IBGP.000 professional body IBGP in short V2 March 2024

INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL BODY FOR CERTIFICATE HOLDERS

Why

Frequently asked questions are:

• How can certificate holders participate or be represented in consultations with governments and other stakeholders?
• How can certificate holders strengthen each other, e.g. in the areas of promotion and customer acquisition, discussing ethical dilemmas, preferred suppliers?
• How can certificate holders contribute to the further development of the sector and the profession.

Logical and understandable questions. Typical questions for a professional body/association. Many certificate holders are not members of a professional body. There are several reasons for this. Some countries do not have a professional body. Some existing associations/bodies have different admission requirements or a curious form of balloting resulting in certificate holders not being admitted. Also, (too) high membership fees are sometimes a reason. Global Network Group believes it is important that certificate holders are heard and get answers to their questions.

Global Network Group and the registers

Global Network Group is a conformity assessment body (CAB), not a professional association. As a CAB, Global Network Group works against international ISO standards. An important principle is that a CBI is 100% impartial and independent. 

A professional association provides its members with a platform, represents them in and stands up for their interests. This makes the association partisan and not independent. Therefore, Global Network Group cannot and should not operate as a professional association. After all, it is crucial that certification meets (and continues to meet) international ISO standards and principles.

Professional body for certificate holders of Global Network Group

As a solution, Global Network Group has chosen to facilitate a professional body for its certificate holders and has established the "International Body for Global Network Group Certified Practitioners" (IBGP for short). All certificate holders are automatically members of the body. Each register forms its own association chamber. Thus:

• ADR Register = IBAP = International Body for ADR Register Certified Practitioners
• EMCI Register = IBEP = International Body for EMCI Register Certified Practitioners
• ICR Coach Register = IBIP = International Body for ICR Coach Certified Practitioners

The body is an informal association under Dutch law and registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. The statutes are public.

Tasks

The association chambers provide answers to questions and can represent members. They can also enter into agreements with preferred suppliers. Furthermore, the chambers can supervise Global Network Group. 

Board

Association chambers can form their own independent boards.   

Project-based approach

Certificate holders have diverse questions and interests, which are not always common. To be effective and efficient, only project-based work is done. This means that a specific issue is linked to its own objective, target group, timeline, budget, and working method. This allows maximum control of the intended result and specific stakeholders. 

Global Network Group facilitates. This means support and steering; not execution. The members execute themselves. Thus: 100% self-efficacy of the members.

Cooperation

The association wishes to cooperate as much as possible with existing other professional bodies or sectoral organizations. It is quite conceivable that the association and the sections will join or be represented by other associations or organizations. 

What next?

In 2022, the association was established and explored the optimal structure. This resulted in the current bylaws (V2 March 2024) and the principles described above. It is now up to the certificate holders (the members) to put their money where their mouth is.

Call

We are calling for a potential projects to come forward. We would like to engage in a conversation with you and your group to explore whether and how the project can be taken up.