1 Mar 2016
Some better news on SCI finances. John Brown, the Honorary Treasurer, reported that the first draft of the annual accounts showed an operating deficit much less than budgeted. The final outcome will be reported at the May meeting of the Board. In addition, Sharon Todd noted that 2016 had got off to a promising start financially, and SCI is on track to come back to breakeven in 2017.
This meeting followed on directly from the very successful Group Strategy Day, at which main items on the agenda included discussions on the clarifications to SCI’s ‘raison d’être’ and positioning statements, leadership and culture in the Society and how the RIGs and TIGs can move towards implementing the new SCI strategy. Inter-group collaborations were discussed and all groups have been asked to produce Three-Year Plans by July to feed into the Board’s 2016 Strategy Day in September.
Other topics discussed included progress with re-introducing the awarding of the SCI Medal and a lecture by the recipient; recent engagement with the senior management in several companies and other organisations; a major lease of HQ rooms to a Swedish bank, Handlesbanken; and a reinforcement of our HSE policies.
Looking towards this year’s election for positions in the governance of SCI, a demonstration of the proposed electronic voting system was given. This will hopefully significantly increased the participation of SCI members in deciding who should fulfil the leadership roles in the Board and its standing advisory committees. The Board also started to discuss the principles involved in improving the governance of SCI, which will be fundamental to our future success.
Dr Alan D Baylis
Chair, SCI Board of Trustees