Briefing: Why ICE must have opinions – and not be afraid to speak them

For some years now the institution has conducted a comprehensive membership satisfaction survey and every time members say that they want to see ICE raising the importance of civil engineering in society. It is clear that members want the profession's image to be built to a level where it has genuine influence on politicians and decision makers.

Consequently there has been heavy investment in boosting ICE's policy-analysis, public-affairs and media-relations capabilities to guarantee the resources and expertise necessary to take strong civil-engineering messages directly to parliament and the public. To succeed in this endeavour, the focus must be on the message itself – expert, well-substantiated and objectively based on strict civil-engineering principles.

The institution will contribute nothing by offering superficial platitudes or refusing to come off the fence. To achieve genuine influence, ICE must draw on its professional expertise and adopt a viable public position that it believes to be right and justify it when questioned.

How the institution arrives at the message is therefore critical. Clearly it is not going to be possible to achieve a unanimous position across the entire ICE membership on every, or perhaps even any, specific issue. However, that does not mean positions are incomplete or lacking authority.

Although most messages will be issued by myself, as director general, or another senior ICE representative, this does not mean they are solely personal views. Anyone speaking under the institution's banner will ensure their comments reflect the policies and beliefs of the organisation, as developed by expert panels of leading members who are specialists in the relevant field.

Thus, all policy positions are grounded firmly in the expertise of the membership as they are reached through the work of ICE's learned-society function. The institution also regularly and actively encourages more members to become involved in its work – most recently calling for contributions to the new inquiry-style State of the Nation reports, both at a national and regional level.

All expertise is fed to ICE's in-house policy and public-affairs teams, who refine the messages for communication to the media and key decision makers. And it has to be said our communication methods have come on leaps and bounds recently, particularly with the establishment of the new all-party parliamentary group on infrastructure, administered by ICE, in January 2009.

I am fully convinced that without carefully considered and expert opinions, combined with the means to express them publicly, the institution would not be able to engage in the key infrastructure debates raging around it, leaving the voice of civil engineering unheard and unvalued.

Civil engineers rightly want to be recognised at the heart of society, influencing government policy and ensuring sustainable growth in the UK and other countries all around the world. To achieve this ICE must make its voice heard on the key issues of the day.

The institution has to come off the fence and actively engage in the debate. It will, of course, always represent the expert and informed views of its members, and I would encourage any member who wishes to become more involved to do so, at either national or regional level, thereby helping us develop appropriate public policies.

ICE belongs to its members and relies on their expertise to enable it to be an effective voice for the profession.