44 CONTEXT 182 : DECEMBER 2024 Notes from the chair A lot of hot air? A number of years ago, my wife was describing to a friend of hers the work that I did for the IHBC. The friend’s response was ‘so he’s a committee man then’. That it was not exactly a complimentary comment. Perhaps I should not have been surprised that, to an outsider, the organisation of a professional body that is run through a board, council, committees, working groups and panels may seem like one huge talking shop. That might have been a justifiable criticism of the IHBC in the past, when governance was through its council meetings. While that did give the advantage of having the opportunity for all the branches to be represented, it did mean meetings which lasted from late morning to late afternoon, sometimes involving a lot of hot air. Fortunately, our new articles of association and structure have meant that governance meetings can be much shorter and decisions made more speedily. This is due to the formation of the IHBC Board, which I have the privilege of chairing. The board’s responsibility is to manage the institute’s business. While members of the board need to have an overview of the IHBC’s committees and panels, their primary responsibilities relate to the institute’s finances and its corporate plan. At first glance these might seem to be rather dull and onerous, but it does not need much digging down to appreciate how important they are in terms of keeping the institute on track in all its functions. As we move ahead with a potential Petition for Charter to the Privy Council Office, demonstrating the efficient management of the IHBC’s business will be a necessary element in convincing others that we are a competent organisation. The board comprises a number of directors, also defined as trustees under the Charities Act. Our articles state that the board should have a minimum of six trustees, including the institute’s chair, vice-chair, treasurer and honorary secretary. It also may have up to eight other members, three of whom are nominated by our branches in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. What knowledge, skills and experience are necessary to become a board member? The starting point for the majority of our trustees is to be an associate, full or retired member of the IHBC. Other than that, the person specification includes experience in the running of charitable or similar organisations; capacity to work with modern IT systems; and experience and knowledge of matters that affect the IHBC’s objectives and operations. Trustees have to commit to attending up to six board meetings a year, which of course means reading, understanding and being able to look critically at the contents of numerous reports. We expect that they should take their responsibilities seriously, their legal duties being to act in the IHBC’s best interests; manage its resources responsibly; and act with reasonable care and skill. This is all quite a big ask but it can be a rewarding experience in making a difference to the institute and opening up new experiences and relationships. From a more self-centred point of view, it is not a bad addition to one’s CV. One very important aspect of trusteeship is that our new articles of association allow us to co-opt up to two additional trustees to the board. This provision was included to ensure that the board was sufficiently diverse and included a sufficient range of skills to allow it to be run effectively. Those co-opted trustees are not required to meet the membership criteria of the other board members. I am very pleased to say that we have two recently co-opted trustees, Sarah Khan and Serena Cardozo. Both of them will be adding to the board’s diversity, skills and experience. I hope that this hot air on my behalf has impressed on readers how crucial the IHBC board is to the institute’s current and future operation. David McDonald, chair@ihbc.org.uk
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