Dear Colleagues:

ACAC Council met on June 17 and 18 to review the last quarter of ACAC activities and growth, and plan for 2021-2022. Below are some important changes to come out of the meeting.

1. A competency-based model nomination process to be implemented for regulated member elections to Council

As part of the implementation of Bill 30 and Bill 46, Council approved the introduction of a competency-based evaluation requirement into the nomination process to determine the eligibility of regulated members interested in running in the election.

The decision to transition to a competency-based eligibility model helps the College and regulated members in several ways, including:

ensuring successful candidates have the key experience and skills needed to effectively govern in upholding the mandate of public protection. It will also reduce onboarding and orientation time for new Council members, resulting in more consistent governance of the College over the long-term.
positions Council, and new Council members, for success. Competency-based eligibility models are the recognized gold standard of good governance practice, are legally sound, and allowed under the Health Professions Act.

Adopting this model was also future-focused. With the mandated separation of college and association functions, this is an opportune time for Council to consider and implement measures that will have the new College of Chiropractors of Alberta functioning at the highest standards for regulatory bodies.

Harry Cayton, the leading international regulatory expert and former Chief Executive Officer of the Professional Standards Authority in the United Kingdom, strongly advocates that all Council and Board seats for regulatory bodies fill vacancies through appointments based on relevant, defined competencies and skills.

Regulated members interested in running for election will be evaluated against a competency/skill matrix.

The specific skills and experience needed from regulated members interested in serving on Council will be developed from recognized national and international best practice requirements for high functioning governance boards.

The competency/skills matrix for College Council is under development. It will be shared with all regulated members prior to the expression of interest period opening.

How will this look in the next election?

When a regulated member expresses interest in running for Council, the Nominating Committee will use the competency/skills-based matrix to evaluate that candidate’s skills, experience, and abilities in alignment with Council’s governance needs. The Nominating Committee will then present their evaluation and recommendations on each candidate to Council.

From those recommendations, Council will decide on, and present, eligible candidates to the regulated membership for voting.

The new nomination and election process

Step 1: Regulated members submit their expression of interest to the Nominating Committee.
Step 2: Nominating Committee reviews submissions against a competency and skills-based matrix that measures governance-related skills and experiences.
Step 3: Nominating Committee presents candidate evaluations to Council.
Step 4: Council reviews candidate evaluations and determines those candidates who meet the skills requirements, making them eligible to stand for election to vacant regulated member Council position(s).
Step 5: Regulated members vote on eligible candidates.
Step 6: The majority-vote elected regulated member candidate(s) appointed to Council.

2. Council election to occur in January 2022

Council adopted Bylaw 18.0: Cancellation of 2021 elections due to transition plan necessitated by Bill 30 and Bill 46, including a competency-based appointment process for the College’s Council. The cancellation of the 2021 election will allow time for Council to implement a competency-based model prior to bringing on new regulated member representatives to Council.

3. One Council seat open for 2022 Council election

As shared in the Notice to Members on April 28, Council size was reduced from 12 to 10, with five regulated members and five public members. Because of this, while two Council terms will be concluding this year, only one position on Council will be open for a regulated member in the coming election.

In closing, Council recognizes these are significant changes to the College’s governance practice for the chiropractic profession If you have questions, you can connect with your Council contact, found in your Members’ Centre, or bring them to the July 13 virtual monthly members’ meeting.

Sincerely,

ACAC Council