There's a welcome in the regions

New members who have come to IEMA via a training route can now look forward to receiving a warm welcome from their Regional Steering Group (RSG).

The Institute receives almost 2,000 membership applications a year from individuals who undertake an IEMA-approved training course, yet we find that many of these new members do not get the most from their membership.

Attending events, engaging in our surveys and reading the environmentalist are just some of the ways to make membership work hard for all members, but networking within the regions is an invaluable benefit.

From the start of this year, new members via the training route are being contacted by their local RSG to welcome them to IEMA, let them know which events may be useful and invite them to meet other members in their area. This initiative has come about because of direct feedback from the RSG.

Recently the RSGs told IEMA that they wanted to move from driving regional event delivery and become involved in more activity, such as policy development. Because the 13 UK and Ireland (and international) groups give up their time freely, they expressed a desire for IEMA to use this time more effectively and strategically.

As a result, the RSGs are now central to welcoming new members (initially the new members via training) into their “regional family” as well as moving towards these other areas of work:

  • policy engagement – contributing to horizon scanning, and holding May and June Sustainable Business Practice workshops;
  • professional development – broadening RSG input away from events to activities such as supporting the mentoring scheme; and
  • raising the profile of the profession – involving RSGs in the development and launch of frameworks, such as the forthcoming IEMA Competency Framework schemes and other campaigns that demonstrate the value of the profession.

IEMA is looking forward to supporting the enhanced role of the RSGs in action and wishes to thank the individuals within each group for their feedback and enthusiasm to make a real difference.

If you are interested in getting involved with your RSG or just curious about what events are coming up in your local area, visit the IEMA website.

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