‘The Professional Group Panels will shape our thinking’

During my assessment interview, I was encouraged to become an active RICS member. As I had presented a case study on sustainability, the president of the assessment panel suggested that I make contact with the (then) Sustainability Professional Group.

The group was very active, so, one morning a month, it was the opportunity to get briefed on all the latest regulations, reporting initiatives, green building projects and contracts. Not that any of us could simply sit back and listen! We were invited – expected even – to organise an event or a session, and to invite specialists to come and brief the group. My contribution was a visit to a newly developed and innovative ‘green office’ in the Paris area.

My experience with this – and other – professional groups was in large part the impetus for me stepping up to take on other leadership roles within RICS, first in the World Regional Board, and now as president. I’m grateful for that, of course, but perhaps more importantly, I remember those group sessions as a place where I could step back from the day-to-day operations I was managing, to take a high-level view on how the sector was evolving, and to glean best practices from my peers.

Our new Professional Group Panels are even more than this. Working across their professional areas, they will shape RICS’ thinking, campaigning, standards and training. These are not just an opportunity to talk about the latest developments, but to inform them.

The new groups are putting together their work plans. Once these are ready, there will be opportunities for every RICS member to give feedback and ideas. Some of this will guide our research, some will help develop technical standards and guidance. Some will identify the competencies needed for surveyors to thrive amid new technologies and ways of working, while some will inform our CPD courses.

The new groups will also reflect the developments in the years since I joined RICS. Sustainability is now too important to be the task of a distinct group – it’s something that every part of the profession has to consider, and on which every part of the profession has insights to share.

But one thing will stay the same: when fellow professionals get together, there will be experiences in common, knowledge to exchange and friendships to be made.