In 2008, the ASCE Technical Region will launch a new peer review process to identify best practices among its eight institutes, keep institute staff apprised of other institutes’ activities and initiatives, and allow for internal feedback among the institutes. According to COPRI President Jim Blanchar, the process, which will be implemented by the Technical Region Board of Governors (TRBG), will ensure that the Institutes sustain their quasi-independence within ASCE.
“This self-motivated effort will help each Institute maximize its opportunities and extract and share best practices that can be adopted by all Institutes,” Blanchar said. It will also demonstrate to the ASCE Board of Direction the exemplary management, innovation and performance of each institute.
Under the current peer review plan, the first round of institute reviews will be conducted in chronological order beginning with the oldest institutes, the Structural Engineering Institute and the Geo Institute. COPRI, which was established in 2000, will likely occur in 2010. The TRBG will consider revisions to, and adoption of, the peer review plan during its meeting on January 12.
The institutes under review will receive a checklist from the TRBG as a guide for self evaluation. They will then be expected to submit a summary report based on the list. Next, the institutes’ Board of Governors will be interviewed in a face-to-face meeting with two technical region directors. Those interviews will then be summarized in a report to the ASCE Board of Direction.
Armed with its Strategic Plan, COPRI will be ready for the review when its turn comes around, according to Blanchar. He says the Institute will continue to review its Strategic Plan, and business and operating plans, to ensure COPRI is serving its membership well and engaged in the critical industry issues.
