Council, the Society's trustees, met on 22 March for the first Council meeting of the 2023 session and the first chaired by Andrew Garrett, who assumed the role of Society President on 1 January 2023.
Andrew, welcomed the newly elected Council members to their first meeting as Society Council members and Trustees, followed by an update on his activities as President since taking on the role in January which included attending several members events and meeting with the Society’s Vice-Presidents and Honorary Officers.
The Senior Management Team delivered an update on the Society’s finances and activity since November 2022, specifically focusing on the work the Policy Team over the past few months for the Covid-19 enquiry.
As members will have seen, Stian will be leaving the Society in late May to take up the role of Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council. Andrew and Stian are working on the recruitment process for appoint Stian’s successor and Nicola Emmerson has agreed to serve as interim CEO.
The Council reviewed the plans for the development of the 2023-28 strategic plan process and received updates on the Society’s journal development, building and fundraising activities.
The Council received an annual membership update discussing member retention activities and initiatives for corporate partner recruitment and retention as well as an update on the Society’s campaigning priorities.
Council approved the shortlist of 2023 Council Election Nominees. Candidates will be contacted after Easter with details of the election process. Members are reminded that the election will take place in September 2023 and the winning candidates will begin their four-year term in office on 1 January 2024.
The Council reviewed the vacancies across the Society’s governance structure, noting that Jim Weatherall and Eugenie Hunsicker have stepped down from their roles of Council member and Honorary Officer for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, (EDI) respectively. The Council thanked both Jim and Eugenie for their time and contributions to the Council and Society.
Members are encouraged to submit nominations for the role of Honorary Officer for EDI to Nicola Emmerson.
The Council approved the appointment of Omar McCarthy as a co-opted Council member until December 31st, 2024, Richard Pugh as Council Representative to the Executive and Tricia Dodd as the Society’s Fraud and Whistleblowing contact.
The Council adopted proposed changes to the Honorary Fellowship process which will see the Trustees reviewing nominations for the honour.
The Council meets again on 21 June 2023.