The 2026 Annual General Meeting of the Society of Research Software Engineering will be held at 17:00 – 18:00 on Thursday 10th September 2026 in Lecture Theatre 1 at The Wave, University of Sheffield, 2 Whitham Road, Sheffield, S10 2AH, UK, as part of RSECon26.

Purpose

The purpose of the AGM is for the trustees to update the Society’s members on what we have been doing this year to develop the Society and further our shared aims, and for members to vote on specific resolutions and to have the opportunity to ask questions and raise topics for future consideration. No member resolutions have been put forward to be voted upon during the AGM. However, we will be announcing the election of new trustees, and proposing a resolution to increase the number of trustees by one, as described below.

Joining Remotely

You do not have to be registered for the RSE Conference to attend the AGM. You can join us via Zoom.

Please note that, while anyone is welcome to attend, only Society Members are eligible to vote on resolutions and elections.

Agenda

• Trustee Reports and Updates
• Interactive Q&A Sli.do questions session
  • Please feel free to add questions in advance
• Resolution for Constitutional Change
• Elections and Resolution for the Appointment of Trustees
• Conclusion

Resolution for Constitutional Change

As per the constitution, this has been proposed as a resolution, with a 75% majority of votes to pass at a general meeting. This vote is scheduled to be taken at the AGM by a show of hands. Any changes take effect only after being recorded in the Register of Charities.

Increasing the number of Trustees

We are proposing to increase the maximum number of trustees from 14 to 15. As the Society has grown and expanded its activities, additional support is essential. Furthermore, in three of the last five elections, we have narrowly missed out on welcoming additional willing and capable nominees due to the current capacity limits. This small adjustment will ensure we can fully utilise our engaged membership.

Specifically, this is a proposal to change the wording of Clause 12.3.2 from:

12.3.2 The maximum number of charity trustees is 14. The charity trustees may not appoint any charity trustee if as a result the number of charity trustees would exceed the maximum.

To:

12.3.2 The maximum number of charity trustees is 15. The charity trustees may not appoint any charity trustee if as a result the number of charity trustees would exceed the maximum.

More information on this change and its ramifications for the constitution is available on the GitHub pull request.

Elections and Resolution for the Appointment of Trustees

The current trustees and their roles are listed on the Society’s website

At the AGM, at least one third of the trustees will be standing down. Five of the existing trustees are standing down at the AGM (one is standing again), leaving five vacancies on the board. We have six nominees standing for trustee, so we will be holding an online, competitive election. You can read the candidates’ statements prior to voting. The election is overseen by two independent scrutineers (Jonathan Cooper and Simon Hettrick).

• Active members when voting opened should have been sent details on voting via email (‘Society of RSE – Trustee Elections’).
• The voting opened on Monday 27th July 2026 and closes at 23:59 BST on Sunday 23^rd August 2026.

In the event that the previous resolution to increase the number of trustees passes, the person who missed out on the election will be invited to join the board after the changes are recorded in the Register of Charities.

Papers and submitting questions or ideas

The Trustees’ Annual Report and statement of accounts are available at the link below, covering the period from July 2025 – June 2026. Highlights will be presented in the trustees’ reports at the AGM.

Q&A

Attendees can submit questions ahead of the AGM via Sli.do:

Questions will be addressed in the trustees’ reports and the subsequent Q&A session where possible, and at the end of the AGM we will explain how any topics that need more discussion can be taken forward.