The Council, the Society's trustees, met on 8 March for the first Council meeting of the 2024 session.
Andrew Garrett welcomed the Council to this initial meeting, in particular John Aston (President Elect for 2025), newly elected Council members and those at the start of their role as a Vice President of Honorary Officer. The Council also welcomed two guests to the meeting: Jennifer Visser-Rogers, Chair of the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, and Rob Mastrodomenico, the Committee Chair for Statisticians for Society.
The Council received an update on Andrew’s activities since the final meeting of 2023. These included recent strategy meetings on AI, climate change and education; RSS representation and contributions towards the Maths Summit held by the Campaign for Mathematical Sciences (formerly Protect Pure Maths) and input into the establishment of the Academy for Mathematical Sciences; the Horizon IT inquiry; and the Society’s response to the Lievesley Review. Andrew also informed the Council on the progress of the Cox Prize, a new international prize for statistics that will be coordinated across 6 societies by the RSS. Finally, he shared the improvements in diversity in nominations for the Society’s Honours and Awards – an important achievement as we seek to support diversity within the profession.
Sarah Cumbers delivered a report on RSS activities since November, noting that she had now been in post as CEO for six months. She shared recent staff changes and plans for upcoming recruitment processes, as well as highlighting three specific points. These were the successful launch of the Future Leaders Programme, the Society’s record member count in December 2023 and the record number of proposals received for invited session at this year’s RSS Conference in Brighton. Sarah also updated the Council on recent engagement with UKSA following publication of the Lievesely review.
The Council considered the final draft of the Society’s new strategic plan, which sets a framework for the next five years of RSS activity. The Trustees undertook a review of priorities for year one and of terminology used in the document before discussing an indicative implementation plan and supplemental budget. The Council gave their approval for the strategic plan and supplemental budget, and the Society will now move forward with the publication and implementation of the new strategy.
Trustees received an annual membership update discussing member retention activities and accreditation initiatives. The success of in bringing in new corporate members was highlighted. Richard Pugh, Honorary Officer for Membership, shared his work on member data, which reflected where and why attrition rates increased. Nicola Emmerson, Director of Membership and Professional Affairs, updated the Council on plans for development of a detailed value proposition that will significantly increase understanding of the various segments of RSS membership and the unique needs that these groups have.
Rob Mastrodomenico presented a report on the Statisticians for Society scheme, with Council indicating their support for the continuation of the scheme which helps charities to make more of their data and engages many RSS members.
As Honorary Officer, Trustee Blaise Egan provided an update on the Society’s Sections, Special Interest and Local Groups, including the proposal for a new Local Group in Singapore. The Council approved the establishment of the group, which has already received interest.
The Council received an update on recent campaign activities, which included preparations for the upcoming general election, the RSS response to the Lievesley Review, our work promoting Household cost indexes and the work of the Climate Change Task Force. An AI Task Force aimed at bringing together RSS activities in the field and amplifying the voice of practitioners was proposed, and its establishment approved by the Council.
A report on the status of the building relocation was also delivered, with staff wellbeing discussed as well as a review of the Society’s historical archive. It was shared that the RSS building on Errol Street had been viewed numerous times, and that an appropriate property for the Society had not yet been found. It was highlighted that options for temporary accommodation continued to be investigated.
The Council approved the shortlist of 2024 Council Election Nominees. Members are reminded that the election will take place in September 2024 and the winning candidates will begin their four-year term in office on 1 January 2025. Trustees were also updated on the search for forthcoming Honorary Officer and Vice President vacancies, for which suggestions will be presented for approval in June 2024 – those successful will begin shadowing their predecessors from July onwards.
The Council meets again on 26th June 2024.