National consultation with our members
14/04/10
CIH is asking for your help in shaping the future of our organisation
Last year, we embarked on a major review of governance - how we run our organisation. We'd like our governance structures to enable CIH to be the best it can be; to meet our vision and values and to achieve our organisational purpose. Our leaders should inspire and motivate, our approach to decision making should be inclusive, transparent and accountable and we should be a model which other organisations follow.
Having set up an advisory group under the Chair of Vice-President, Professor Paddy Gray, we have undertaken significant research, forming views on a way forward. You may remember that we asked for your views on governance in a major membership survey last summer. Those views helped inform a consultation document outlining some proposed changes to the organisation's governance. We need you to tell us what you think of it.
The proposals attempt to improve an already successful organisation by putting members at the heart of decision making, by devolving responsibility away from the centre, by enhancing accountability, for example, by increasing the primacy of the annual general meeting, and by aiming to create a more strategic governing body. They recommend separating the roles of Chair of a new governing board and President, and suggest that we lengthen the tenure of the former.
We wish to make decisions on a way forward based on meaningful consultation with members and non-members. Council is seeking your views to enable them to make a decision on whether final proposals should go to the AGM in June. We're asking for your comments on the proposals, on how you improve them, and how you would help them work in practice.
You can contribute to this consultation in a variety of ways. Please send us your comments by the 8 April. You may also wish to attend a South East regional committee meeting - a date for this meeting will soon be confirmed.
This process represents one of the largest consultations with CIH members we've ever undertaken. By engaging all members, we'll ensure the organisation is fit-for-purpose for many years to come.
Consultation proposals at a glance
- Smaller strategic CIH Council renamed Governing Board
- New role of Chair of Governors to work alongside CIH President
- More members in decision-making roles in new board structure
- New election and appointments system emphasising skills, experience and performance
- Strengthened role of regional committees and National Business Units formalised in Charter and Byelaws
- More frequent, open and transparent meetings
The consultation
CIH Governance Consultation Document (pdf)
CIH Governance Consultation Document (word)