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A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to
further Further or Furthur may refer to: * ''Furthur'' (bus), the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic bus *Further (band), a 1990s American indie rock band *Furthur (band) Furthur was a rock band founded in 2009 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and ...
a particular
profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully '' professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, ''professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...
, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and the public interest. In the United States, such an association is typically a nonprofit business league for tax purposes.


Roles

The roles of professional associations have been variously defined: "A group, of people in a learned occupation who are entrusted with maintaining control or oversight of the legitimate practice of the occupation;" also a body acting "to safeguard the public interest;" organizations which "represent the interest of the professional practitioners," and so "act to maintain their own privileged and powerful position as a controlling body." Professional associations are ill defined although often have commonality in purpose and activities. In the UK, the Science Council defines a professional body as "an organisation with individual members practicing a profession or occupation in which the organisation maintains an oversight of the knowledge, skills, conduct and practice of that profession or occupation". The Quality Assurance Agency distinguishes between statutory bodies and regulators that "have powers mandated by Parliament to regulate a profession or group of professions and protect the use of professional titles" and professional bodies that "are independent membership organisations that oversee the activities of a particular profession and represent the interests of heirmembers" and which "may offer registration or certification of unregulated occupations on a voluntary basis." Most professional organizations of global scope (see List of international professional associations) are located in the United States. The USA has often led the transformation of various occupations into professions, a process described in the academic literature as
professionalization Professionalization is a social process by which any trade or occupation transforms itself into a true "profession of the highest integrity and competence." The definition of what constitutes a profession is often contested. Professionalization ten ...
. Many professional bodies are involved in accrediting degrees, defining and examining the skills and competencies necessary to practice a person, and granting
professional certification Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply ''certification'' or ''qualification'', is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications ...
s to indicate that a person is qualified in the subject area. Sometimes membership of a professional body is synonymous with certification, though not always. Membership of a professional body, as a legal requirement, can in some professions form the primary formal basis for gaining entry to and setting up practice within the profession; ''see
licensure Licensure means a restricted practice or a restriction on the use of an occupational title, requiring a license. A license created under a "practice act" requires a license before performing a certain activity, such as driving a car on public roa ...
.'' Many professional bodies also act as learned societies for the
academic disciplines An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
underlying their professions.


See also

*
Advocacy Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to influence public policy, laws and budgets by using fact ...
*
Bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to sep ...
* Guild *
Regulatory college Regulatory colleges are legal entities in Canada charged with serving the public interest by regulating the practice of a profession. They function as professional associations that are state-sanctioned to regulate the practice of their professio ...
*
Inter-professional association Inter-professional associations are state-recognized private organizations that group together participants from all stages of the same agricultural commodity chain ( in French), with the objectives of elaborating policies, guaranteeing equity among ...
* List of international professional associations *
Learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ma ...
* Syndicate * Trade association * Trade union *
Working group A working group, or working party, is a group of experts working together to achieve specified goals. The groups are domain-specific and focus on discussion or activity around a specific subject area. The term can sometimes refer to an interdis ...


References


External links


List of Professional bodies in the United Kingdom

List of Professional bodies in Australia

List of Professional bodies in Canada
* Anders Kjellber
''Union density and specialist/professional unions in Sweden''
Lund University: Studies in Social Policy, Industrial Relations, Working Life and Mobility. Research Reports 2013:2 {{DEFAULTSORT:Professional Association Types of organization