Say Hello to Your Grandparents:
A Brief History of ACCORD

I was asked to write an article on the history of ACCORD linking it with "Esprit" and the current spirituality in the work place movement. That will require a journey to another country to meet our grandparents.

ACCORD was born of a merger of two Canadian organizations: ACC Toronto (Association for Creative Change) and CAASS (Canadian Association of Applied Social Scientists). In 1983, in Canada there was only one cross-member in these two associations. ACC Toronto's membership mostly came from religious and not for profit systems; CAASS' from corporate business (or external organization consultants to business). CAASS members were all senior organization development practitioners. ACC members were organization consultants, therapists, adult educators and social change agents. Only a few members of either association knew the other existed.

How did these two stranger associations get together? The answer lies at the beginning of our grandparent organizations in the USA, in the 1960's.

In the 1960's the civil rights movement was growing throughout the USA. Human relations training was a central part of this community based effort. T-group training brought people of different races, religions and socio-economic classes together, to teach how to form and live in communities of difference. In the USA religious organizations were leaders in this effort.

During the same period, human relations training, team building and the emerging field of organization development moved into corporate life. The idea of creating humane organizations grew. NTL (National Training Laboratories Institute of Applied Behavioural Sciences) became a leading source of corporate and managerial training. Graduate schools began to offer degrees in ABS and OD. The question of whether OD was a profession was hotly debated. Some states began legislative hearings on whether to license human relations trainers. In this context, the decision was made to create an association of practitioners; establish standards for certifying human relations trainers, ABS and OD practitioners; and explore creating a new profession.

The first association to form was ACC in 1968 (its original name was ARABS: Association of Religion and the Applied Behavioural Sciences). Membership included many NTL trainers (Jack Gibb, Ron & Gordon Lippitt, Mary Beth Peters, etc.). Some who affirmed the science and the movement did not want to be an association related to religion. ARABS loaned the seed money, and IAASS (International Association of Applied Social Scientists) began. In the USA, these were sister organizations and had a large cross-membership. ARABS became ACC; IAASS became CCI (Certified Consultants International).

The Canadian IAASS group chose to retain its original name - CAASS. In 1983 CCI & ACC were promoting development of regional associations. ACC gave a grant to support dialogue between ACC - Toronto & CAASS.

In the USA, CCI & ACC had their differences. One difference was religion. The name change from ARABS to ACC was taken, in part, to overcome this divide. A second difference was in the nature of the associations. CCI was a professional association. It intended to promote a profession and to represent its senior practitioners. All members of CCI were expected to be certified. Its focus narrowed almost exclusively to OD.

ACC was a membership association, some members were recognized professionals some not, others were clients. It intended to represent a movement and to promote dialogue among several professions about how to promote and effect human development.Its focus remained broad: facilitators of planned change - individual, organizational, and societal.

In the USA, ACC & CCI attended one another's board meetings and conferences, coordinated developments in PDR (Peer Development & Review) and carried on a dialogue about possible merger. In Canada, ACC & CAASS were unrelated associations. They shared the practice of applied behavioural sciences, a common values statement, competency papers and peer review process. It is this common values base and understanding of professional practice that ACCORD continues.

Peer Review
To avoid government regulation and to promote self-governance, ACC & CCI set out to create a process of professional certification and registration. The peer review process began with defining competencies and ethics.

The process is values-based and integrative. It gives opportunity for one to demonstrate how one's profession, practice and person come together. At its heart is the understanding of professionals as whole persons. Peer review includes feedback from clients, a review of one's theory and practice, and presentation of dilemmas of practice - ethical difficulties encountered in trying to bring together one's knowledge, beliefs, practice and self. Peers provide support, encouragement and resources to promote personal and professional development.

ACCORD used the peer review process developed by CCI & ACC. The first cooperative ventures of CAASS / ACC were jointly sponsored peer review events and then other professional development events. Commitment to professional standards, values-based practice and practitioner as a whole person continue in ACCORD.

Value & Meaning
In the 1980's, CAASS / ACC sponsored an ACC Annual Conference at the University of Toronto. The theme: "A Life Worth Living". CAASS & ACC both affirmed the human spirit, conscious reflection on the meaning and value of one's life and practice. Spirituality was always part of ACC. Though originally this intended a divine element, it was not necessary to be a believer in a divine being to affirm a spiritual dimension to life or the value and importance of the human spirit.

In this context, spirit and spirituality refer to the human drive to make meaning out of one's life, and to the human capacity for conscious transcendence. ACCORD advocates and promotes values-based practice and "a life worth living". Which values and in what order of priority are themselves a matter of ongoing thought and dialogue in ACCORD. If there is anything unique about us (relative to similar organizations) it is this commitment to: