Advisory Council

The Advisory Council is the senior counsel of the Forum — a small, deliberately diverse group of distinguished practitioners drawn from across the engineering profession. The Council exists to lend long perspective to a Forum whose elected leadership rotates on a three-year cycle.

What the Council does

The Council does not run the Forum. The Council advises. It is consulted on:

• Strategic direction over a five-to-ten-year horizon.
• Constitutional amendments and proposed changes to governance.
• Disputes between chapters, or between members and the Executive Committee, that cannot be resolved through the normal channels.
• Matters of professional ethics and the standing of the Forum within the wider profession.
• The chartering of new chapters in regions where the Forum has not previously operated.

Council recommendations are non-binding but are seldom set aside; their weight comes from the standing of the Council members themselves.

Composition

The Council comprises up to nine members, appointed by the General Body on the recommendation of the outgoing Executive Committee. Members serve a five-year term and may be reappointed once. The Council elects its own Convener.

Members are chosen for breadth as well as depth — the Council aims to represent every major branch of the engineering profession the Forum's membership spans, every region where the Forum operates a chapter, and a span of career stages from active senior practice to long-retired emeritus standing.

Convening

The Council meets in person at least once a year, alongside the Annual General Meeting, and convenes virtually as often as matters require. The Convener attends Executive Committee meetings by standing invitation but does not vote.