The following is an open letter from NZCS CEO Paul Matthews and President Ray Delany to the NZCS community outlining some important changes for 2012:

Season's greetings!

We're writing to outline some significant changes being planned for NZCS in 2012, squarely focused on accelerating the transformation that's been occurring in recent years.

In early 2012 we'll be proposing some substantial structural changes and if support from the membership is forthcoming following broad consultation, will be putting these to a Special General Meeting in May/June next year in conjunction with the Society AGM.

NZCS: Advancing the ICT profession

The Society has taken its role as the professional body of the IT sector very seriously in recent times. To that end we've been traveling down a path designed to offer IT professionals with the same opportunity for professional recognition as they would have in other professions and to tangibly support the professional growth of those in IT.

Alongside this we've been heavily active in all levels of the educational and professional path, from significant advocacy leading to the redefinition of computing education in schools through to accreditation of tertiary degrees and on to provision of ITCP, the formal certification and recognition for senior IT professionals.

We've followed a clear roadmap in re-emerging as the professional body of the IT sector and we've come a long way. However the job is far from finished.

2012 is about making the tough decisions necessary to break through to the next phase of this journey.

Taking the bold next steps

As a result of some careful and ongoing consideration over most of this year (and in some cases far longer), we'll shortly be proposing some fundamental changes which we believe will prepare our organisation for the next steps as a professional body.

The types of questions we've been asking ourselves include things like:

• Is our current branch model working as well as it could?
• Are we providing the best possible support structure to our branch committees?
• Does our current structure provide the best value to our members?
• Are our regional services good and how can we improve the value of membership to our members outside the main centres?
• Is our governance model (ie the way we appoint our Council) the best it can be?
• Should we be involved in projects like KiwiSkills (tackling digital literacy) or are we better to focus all of our limited resources on the IT profession and instead support other organisations in the Digital Literacy space?
• Does our name ("Computer Society") truly represent who we are as the professional body of the IT sector, given most other professional bodies have changed?

These are all hard questions, however we think the answer to most of them is "no".

What's in a name?

Consideration of a name change will invariably bring out strong emotions. NZCS has existed for 50 years and although originally born as "The Data Processing and Computer Society Inc", the Computer Society is a name many have related to for much of that time.  We have history.

However if we are to continue to grow, thrive and remain relevant we absolutely must stay up with the times and few would argue that our organisation's name doesn't come from a previous era. We're absolutely proud of our history and heritage, but we believe it's time we considered a name that's clear about who we are and what we do.

For example, if you knew nothing about the organisation would The Computer Society or The Institute of IT Professionals tell you more about who we are as the professional body of IT? Something to think about over the Christmas break.

Structure

We also think there are some structural changes we could make to continue to move the organisation forward, connecting and reconnecting with a far larger cross-section of the IT profession.

Times have changed and people simply don't have as much time these days to volunteer, however volunteers are, and always will be, a core and important part of an organisation like NZCS - we typically have over a hundred people serving voluntarily on committees, boards and in other roles at any one time.

Hence our focus has been on determining a proposed structure that supports the regions more (thereby increasing the value of membership) and retains the important volunteer culture of the Society while resourcing to a far greater extent those that give their time and expertise freely.

You'll be seeing and hearing more about this in the new year, however one important point is that whatever happens, it'll be your decision. We won't make major structural or name changes to the organisation without the approval of the membership at large.

Focus of projects in 2012

Separate from any major structure and name considerations, the 2012 work programme will primarily focus on three things:

• Greater engagement with the IT community
• Education and Professional Development
• Recognising IT proficiency through NZCS Certifications

Here's a rundown of what this means.

Greater engagement with the IT community

We're very excited to finally announce the full launch of the ICT-Connect school outreach programme in early 2012, an initiative where passionate IT professionals head along and present in participating schools about what IT is and what it means to them.

The Pilot of this initiative was hugely successful and we've wanted to roll out the full programme for some time, however we've not been in a position to resource it until now. We will still need the industry's support however; Look out for sponsorship and partnership opportunities in the new year and come and be part of this hugely worthwhile project.

We'll also be launching a significantly enhanced Students of NZCS programme and a major Young IT Professionals initiative plus other activities for up-and-coming professionals.

We've fully resourced these initiatives and they will be happening. We're pleased to announce that we've hired Ben Smith, co-founder of the original Young IT Professionals Group in Auckland, on a full-time basis to run these projects from January.

There are a range of other initiatives for members and other professionals too - keep an eye out next year.

Education and Professional Development

2012 will see a renewed focus on professional development and education including the expansion of the NZCS Mentoring Programme plus the implementation of the long-awaited tertiary Degree Accreditation programme.

In addition, a revamped nationwide monthly events programme and broader introductory course and workshop offerings will provide something for everyone who's serious about ongoing professional development.

Recognising IT proficiency through NZCS Certifications

As most will know, at the end of 2009 NZCS released ITCP Certification (Information Technology Certified Professional). ITCP is a certification for senior practitioners (much like Chartered Accountant, Certified Builders, Chartered Engineers, etc in those fields).

However ITCP is and only ever was part of the picture. In mid-2012 NZCS will be releasing Certified Technologist, an accreditation and recognition for all IT practitioners that meet the minimum education, experience and ethics requirements. Global IP3 Accreditation will also mean that both ITCP and CT will be recognised around the world.

2012: A year of action

As you can see, 2012 is going to be another big year for NZCS. We truly hope you'll choose to be a part of it and we look forward to discussing some of these proposed changes with you in due course - we need your input.

And if you're having a break over Christmas have a safe and wonderful holiday and catch you in 2012!

Kind regards,