FIG Task Force on Evolutionary Diversity and Inclusion

FIG Task Force - 2023-2026

Task Force on the Surveyor's Profession: Evolutionary Diversity and Inclusion

The Task Force was established at the FIG Working Week in Orlando, Florida, USA in 2023. The term of this Task Force is 2023-2026. 

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The Task Force on The Surveyor's Profession: Evolutionary Diversity at FIG Working Week 2023

The task force was established at the FIG Working Week 2023 in Orlando, Florida, and its Terms of Reference was approved by FIG General Assembly on 28 May 2023 as well as the appointed chair Stephen Djaba.

During the Working Week the Task Force held a session on Diversity and Inclusion in the surveying profession.

Generational sustainability is an important aspect of The Surveyor's Profession: Evolutionary Diversity task force. The task force aims to promote diversity and inclusion within the surveying profession, not only in terms of race, gender, and ethnicity, but also in terms of age and generational diversity, including Gen X, Y, and Z. This is important because it ensures that the surveying profession is sustainable and can continue to thrive in the long term.

To achieve this goal, the task force can focus on a number of initiatives, such as promoting mentorship and knowledge transfer between different generations of surveyors, from Gen X to Gen Y, and Z. They can also work to address issues related to age discrimination and ensure that older surveyors are not excluded from opportunities for professional development or advancement.

Additionally, the task force can work to attract Gen Y, Z and Gen Alpha to the profession by highlighting the exciting and innovative technologies and tools used in surveying and by emphasizing the importance of sustainability and environmental stewardship in the field. This can help to ensure that the surveying profession continues to evolve and adapt to changing needs and technologies, while also remaining diverse and inclusive across all generations.

Malinowski Tomasz (Poland):
Success in Life. (12229)
[abstract] [paper] [handouts] [video]

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Terms of Reference

Purpose

Generational sustainability is an important aspect of The Surveyor's Profession: Evolutionary Diversity task force. The task force aims to promote diversity and inclusion within the surveying profession, not only in terms of race, gender, and ethnicity, but also in terms of age and generational diversity, including Gen X, Y, and Z. This is important because it ensures that the surveying profession is sustainable and can continue to thrive in the long term.

To achieve this goal, the task force can focus on a number of initiatives, such as promoting mentorship and knowledge transfer between different generations of surveyors, from Gen X to Gen Y, and Z. They can also work to address issues related to age discrimination and ensure that older surveyors are not excluded from opportunities for professional development or advancement.

Additionally, the task force can work to attract Gen Y, Z and Gen Alpha to the profession by highlighting the exciting and innovative technologies and tools used in surveying and by emphasizing the importance of sustainability and environmental stewardship in the field. This can help to ensure that the surveying profession continues to evolve and adapt to changing needs and technologies, while also remaining diverse and inclusive across all generations

1. Rationale

Technology is evolving rapidly within the Surveying profession and culture now more than ever. Remote and global technologies, enabled by the Internet of Things, are bridging the work culture of the profession. This is important because it underscores that the future of a global expert community of surveying practitioners is already here.

If surveyors fail in the eyes of society, it could mean the end of the surveying profession within local communities – where surveying makes the most difference of all. There are several case 2 studies across countries in both the global north and global south which indicate this is the case – and there is a significant ethical risk for the entire surveying profession as technologies continue to evolve in leaps and bounds.

Within the context of the UN's transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs, ‘Leave no one behind’, this raises the case for FIG, as a global leader of the profession to proactively advocate for the changes that our industry needs to remain relevant, contribute to create positive solutions for people and planet, and to ensure that the discipline of surveying and all who practice it meet the needs of the markets and communities that they serve. Through this, we can ensure that local surveyors in under-connected networks have capabilities for prosperous work as well as those in privilege.

However, despite the importance of surveying, many women and minorities are not aware of the profession or its potential as a career path and influence on local communities. This Task force will seek to address this during its deliberations.

Our aims are amplified further in Appendix A, providing the context and key factors such as the state of diversity in the industry and systemic bias in the workforce.

2. Task Force Composition

The Evolutionary Diversity task force will be composed of a diverse group of individuals from GEN Z, GEN Y and GEN X with expertise in surveying, to foster diversity and inclusion. The workforce of the task force may include, but not be limited to:

• Surveying professionals from a variety of backgrounds and sectors, including private firms, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.
• Members of underrepresented groups in the surveying profession, including women and minorities, who can provide firsthand perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing these groups in the field.

The task force will benefit from the diversity of its members and their unique perspectives and experiences. Members will be selected based on their expertise, experience, and commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the surveying profession. The task force will strive to ensure that it is inclusive and representative of the diverse communities that it serves.

Ensuring there is a competent and experienced profession drives confidence from the public in land surveying, hydrography, mining, engineering etc. The Surveying and Spatial industry are key contributors to supporting this level of confidence recognised by all levels of the profession from entry level to the highest ranks of the profession as a Licensed Surveyor. Keeping focus on evaluating and improving (continuous improvement) the education, training and accreditation system to meet the needs of industry and the future workforce that will be required to raise the reputation of the profession into the future. Within society, the composition of the modern globalised workforce is changing, as are technological developments (such as big data) and the legislation around surveying and related industrial relations.

The detailed composition of the core members can be found in section 6 below.

3. Task Force Goals and Objectives

The aim of the Task force is to promote the Diversity and Inclusion 2023- 2026 theme of the FIG term. Its main objectives are to determine present and futuristic projection (based on technological advancement) of how FIG can remain relevant as a profession of choice. Specific areas of contribution identified for this task force include:

1. Workforce: Identifying the key elements of the surveying industry’s workforce challenges across the entire career pipeline, from improving career pathway visibility in schools and tertiary institutions, to workforce retention in early career and around parenting, to ensuring there are equitable opportunities for career progression in middle and late career. The specific barriers and challenges to this may vary across different countries and cultures, and this task force seeks to understand and map these globally.
2.  Systemic bias in the workforce: Understanding what it will take to remove the systemic barriers of entry and discrimination around gender, religion, race and cultural differences within the global surveying industry, and recommending processes to move forward.
3.  Generational sustainability: Assessing the strengths and contributions that each of the four generations in the workplace bring, and how the surveying industry can make the best use of intergenerational knowledge, expertise and skills through two-way mentoring and coaching.
4.  Future relevance of the profession: Assessing the branding and framing of the surveying profession that will appeal to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, to make tangible recommendations that Member Organisations can take to keep our profession relevant and attractive to current and future generations.
5.  Advancement of the profession: Understanding what professional advancement guidelines are required for different areas of expertise within our profession, and the diversity and inclusion components within each of these.
6.  Consulting, assessing and recommending a global standard of minimum training to be recognised for FIG members.

4. Task Force Terms of Reference

To facilitate this from establishment, this TF will present its draft Terms of Reference and consult all FIG Commissions and other TFs in the leadup to the FIG Working Week 2023 in Orlando regarding its work planning process.

The Task Force objectives will seek to:

• Outline a strategy to implement the project activities in accordance with its objectives.
•  Always maintain the focus of the Task Force on the agreed scope, outcome and benefits
•  Provide modalities for timely delivery of work that would allow achieving the expected outcomes as well as outline the required financing scheme. ● Have a good understanding and application of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its Sustainabl
•  Development Goals (SDGs) and the structural challenges facing less developed countries in the context of Reduced inequalities (SDG 10), and the achievement of Partnerships for Goals (SDG17).
• Develop analysis and policy recommendations backed by advocacy tools to promote the SDG policy objectives with the goal to strengthen partnerships.
• To formulate concrete recommendations and share lessons learnt to inform future work in this area.
• To provide periodic reporting

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4. Outcomes and Outputs

A valuable outcome of this Task Force will be to position FIG as a relevant and credible professional body, in the advancement and regulation of the survey practice within governing laws, while ensuring equitable, diverse and inclusive access to wealth of knowledge and expertise. Through this:

•  Younger professionals will become more interested in and involved in the surveying industry, creating a more varied and creative workforce.
•  The public will have a better understanding of the surveying profession as a cuttingedge, technologically sophisticated industry that benefits society.
•  The surveying industry will retain more young professionals, creating a more resilient and long-lasting workforce. The profession will become more dynamic and integrated as a result of increasing collaboration and knowledge sharing among surveying experts with various backgrounds and experiences.

5. Timeline of the Task Force

6. Future Outcome Targets

To address the relevance of our profession this Task force identifies five strategic targets that need action to keep our Profession attractive to our youth as a viable profession to pursue:

1.  Standardize training in basic and advanced education. This will ensure we globalize our learning and knowledge base using social media platforms.
2.  Creation of a framework for continuous development in survey education in step with evolving technology.
3.  Intentionally create gender (female) neutral opportunities for equitable career progression.
4.  Creation of a system for attracting our trained young talents to the profession through annual campus fairs, conferences and internships offers.
5.  Creation of systems that explore, create and include technological development in our codes of practice; within the respective laws of our member countries. This fifth area is not only futuristic but present. It should allow the Federation to be agile in step with advances in technology.
6.  Creating Survey clubs in each continent( how are the students? Will they go to geodetic sciences? how to guide them there?)
7.  Use social Media(for example, mark all geodetic points in the world and let's show them! we will make statistical presentations based on maps - we already have them!! you have to show it, meridians, parallels, nautical charts and those new tasks that the economy poses to surveyors; why did they develop LIDAR? and why does the surveyor work best with it? - this must be shown, shown in a modern and attractive way.

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Members of the Task Force

The TF commits to ensuring diversity and inclusion amongst the TF Core Team to the full extent possible, inclusive of gender, geography, age, cultural background, and other identity factors. Additional Core TF members may be added after discussion at Orlando FIG Working Week. During the Orlando meeting, there will be a specific attempt to reach out to people across FIG 6 regions and to include a range of diverse identities (age, gender, cultural background, geographic location through FIG region, people with disabilities, people with caring responsibilities, First Nations People, etc) to join this Core Team. Further members may be appointed over time as deemed necessary.

Chair:

Stephen Djaba (Ghana) - stephen[at]ghana.com

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