking worldwide with professional groups that focus on issues around professional standards and practice.
  • Develop a knowledge management concept for FIG as a professional organization.

Workshop(s)

  • Participation in FIG Working Weeks and other major Commission events with dedicated technical sessions and/or workshops as appropriate.

  • Professional Standards and Practice Issues workshops at each FIG Working Week and the Regional Conference.

Publications

  • To be determined.

Timetable

  • Final report at the FIG Congress 2014

Working Group 1.4 - International Boundary Settlement and Demarcation (Joint Working Group with Commissions 4, 5 and 7)

Policy issues

  • To deal with theoretical, methodological and some legal aspects and analysis of a few practical cases in international and national boundaries
  • To prepare an FIG publication on international boundary settlement and demarcation all over the world.

Co-Chair


Dr. Haim Srebro,
ISRAEL,
e-mail: haim[at]mapi.gov.il
  Dr. Bill Robertson,
NEW ZEALAND,
email: billrobertson[at]xtra.co.nz

 

Workshop(s)

  • Participation in FIG Working Weeks and other major Commission events with dedicated technical sessions as appropriate.

Publications

  • FIG publication on international boundary settlement and demarcation all over the world.

Timetable

  • Final report at the FIG Congress 2014

Working Group 1.5 - Social Media and Surveyors (Joint Working Group with the Young Surveyors Network)

Policy issues

  • Survey and recommendations on the use of social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter etc.) in surveying community for member associations
  • Raise the understanding of new communication tools within surveying community
  • Prepare proposals on using social media in marketing the profession and reaching new generations
  • Initiate opportunities for participating in social media at FIG events using skill sharing with Young Surveyors
     

Chair

Interim Chair, Leonie Newnham,
AUSTRALIA,
e-mail: Leonie.Newnham[at]dse.vic.gov.au  

Workshop(s)

  • Participation in FIG Working Weeks and other major FIG events with dedicated technical sessions and/or workshops as appropriate. Test online communication for out-reaching surveyors that do not normally attend FIG events.

Publications

  • FIG guidelines for member associations on the use of social media.

Timetable

  • Final report at the FIG Congress 2014

Commission Officers

Commission Chair and Initial Co-Chair of WG 1.5
Ms. Leonie Newnham
Manager, Innovation
Department of Sustainability and Environment
Level 13, 8 Nicholson Street
East Melbourne, Vic. 3002
Victoria
AUSTRALIA
Tel. + 61 3 9637 8651
Fax + 61 3 9637 9558
Email: Leonie.Newnham[at]dse.vic.gov.au   
Vice Chair of Administration and Communication
Ms. Robyn McCutcheon
VMAS Project Manager
Spatial Information Infrastructure
Information Services Branch
Department of Sustainability and Environment
Level13, 570 Bourke Street,
Melbourne,Vic,3000
AUSTRALIA
Tel. + 61 3 8636 2346
Email robyn.mccutcheon[at]dse.vic.gov.au 
Vice Chair and Co-Chair of WG 1.1 - Changing Nature of Work and the Role of a Surveyor
Curtis Sumner
Executive Director
American Congress on Surveying and Mapping
6 Montgomery Village Av #403
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
USA
Tel + 1 240 632 9716
Fax + 1 240 632 1321
Email: Curtis.Sumner[at]acsm.net
Vice Chair and Co-Chair of WG 1.1 - Changing Nature of Work and the Role of a Surveyor
Winnie Shiu
Senior Land Surveyor/Mapping Information Services
Survey and Mapping Office
Lands Department
The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors
23/F North Point Government Offices
333 Java Road
North Point
HONG KONG SAR, CHINA
Tel. + 852 22313443
Fax + 852 28778520
E-mail: wshiu[at]hkis.org.hk
Vice Chair and Chair of WG 1.2 - Regulation Approaches that Provide Secure Tenure
Brian J Coutts
Senior Lecturer
School of Surveying
University of Otago
P O Box 56
Dunedin
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: +64 3479 7609
Fax: +64 3479 7689
Email: brian.coutts[at]otago.ac.nz
Vice Chair and Chair of WG 1.3 - Community of Practice on Professional Standards and Practice
  Stephen Djaba (to be confirmed)
Geotech Systems Ltd
P.O. Box GP 14727
Accra
GHANA
E-mail: Stephen[at]ghana.com 
Tel + 233 21 245945 (work)
Tel + 233 21 766819 (home)
Fax + 233 21 236475
Vice Chair and Co-Chair of WG 1.4 - International Boundary Settlement and Demarcation
Dr. Haim Srebro
Survey of Israel
1 Lincoln st.
Tel-Aviv
ISRAEL
Tel. + 972 3 6231901
Fax + 972 3 5610866
E-mail: haim[at]mapi.gov.il
Web site: www.mapi.gov.il
Vice Chair and Co-Chair of WG 1.4 - International Boundary Settlement and Demarcation
  Dr. Bill Robertson
NEW ZEALAND
E-mail: billrobertson[at]xtra.co.nz 
Chair of WG 1.5 - Social Media and Surveyors (Joint Working Group with the Young Surveyors Network)
Ms. Leonie Newnham
Manager, Innovation
Department of Sustainability and Environment
Level 13, 8 Nicholson Street
East Melbourne, Vic. 3002
Victoria
AUSTRALIA
Tel. + 61 3 9637 8651
Fax + 61 3 9637 9558
Email: Leonie.Newnham[at]dse.vic.gov.au

08 August 2011