BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT Annual Report and Consolidated ...

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BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE This has been a momentous year in the evolution of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT (“BCS” or “the Institute”) and it has been my privilege to lead it through both calm and choppy waters. Through our transformation programme, launched in September 2009, the Institute has taken a major step forward in fulfilling our Royal Charter objective – to advance knowledge and education in computing and IT for the benefit of the public. We have transformed our membership networking capabilities using social media and web 2.0 technologies and methods. We have developed the Chartered IT Professional standard ensuring that it is demanding to achieve and relevant to employers’ requirements so that they will increasingly use it as a basis for staff recruitment. We have established the new BCS Academy of Computing to create a cohesive community across universities, schools and the business sector committed to the advancement of computing. We have developed a series of externally facing programmes to educate the general public, government and business about the value of IT to society. This year we made substantial progress in these ambitious programmes. BCS has changed considerably in recent years. Since 1990 our membership numbers have doubled. Today we have over 70,000 members in over 120 countries. The average age of new members has fallen and now stands at 27, while the average age of all members has also fallen – our average member today is 35 years old. Retention rates remain at a very high level and membership satisfaction rates have continued to rise and have stood at a high level for several years. Nevertheless, 2010 will be remembered by many as the year of the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in which Trustees and the CEO faced a vote of no confidence. The call for an EGM, signed by 52 members, was received in April 2010 and there followed a number of discussions in which we sought to understand and resolve the underpinning issues. This revealed a wide range of concerns, many misunderstandings and, most disappointingly, a lack of knowledge about the work already in hand to bring improvements and resolve problems and was proposed in the absence of a clear way forward should the EGM motions be carried by the membership. Many of the concerns raised with us stretched back over a number of years. We were encouraged to find at this stage that many signatories wanted to withdraw their call for an EGM but unfortunately not all were prepared to do so and the Institute moved inexorably to the point at which an EGM became unavoidable. The EGM campaign (on all sides of the arguments) was the first in the Institute to be carried out in the social media age. Anyone could contribute to the debate and publish their point of view on public websites. A major challenge for Trustees and the executive was the degree of misleading and inaccurate information about the Institute in circulation at this time and the potential for reputational damage. At the EGM on 1 July 2010, the motions of no confidence in the current Trustee Board and CEO were defeated with 76% of the votes cast against the motions. A motion submitted by Trustees asking members to endorse the strategy adopted by the Trustee Board of developing the Institute into one of the world's leading professional institutes for IT was carried with 78% votes in favour. A record 32% of our professional members voted in the EGM. These results gave a clear mandate to Trustees to complete the Institute’s transformation plans to become a world-class organisation for IT. We have not, however, overlooked the problems raised with us during the EGM debates. I have established a group to clarify the causes and to allocate the issues to the appropriate Board or Committee for resolution. I have also instigated a consultation on the most appropriate number of signatories to be required in future to call an EGM; balancing the need to provide members with a mechanism to raise matters of significant concern where all else fails against the need to avoid unnecessary and disruptive disputes. We are also setting up a whistle-blowing group for members to report problems that cannot be resolved through normal channels. - 2 -
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE (continued) I am delighted to see our new Board structure building on the transformation programme to deliver progress in meeting our objectives. The new Membership Board Committees are beginning to tackle a number of long standing concerns for our member groups. The total budget for Member Groups has not been reduced this year or next despite cutbacks in nearly every other operational area. We have a renewed focus on Chartered Engineers and Chartered Scientists through a new Engineering and Science Board; a strengthened learned society role through the BCS Academy; and a fresh approach to the development of professional policies and external relations through our Policy and Public Affairs Board. Our focus on developing professionalism in IT remains as strong as ever through our Professionalism Board and our Products and Services Board keeps a close eye on our revenue generating portfolio. Finally, we have strengthened the role of the Audit and Risk Committee to encompass business risks as well as financial management. Following a two year programme of development and discussion, Council now has its own independent chair and receives Trustee Board papers and minutes on a regular basis. As the representative body for members, Council is increasingly involved in reviewing strategic issues and contributing to Trustee Board discussions. Against the background of the challenges and significant costs brought by the EGM and the worst recession in a generation, our executive team have once again delivered an excellent financial performance. Our revenues have grown by 2% and we have recruited over 10,000 new members during the year. I am very grateful indeed for the contribution made by our staff to the continued success of the Institute. I am also enormously grateful to all those volunteers who work so hard in support of the Institute’s objectives and progress. EGMs are very blunt instruments. They create sides and pitch professional against professional when we have so much to gain from working together. Today we are working to rebuild fractured relationships, acting on lessons learned and focusing on our strategic objectives to further progress this great professional body. Elizabeth Sparrow President: 2009-2011 25 November 2010 - 3 -
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