For once, the RICS is spot on

Often this magazine, and the critics among the membership, are right to question the body’s actions, policies and attitude. Like its historic home in Westminster, the RICS can be stuffy and old fashioned in the way it communicates and operates. But that should not deflect from what the institution offers.

Am I suddenly going soft? Well no, just offering a rarely voiced view. This different viewpoint on the relative merits of the RICS is especially apposite for the QS membership, which for too long have perceived themselves as second-class citizens within the institution. Chairman of the construction and QS faculty Michael Byng appears to be grasping this nettle a year into his tenure.

His vision – to fully equip the profession with the skills needed to enhance the industry’s performance, in both the UK and worldwide – is spot on. Below that sit practical activities that should go some way to achieving the ambitious aim – the new standard of measurement, the work on supporting the implementation of e-tendering, introducing CPD for experienced staff and looking to introduce measurement academies. Importantly this work should be universally useful for both the UK’s big QS firms as well as the smaller companies and sole traders.

Yes it is vital for the overall flabby and unwieldy organisation, as well as the internal bickering, of the RICS to be sorted out. But that should not blind us to the vital role it plays. And to the involvement that members can have in modernising and creating a new vision at the RICS. As one company boss pointed out to me recently: "People always talk about the RICS in the third person. But the point is it’s our institution, so if you’re unhappy get involved."