The value of networking and volunteering

Membership of TOPRA signals your commitment to staying at the top of your profession. It offers you the opportunity to make contacts that will benefit you and your employer in many ways.

One key element in many of these training vehicles is the opportunity to ‘network’ with fellow regulatory professionals. In the highly stressed world of today, this element of training is sometimes scorned, and some individuals search for ways in which they can get the latest information without ever leaving the office! TOPRA represents regulatory professionals as individuals: not as employees of particular companies, and believes that the cross-fertilisation of ideas between individuals working in different places can be as valuable in professional development as any formal certified training programme. In this way, membership associations have the edge over commercial training companies. Members can come together as part of a ‘community’ to share concerns and information and learn from them.

Becoming an active member of your professional organisation

Individuals can make the most of their membership by taking an active part in TOPRA activities. Signing up to be a member of a committee or working group will bring you into contact with other professionals from industry and agencies, and help you establish relationships that will be of value to you and your employers throughout your career.

Active participation will increase your technical knowledge, extend your network of contacts and develop new skills. Taking part in TOPRA activities brings you into contact with other regulatory professionals, allowing you to share experiences, learn from and support each other. Our volunteers come from all parts of industry worldwide. They gain a great deal, personally and professionally from their involvement. In fact, many members believe their membership is not optional but essential to developing their careers.

The work of TOPRA is supported by office staff, but driven by the involvement and commitment of the members themselves. The input of members, whether they be employed by companies, consultancies, regulatory agencies or acting as freelancers, is vital in ensuring that all members gain the maximum benefit from their membership.

What are the benefits to the individual?

Those members of TOPRA who actively participate in the Organisation’s activities are those that gain most from their membership. Their personal profile is raised in the industry as a whole by their interactions on committees, or by having their name in print in the journal or other publications. They become known by a wider circle of regulatory professionals and in turn get to know fellow professionals in a range of industries. Many of the activities they are involved in can bring them into contact with new information and important people in the regulatory world that they may otherwise not have been exposed to in their business life. Relations hips built in the TOPRA environment lead to an individual having a network for support and information throughout their professional career, which is also a significant benefit to their employing companies.

These are the most obvious benefits – but there are others. Participating in a committee can teach and enhance team-working or chairmanship skills for example and can help individuals attain their personal goals for continuing professional development (CPD) in these and similar areas.

How does my employer benefit?

Why should an employer support the active participation of a member in TOPRA when this might take some company time?

Clearly, the benefits to individuals personally mean that companies with active TOPRA members have better informed and better connected regulatory specialists working for them. TOPRA business might, for example, allow a company employee to approach someone in a regulatory agency on ‘neutral’ ground, leading to the establishment of a relationship that will benefit the company in future dealings with that agency. The increased knowledge and regulatory network resulting from any form of participation in TOPRA can impact on the success of regulatory applications made for their companies.

Companies with employees who are active for TOPRA find that they have regulatory staff who have a higher professional standing amongst their peers. TOPRA members who speak on training courses become known as experts in the field, bringing kudos to their company as well as themselves. The increased personal network of TOPRA members means that they have access to ideas and information outside of the corporate ‘culture’ that can be of added value to the organisation. Even the largest companies can benefit from a fresh perspective from outside. Smaller companies and freelance specialists gain from the raised profile of their name in the regulatory community.

Companies with well-developed CPD programmes find that TOPRA activities give greater opportunity for employees to meet their CPD goals.

The work of TOPRA often means interaction with other professional bodies. In the last few years, TOPRA has had contacts with the Institute of Clinical Research, the British Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians, The Association of Clinical Data Management, the British Association of Research Quality Assurance, The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, and trade associations including ABPI, ABHI, PAGB, HMFA Eucomed, AESGP, EGA and EFPIA to name but a few. Members’ knowledge about related disciplines is therefore enhanced.

Allowing members to take part in the work of their professional body is also a very motivating gesture on the part of employers, which signals to the employee how they are valued and respected. Employees who are given the freedom to be active within TOPRA by their companies feel supported and see this as an added ‘benefit’ of their employment terms.

TOPRA recognises that employers also need to see direct benefits from their employees’ participation. Therefore members of working parties for training meetings are able to attend those meetings free of charge. Those who give their time to speak at TOPRA events are also allocated free tickets to any TOPRA one-day event and these tickets are transferable to other employees. Thus a regular speaker for TOPRA who needs to spend limited time preparing a presentation and perhaps a half-day to deliver it, can contribute hundreds of dollars, Euros or pounds to the departmental training budget on each occasion they speak. These are real and tangible benefits to employers to say ‘thank you’ for supporting TOPRA through their staff.

TOPRA’s prime objective is to raise the status of the regulatory profession as a whole. By adding to members’ knowledge and skills and by attracting more active members, TOPRA has increased the pool of highly skilled regulatory professionals available to employers. Enhancement of the profession in this way adds to the credibility of the company regulatory department and improves its internal communication and standing.

How can members contribute?

There are two main areas in which members of TOPRA give their time to the Organisation; by speaking at conferences or by participating in working parties or committees.

The majority of this work is done in the member’s personal time – for example, a member of the Publications Committee reviewing a paper from a contributor, or someone planning a training meeting scanning journals to identify the opinion leaders in a particular topic, or preparing a presentation. Members can also contribute by writing articles on their current projects or their own particular interests.

Of course, other aspects of the work have to be done in business hours – contacting an agency speaker to make a presentation, or meeting with regulatory colleagues to plan a new course – although these meetings are kept to the minimum needed. The results are clear; whether the work is in progress or completed, much of what is achieved for TOPRA also enhances our members’ and volunteers’ personal knowledge. This is a ‘win-win’ for both the individual, and his/her employer.

Regulatory professionals are used to tight deadlines and managing their work in accordance with priorities. All are familiar with the need to work exceptional hours when important regulatory filings are to be made and supported through the regulatory systems. TOPRA expects all members to put their business objectives first, balancing their commitments to their employers and their support of TOPRA. The Organisation recognises and understands that members cannot put TOPRA first and offers the support of other committee members and its headquarters office staff. For this reason, employers can be confident that the professional approach of TOPRA means that company objectives are met.