With an eye on continuing to strengthen ties to civil engineers in the public sector, the ASCE Board of Direction has approved establishing a Government Engineers Council for an initial period of three years.
Among the new group’s goals is to enhance the profile of government engineer leaders within ASCE by getting them more engaged in Society programs and initiatives.
“I have been saying that a professional is a professional no matter on which side of the fence you fall on. So, government engineers should enjoy the same privileges as those in the private sector,” said ASCE President Kancheepuram Gunalan.
“This new council is an effort to encourage more of the government engineers to feel part of something and participate. Government engineers are the front line in public procurement. They need to know the state-of-the-art practices and best procurement methodology.”
The new GEC includes a restoration of ASCE’s Public Agency Peer Review Committee, which had been on hold since last March while the program underwent a review. The Board decided to resume the program under the condition that it is cost-neutral, exclusive of staff costs.
These decisions follow the agreement of cooperation signed between ASCE and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials last fall. The opportunities for collaboration include a new partners program designed to attract new ASCE members by giving employees of transportation departments potential ASCE discounts on bulk memberships, at Institute conferences and other opportunities.
“We’re delighted to work with our good friends and colleagues at AASHTO to provide workforce development opportunities for employees of state departments of transportation,” said ASCE Executive Director Tom Smith.
“With closely aligned missions, ASCE and AASHTO are natural partners to work together to advance mutual goals and initiatives, including public policy and advocacy, outreach and communications, education and workforce development, and recognition of achievements,” Smith said. “Solidified by a new agreement of cooperation, we look forward to providing new opportunities to develop the state DOT workforce and to work together to enhance the public health, safety and welfare.”
This is great news for public sector engineers. When and where will information be available for people to participate in the council?
Thanks for your interest, Phil. Our goal is to engage as many of our members as possible to ensure that government engineers have a voice in and can contribute their expertise to ASCE’s initiatives. ASCE is establishing an organizational plan and charge for the Government Engineers Council and will be including more news about it in this space and other ASCE media as it develops, as well as reaching out directly to our public sector members.
Great news for the Society, for its members (especially government engineer members), and for prospective government engineer members. And great news on the continuation of ASCE’s Public Agency Peer Review Program. Thank you, Board members!
Excellent news! I would love to see more discounts for all public sector engineers, especially at the local level. Cost and travel are limiting factors for some small local agencies, and this will be further restricted, or even eliminated to recover from COVID-19. More opportunities to engage that are cost-effective for ASCE and free to participants in the future would be very helpful.