INNOVATION November-December 2017

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• Assess qualifications of applicants to determine if they should be issued a license to practice (87%) • Regulate firms offering professional engineering and geoscience services to the public to ensure they have qualified professionals and standards for quality assurance (86%) • Audit the practice of individual members to assess compliance with rules and standards (84%) The survey also indicated a higher expectation for continuing education programs. When asked if continuing education programs ensure engineers and geoscientists remain competent and current, 84% agreed, showing an increase of 17 points from 2014 (67%). Respondents also continue, to agree that Engineers and Geoscientists BC should require members to keep up-to-date through a mandatory continuing education program (77%, unchanged from 2014). These increases could indicate an expectation for Engineers and Geoscientists BC to function as a stronger regulatory authority, and could be a result of changes

INCREASED EXPECTATIONS FOR A STRONG REGULATOR This year, survey results showed an upward trend when it came to how much importance the public places on professional regulation. For example, a total of 82% of respondents agreed that engineers and geoscientists should have a regulating and governing organization, up from 74% in 2014. The public’s perception of the association’s regulatory responsibilities also showed a change from previous waves of research. While previous surveys fielded very consistent results in this area, this year, respondents demonstrated an increased expectation for seven out of 11 current or potential regulatory activities measured. Respondents ranked the following responsibilities of Engineers and Geoscientists BC as most important (each showing an increase of 5–6 points over 2014 results). • Develop guidelines and standards of practice for members (88%) • Investigate complaints regarding members’ practice, and discipline members if appropriate (87%)

in the regulatory landscape, such as the loss of self-regulation for BC realtors. The only area of responsibility that respondents ranked lower than previous years was whether Engineers and Geoscientists BC should promote the professions of engineering and geoscience. In this case, only 62% of respondents agreed that we should, compared to 72% in 2014. PUBLIC WANTS SAFETY, INTEGRITY FROM REGULATORY ORGANIZATIONS In a split sample, respondents were asked to either rank the most important characteristics of an organization that serves the public interest, or to identify which From a list of 17 organizational characteristics, those surveyed ranked “ensures public safety,” “integrity,” “trustworthiness,” and “reliability” as most important. When asked which of these characteristics Engineers and Geoscientists BC possesses, those surveyed identified “ensures public safety,” “encourages professional excellence,” “supports its members,” and “integrity” as most applicable. j characteristics Engineers and Geoscientists BC possesses.

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