2008 SRC Report to IFF Assembly

Discussions about the IWG report and its recommendations for a new international structure have led to the formation of this committee. The committee has used those recommendations as the basis of our thinking.

Purposes and Principles

One of the tasks given to this committee was to review the purposes and principles contained in the IWG report and in the answers to the preassembly questions from last year.

From our reading, deliberations, and experience it apparent that the main principle that needs to be recognized is that the only rational and effective level where governance can occur is at the national level. We believe that this is central to any further considerations in how we structure ourselves. The guilds and associations have the direct connections not only to their members, but to the legal and social structures in their respective countries. We see this as the ground on which international cooperation rests. (IWG report Part B, p. 9)

The reasons for pursuing international cooperation are many, they might be summarized by borrowing from the IFF mission statement “to realise the full potential of the Feldenkrais Method throughout the world.”

In all of the discussions and statements we researched we find that maintaining the coherency and integrity of the Feldenkrais Method is one the main purposes for having an international structure. This is balanced with a need for flexibility and diversity.

Another purpose for maintaining international policy coherence is mutual recognition of Feldenkrais Teachers across international boundaries.

The desire to maintain coherency, diversity and mutual recognition goes along with the ideas of equality and fair representation and transparency.

Individual Guilds want training standards that support quality assurance for the consumer and recognition and credentials for their practitioner members.

Guilds want training standards based on educational outcomes (competency based).

Beyond training policy the preliminary results from Dirk Steinkamp’s survey indicate that the purposes of an international organization should be to;

• Develop the Feldenkrais Method to more maturity.
• Research in Application of the Feldenkrais Method
• Exchange of ideas
• Archive Materials

We would also refer the reader to the IFF Statement of Purposes (appendix).

It is important to keep in mind the realities of the situation of the international Feldenkrais community. We must consider is affordability. Along with this go the ideas of simplicity and efficiency.

Borrowing from our own work the committee would include:

reversibility – that is the ability to move smoothly forward while maintaining options to change direction or return to previous configuration.

And,

integration- the inclusion of all parts of the system in co-ordinated action.

Situation Analysis

1. Structural development and functional development go hand in hand. They co-evolve.
2. Any attempt to move forward needs to include all aspects of the community- graduates of the various training regimes, the training community, the guilds, and the practitioners.
3. The only rational and effective level where governance can occur is at the national level. Training accreditation needs to be at the national level.
4. Practitioner Certification needs to be at the national level.
5. International training policy even in the current system is one of voluntary compliance.
6. International uniformity may not be desirable but international coherence is.
7. International coherence requires a common framework as a reference.
8. In order to achieve a common framework, what is needed at the international level is a decision making process.
9. Currently the IFF provides such a process.
10. There is no International mechanism for collecting and retaining training outcomes and practitioner data. It is not clear how or if this data is being collected at a national level.

Possible Pathways:

A New Umbrella Organization

The idea of a new organization encompassing all international functions is appealing. It would allow us to have a purpose built organization suited to our needs and give us the opportunity for a “fresh start.” However it is difficult to see that we have the organizational and financial capital to accomplish it in the near future.

An important consideration here is the fact that the IFF has important assets such as the Distribution Center and the archives that would need to be transferred. This would be at best complicated.

IF we decide to pursue a new organization we have to have a platform from which to operate- a scaffold.

3TAB/3GB

It is important to consider the modification of the current system simply because given that we have a lack of resources both human and financial, it might be simpler to address the difficulties from within the current structure. There is also the fact that there is a good amount of expertise that has been developed over the years. The governing bodies of the TABs in recent years have begun to act in a co-ordinated way. In fact they initiated the process of change that we are involved in.

We see four major difficulties with the current system.

1. It is not organized into a formal system.
2. It does not acknowledge that the level where governance and regulation can occur is at the national level.
3. It has unbalanced representation at many levels.

• The Governing Bodies do not include all of the Guilds in the countries where they accredit trainings (eg. Argentina, Mexico)
• There is a disparity between the governing bodies in the practitioners they represent (AFG/EuroTAB Council)
• There is a disparity within the Euro TAB council where each Association has one vote.

4. The difficulty in reaching decisions when you have to have consensus at two different levels, among six bodies.

All four of these problems could be addressed, it would require radical restructuring. One such possibility was suggested by the Australian Feldenkrais Guild.

“The impasse in resolving the “decision making capabilities” of the Governing Bodies of the TABs, both in terms of the multiple reporting pathways of the EuroTAB Council system and the unilateral reporting systems of The AFG Inc and the FGNA, are not insurmountable given good will and some lateral thinking.

An example of the sort of direction our lateral thinking could take; it may be possible for the ETC to alter its decision making pathways to make them more time efficient and for the FGNA, The AFG Inc and unrepresented Guilds to join a renamed ETC. Fundamentally this could be viewed as a short cut to the development of one international TAB system and a confederation of Guilds. We would have a parallel two bureaucracy system of an IFF (unmodified thus maintaining the educational assets) and TAB system.” (response to Structural Review Committee Letter 27/03 2008)”

Using the current IFF-

The IFF is a formally organized body whose members include most of the national guilds/ associations. It has served as a forum for the international Feldenkrais community for seventeen years. In those years it has developed a culture of co-operation even if imperfect. The utility of the IFF can be seen in the decision of the Governing Bodies of the TABs to bring the current issues of restructuring to the IFF.

There are difficulties in using the IFF to approach issues of training policies.

Some of the major considerations:

• Historically the IFF has been constrained from addressing issues of training policy; because of this it has not developed the expertise.
• The voting structure of the IFF- because it gives each board member a vote in both elections and motions there is a perceived danger of undo influence by individuals or the Board as a voting bloc.
• Constitutional powers granted to the officers, particularly the president.
• The lack of formal representation of the trainers, assistant trainers and training organizers at the IFF.
• Not all Guilds are members of the IFF.

The first concern, lack of expertise is addressable; all three TABs are current members of the IFF. In addition two of the governing bodies of TABs have direct representation at the IFF (AusTAB and NATAB) Although the EuroTAB council is not a member of the IFF is not a member its member organizations are.

The voting and constitutional arguments seem to be resolvable. Our preliminary research indicates that sufficient changes could be made within IFF internal regulations. The committee is seeking a legal opinion.

It is true that trainers, assistants and training organisers are not formally represented in the IFF, but they are represented through their national guilds.

The IFF encourages non-member guilds to consider joining. In any event they are not constrained by actions of the IFF.

A New Organization linked in Parallel to the IFF

The most desirable path may be towards creation of a parallel, but linked organization to the IFF. This would be similar to the DC. This might be necessary if any new organizational modifications to the IFF are incompatible with French Law.

Even if it is possible to act within the current IFF, it might be desirable to have a separate but linked organization. This could serve to insulate training issues from political flux and from the other activities of the IFF while allowing integrated action by the international community.

Conclusion and Recommendations-

The committee believes that we have followed the intention of the motion passed at last year’s assembly. We have received feedback that we have not adequately followed the procedures laid out in the terms of reference.

Specifically:

• We have not circulated the purposes and principals to the entire community for feedback- We believe we are accomplishing that with this report.
• We have not retained an “international corporate design advisor”.-We do not feel that we are in a position yet that we need or could best use such an advisor.
• That we have not prepared for a Special General Assembly.

The committee did not feel this was the best use of our time until the objectives of such an assembly were determined.

Finally, through our deliberations a possible path forward emerged. We have outlined this path below. We realize that it is not conclusive or complete. We offer it only as starting place for consideration. We hope that alternative paths will be developed by others. If it is premature, then we would hope that the assembly reject it. We would also hope that it would not be pursued without careful consideration.

Recommendations

1. That the IFF BOD abstains from votes regarding training issues until constitutional concerns are addressed.

2. That IFF membership requires all member Guilds and Associations to adopt training accreditation and membership/certification policies.

Rationale- This would recognize the fact that training accreditation resides at the national level and clarify the definition of who is a Feldenkrais practitioner that each guild or association uses.

3. That all references to distinctions between TAB accredited graduates and graduates of other educational streams be eliminated within the IFF and its internal regulations.

Rationale- Beyond recognizing the reality of our international situation, this would acknowledge that practitioner certification properly resides at the national level. It also allows for a conversation among equals about the future of our method.

4. a-That the IFF forms an International Training Policy committee.

Rationale- This committee, would be responsible for the development international training standards. Such standards could serve as a reference framework for Guilds and Associations training policy. National organizations could adopt it unaltered or modify it to meet local needs. Such a reference frame is essential to maintaining international coherence.

A suggested structure would be to have this committee nominated and elected directly by the IFF members according to their established vote allocations without voting participation of the IFF BOD.

Oversight would be by the members, with the BOD providing administrative support.

Initially funding could come from the IFF budget. As the committee becomes established, there could be alternate funding through training accreditation fees.

4. b-That the IFF move towards establishing an “International Training Certification Committee”.

Rationale- In this scheme, training accreditation per se would be the province of the national organizations. There are national organizations that have not yet developed resources or the expertise to function at this level. A possible solution to this would be to have an International Training Certification Committee (ITCC). This group would determine if a training program or institution met the international standards. This could include certification of trainers and assistant trainers. National organizations that had not yet crossed the threshold to administer training policy could opt to accept the international training policies and accredit only those programs sanctioned by the ITCC. Other national organizations could opt to accept ITCC certification while retaining the option to accredit under different criteria.

At this level, funding streams and governance might have to be separated from the IFF. On the other hand it might be possible to adjust governance and funding within our internal regulations (see proposal number III.) If this could not be accomplished we would suggest incorporating a daughter organization of the IFF with a small governing board, a distinct funding stream, and a paid staff. The Governing Board members and ITCC members should again be directly nominated and elected by the IFF members without IFF BOD participation.

V. Establish an International Information Bureau.

Rationale- “If you don’t know what you are doing you can’t do what you want.”

Any attempt to develop rational policy requires that we know what the outcome is that we desire and ways to see if we are achieving it. Metrics are very difficult to establish and probably even more so in our work. On the other hand we don’t have any of the easily determined metrics at hand.

• How many practitioners have graduated from Feldenkrais trainings?
• How many practitioners are practicing in the world?
• How many trainees are presently enrolled world wide?
• Is the number increasing or decreasing?

Beyond this we are looking at having a competency profile presented to us at this assembly. While this may not be definitive of the Feldenkrais Method itself it will provide a starting reference for us to form a more sophisticated appraisal of training outcomes. There is also the Emerging practitioner profile being prepared by the Australian Guild which will be made available to the international community.

VI. Prioritize and evaluate current IFF functions.

Rationale – In the current economic climate the IFF must provide value to its members. It is important that in reaching for a new consensus, we take care to preserve what we are doing well (IE. The archives).

Submitted 2/4/2008

By Sonia Commentucci, George Krutz, and Annette Orphal

APPENDIX

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