Summary of Governing Council meeting 20 – 21 November 2023

Bichard review

• Council heard that 30 out of 36 Bichard Review recommendations were now complete, with three more partially completed.

Actions and decisions

• A full top-down review of the structure and organisation is to take place in 2025, three years since the Bichard RICS Review, and then every five years after that.
• The continuing development of Matrics will now become an ongoing activity, so the network can evolve to meet the needs of members.

Governing Council priorities

• There has been good progress on PII, with more firms able to get insurance and fewer using the RICS assigned risk pool.
• There was a further update on the number and scope of memoranda of understanding agreements between RICS and other organisations.

Actions and decisions

• Plans to collect and analyse data on the insurance market will be accelerated.
• A policy on memoranda of understanding will be developed in 2024.

Finance and performance

• Member and candidate numbers are higher than forecast.
• Measures of satisfaction, and trust and confidence were slightly lower than hoped.
• The financial position is better than planned, with subscription income over budget but commercial income below budget.
• Reserves have benefitted from increased interest rates.

Actions and decisions

• RICS will continue to improve both revenues and costs.

RICS Board report

• There are two board appointments outstanding: a permanent chair of the Member Services Committee, and one for a member with digital and technology expertise.
• There had been recent issues with late-notice cancellations of APC assessments. The board and SRB had set up a dedicated cross-RICS team to support affected candidates better.

Actions and decisions

• The Entry and Assessment Review conclusions next year will be an SRB priority, as candidates are the future of the profession.

Standards and Regulation Board report

• The Entry and Assessment Steering Group, which reports into the SRB, will report in the first quarter of 2024, with a consultation on their recommendations to follow.

Actions and decisions

• A permanent SRB would be appointed soon, with five RICS and five lay members. This new board will then set a three-year strategy.

Sustainability report

• A report from the Sustainability Committee highlighted the release of the WLCA Standards, and the launch of the Built Environment Carbon Database.
• There is work ongoing on residential retrofit standards (for Q1 2024), and plans to drive adoption of the Whole Life Carbon Assessment standards, including training and engagement.

Actions and decisions

• RICS will also develop further ESG standards and guidance, such as the recent healthier building guidance.

Constitution

Actions and decisions

• Council approved a plan to review the charter and byelaws and constitutional delegation to ensure they remain fit for purpose. A working group will carry out the review in 2024. We will consult the Privy Council on the Charter and Byelaws in 2025, with a vote of members following this.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

• New inclusion guidance is close to completion. As it will be particularly useful to SMEs, the final draft is being reviewed by engaged SME members before publication in early 2024.
• A three-year DEI strategy will be published in early 2024.

Actions and decisions

• The RICS is convening a twice-yearly DEI leaders forum, bringing together member network leads and DEI leaders from member firms. The first meeting is on 10 January 2024.

2024 business plan

• Governing Council discussed the 2024 business plan and implementing the new RICS strategy.
• There will be significant focus on improving the candidate experience, and on doing more to reach ‘sleeper’ candidates.
• Internationally, there will be a focus on the top 20 global employers, and on establishing the Matrics network.
• In the UK and Ireland, there will be increased focus on public sector employers and SMEs, and on recruiting assessors.
• A new commercial strategy to drive more investment into services for members includes 33 actions, three of which have already been completed at no cost.
• A report on the technology roadmap set out the costs and benefits of a proposed transformation plan that will reduce costs from 2025 as well as delivering improvements to the member experience from the first quarter of 2024.

Actions and decisions

• Improving the APC candidate experience will be a priority.
• The 2024 budget is approved.

RICS elections

• Governing Council considered recommendations from the Nominations and Remuneration Committee on future GC elections.

Actions and decisions

• Any vacant seats will remain vacant until the next election cycle.
• Uncontested candidates will be seated automatically.
• Nominations and Remuneration Committee will review the SVP election process, with recommendations due in March 2024, ahead of the next election.

Governing Council appraisals

• Council were briefed on the new appraisal process for GC members.

Actions and decisions

• There will be annual self-appraisal, with one third of members also having a review meeting each year, carried out by a member of the presidential team. This will start from January 2024.

Any other business

Council thanked Lord Bichard for his time and service as Senior Independent Governor.