The planning profession is changing
What's Changing?
New National Standards for Membership
New national membership standards are being developed, demonstrating a commitment to excellence by the Canadian Institute of Planners and its Affiliates that will benefit professional planners at all stages of their careers.
Current Situation
The national membership standards, and processes currently used by CIP and its Affiliates are contained in a Membership Manual that is the responsibility of the joint National/Affiliate Membership Committee to review and revise as required.
In most cases, Affiliates apply the manual, standards and processes in exactly the same manner as CIP. In some cases, however, there are minor differences – in particular where issues and concerns arise around provincial regulation, as these can affect the application of the standards.
For members and those served by members a professional association's activities should appear seamless. Variances and inconsistency in standards or their application could give rise to uncertainty as to the profession's state of development and advancement, in addition to posing unintended and unwanted barriers to labour mobility.
New Horizon
The Institute and its Affiliates support uniformity and consistency in the development and application of national standards.
The future needs of the profession will require that the agreements already in place between CIP and its Affiliates be revised to refer to policies and processes based on new standards that are rigorous, consistent and fairly applied, and which comply with labour mobility agreements. Membership policy and processes must be transparent, timely, uniform, efficient and effective.
The National/Affiliate Membership Committee plays a key role in working with the Institute, Affiliates, and members in developing and maintaining relevant national standards. This committee is therefore driving the Planning for the Future project, establishing Task Forces and Working Groups as required to review and revise standards and to explore process improvements.
Following an extensive and effective consultation process involving Affiliates, members, and stakeholders, the work on national standards has yielded new standards for:
Members are strongly encouraged to become familiar with the new standards, since certain changes arising will require bylaw amendments necessitating a membership vote. To review the standards, please visit the Reports section of this site.