Evolving BCIA’s Regional Branch Structure
On January 1, 2027, BCIA will implement the Board’s decision to replace the current branches with Regional Professional Development Working Groups and bring regional input together through a new Provincial Professional Development Advisory Group in a structure that supports the continued alignment with our regulatory mandate.
What This Will Look Like
The new Regional Professional Development Working Groups will provide local insight, identify professional development needs and opportunities, support regional events, and help maintain connections among registrants. Each regional group will also contribute to the Provincial Professional Development Advisory Group, which will work with BCIA to help shape professional development priorities and opportunities across the province.
Together, these groups will create a stronger way to bring regional knowledge, ideas, relationships, and experience into a broader provincial approach. Registrants will be able to contribute directly to and help inform that broader approach, drawing on collective expertise and connections from across BC to support a wider range of high-quality learning opportunities and make better use of the knowledge and effort already present within our regions.
BCIA will take clearer responsibility for the administration, funding, coordination, and oversight of professional development. This will provide greater clarity and accountability within BCIA's regulatory structure, while allowing registrant volunteers to focus their contributions on regional and professional insight and connections.
We are grateful to the many registrants who have contributed their time and expertise through the BCIA branches over the year. That contribution has helped shape what we want to preserve as we move to the new model. Current branch volunteers will have the opportunity to continue contributing through the Regional Professional Development Working Groups, and there will also be opportunities for other registrants to become involved.
Why We Made This Decision
The Board’s decision to move to a new model was made with careful consideration of what should be preserved and what needed to change. As BCIA continues to evolve as a regulator under the Professional Governance Act, we must consider all aspects of our governance, structures, policies, processes, and use of funds to ensure they align with our statutory mandate and public-interest responsibilities. This includes considering whether the current branch model, which was established during an earlier period in BCIA’s history, continues to align with BCIA’s regulatory mandate.
As part of that consideration, BCIA engaged with branch executives, registrants, and staff to hear what was working well within the branch model, as well as what was no longer aligned with BCIA’s regulatory mandate or was becoming increasingly difficult for volunteers to sustain.
What we clearly heard was that regional connection — including locally relevant professional development, networking, regional practice knowledge, and support for articling and newer professionals — was important and valued. However, we also heard that the current structure created significant governance and administrative requirements that placed a substantial burden on volunteers, that registrant experiences varied across regions, and that the model ultimately did not fit within the regulatory framework under which BCIA operates.
The new model has been designed to preserve those strengths while addressing those challenges.
Where To Find More Information
We know that some current articling program requirements are connected to branch participation. Further details about related changes will be shared with registrants in the coming weeks. That said, we can confirm that no articling registrant will experience an unreasonable delay to their registration as a PAg or TAg as a result of this change.
For more information about why BCIA is making this change, how the new model will work, and what it means in practice, please read our Branch Evolution FAQs.
For a PDF version of the FAQs, click HERE.