Technical Strategy and Advisory Group (TSAG)

Chairman of TSAG: Mr Mostyn Bullock

TSAG has been a relatively recent development for the Institution, having been in existence since late 2005. The intention with the creation of TSAG was to revive and extend the activities of the IFE's Technical Committee from which the initial membership of TSAG was drawn. TSAG reports to the Technical Portfolio holder on the IFE Board and, like other IFE committees, operates a succession plan to ensure that the membership of TSAG is renewed to keep pace with changes in the Institution.

TSAG's role within the IFE is to help support and direct the technical activities of the Institution. TSAG's key objectives include continuing to ensure that the IFE is adequately represented in the wealth of working groups and committees responsible for
regulations, policies and standards affecting the profession but with the addition of a new strategic focus on communicating briefing information to the IFE's membership and inviting input from the IFE's membership to the process.

To this end TSAG has been instrumental in recent important developments to the IFE web site which is vital to such initiatives. Members can now download briefing reports submitted by nominated IFE delegates working in committees as well as consultation documents for which TSAG is seeking and collating the views of members for incorporation in formal IFE responses.

To access a list of consultations for which the views of members are sought, there is a straightforward link entitled "consultations" in the main menu on the IFE home page. By logging on to the web site, IFE members can access a "downloads" area of the website via a sub-menu of the "Members Area". From here there is a link to an "IFE Consultation Response Documents" page from where current "live" consultation documents can be downloaded as can the IFE response to previous consultations. This really is a valuable resource for IFE members that can assist members with CPD as well as their professional activities, and that will continue to grow in importance as more and more material is added to the site. It does, however, mean that IFE members will have to remember their Username and Password to log in to the system! (a call or email to the IFE office is all that's required if you've forgotten or if
your computer hasn't remembered it for you!).

Changes don't happen overnight and it is taking time for these initiatives to gather momentum within the membership. However, there are encouraging signs that the Institution's membership is starting to engage more with the technical issues that shape the profession and is increasingly seeing the IFE as a focal point for discussion and debate.

Such developments are extremely important to strengthening the benefits that the IFE offers to its membership as well as ensuring the relevance of the IFE as a key organisation that influences the profession. However, it is impossible to succeed in these endeavours without support from the membership itself.

To this end TSAG operates a continual process of searching for volunteers from the membership with the technical expertise and, most importantly, the enthusiasm and commitment to support the work of TSAG, either as members of TSAG itself or as nominated IFE delegates. TSAG welcomes hearing from any member who thinks that they would like to contribute time and effort to support the IFE's technical activities and, in the first instance, expression of interest should be sent to helen.ross@ife.org.uk.