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MICHAEL FORBES-SMITH, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE INSTITUTE: 11th September 2007 For the branch meeting in September the Director General of the Institute kindly accepted our invitation to speak. Michael Forbes Smith took the reins as Director General in February 2006 following the retirement of Dair Farrar-Hockley. Michael has over 30 years of international experience working with business, diplomatic, political and academic communities on four continents. His last overseas posting before joining the Institute was as the first resident British Ambassador in Tajikistan, and he was previously the Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan. He has held diplomatic positions in Germany, Switzerland and Ethiopia. Michael confirmed that he had been in the post of Director General for the last 18 months which had been a period of change and restructuring for the Institute. He described the modus operandi review of the previous Director General's 2005-2010 strategy as a Herculean task. In particular the roll out of the "Pathways" programme on qualification progression had caused problems both here in the UK and abroad. However a year on it is far more satisfactory. He explained that in 2005 a new Charter had been agreed. There are now 12 trustees and a board of management which is a body selected by the trustees. The Institute works through a committee structure which inevitably causes delays. In the last 9 months they had prioritised the revised Pathways programme ahead of other matters. However those other matters are now moving forward. The object of the Charter is to provide and facilitate worldwide the determination of civil and commercial disputes. A Mission Statement is to be rolled out shortly. The Institute had been in danger of becoming known as a membership club that provided qualifications and training. In fact it is a chartered body of professionals and it needed to be recognised as the pre-eminent body in this regard. It needed to be of practical use as well as academic and to maintain ethical professional standards. In fact, by not taking on board the dispute resolution changes in adjudication and mediation the Institute has suffered a set back. As a "Learned Society" it needed to address those changes. Michael had reviewed the resources of the Institute which are mainly subscriptions and income through training programmes. He had carried out a SWOT analysis with the trustees (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Strengths - a capital asset, a unique selling point and the membership. Weaknesses - direction of governance, communications, complacency and financial vulnerability. Threats - inertia, poor performance, competition, commercial and legal risk. Opportunities - more effective governance, investment in growth and quality, improved communications. As a result it was decided from 1 January 2007 to form the IDRS Ltd (Dispute Resolution Service) as a separate entity. This effectively acted as a firewall against the risk to the Institute from legal action. It provides commercial freedom for the company whilst protecting the Institute's charitable and chartered status. Michael confirmed that the schemes still operate as they did before and that there is room for further schemes. The company is therefore not part of the remit of the board of management. The company reports to the chairman of the trustees. In relation to the Pathways programme Michael accepted that the transition period had not been thought through. The effect on special members and fast track had not been considered. The impact of the England and Wales modules being sent to the rest of the world who of course have different jurisdictions caused upset and therefore had to be refined. For the Associate grade the course remains much the same. For Membership module 1 of Pathways now goes through to Fellowship and covers the whole of the law of contract and tort. Module 2 covers the law of arbitration, rather than procedure and practice. At the Fellowship stage there is now module 3, practice and procedure, then module 4 award writing, and then a peer interview. To become a Charted Arbitrator needs solid evidence of practice. The transition period is now in place. The pupillage requirement has been extended to the end of 2007. It is a modular, competence led training programme. It all had to be published again in a jurisdiction neutral way with a global model. This has all now been done but it had been a distraction from the other business of the Institute. Other issues of training included widening the catchment and providing more CPD and more awareness training which a chartered professional body should be doing. Further, as a Learned Society it is necessary to develop the Institute as a place to which people refer for guidance and advice. They are developing an online knowledge database. There will be a new website (expected to launch in February 2008). The library is intended to join with the construction department of Kings College and be moved to the Maughan Library in Chancery Lane to be revitalised. They are setting up an Academic Advisory Board to consider the Institute's "thought leadership" role, e.g. can it sponsor research, for example a post-graduate annual prize. In 2008 the Secretariat is to be renamed the Executive. The aim is to be more proactive. As well as the new website there is to be a corporate membership package, new literature and publications and an E-Newsletter. He believes the Institute needs to provide more of a service to its members. The branch is grateful to Michael for taking the time to visit and provide an insight and update on the Institute's revitalisation. Report by Jane Ryland |
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