Dear member,
Welcome to the latest newsletter from Planning Planet – the worlds’ largest online community of Planners and Project Controllers. The main topic once again is the formation of your Guild:
The International Guild of Project Planning, Controls and Delivery (GPPCD)
We wish here to answer questions you have sent us and put ‘more meat on the bones’ as it were. Please keep the ideas and comments on all subject matters coming. THEY ARE CRUCIAL as it is all of us, the community and its employers, who are shaping this initiative. Email us at [email protected]. We hope you enjoy the letter and agree with us that your Guild will be of tremendous benefit to all in our Community, something that will change the face of our vocation forever.
On that brash (but we believe, truthful) statement may we all here at PP wish you a Prosperous New Year. We have included below some more information in respect to what has been put in place.
Best wishes the PP Team.
As professionals we needed to form a body which would enable recognition for all our efforts amongst our own community and also by employers and organisations that represent individual excellence. A trade Guild for Planning, the 'GPPCD' is the communities answer to the dilemma.
We, the independent community, are the best people to set this in motion; i.e. created by us and supported by our employers.
President
The Presidents role is to be a global figurehead to represent the Guild and its aims and objectives on a global platform.
Senate
The Senate is made up of members whose role is to set aims and objectives for the Guild and is responsible for the overall running, operation and control. The Senate is required to run the Guild in a transparent manner.
Senate members each have their own published mandate to describe their aims and objectives during their time on the Senate. Each Senate Member will hold office for a 2 year (renewable) term and will be voted-in via a transparent voting system on the Planning Planet website. In essence The Senate run our Guild.
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee is made up of 11 to 15 members whose role is to set required standards of competency and to ensure that members adhere to defined standards. The committee will utilize approved regional representatives. The Membership Committee also has the power to remove members if necessary and approve a grading system for members if this is viewed appropriate.
Committee members are voted in on a 3 yearly basis via a transparent system on the Planning Planet website.
Regional Representation & Support
The Guild will have offices located in Europe, Africa, Americas, Middle East and Asia who will provide localized presence, advice and handle regional issues and actions. Regional Guilds will process the regional memberships under the guidance of the Membership Committee. We would like our Consul Network to become involved.
Corporate Supporting Sponsors
The role of the Corporate Supporting Sponsors is to approve the aims and objectives of the Guild and assist in fostering continual improvement in the planning sector.
The Corporate Supporting Sponsors are working with the Guild and contributing to what constitutes best practice and how competency is 'defined, measured and proven'. In essence, whatever is decided, Corporates will have approved and they do pay the majority of our wages!
Guild Secretary
The Guild Secretary’s role is to manage the complete administration of the Guild; both financial and operational and maintain this in a transparent manner. This is a paid role and is vacant!
Membership of the Guild will necessitate the demonstration of adequate knowledge and competency. The various levels of membership are as follows:
- Student Level (SGPPCD)
- Member Level (MGPPCD) – various grades of membership are being defined / discussed
- Fellow Level (FGPPCD)
- Honorary Level (Hon.GPPCD)
Members of the Guild will be required to submit papers of interest to the membership. Our proposed Guild Logo is on our site in the Guild section.
- To align global and industry variations in planning standards, methods and norms, regional Centre’s of Excellence, run transparently by the community, globally recognized suite of best practices or standards, support the ongoing efforts of existing Professional Bodies and Organisations
Benefits For (us) the Planners
- To have their skills independently assessed and publicly recognized, have employers be able to validate that their skills are proven, have colleagues recognize their level of capability, have the opportunity for continued professional development / career path, to have the opportunity to seek technical / training scholarships / mentoring
Benefits For (you) the Employers
- To have a pool of proven and graded professionals from which to employ, have means of confidentially benchmarking the company planning or project team, have a reference to complement internal Corporate competence systems / standards
We, the independent community, are the best people to set these standards and enable us as professionals to set a career path and gain recognition where its much needed.
Membership to the Guild is determined by both knowledge based and competency based assessment.
Competence will be assessed / measured against a set of criteria that has been defined by the Membership Committee with the input and backing of Corporate Supporting Sponsors. A members competence level will be measured against such issues and aspects, as described below:
- Self Assessment followed by Manager Review / Assessment
- Years and types of project and academic experience
- Knowledge of 'best practice'
- Relevant training
- To demonstrate the ability to understand scope, sequence, production times, develop schedules and networks and to prepare, interpret and communicate project reports
- Capabilities with respect to software and tools
- Peer and manager review
- Leadership, Management, Interpersonal Skills, Personal Values & Ethics
Knowledge will be assessed / measured against what is considered to be best practice, defined by the Membership Committee, with input from Corporate Supporting Sponsors and the planning community. A members knowledge level will be measured against such issues and aspects, as described below:
- Planning Methods
- Project Phases & Stages
- Designing, Building, Updating and Utilizing the Schedule / Plan
- Dealing with delay & claims
- Industry Specific Skills
The Guild will recognize relevant credentials and best practice defined and provided by interest groups and also institutional establishments such as the PMI, CIOB, IPMA, APM, ACOSTE etc.
Communities of Practice (COP's)
The Guild will have Communities of Practice whose role will be to encourage and discuss issues relating to specializations within planning. Such communities will be such as student community, railway construction, tunneling, building information modeling, claims, software, earned value, risk and cost etc. These communities will report back to the Membership Committee and help improve and define competence and best practice.
IN CLOSING
So, dear members,
We hope you agree that things are moving on well!
We are currently working to add even more benefits for subscribing to the Guild: we know many of you already pay substantial moneys for membership to other Associations and we recognise not only why you do this but also wish to recognise achievements of undoubted quality in others papers and examinations.
The GPPCD though is unique and exclusive to your community; in the true ethic of Planning Planet we undertake to ensure subscription rates to your Guild will be extremely competitive and give unsurpassable value for money.
Your Guild will thrive based on the quality of all those involved and here we do need your input. The GPPCD needs a few more Guild Officers – prestigious roles within our Global community, roles available and brief remits for each office have been explained earlier.
If you are reading this and feel capable of fulfilling the posts of Senator or Membership Committee please contact [email protected] all applications will of course will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Should you wish to become an Officer for any of the Regional Offices of the GPPCD please also contact us.
Your Guild will change the appreciation of Planning and Project Controls forever. We thank you in advance for wishing to be part of it.
PP Team