On 12 April 2018 IHBC trustees reviewed the resoundingly positive results from the most recent Member Survey – with headline endorsements including 92% of members satisfied or very satisfied with services, and 94% likely or very likely to recommend IHBC membership – and agreed both the strategy for the IHBC’s next Corporate Plan ‘CP25’ and forward plans to ensure that the IHBC remains fit for purpose as ‘The home of the conservation professional’.
IHBC Chair James Caird said:
‘I’m both delighted and privileged that, during my tenure, we have had such positive feedback in the survey from members of all categories.
‘However I am very conscious that all of this success is built on the legacy of previous trustees and volunteers, as well as the hard work of our National Office.
‘As the IHBC’s Board too, we do still recognise the challenges faced, but these consistently high levels of positive feedback mark the opportunity to build on our achievements.
‘With that in mind we look forward to the next stage of development, which in line with our corporate planning will focus on governance.’
IHBC Director Seán O’Reilly said: ‘We will be reporting further on the outcomes and responses to our membership survey in future NewsBlogs, offering feedback, clarification and even answers as members and colleagues will see.
‘And as we progress, the key message – and the heart of the strategy – will be to embed the lessons learned from our ‘IHBC+’ initiative, of experimental evolution.
‘That includes embedding the focus of IHBC+ on the needs of 21st century conservation practitioners – as members of all categories, as volunteers, and as stakeholders – into the structures and governance of a modernised IHBC, fit for members, fit for purpose and fit for the needs of our historic fabric and places.’
At the April Board meeting, IHBC trustees agreed to:
- Adopt the existing Corporate Plan legacy and model as a springboard for future corporate planning
- Maintain focus on both income specifically and on resources in general…
- Give priority to surplus allocations that add most to those conservation outcomes the IHBC is best placed to recognise, respond to and deliver
- Embed the lessons and values from IHBC+ structurally in the IHBC as part of our ongoing constitutional reform and corporate planning.
Trustees also supported the recommendations as follow below:
- Noting our overall success in progress to date in delivering ‘CP20’ specifically, and our legacy of corporate planning:
- Adopt the existing Corporate Plan legacy and model as a springboard for future corporate planning
- initially at least, maintaining the three corporate planning objectives used in earlier Plans: Helping people; Helping conservation, and Helping conservation specialists.
- Noting the extent to which additional resources and capacity have delivered step changes in operations and member satisfaction:
- Maintain our focus on both income specifically and on resources in general, including volunteers, in terms of their efficient management, security and the generation of new capacity
- delivering efficiencies through improving service integration and efficiencies, while
- securing new funding streams that add value to core objectives.
- Noting the limited resources available to address the broad scope of built and historic environment conservation practice and of individual IHBC member priorities:
- Give priority to surplus allocations that add most to those conservation outcomes the IHBC is best placed to recognise, respond to and deliver
- the wide-ranging benefits generated by the relatively small allocations supporting the 50th Anniversary of Conservation Areas, and
- the unique, even if narrowly focussed, value added to conservation outcomes by those ToolBox Notes that address the contentious or narrowly-focussed issues that only the IHBC can effectively address.
- Noting the extent to which the ‘experimental evolution’ of IHBC+ has enriched member appreciation and engagement, while also enhancing operations:
- Embed the lessons and values from IHBC+ structurally in the IHBC as part of our ongoing constitutional reform and corporate planning.
- Integrating the recognised strengths of IHBC+ into our future constitutional, governance and operating structures
- Expanding opportunities inspired by IHBC+ into the next iteration of our corporate planning.
- Embed the lessons and values from IHBC+ structurally in the IHBC as part of our ongoing constitutional reform and corporate planning.
- Give priority to surplus allocations that add most to those conservation outcomes the IHBC is best placed to recognise, respond to and deliver
- Maintain our focus on both income specifically and on resources in general, including volunteers, in terms of their efficient management, security and the generation of new capacity
- Adopt the existing Corporate Plan legacy and model as a springboard for future corporate planning
For more background on the survey see the original notice
For ‘CP20’, IHBC’s current Corporate Plan, see links from our business papers
For more on IHBC+ see the IHBC NewsBlogs and read the IHBC Member ELetters
