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Frequent Questions about IPROW Membership

• Isn't IPROW just for managers and definitive map people?
• What do I get for my membership fee?
• Why is there an administration fee for applying for membership or an upgrade?
• Why do I no longer get a discount on my membership renewal for attendance on training courses?
• Why are some training events for members only?
• Why doesn't IPROW do more to promote itself?
• I would have joined but I'm put off by the need to write a paper.
• My employer won't pay for professional membership fees.
• Can IPROW provide career advice?
• Can IPROW improve my pay and conditions of employment?

Isn't IPROW just for managers and definitive map people?

No. IPROW represents everyone working within rights of way and access, some of them where this work is only a part of their job. Members' jobs cover all areas, from ranger staff putting in gates to enforcement officers, path inspectors and strategic access developers, as well as those maintaining the definitive map and making public path orders. See Why Join IPROW for some members' reasons for how membership helps fulfil their role in tasks other than "that highbrow legal stuff".

Some members work with open access land, commons and village greens, others deal primarily with promotion and marketing of access through websites, events and publications. We have members who seek funding to implement ROWIPs, some who design path furniture and solicitors with rights of way caseloads.

Anyone for whom access is a significant part of their job may be eligible for membership - access and rights of way is a very broad field and IPROW's membership continues to reflect that variety of work. The main criterion is that the work must be paid (that is, not as a volunteer) and undertaken as a professional, that is in accordance with a code of conduct and good practice.

What do I get for my membership fee?

Membership fees are currently £52. For each member there is £7.45 VAT, £20 for Waymark, £21.75 for the website, £10 towards the essential running cost of the company (accountants' fees, Companies House fees, Company Secretary cost etc), which is already more than the membership fee! Therefore, to avoid making fees any higher, IPROW relies on generating income from training courses and advertising job vacancies to provide member benefits and cover the overheads of the organisation as well as any one-off projects such as the Job Evaluation Project.

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Why is there an administration fee for applying for membership or an upgrade?

There is a significant amount of work in processing an application or upgrade and the administration fee is a token support of that work, it does not cover the costs. Such fees are commonly charged throughout membership organisations and many are much higher as they cover the actual cost of processing the application.

Membership is considered to be a benefit for the member, and the higher the grade the greater the benefit. Realistically, a higher grade member is also likely to have a higher income to meet the application fee. However, the cost of processing an application grows from Associate to Fellow and the fee charged does not cover the actual cost at any grade.

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Why do I no longer get a discount on my membership renewal for attendance on training courses?

At a period in the 1990s, IPROW received funding from the Countryside Commission as part of the Commission's objective of having the rights of way network open and useable. The funding enabled training courses to be offered at a considerable discount. IPROW's overheads were low as the work was able to be done by volunteers so a discount was offered on membership fee when an IPROW training course had been attended in the year. This was to encourage participation in training to improve standards in the profession and to raise the rate of membership renewal in line with the objectives of the Commission's funding policy.

In 2004, IPROW reviewed its economy as funding had not been available for some years, yet it had continued to offer both training and membership at below the market rate and below its viability threshold. As a result it was decided that the discount on courses to membership would be increased but the discount on membership be removed as offering both was effectively 'double-discounting' and no longer cost-effective with increasing overheads.

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Why are some training events for members only?

IPROW's work has never been limited to members only, with the result that its membership is a low proportion of practitioners and a frequent answer from non-members is that they don't need to join because the information is available to them anyway. Some training events are designed with a small number of participants for optimum benefit and to avoid such courses being very expensive, they are subsidised to an extent by courses with more participants. As competition for limited place courses is high because of their exceptional value for money, members are given priority in booking as a benefit of membership and their support of IPROW.

Regional seminars are a recent innovation and are justifiably popular with members because of the excellent opportunity they hold for networking and informal exchange of experience and views. They are free and local but produced at a cost to IPROW. They are seen as a benefit of membership and therefore limited to members.

Allowing non-members to attend IPROW events has very rarely resulted in a new member but new members have been acquired through their wish to attend a regional seminar or member-priority event which indicates that such events are desirable to members and will encourage non-members to join.

IPROW's effectiveness and value to both individuals and the profession is dependent on the proportion of the profession that it represents, so anything that encourages non-members to join is useful.

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Why doesn't IPROW do more to promote itself?

The directors and staff are very conscious of the benefits of promoting IPROW and the profession, of lobbying members of parliament for legislative change and of being proactive in the media wherever there is an opportunity. However, as with anything, awareness is not action and action takes resources. With current level of membership and income, IPROW cannot afford to employ more staff so is reliant on volunteers and all its volunteers have demanding day jobs as well, so it is acknowledged that promotion is well below what it could be so all members are encouraged to promote IPROW as much as possible. Ideas on how IPROW can be promoted or time offered as a volunteer to help are both very welcome.

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I would have joined but I'm put off by the need to write a paper.

For the last couple of years, IPROW has acknowledged the difficulty that writing an essay on a specific topic presents to potential members and has been accepting existing pieces of work that have been created by the applicant and are suitable. Examples have been extracts from Improvement Plans, policies or strategies, proofs of evidence and committee reports. A potential member can contact the Executive Officer (Membership) to discuss the appropriateness of an existing piece of work. Interviews or presentations are other alternatives.

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My employer won't pay for professional membership fees.

Some employers will not pay any membership fees because of the high cost of some organisations. IPROW is able to offer flexibility in invoicing and a number of authorities in the last two years have been successful in paying membership fees when invoiced as Professional support service or similar. You can request special invoicing at the time of joining or renewal.

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Can IPROW provide career advice?

Through its continuing professional development scheme, IPROW helps members identify skills gaps and the means of filling them, of career planning and steps to take. Some of this is self-guided, some using an assigned mentor. Contact with other members at all levels is encouraged and information on careers can be sought from them.

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Can IPROW improve my pay and conditions of employment?

IPROW cannot act on an individual basis but is working towards providing support to employees with terms and conditions below an identified level by contact with that member’s managing officers. IPROW works at a national level to increase awareness of the importance of access which has a consequent effect on conditions of employment. It is also increasing resources into raising awareness throughout the population so that the importance of access is more clearly identified and raised in priorities.

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