In 1993/94 the Board of the CCLS undertook the development of an operational plan that was to be in effect through 1996. Although some of the particulars are no longer applicable, much of the plan remains relevant today. This section contains some the material from the Operational Plan 1993-96 and includes updates and additions compiled from more recent meeting minutes and reports. The Mandate of the CCLS The Priorities of the CCLS The Operational Structure of the CCLS         The CCLS Secretariat         The Financing of the CCLS         The Members of the CCLS         The Member Representative vs. The Director         The Directors of the CCLS         The Officers of the CCLS         The Observers of the CCLS         The Committees and Project Teams of the CCLS The Mandate of the CCLS During the 1993/94 operational planning discussions the Board of Directors and the Member Associations' Presidents resolved by unanimous opinion that the mandate of the CCLS was the same then as it was in 1976 when the CCLS was incorporated by its three founding directors. The mandate, as reflected by the official objects is stated as follows: to promote and advance the science and art of land surveying and the knowledge of land surveyors in connection with the practice of the profession of land surveying;   to promote a common standard of professional ethics among land surveyors;   to promote common educational and technical standards for land surveyors;   to promote the reciprocal recognition by the governing bodies of land surveyors in each province of the professional qualifications of land surveyors from other provinces;   to hold meetings for the discussion of land surveying problems and the exchange of views in matters relating to land surveying; and   to do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects. That reaffirmation of the CCLS mandate also acknowledged the need for a strong national council supported by its member associations, to the full extent of their resources, to carry out this important mandate. Having recognized the mandate and its importance, it was also recognized that there is a finite limit to which an organization can extend its activities and programs. For this reason, it was noted that the projects engaged in by the CCLS must be strictly limited to its mandate and kept firmly within the capabilities of its resources. The Priorities of the CCLS The conclusions of the different consultations undertaken for the 1993-96 operational plan converged around the same message: the need to gather the national commitment around three priority objectives: the image of the profession expansion of markets training and development The 1993-96 operational plan provided some analysis of how these priority items could be addressed. The process of setting priorities and subsequently developing the means to address these priorities and allocating resources appropriately is an ongoing task for the Board. At the January 2001 annual meeting of the CCLS a strategic planning questionnaire was distributed in order to investigate the current priorities of the member associations with respect to the CCLS. Analysis of the responses and a plan to discuss the setting of priorities is currently being undertaken by a strategic planning committee. The Operational Structure of the CCLS – An Overview The Canadian Council of Land Surveyors is a voluntary council of self-governing land surveyors' associations. The CCLS was formed in 1976 by letters patent and governed by the contents of those letters patent and its current bylaws. The CCLS has neither the authority nor the desire to direct its member associations on how they must interact with the CCLS. On the other hand, the CCLS as an umbrella national council must establish and maintain an operational structure that will permit it to operate with continuity and in an effective manner. To do this, it must have operational guidelines and these guidelines must be endorsed and supported by the member associations. Failure to give sufficient importance to this requirement in the past has led to a serious breakdown in communication between the CCLS and some of its member associations. Taking the communications requirement a step further, it is not only necessary to maintain communications between the CCLS and its member associations but between the CCLS and the individual members within the member associations. The results of neglect in this area were clearly identified in the 1993/94 studies. Any organization that accepts a responsibility to carry out a specified mandate should have a mechanism in place to monitor its performance. The CCLS is no exception. It was noted in 1993/94 that it would therefore be appropriate for the CCLS to implement a system of annual performance review with respect to directors and to the CCLS operations in general. At this point no such system has been developed. The Annual General Meeting of the Board of Directors is held at a time and place to be decided by the directors. The costs for attendance at this meeting by the Officers and Directors is borne by the CCLS. The objectives of this meeting as outlined in the 1993-96 operational plan are: to discuss a performance review for the past year (if such a system is in place); to specify the directions to be followed in the course of the year; to specify the concrete means to address issues or undertake projects; to allocate the financial resources for approved projects. In addition to the Directors' AGM, interim Directors' meetings are held with the principal objective of dealing with active projects and other high priority items. These meetings will generally be by teleconference or other electronic means although interim face-to-face meeting may be justified depending on the agenda. The CCLS continues to maintain a number of standing committees to administer its ongoing programs (Professional Liability Insurance, University Accreditation) and administrative responsibilities (Executive and Finance Committee, Editorial Committee). Short term or ad hoc projects are handled by project teams on a "project management" basis. The CCLS is a Council of equal members and therefore any project undertaken by it should be of potential benefit to all member associations, although not necessarily all individuals within a member association. For this reason the approval of a project should only be given if it meets the following criteria: the "Presenter" of the project has: developed a description and objective statement for the project developed a completion schedule developed a budget for the project identified available resources or developed a plan to identify such identified a project leader preliminary research related to the project has been done the project is approved by 75% of the directors. The 1993-96 Operational Plan states that "although the CCLS Board of Directors would approve and manage projects, members of the Board would not be responsible for carrying them out. The human resources and expertise of the member associations would be used to the greatest extent possible to ensure successful completion of projects. Care would be taken to monitor the participation of all member associations for an equitable distribution of contributions." Although many projects will be financed through CCLS project funds raised by the annual membership levy, others may be of a scope or structure whereby outside resources, including those from member associations will be utilized. Again, care would be taken to ensure an equitable contribution of resources from member associations. A more detailed look at the various aspects of the operations of the CCLS is contained in the following sections, including: The CCLS Secretariat The Financing of the CCLS The Members of the CCLS The Member Representative vs. The Director The Directors of the CCLS The Officers of the CCLS The Observers of the CCLS The Committees and Project Teams of the CCLS The CCLS Secretariat In 1993/94 the provincial associations reaffirmed the need for a strong national council to address national issues and agreed that the CCLS should be that body.It was deemed necessary to have a small but permanent and independent secretariat to represent the CCLS. Since that time the CCLS has had offices in three locations and has had three senior staff. The present secretariat is housed in Ottawa, sharing office space and facilities with the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG). A salaried Executive Director is employed for thirty hours per week and has the assistance of an administrative assistant on a part-time basis. This arrangement began in November of 2000 and represents a significant increase in staff time over the previous situation. This increase is intended to allow for a proportional increase in project and committee support from the secretariat. It was noted in the 1993 – 96 Operational Plan that as long as member associations reliably take on the leading role in the execution of approved projects, the secretariat would have five objectives: organization of annual general meetings technical support to teams taking lead responsibility for approved projects design and production of information bulletins representing the Council (correspondence, meetings with external organizations, etc.) financial management of the Council To reflect the increased emphasis on project and committee support the objectives have been updated as follows: support to individuals or groups in developing project proposals including research, communications, administrative assistance, etc; support to project teams or committees taking lead responsibility for approved projects including research, communications, administrative assistance, etc; membership on particular project teams or committees approved from time to time by the Executive or Board of Directors; communications on behalf of the Council including regular maintenance of the CCLS web site, design and production of information bulletins, regular communications with member and related organizations, etc; representation for the Council to member associations and outside organizations as opportunities arise from time to time; organization of Directors meetings including interim meetings and annual general meetings; financial management of the Council; maintenance of Council documentation including correspondence, minutes, reports etc, related to Council activities including those of project teams and committees. The Head of the CCLS Secretariat would be responsible for the day to day management of the above activities under the direction of the President. The Financing of the CCLS Financing of the CCLS is based on the principle that the CCLS consists of equal members that should share equitably in its costs and in its benefits. The primary source of revenue is annual membership fees which are set by the Board of Directors and are confirmed by a majority vote at a Members meeting. Currently, the annual levy contributed by the member associations is based on the number of active members within that association. An active member of an association includes all surveyors, regardless of whether they are registered as cadastral, geodetic, hydrographic, photogrammetric or other discipline, or whether they are practicing or non-practicing members, who pay dues to and are full voting members of the association, and in the case of an Association of Canada Lands Surveyors Member, is not an active member of another Member Provincial Association (Motion D-00-37). More recently, other revenue sources have been utilized for specific project work through co-operative efforts with outside organizations, government funding. The concept of direct input from member associations for specific projects, outside of the annual levy, has been suggested although it has not yet been implemented. More exploration of this option and others may be in order. The costs of running the CCLS come under several major categories: Administration This is the cost of operating the CCLS Secretariat. It represents the "overhead" of the Council. Administration represents a significant portion of the total expenses in the operating budget and the individual items within administration are largely non-discretionary. It is therefore extremely important to get the maximum amount of use from the Secretariat. The participation in committee and project work by the secretariat is reflected in a portion of the expenses being allocated to the project/committee section of the budget.1   Travel Included in this item are costs related to face-to-face Directors' meetings and liaison with affiliated organizations such as the Canadian Institute of Geomatics and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. Also included is travel by the President to Member Associations' Annual Meetings. Liaison travel, if planned wisely, can be viewed as an investment in communications.1   Professional Liability Insurance Program The Professional Liability Insurance Program is funded primarily through the collection of a levy from participants in the program. The program contributes an annual subsidy to the general revenue of the CCLS in order to offset the cost of administrative services provided to the committee by the Executive Director who sits on that committee.   Communications The CCLS uses primarily electronic media, including e-mail and a web site for communications. Production of a print magazine was discontinued in 1999 due to the increase in individual association publications competing for both content and advertising dollars, and the increased cost of production and distribution. Cost of communications is therefore included in parts of the administration and the project/committee expenses.1   Projects/Committees Projects and committee work are the most visible product of the CCLS and often the means through which the CCLS is valued by its member associations. The type and number of projects approved will be a direct reflection on the support given to the CCLS by member associations. The success or failure of projects will, to a significant extent, dictate the future viability of the CCLS. As such, an emphasis is put on allocating a significant proportion of the annual budget directly to projects and committees.1 135% of the 2001 budget was allocated administration, 29% to travel, and 36% to projects and committees. The Members of the CCLS CCLS is an umbrella organization; therefore the members are associations and not individuals. Any association established for the purpose of licensing professional land surveyors in any province or territory of Canada is eligible for membership. Any eligible association may apply for membership by sending an application signed by the President and Secretary. Any member association may resign from membership by sending a notice of resignation signed by the President and Secretary. Since the members of CCLS are associations, each member must appoint a person holding its proxy to represent it at Members' meetings. This person is known as a Member Representative. The "property, business and affairs" of CCLS are managed by a Board of Directors. Each member must appoint a person to act as its Director and to serve on the Board of Directors. Section 7.2.4. of the Bylaws that came into effect in February 1995 states that "The director appointed by each Member in accordance with section 8.1.5. shall act and vote as its Representative at any annual, special, or general meeting of the Members. In absence of its Director, a Member shall appoint an alternative Representative." The Member Representative vs. The Director The member representative carries the member association's official proxy at Members' meetings. The director is the person appointed by a member association to serve on the Board of Directors to manage the "property, business and affairs" of CCLS. According to present practice, the member representative and director are one in the same person and Members meetings are held in conjunction with Directors meetings. The Directors of the CCLS The Director is the person selected by a member association to make CCLS work. The Director is the communications link between the member association and CCLS. A three-year term for Directors was restated in the Bylaws that came into effect in February of 1995 (See Bylaw Section 8.1.5.). The effective date of the appointment of the new Director is established by the member association (Bylaw Section 8.1.5). The bylaws have no provision for the position of "Director Elect". Therefore, when a Member Association appoints a new director, that director attends the next CCLS Board of Directors meeting. In a situation where a director resigns prior to the expiration of the three-year term, the subsequent director should be appointed for a full three-year term. It was recognized in 1993/94, and remains true today, that if the CCLS is to have any success in executing its mandate, it must have and maintain a high profile within its member associations. This can be accomplished by using the following procedure to appoint the CCLS director and once appointed, to give him or her significant responsibilities within the association. The CCLS director should preferably, be elected by the association membership. If this is not possible, the Director should be appointed by the association council. The rationale for electing the director is simply to get the best person for the job and to give the general membership a say in the democratic process. In the past many directors were appointed by virtue of the person holding another position within the association such as President, Vice-President or Past-President. This is not a good procedure for identifying a person who should have the particular skills and expertise needed to act as the CCLS director. The director's job should not be taken lightly if it is to result in meaningful work being done. It needs a person who can devote all of his or her volunteer time to this one job.   The CCLS director should have a seat on the member association council/board of management, etc. It is recognized that the size of some association councils is fixed by bylaw or regulation and cannot be changed easily. In these cases, the CCLS director could be made a non-voting member of council or an observer. The important point to consider is that there must be communication between the CCLS and the association council and the director is the key to making communication possible. Every effort should be made by a member association to arm its Director with information concerning the principal initiatives taking place within the association, its positions related to items having national interest and topics to be dealt with by CCLS.   The CCLS director should be responsible for inter-jurisdictional relations in addition to their CCLS responsibilities. "Inter-jurisdictional" relations in general would include direct contact with other associations on matters of common interest or concern. To perform this duty, the CCLS director would have to have clear and direct ties to both the association president and council to avoid any conflicts. Having the CCLS director take on this important responsibility would increase his profile within the association. It would also ensure that the CCLS is aware of these communications.   The agenda for each member association annual general meeting should make a provision for a report from the CCLS. The report should be in writing and should be presented by the CCLS director. If visiting association presidents are present, their reports on their associations should be made part of the CCLS presentation. As part of the annual meeting, the CCLS director should organize and chair a "Presidents' Forum." The CCLS director should prepare a short report on the Forum and send it to the CCLS office. Ensuring that a report from the CCLS is a part of every association annual meeting will make individual surveyors aware that the CCLS is the acknowledged vehicle for inter-jurisdictional and cooperative actions among associations. Note: The bulleted items in 4. above are taken directly from the 1993-96 operational plan. Currently, the most common scenario for CCLS involvement at association meetings involves a report by the President of the CCLS who is occasionally represented by the director, the visiting association reports are generally brief verbal greetings and updates, not associated with the CCLS report. Although the CCLS president or their representative attends, the hosting association's president organizes and chairs the presidents' forum which is well attended at all eleven association meetings each year. It could be argued that the present scenario has lead to arguments about the duplication of effort and the relative importance of presidents forums versus CCLS board meetings. Both forums offer important opportunities for communication and some effort should be put into bringing the two into closer alliance. The success of CCLS is directly proportional to the quality of decisions made by its Board of Directors. In making its appointment, a member association should consider the following points: The Director must be a good communicator; communicating from the association to CCLS and from CCLS to the association. The Director must have an excellent appreciation of all issues and concerns having a national impact within the association and have sufficient authority to make informed decisions at CCLS. The Director must be prepared to support policy statements and position papers which represent a national viewpoint. CCLS operates at the national level. Its topics and activities transcend provincial/territorial boundaries. CCLS objectives deal with the advancement of the profession as a whole. Sometimes this may present an apparent conflict between a national "opportunity" and an association "requirement". These situations will present the greatest challenge to the Director in representing both the member association and the national profession. The Director must be an ambassador of the member association at CCLS and also an ambassador of CCLS at the national level. The duties and responsibilities of a Director can be grouped under three headings; on assuming office, while holding office and on leaving office and are summarized as follows: On assuming office: Become aware of the goals and objectives of CCLS as set out in the Letters Patent. Meet with the Director you are replacing and discuss the current issues and concerns being addressed by CCLS, both with respect to your own association/corporation as well as at the national level. Obtain from the Director you are replacing sufficient documentation (especially past minutes) to ensure continuity of good liaison between CCLS and your own association/corporation. While holding office: Communicate the interests and priorities of your own association at the CCLS Members' and Directors' meetings while maintaining a national perspective during the decision making process. Keep yourself current with respect to the issues under discussion at CCLS and at your association. Communicate regularly with your association council and make your council aware of what is going on at CCLS. Give a detailed written report to your association at least once a year. Voice your opinion and express your ideas at all CCLS meetings. Represent the surveyors of your own association as well as CCLS at the national level and promote goodwill and understanding of the profession across Canada. Prepare detailed association reports and submit them to the CCLS office at least six weeks before the meeting at which they will be presented. If you require assistance, get it from your association office. Time is of the essence. Prompt attention to action items is imperative if projects are to be finished in a realistic time frame. Give a full and equitable share of your time and talents to the work of any committees to which you may be assigned. On leaving office: Meet with the person who is replacing you as Director and discuss the organization and activities of CCLS. In short prepare the new Director to undertake the work of the CCLS in the same manner you wished your predecessor had prepared you. The Officers of the CCLS The officers of the CCLS are the President, the Vice President, the Past President and the Secretary-Treasurer. The officers form the Executive and Finance Committee of the CCLS. The President and the Vice President may or may not be elected from the Board of Directors but must be a member in good standing of a member association. A slate of candidates is provided prior to each annual meeting by the Nominating Committee for the offices of President and Vice President. The Past President and the prior two past presidents form the nominating committee. The President and Vice president are elected by the members representatives at the annual meeting and serve a term running to the next annual meeting. The business and management of CCLS is carried on by the Executive and Finance Committee between the meetings of the Board of Directors and reports to the Board of Directors. All actions of the Executive Committee are to be ratified by the Board of Directors. The Observers of the CCLS Observers attend CCLS meeting for several reasons. The presidents of member associations have a standing invitation to attend meetings whenever their schedules permit. Other representatives of member associations are invited to attend meetings for a specific purpose such as presenting a report or acting as a resource person. Two organizations have continuing observer status with CCLS. They are the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG), and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). The NSPS is an affiliate member of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) and therefore the NSPS Observer also reports to CCLS on the ACSM. CCLS has a liaison officer, appointed for a three-year term, who attends the semi-annual meetings of the NSPS/ACSM. The liaison's reports on these meetings are presented to the Board of Directors. CCLS also shares a common Observer with the CIG. The Observer attends meetings of the CCLS Board of Directors and the CIG Council, reporting to both organizations on behalf of the other. The ACLS and its predecessor, the CLS Professional Affairs Committee has had observer status with CCLS since day one. Because it was not a self-regulating association it was not eligible for full membership in CCLS. However, the ACLS is now a self-governing association and was confirmed as a full member of the CCLS at the 2001 annual meeting of the CCLS. Observers attending CCLS meetings have complete freedom of participation throughout the meeting except to vote. Observers cannot hold a CCLS office but are eligible for membership on committees. CCLS is not responsible for any costs related to the attendance of observers at CCLS meetings. The Committees and Project Teams of the CCLS The CCLS is, to a large extent, a project oriented organization as described in the operational structure section of this document. Committees enjoy a number of advantages over larger bodies that allow them to work more efficiently and a great deal of the work done by an organization is done by its committees. A significant part of Board of Directors' meetings is dedicated to the hearing of committee reports. Usually the conclusions of committees are accepted as the conclusions of the CCLS in recognition of the fact that the committee has researched and considered its assigned tasks in detail not possible at the Board level. For all these reasons, they are a valuable asset and should not be misused. There are two types of committees within CCLS. A standing committee does any work required in the field that is assigned to it. Its life continues from year to year. A special or ad hoc committee is established to perform a specific task. When the task is complete the committee ceases to exist. The Sturgis Code of Parliamentary Procedure classifies committees as being primarily for deliberation or for action. A committee for deliberation engages in deliberation and investigation or performs discretionary duties. It is important for this type of committee to contain representation from all parts or groups within the organization. A committee for action is formed to carry out a particular task. It is best that such a committee be composed of people who favour the task being done and have some particular interest or expertise in the task. The CCLS bylaws do not deal with committees and therefore it is important that when a committee is formed its powers, rights, duties, and composition are specified in the motion creating it or are specified in its terms of reference. Guidelines for preparing terms of reference are included below. Committees are responsible to and under the direction of the body that created them. In the case of CCLS, this is usually the Board of Directors. Committee chairs and project team leaders are expected to keep the Board informed of the work being done and decisions being made by their group either through verbal or written reports presented at Board meetings. Anything outside of pre-approved terms of reference requires ratification of the Board prior to implementation. A listing of CCLS committees, their terms of reference, and a current list of members is available on this website or from the CCLS office.