Governance

"CIPS has operated under much the same governance structure for the nearly 50 years of its existence. The introduction of the provincial societies starting in the 1990's, and the subsequent transfer of responsibility for the I.S.P. [designation] to them, means the current model no longer serves us well. The new governance model brings all of the parts of the association - national, provincial, and sections - into alignment. We can thus move forward with efficiency and confidence into the 21st century." Jon Nightingale, I.S.P. Governance Committee Chair

CIPS has existed as an organization for almost 50 years. In recent years the association developed a new vision focusing on professionalism. This vision is described in the document CIPS in the 21st Century: A Vision for the Future of CIPS. This document describes how CIPS may look in the future and identifies a number of steps needed to reach that future state. A significant step is changing how the organization is governed.

In 2004, a committee was charged with developing a new model for governing the CIPS organization. In the fall of 2006 the document, A New CIPS Governance Model, was presented to and approved by the CIPS National Board of Directors and the Provincial Bodies.

Subsequent to approval of the model the Governance Committee has been working on plans for a smooth transition. An integral part of these plans was the revision of the CIPS By-Laws. The National Constitution Committee, working with the Executive and the Governance Committees, revised the by-laws to accommodate the new governance model. These by-law changes were approved by the National Board on March 29, 2008, and subsequently approved by the membership at the National Annual General Meeting on May 7, 2008.

With the approval of the bylaw changes the new Canadian Council of Information Technology Professionals (CCITP) came into being, replacing the old CIPS National Board.  CIPS has been operating under the new governance structure since the May 2008 AGM, although there are still some changes required to complete the process.

If you have any questions about the new CIPS governance model, please check the Governance: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. You can also contact any of the Governance Committee members: Jon Nightingale I.S.P., Rick Penton I.S.P., Bruce Gorman I.S.P., Trekker Armstrong I.S.P or Mary Jean Kucerak, by e-mail at: info@cips.ca.