Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Foresters is an honoured position, the attainment of which should be the ambition of all members of the Institute. It is an acknowledgement of an individual’s dedication, experience and achievements, awarded to members who show a significant personal and recognised contribution to the profession.
Once perceived as a reward bestowed on members toward the end of a long and distinguished career, Fellowship is equally attainable for members in the earlier stages of their professional journey – members who understand the benefits that professional recognition by their peers can bring to their career.
The Institute welcomes applications from members from all areas of our membership. Whether you work in forest management, harvesting and marketing, urban forestry, arboriculture, policy or research, or whether you work in the private sector, public sector, third sector or academia.
Your application will be assessed by a panel of senior members from the Professional & Educational Standards Committee (PESC), based on the information you provide. The assessors will make their decision based solely on the information within your application. For this reason, it is vital that you carefully consider this guidance and provide a comprehensive and accurate submission.
Since the start of 2023, the Institute has promoted 13 new Fellows, the most in one year for more than a decade. Could you be next?
Historically, the Institute welcomed self-nominated applications for Fellowship from individuals who met the following criteria:
- The individual will have held Professional membership of the Institute for a minimum of five years and have at least ten years’ professional experience in the sector
- The highest level of accomplishment during their career in post-qualification professional experience, managerial responsibilities, structured and planned professional development and/or a significant contribution to the profession
- The support of two existing Fellows of the Institute
However, the Institute has recently introduced a new, alternate route to Fellowship – the peer-nomination route. Here, the Fellowship application will be initiated by a Lead Nominator and supported by an Endorsing Nominator (both must be existing Fellows of the Institute), who are able to put forward a Professional Member of the Institute worthy, in their estimation, of Fellowship status.
Irrespective of the route, Fellowship remains a demonstration of your standing, your proven strategic abilities and that you are committed to inspiring and shaping the future of the profession. You are respected and recognised as a thought leader, influencer and expert.
Isn’t it about time you applied?
Applications will be considered no less than two weeks before a PESC meeting, which take place in January, May, and October. Please contact icf@charteredforesters.org for precise dates.
If you require any further information regarding routes to Fellowship, please contact us via icf@charteredforesters.org
Retired Fellow
Retired members have a special place at the Institute. Our Retired Fellow membership category allows retired members to continue to be part of our network of forestry professionals and keep up-to-date with current issues and developments in the sector. They can continue to share their insights and experiences with the next generation of foresters, and help shape policy and practice developments as the Institute continues to evolve.
Fellows applying for Retired Fellowship must have been a full-paying Fellow for at least two years to be eligible, and be fully retired or no longer working in the forestry sector. Retired Fellows will pay one-third of the full Fellow membership fees, and are encouraged to complete 30 hours of CPD per year.
Successful applicants for the Retired Fellowship membership category will be able to use the FICFor (Retd) post-nominal, and will continue to receive TREES magazine, access to Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research, and the Institute’s monthly E-Newsletter.
We ask that we can call upon Retired Fellows for help (for up to five days a year) with task and finish groups, Special Interest Groups, chairing webinars and event development. Any expenses incurred in the performance of these tasks will be reimbursed in line with the Institute’s expense policy.
Applications for Retired Fellowship will be considered by the Institute’s Senior Management team and must be received by 10 January each year. Reverting back to Fellow status can be done on a pro-rata basis.
Once a Retired Fellow reaches the age of 75, membership fees will be waived.
For more information on Retired Fellowship, contact us via icf@charteredforesters.org
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