A foundation document is usually called a Memorandum of Association, sometimes a Royal Charter, and for a few a dedicated statute. It typically begins by stating the ‘objects’ of the organisation, the legal term for its aims. We have analysed objects in 200 foundation documents, more than a third of the 513 UK based professional bodies on our database.
Objects contain a target and a verb; what is aimed at and how it is to be achieved; for example to promote the profession or to advance the knowledge base. There is no standardized way of expressing verbs or targets.
We had to classify over 10,000 verb/target combinations to create a lucid but comprehensive picture. This was an enormous task. Grouping synonyms, we came up with 14 verb groups. Targets were distilled into 22 groups. These are laid out in a matrix or map.
What does the map reveal? The knowledge base was the most common target, accounting for 14% of all targets. This is somewhat unexpected. The knowledge base would be presumed to be the most common target for learned societies, which are subject-specific while professional bodies are profession and professionals-specific. Some professional bodies are called Societies but their proportion of targets accounted for by the knowledge base was only 13%, slightly lower than average while those called Institutions had the highest concentration at 30%. Councils, that are all regulatory bodies, were by far the lowest with only 3%. Institutes and Associations, accounting for the two largest proportions of professional bodies, had 15% and 14% of knowledge base targets.
Targets connected with education were very frequently included; education accounted for 9%, a further 6% targeted CPD and 4% qualifications and exams. In between knowledge and education was research at 7%. These four target groups would be expected to be primary targets of colleges and universities. Some professional bodies are called Colleges but for them education, CPD, qualifications, and research did not stand out compared to the whole sector, together accounting for 25% of their targets. For Institutes they accounted for 29% of targets and for Associations 14%. Councils were also relatively low on these at 21%.
You may be wondering how members fit onto the map? Look out for my next blog to find out!