Published: 23 May 2012
Yesterday, the Survey Liaison Group met in London on a hot, sunny day with Big Ben striking loudly to mark what felt like the beginning of summer. This is a very small, relatively informal but focused group of people who meet twice a year to discuss the wider picture with regard to the survey profession.
The official remit of the Group is as follows:
“The Survey Liaison Group, more commonly known as the SLG, is an independent board consisting of three organisations, RICS, Chartered ICES and TSA. It was established to try to find consensus on common issues of concern and to ensure that duplication of effort between the three bodies is reduced for the benefit of the UK survey industry as a whole.
The SLG meets twice each year to discuss matters of mutual interest or concern for the three partners. Meetings are usually held at the RICS in Westminster. The board is chaired on a rotational basis, each organisation holding the post of chair for a two year period. All secretariat services are provided by TSA.
The SLG bodies operate primarily in the geomatics/geo-spatial/mapping and civil engineering areas of practice with some involvement in digital imagery and marine surveying.”
The Group began as the Industry Liaison Group, many years ago and was a fairly relaxed arrangement. TSA officially took over the report writing and provided an admin focus for the Group from 2008. Present at the meeting yesterday, hosted generously by RICS, were James Kavanagh (RICS), Ken Hall (ICES), Stuart Edwards (RICS), Rory Stanbridge (TSA), Graham Mills (TSA) and Rachel Tyrrell (TSA).
The Agenda items stay mainly the same, covering Exhibitions, Education, Policy and Joint Events. A major success has been the agreement to have the joint badging of Client Guides and Guidance Notes produced by TSA and RICS. Not only does this help prevent duplication of effort, it also ensures that the right topics are being covered in the right way. Ideas, future plans and also any concerns are all aired in a very positive and constructive environment. It is good to talk – but with the SLG it doesn’t stop there, good communication is just the foundation to getting things done. Roll on November and the next meeting!
