Council, the Society's trustees, met on 26 June for the second Council meeting of the 2024 session.
Andy Garrett welcomed the Council to their first in-person meeting of the year, held at the RSS headquarters in London. He then updated them on his activities since the last meeting of the Council in March 2024 – these included a reflection on the success of the discussion meeting on Denise Leivesley’s Review of the UK Statistics Authority; the launch of the second set of climate change explainers; meetings around Household Cost Indices; the announcement of Honours and Honorary Fellowships and the launch of the new David Cox Medal; and work to support the establishment of the proposed Academy for Mathematical Sciences. Andy also noted the launch of the RSS five-year Strategy and the election manifesto, which was sent to each of the party leaders in advance of the general election on 4th July. The Society also released a successful social media campaign which led to significant press coverage. Finally, Andy updated the Council on the establishment of the new AI Task Force, sharing that a chair, along with members, have now been appointed.
Andy invited John Aston, President Elect, to share his thoughts on recent activity and his upcoming Presidency (beginning January 2025). John focused on the importance of spending time on delivering the new strategy and noted the increase in people using stats in the public sphere. He highlighted the RSS’ responsibility in the largely data led issues in wider society, noting that the membership was a significant part of this.
CEO Sarah Cumbers delivered a report on RSS activities since March. She shared recent staff changes and plans for upcoming recruitment processes and focussed on three main points: the strategic priority of building a sustainable office, the 2024 general election campaign and the new Data Science and AI Journal (an open-access journal due to be launched in September). Sarah informed Council that after the general election more detailed briefings would be shared with Ministers.
Sarah shared that, following two successful member webinars to launch the new strategy, year one priorities were the focus for implementation. She updated the Council on staff efforts to deliver key milestones based on these priorities, allowing them to provide high-level assurance and status on the progress of this work.
Council received an update on proposed membership subscriptions for 2025, which were carefully considered in relation to recent increases, the Consumer Price Index, retention rates and membership types.
A report on the status of the building relocation was also delivered, with an offer on the building accepted by the Council. Sarah updated Trustees on plans to see temporary accommodation, and plans for upcoming training and events were confirmed.
The Council were informed that each of the candidates shortlisted for the 2024 Council Election had opted to run, and that this year’s election will run from September to October, as advertised on the RSS website. The Council also approved Lisa McFetridge as the new Honorary Officer for Conferences and Events, and Lucy Teece as Honorary Officer for Sections and Local Groups – both will take on these new roles in January 2025. It was shared that final stage interviews are underway for a new Vice President for External Affairs.
The Council meets again on 20 November 2024, following the RSS Annual Conference in Brighton.