Chair’s Message
Taking a look ahead
A
t the May 2019 Board meeting, we will be reviewing and updating the short and long term goals of the Institute. While the CIQS works through the restructuring transition period, we wish to refocus our attention on its aims and objectives. The current key result areas include a strategic plan focused on professional certification and standards; growth and sustainability; governance and administration; and website and media. Education will remain a major initiative as much work is needed to improve the program, update resource materials, and develop new relevant publications. The education committee is now formed, and we hope these volunteers can identify our weak and strong points, and make recommendations with achievable outcomes on how to improve. At this year’s annual general meeting in Quebec City, Quebec, the CIQS celebrates its 60th anniversary. Currently, we have 1,921 members, moving ever closer to exceeding two thousand. The membership count represents a 19.2% increase since 2009. Looking back to 1999, our total membership has nearly doubled. The association has shown steady growth and there is still room to grow. We wish to continue to support and collaborate on International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) for coding, and International Construction Measurement Standards 2 for life cycle costing. This year, The Construction Institute of Canada 2 has added bid requirements that include ICMS protocols. Construction estimating and construction management students from universities and colleges in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Nova Scotia are learning about and
David Dooks, PQS(F)
Completion of major goals is important and striving to complete the minor goals is no less important. implementing ICMS. ICMS was first presented internationally at the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors 2017 Conference in Vancouver, and the CIQS website includes the ICMS presentation video and links to access the standards. Moving forward, the CIQS has recently asked for a working committee to update the Method of Measurement of Construction Works publication, with a plan to include recommendations on how to educate, make use of and implement ICMS. One of the major reasons for growth over the last 10 years is our ability to reach more people than ever before. Technology and online media have become a major factor in the way we interact and connect with each other. The Institute has utilized online tools such as social media to post association activities, social networking opportunities and provide information to members and our followers. The www.ciqs.org website includes a steady release of media materials such as newsletters and notices to our members, promotional videos used to increase awareness for our professional designations, podcast interviews with members and industry partners to expand knowledge, and a digital platform on which to read the Construction Economist online. The website, with support of our social media accounts, is our primary resource for reaching our members and increasing awareness of the profession. The website is now approaching a million-page views
4 | CONSTRUCTION ECONOMIST | www.ciqs.org | Spring 2019
per year, with nearly 75,000 page-views per month. Our lobbying scans of the federal government for several regions across Canada are progressing and are expected to be completed in 2019. We will have more to report as information is made available. We have also retained a professional who is working with us to develop new marketing materials designed to reach aspiring students trying to decide on a career path, and to promote membership growth and raise awareness of what it means to have a CEC or PQS designation. These resources are nearing final draft and are planned to be released later this year. There are many things to consider when looking ahead. There is a continued effort to translate more content into French. We continue to support the formation of the Young Quantity Surveyors (YQS) and provide opportunities for these volunteers to participate in and influence the future of the CIQS. We continue to foster international relationships with our industry partners around the world, including new interest between Canada and US. Completion of major goals is important and striving to complete the minor goals is no less important. As part of these goals, we want our members to feel engaged and provide us with comments and feedback on what matters to them, and how we can improve the profession for the benefit of all. To return to Table of Contents CLICK HERE
