New Zealand is a small (3.8 million population) island nation in the South Pacific. It is also isolated; the distance to our nearest neighbour (Australia) is about the same as from London to Athens. However, New Zealand is well-advanced in IT terms, with one of the highest levels of Internet usage in the world. This is supported by an advanced education system, which nevertheless produces too few graduates to satisfy the current high demand for qualified personnel – a problem which is exacerbated by the traditional habit of young New Zealanders of taking overseas working holidays. The Government’s statistics agency estimates that the IT sector employs approximately 35,000 New Zealanders.
The New Zealand Computer Society is the body which represents the interests of individual professional practitioners across the whole spectrum of computing and IT. It is a small organisation with some 1,900 members and a correspondingly highly constrained financial budget. The combination of small size, geographic isolation and financial constraints makes it very difficult to participate fully in many international activities.
In the earlier years of this decade, in common with many similar bodies, NZCS was in gradual decline, in both membership numbers and level of activities. In the last three years this trend has reversed and the Society is healthier and more confident than it has been for many years.
Membership Numbers
At the end of August 1999 total membership is 1,860, which is some 30% higher than at the beginning of the year. We are on target to achieve 2,000 members by the end of the year – "2K by 2K". Even this will only represent a penetration of about 6% of the total potential membership. Our goal is to achieve 5,000 members, or 15%, which we see as the minimum to be credible as the voice of our profession.
In addition to our individual members, we also have a very successful "Partners in Excellence" scheme under which we develop relationships with organisations in both private and public sectors which support the goals of the NZCS.
Activities
NZCS mounts a wide range of activities, mainly through its five Branches. In addition to professional development activities such as seminars and meetings, these include offering a software escrow service, participating in the Government’s Y2K Taskforce, sponsoring the establishment of a CERT capability in New Zealand and taking the lead in a national initiative to develop a Public Key framework. NZCS representatives are also increasing called on to provide input into, or comment on, developments in the broader public sphere.
Contacts
There have been no changes in office-holders, staff or address.
NZCS has representatives on TC3, TC6, TC8, TC11 and TC12. However, time, financial and distance constraints have meant that these representatives have taken little part in TC activities over the last year. There have been no IFIP-related events in New Zealand.
Our growth in membership numbers and confidence over the last twelve months has been mainly due to a simple concentration on promoting the message of professionalism to the IT community, under the slogan "Professionalism DOES make a difference!" This has been reinforced by a range of activities aimed at developing measurable professional standards and a move to certification of members. Much of these activities are carried out in co-ordination and co-operation with SEARCC, which is very active in this area.
For the future, we intend to continue down this path, and all indications are that this will continue to strike a chord with practitioners, employers and regulatory bodies.
Having taken the decision two years ago to rejoin IFIP after a period when financial constraints had induced a withdrawal, the NZCS Council is again considering the value that the Society gets from IFIP membership. From a New Zealand perspective, IFIP is seen as very Eurocentric and academically-oriented, neither of which characteristics is of great appeal to the majority of our members. The time, cost and travel distance required to attend events also constitute a great disincentive. Finally the subscription is a considerable financial burden on a small and not very well-off Society. This is exacerbated by the cost of sending a representative to events such as the GA, particularly when they are held outside the Asia-Pacific region.
In contrast, our membership of SEARCC is seen as being of great tangible benefit, as it enables NZCS and its members to interact and work with fellow-professionals in the countries which are closest to us. SEARCC is involved in a number of practical initiatives (such as the harmonisation of professional standards and the development of certification standards) which will be of direct benefit to NZCS members.
It may well be that we should work towards a closer relationship between SEARCC and IFIP, whereby members of either organisation can keep in touch with developments in the other without having to incur the costs of belonging to both. We would like to recommend this to the GA for active consideration.
Andrew McEwen Mason MBZCS
President, New Zealand Computer Society Inc.