Derek Cribb explains how the Profession aims to achieve excellent support

The Actuarial Profession's Strategy, published in June 2011, put a step change in member support at the very heart of its objectives. Defined as offering "excellent support that meets members' varied and evolving needs", we have been working very hard to deliver on this objective and many of you have told us that you have already started to feel the benefits.
We have introduced video recordings of key speakers at conferences and sessional events, which are now freely available on the website; new-style e-newsletters, designed to keep members up to date on developments in their areas of interest; new business skills courses designed to help members develop their careers; masterclasses in specialised subjects, such as written communication; and a very successful joint webinar with the Casualty Actuarial Society on 'Solvency II for Dummies'.
For social-media users, we now have over 600 members in our LinkedIn group only six months after its launch and more than 10,000 members on our Facebook page, who regularly engage with each other and us. In all cases, we strive to be more engaging, relevant and clear to ensure that you get the most out of your interaction with us.
Going forward, we will be implementing a coherent CPD strategy that includes more targeted learning to help our members, no matter where they are, to keep abreast of the latest developments in actuarial science.
As we develop our CPD offering, we will be engaging more actively with employers to ensure that our learning activities complement each other.
We will also be consulting closely with the 400 Club. This group of volunteers demographically represents the breadth of the membership by practice area, gender, type of member and location, and is dedicated to testing new ideas. Their feedback will enable us to fine-tune our ideas at pace and proceed with greater confidence to enhance the support we offer to the membership body as a whole.
We are keen to hear from you and always welcome new ideas.
Derek Cribb is the chief executive officer of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
We have introduced video recordings of key speakers at conferences and sessional events, which are now freely available on the website; new-style e-newsletters, designed to keep members up to date on developments in their areas of interest; new business skills courses designed to help members develop their careers; masterclasses in specialised subjects, such as written communication; and a very successful joint webinar with the Casualty Actuarial Society on 'Solvency II for Dummies'.
For social-media users, we now have over 600 members in our LinkedIn group only six months after its launch and more than 10,000 members on our Facebook page, who regularly engage with each other and us. In all cases, we strive to be more engaging, relevant and clear to ensure that you get the most out of your interaction with us.
Going forward, we will be implementing a coherent CPD strategy that includes more targeted learning to help our members, no matter where they are, to keep abreast of the latest developments in actuarial science.
As we develop our CPD offering, we will be engaging more actively with employers to ensure that our learning activities complement each other.
We will also be consulting closely with the 400 Club. This group of volunteers demographically represents the breadth of the membership by practice area, gender, type of member and location, and is dedicated to testing new ideas. Their feedback will enable us to fine-tune our ideas at pace and proceed with greater confidence to enhance the support we offer to the membership body as a whole.
We are keen to hear from you and always welcome new ideas.
Derek Cribb is the chief executive officer of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries