Uniqueness and Value of the Textile Institute in the 21 st Century

 The Institute currently fulfils the following roles:

• It is the only body of professionals serving the interests of the World's textiles, clothing and footwear sectors in terms of its offering members professional credibility and standing, providing a knowledge base through its publications and an information exchange and network through its Member Directory and web-site.
• Its Royal Charter confers upon the Institute the right to award Chartered status through its Associate and Fellow grades of membership.
• Through these same qualifications, the Institute provides the only external benchmark against which all world-wide textile and related educational qualifications offered by colleges and universities may be measured and, if appropriate, accredited.
• It publishes the academic journals, The Journal of the Textile Institute and Textile Progress, which offer independent internationally-recognised platforms of the highest quality for the publication and dissemination of the latest research findings of relevance to the sectors and their supporting academic disciplines.
• It organises and brands external events across the world through its Sections and Regions that bring together professionals, practitioners and academics working in and for the global textiles, clothing and footwear industries and related commercial organisations to discuss first hand the latest developments and challenges faced by these sectors.
• The establishment of a professional consultancy base comprising its chartered members who may work for external clients under an agreed Code of Practice and within a defined Quality Assurance framework.

Within the 21 st Century these roles are more necessary than ever before because knowledge, its creation, dissemination and exploitation are crucial in order for companies and professionals within them to remain innovative, competitive and undergo continual change in order to remain so.

The Vision

The Textile Institute will be recognised as the sole network for textile, clothing and footwear professionals working in a global economy in which knowledge creation, transfer and exploitation are the prime assets of its professional members.

The Textile Institute aims to deliver this vision by achieving the FOUR following key objectives:

1. The TI will increase both its individual and professional memberships by 10% per annum and its Corporate memberships by 20% per annum.
   
2. The TI will develop its web-site and Business Information System to be the highest quality “One Stop Shop” information portal in the World.
   
3. The TI will establish its professional and academic publications as the world leading media for publishing and disseminating new knowledge and research.
   
4. Through its Special Interest Groups (SIGS), its Regions and local Sections, the TI will establish annual programmes of events of the highest quality across the World.

Delivery of the Key Objectives

During the three year planning period, 2004-2007 the TI will undertake a phased set of tasks which together will comprise a focus on:

•  Quality of membership services

•  Enhancing the stature of TI qualifications

•  Quality of publications

During 2003, the Manchester Office has been reorganised in order to be able to offer this focus and deliver the task schedule below.

Task Schedule (provisional and by no means exclusive)

Tasks to be fully developed and scheduled; proposed task areas for discussion are:

1. Year 1: Aggressive membership marketing especially at College and training levels plus an initiative to retain and attract back older members
2. Years 1/2: Seek membership feedback on quality of services
3. Years 2/3: Feedback to influence membership marketing strategy
4. Year 1: Aggressively market professional member status upgrades
5. Year 1: Publish membership statistics
6. Year 1: Market professional qualifications
7. Years 1/2: Develop modes of TI recognition for training at NVQ levels
8. Years 1/2: Work with Corporate members to recognise stature of LTI, ATI and FTI qualifications
9. Years 1-3: Develop the web-site in a structures and publicised manner
10. Year 1: Fully catch up JTI & TP publication schedule by December 2004
11. Year 2: Launch JTI & TP as externally published and hard copy publications
12. Year 1: Establish list of fully-chartered TI Accredited Consultants alongside an agreed Code of practice and Quality Assurance procedure.
13. Year 1: Publish SIG membership & activities on web-site
14. Year 1: Establish Terms of Reference, periods of office and roles of regional Presidents
15. Year 1: Publish the defined status of regions and Sections with respect to TI Headquarters
16. Year 1: Develop, publish on the web-site and initiate a highly publicised Annual Events programme bringing together SIGS, Regional and Sectional programmes across the World
17. Years 2/3: Refine and further develop the Annual Events programme