Work Plan - 2011-2014

VISION

A Profession, armed with knowledge and best practices, extending the usefulness of surveying for the benefit of society, environment and economy, increasingly positioned in significance and relevance, next door to everywhere.

PREAMBLE

The International Federation of Surveyors is a United Nations recognized international nongovernmental organization, representing a membership from over 120 countries throughout the world whose purpose is to support international collaboration for the progress of surveying in all fields and applications as well as to ensure that the disciplines of surveying and all who practise them meet the needs of the markets and communities that they serve. The Federation, founded in 1878 in Paris, strives to enhance the global standing of the surveying profession.

FIG recognizes that the earth (the land and the seas as well as their natural resources) is the source of all production and consequently of the generation of capital and wealth. The land and the seas and their natural resources are finite and, given the challenges of our times (adequate food and shelter, climate change, disaster management, rapid urbanization as well as environmental degradation, large scale cultivation and unsustainable national and economic development), good governance of land, natural and built environments remains fundamental.

FIG also recognizes that surveying sciences and technologies are more than just “platforms” or “vehicles” or “means” but equally, they are not the “end”. Our belief is that surveying sciences, technologies and practices pursue the common good and extend the usefulness of that knowledge and practice towards the betterment of society, environment and economy.

As the profession continues its race to the top, enhancing the significance and relevance of surveying in every sphere and jurisdictions in which the profession has a presence, we must also consider the wider good: the needs of society, environment and economy. Efforts must continue to mainstream our profession into the broader realm of governance of the natural and built environment, national development and economic progress and prosperity.

 INTRODUCTION

The Council’s work plan is about continuity and is not one that clamours for change. The Federation, heading into the second decade of this century, needs the Council to build the future on the foundations that have been laid by councils and bureaux in the immediate past decade.

The US Bureau in 1999 had as its priority “Advancing the Global Surveying Profession”, and was followed by the German Council (2002 – 2006) which had “Shaping the Change” as its priority. The immediate past Council (2007 – 2010) made “Building the Capacity” its key priority. The broad concept was that capacity building includes societal, institutional and individual responsibilities, and thus efforts were directed at all of these levels.

This Council will continue the efforts of our predecessors and work on extending the progress, achievements and global standing of the profession, enhancing the significance and relevance of the profession, and extending the profession’s usefulness to humankind, for the betterment of society, environment and economy. This thrust will be addressed through the Federation’s activities at all levels: the Council; the ten Commissions; Task Forces; and Networks – as well as the FIG Foundation and the Permanent Institutions.

“Confidence . . . thrives on honesty, on honour, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance” (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

It is important to recognise that the Federation has distinguished itself and gained deserved global recognition in no small part due to the Federation’s culture of unselfish contribution - unselfishly sharing experiences, unselfishly sharing information, unselfishly sharing practices, unselfishly sharing knowledge. Such unselfish performance must be continued, and new channels of sharing and dissemination of experiences, information, practices and knowledge will be initiated and embarked upon.

“Our minds are as different as our faces, we are all travelling to one destination”
(Charles Caleb Colton)

 Within the Federation’s global surveying community, it is recognised that there is strength in the diversity of cultures and languages. It is this diversity that gives not just breadth and depth to the Federation’s work, but also richness in the results as all come together to journey with one mission and one vision. The Council will accommodate this diversity and work with regional surveying structures and organisations, as well as with member associations and other member organisations, within the spirit of subsidiarity.

The Federation will continue to play a significant role through its partnership with UN agencies such as UN-Habitat, UN FAO, UN-OOSA, and the World Bank, as well as with sister and allied organizations in facing global challenges. In facing these global challenges, the profession – through our knowledge, standards and competence – can provide confidence, clarity and certainty and can be part of the solution.

The Council, through its various activities, aims to engage and encourage the wider membership, particularly member associations, to enhance the role and relevance of the profession within its jurisdiction and to work towards sustainable futures. The Council also recognizes that it has a responsibility to all surveyors including those from jurisdictions not yet represented by any member association.

Finally, the Council recognises that at the onset of its term in office, we are in an era of austerity brought on by global economic and financial uncertainties. These economic and financial uncertainties affect the Federation’s membership directly. Thus the Federation’s administration and finances must be underpinned by fiscal prudence and restraint. Council thus recognizes that the profession must continue to enhance the profession’s relevance in these challenging times with a strategy that engages with the challenges of the times.

Thus Council has selected “Engaging the Challenge: Enhancing the Relevance” as its theme for 2011 – 2014.

Engaging the Challenge: Enhancing the Relevance

The Council is mindful of the need to:

• engage the membership to further strengthen the standing and prestige of the profession and the Federation as well as that of our members;
• continue engaging global challenges in partnership with UN agencies and the World Bank as well as sister and allied organisations; and
• enhance the significance of surveying, promote the profession’s relevance and extend the usefulness of surveying for the benefit of society, environment and economy.

These needs will be underpinned by careful management, and fiscal prudence and restraints to ensure the sustainability of the Federation’s delivery and membership services, administration and finances. These will be addressed through the Federation’s activities at all levels: the Council; the ten Commissions; the two Networks; the Task Forces – as well as through FIG’s Permanent Institutions and the FIG Foundation.

The Council will continue to improve efforts and mechanisms to:

• increase participation in the Federation’s activities by the membership;
• communicate appropriately with the membership, comprehending membership’s needs and aspirations as well as informing the membership of important developments within the Federation; 􀂃 promote the sharing of experiences, information, knowledge and best practices;
• promote professional development, professional competency standards and professional ethics, as well as the development of international standards, guidelines and best practices;
• enhance the partnership with UN agencies, the World Bank and other international and multilateral organizations;
• encourage the development and appropriate adoption of surveying technologies and infrastructures;
• continue developing efforts on capacity building;
• accommodate cultural and linguistic diversity and co-operate with regional surveying structures and organisations;
• encourage studies and research in all disciplines of surveying and disseminate the results; and
• co-ordinate Commissions’ workshops and symposia, aiming to serve all of the Federation’s membership, with these events being strategically positioned geographically.

The Work Plan of the FIG Council in 2011-2014 thus focuses on three key pillars:

• Engaging our Membership;
• Engaging Global Challenges; and
• Enhancing the Significance and Relevance of the Profession.

Engaging our Membership

Communications

Continuing dialogue and rapport with the Federation’s members is essential to the wellbeing of the Federation, particularly in promoting the Federation and enhancing the significance and relevance of the profession. Whenever necessary, Council will communicate and clarify to the membership the vision and direction of the Federation, and report on the latest development affecting the Federation and the membership. Particular strands of work will be to:

1. Continue to promote the benefits of membership.
2. Particularly promote the value of membership within under-represented regions, especially South and Central America and the Caribbean.
3. Enhance the Federation’s web site and leverage it as a means of effective communication and dissemination of information.
4. Encourage member organisations to translate appropriate FIG Publications to effect a wider dissemination of knowledge and practices.
5. Continue with the publication of an Annual Review that will serve as the Federation’s main medium of communication to various key stakeholders.
6. Develop appropriate approaches to engage the media (print and online) to better promote the Federation and the profile of the profession.
7. Work with the membership to ensure that the communication tools that the Federation has in place – particularly the Federation’s web site – meet the needs of the membership in communicating their views to the Council and Commissions, as well as learning of the work of the Council and Commissions. The continuing development of this two-way dialogue will be summarised in the Federation’s Information Policy.

In addition, Council will manage the increasing complexities and expectations of membership, as well as the varied nature, composition and character of member associations.

Commissions

Commissions are, collectively, “powerhouses” of the Federation, sources of in-depth knowledge, promoters and champions of standards and best practices. As Commissions are powerhouses, national delegates as well as correspondents to these Commissions are the vital “power grids”. Therefore, the Council continues to develop and implement sustainable and effective knowledge sharing framework and in particular will:

1.  Work with the Commissions to ensure that their work plans contribute to the vision of the Federation, are fully aligned with each other and that of the Council, and adjust as necessary to meet changing priorities during the four-year term.
2. Encourage the Federation’s membership to nominate, support and send a national delegate or a correspondent to the Commissions and Networks and their events.
3. Encourage the Federation’s membership to tap these powerhouses, to cascade the knowledge, standards, guidelines and practices that they develop to the local membership.
4. Encourage FIG’s member associations to collaborate with the Commissions in hosting Commissions’ workshops, symposia and conferences.
5. Tap into the high quality outputs of regional structures and organizations and continue to extend the benefits of this knowledge, standards, guidelines and practices within and beyond the region.

Conference Structures

The Federation’s Working Weeks, regional conferences and Congresses will remain the Council’s primary focus in terms of events and will consume most energies of the Federation as an organisation. Our energies must be focused to bring effectiveness to these principal events so as to encourage a higher level of participation, achievement and success. The Council will therefore:

1. Intensify its efforts to encourage better participation in these principal events by the general membership.
2. Work with Commissions and Task Forces to ensure better (and better targeted and coordinated) dissemination of science, knowledge and practices through workshops, symposia and conferences that reach out and add value to our membership and ensure that, as far as it is possible, these events are geographically diverse.
3. Introduce a biennial event for Young Surveyors in 2012 and 2014, alongside the Federation’s Working Week and Congress.
4. Organise one regional conference within this Council’s term, which will be organised together with a member association in South America in the last quarter of 2012.
5. Organise the inaugural FIG Undergraduate event in conjunction with the Congress in 2014.

In addition, within the programme of the Federation’s Working Weeks and Congress, there shall be:

• An annual Corporate Members’ Forum, organized at the Working Week or Congress;
• An annual Presidents’ meeting, providing the opportunity for the Federation’s President and Council to engage directly with the Presidents of member associations and ensure that the Federation’s plans meet their needs and expectations;
• An annual Directors General Forum for national mapping and cadastral organisations, including FIG Affiliate Members, organized at the Working Week or Congress;
• An annual Academic Members’ Forum organized at the Working Week or Congress.

Engaging Global Challenges

It is recognized that humanity currently faces a series of challenges - adequate food and shelter, climate change, disaster management, rapid urbanization as well as environmental degradation, large-scale development and cultivation. Sustainable national and economic development, as well as good governance of land, natural and built environment, therefore remain fundamental. The Council will therefore:

1. Develop concepts to mainstream the profession into the broader realm of governance of the natural and built environment, national development and economic progress and prosperity.
2. Strengthen the Federation’s collaboration and partnership with the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UN-OOSA) and other international and multilateral agencies.
3. Develop collaborative activities with UN-Habitat, UN-FAO, UN-OOSA and the World Bank to better understand, develop and present the Federation’s response to these global challenges.
4. Continue existing collaborative activities under the UN-Habitat Global Land Tools Network in areas such as the Social Tenure Domain Model (and the complexity within the framework of Tenure Security) and the capacity building agenda in transparency in land administration.
5. Consider new collaborative activities with UN related agencies and the World Bank in the areas of good land governance, undernourishment, inadequate shelter and sanitation, rapid urbanization particularly in the less developed countries, and climate change.
6. Consider mutually beneficial and appropriate collaborative activities with sister and allied organisations, in particular with organisations that have existing Memoranda of Understanding with the Federation.
7. Promote dialogue to engage sister and allied organisations, particularly for the exchange of information, knowledge and best practices.
8. Develop, where appropriate, common approaches and platforms with sister and allied organisations, particularly those with existing Memoranda of Understanding with the Federation, when addressing global issues and concerns to the profession.
9. Work towards joint publication of findings, reports and studies from these collaborative activities.

The Council will also establish the

• FIG Task Force on Surveyors and Climate Change to identify and investigate specific areas where surveyors have the professional expertise to contribute to studies related to climate change; and
• FIG Task Force on Property and Housing to investigate challenges and identify roles for surveyors in a post-global financial crisis era including the challenge for adequate shelter.

 Enhancing the Significance and Relevance of the Profession

Promoting the Federation and the significance of the profession remains crucial, and the Council will contribute in enhancing the Federation’s partnership with UN related agencies, the World Bank and other external international or multilateral agencies as well as sister and allied organizations. Council will also encourage member organisations to cascade the benefits of these partnerships and related activities down to the national and local arena. Council will take responsibility to relate effectively to these UN agencies and the World Bank as well as to other external international or multilateral agencies based on existing Memoranda of Understanding. The general membership must take responsibility to effectively cascade the benefits of these relationships to surveyors locally. Council will therefore:

1. Review the status of all existing Memoranda of Understanding and where applicable agree on new agendas for action and/or activities, particularly with the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UN-OOSA) and the World Bank.
2. Co-ordinate and monitor all activities related to existing Memoranda of Understanding where the implementing responsibilities are delegated to the Commissions.
3. Discuss, develop and enter into new Memoranda of Understanding with other international or multi-lateral agencies or allied professional organization that will promote collaboration and be mutually beneficial.
4. Promote dialogue and provide a forum for the exchange of experiences, information, knowledge and best practices amongst the membership, particularly through the Federation’s conference structures.
5. Promote dialogue and provide a forum for exchange of experiences, information, knowledge and best practices between UN-related agencies and the World Bank and the membership, through the Federation’s conference structures.
6. Promote dialogue and improve communication with member associations so that member associations can cascade the benefits of the Federation’s ongoing partnership and activities with UN-related agencies, the World Bank and sister and allied organizations down to the individual surveyor to improve the standing and status of surveyors at local and national levels.
7. Co-operate with, and, when appropriate, support regional surveying structures and organisations including Fédération des Géomètres Francophones (FGF), Comité de Liaison des Géomètres Européens (CLGE) (The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors), Arab Union of Surveyors, Mediterranean Union of Surveyors, ASEAN Federation of Land Surveying and Geomatics (AFLAG), Asociacion Panamericana de Profesionales en Agrimensura (APPA) (Panamerican Association of Surveying Professionals), with the intention of improving the standing and status of surveyors at local and national levels.
8. Encourage and, where appropriate, support member associations to engage their stakeholders within their respective jurisdiction to further advance the profession, its standing and status at the local and national levels. 

To support this, the Council will sustain:

• The FIG Task Force on Africa, which has a capacity building agenda aimed at extending the usefulness of surveying to society, institutions and individuals.
• The FIG Task Force on Spatial Enabled Society, an evolving concept where spatial information, as well as position and place, enables governments, citizens and businesses to better organize their activities.

Ensuring Administrative and Financial Sustainability

The effectiveness of the Federation is underpinned by an efficient administrative set up and sound financial management. The Council will manage the Federation with the support of a revamped administrative structure that is intended to provide administrative stability and sustainability.

Council will manage the Federation with fiscal prudence and restraint, taking cognizance of the imperative to strive for an annual surplus and making best use of the surpluses. Council believes that this is the only responsible financial strategy. Spending cuts and not continual membership fee rises should bear the brunt of any rebalancing required during this period of fiscal restraints.

The Federation has over the last two terms built up a financial reserve approaching its regular annual expenditure. This provides financial security for the Federation in difficult periods, as have been experienced in recent years arising from circumstances beyond FIG’s control.

To ensure the effective ongoing financial management of the Federation, the previous Council introduced a number of changes, including the format in which the FIG accounts are presented to the General Assembly to provide increased transparency. Continuing and enhancing this effort, the Council will conform to the following arrangements for 2011-14:

1. To act prudently in all financial matters, to ensure the continued sustainability of the Federation without the need for automatic membership fee rises each year. During its term, the Council intends to hold constant the membership fee levels of 2012, for 2013 and 2014 financial year. Previous General Assemblies have already fixed the levels of membership fees for 2011 and 2012.
2. To budget for the four-year period of the Council, aiming to ensure that the overall financial result over the four-year life of the Council will be positive.
3. Increase funding to its delivery capability, including increasing the grants provided to the Chairs of Commissions and the Young Surveyors Network to €3,000 per year.
4. To monitor costs and income carefully and in particular to ensure that
   • Regular income exceeds regular expenditure in each year;
   • General reserves of the Federation are kept within the range of 90-100% of regular annual expenditure unless dispensation to act otherwise is given by the General Assembly;
   • Planned developmental expenditure does not take place unless the financial situation of the Federation allows it;
   •  Federation’s and Foundation’s reserves are held in low-risk investments, and that robust controls on movements in the investments are maintained; and
   • Administrative expenditure is kept to a sensible minimum to run the Federation’s operations effectively.
5. Report to each General Assembly the financial standing of the Federation and consider appropriate financial control mechanisms to ensure that the Federation’s members, officers and staff are at all times accountable for their actions and protected when following appropriate procedures.
6.  Review the Federation’s administrative processes during this Council’s term of office and, if necessary, refashion them to ensure that the Federation’s delivery system and membership services remain at the appropriate level whilst minimizing costs.

Leadership and Responsibilities

The Federation is governed by its General Assembly. The business of the Federation, as provided by the Statutes and Internal Rules, shall be directed by the Council under the authority of the General Assembly and administered by the Office. The Council, together with the Chairs of the Federation’s ten commissions, forms the broader leadership of the Federation and is further assisted by the Chairs of Task Forces and the two Networks, the Directors of the Permanent Institutions and the President of the FIG Foundation. This collectivism of leadership will be underpinned by mutual respect and the concept of subsidiarity.

The Council is responsible for preparing the Annual Review; preparing and recommending the annual budget as well as a four-year rolling projections of regular income and expenditure; considering and setting membership fees for members except for member associations; developing Council policies; considering, negotiating and recommending partnership arrangement via Memoranda of Understanding; and monitoring and reviewing the overall performance of the Federation.

Responsibilities of the Council Members 2013-2014

The individual responsibilities of the members of the Council for 2013-2014 as follows.