The IHBC has concluded the 5th meeting of its ‘Council+’, the institute’s UK-wide forum for volunteers’ national oversight and development, which took place in Birmingham and covered topics as diverse as current policy panels – on Rural, Green and Consultations – new volunteer structures, and the IHBC’s evolving international strategy and governance.
With a morning of reports and updates, including on Annual Schools till 2021, and an afternoon of topic-focused talks and feedback, the Council+ allowed interested volunteers to contribute their ideas to IHBC staff and trustees, as well as to experience ‘tasters’ of committee operations. Set in the Old IKON Gallery, Fazeley Studios, Birmingham, these offered a perfect opportunity to help interested members experience the IHBC+ programme at first hand.
IHBC Chair James Caird said: ‘Our Council+ offers a great opportunity to build skills to support our future governance as well as the careers and prospects of our members. So if you do want to get involved, just let us know and we’ll invite you on to the list when we can, and advise you on getting to future meetings!’
IHBC Director Seán O’Reilly said: ‘Our Council+ strategy is a part of the wider exploration of our corporate governance and infrastructure – called IHBC+ – so we’re delighted there’s so much enthusiasm and interest in its progress.’
Fiona Newton, lead on Council+ meetings and IHBC’s Operations Director, said: ‘The afternoon introductory sessions for volunteers interested in policy work covered aspects of the IHBC ‘s Policy Committee responsibilities, including Consultation, Rural and Green panels. Taking the form of a series of mini-meetings, these offered a chance to discover ongoing work and current issues as well as to advise us in how to help them work better. The lively discussions led to genuinely useful suggestions in a relatively short time.’
Download the programme for the day
Download the Briefing Notes for the Panels
For background to this meeting see the NewsBlogs and see the first meeting of Council+
