Information for setting up a Special Interest Group

Want to Set Up a Group?

To start creating a SIG please read the below information and then email the trustees ([email protected]) with your proposal or suggestion (a couple of paragraphs telling us what your SIG aims to achieve) and we will get back to you with any feedback. 

Once your suggestion has been accepted, your SIG need to write a Terms of Reference that will lay out the general purpose and aim of the group, as well as details on how it will operate and work with the Society. To try and make this as easy as possible for you we have provided templates.

You will then be asked to complete your ToR which should then be emailed to the trustees.  It will be considered at the next monthly trustee meeting, and you will be informed of the outcome as soon as possible.  

Governance

Each SIG will need to have some governance policies in place to follow the Charity Governance Code sections 2.4.4 and 2.5 (https://www.charitygovernancecode.org/en/2-leadership) :

2.4.4 – If the charity has volunteers, the board makes sure there are proper arrangements for their recruitment, support and supervision.

2.5.2 – The board recognises, respects and welcomes diverse, different and, at times, conflicting trustee views.

2.5.3 – The board provides oversight and direction to the charity and provides support and constructive challenge to the organisation and where they exist staff and volunteers.

2.5.4 – The board supports any staff or volunteers to feel confident and able to provide the information, advice and feedback necessary to the board.

To help SIGs meet these responsibilities we will provide access to all the governance documents that we use ourselves to manage the Society. These include but are not limited to: 

  1. Event Code of Conduct
  2. Trustee Code of Conduct
  3. Complaints and Grievance Policy
  4. EDI Training Materials (from ACAS) https://elearning.acas.org.uk/
  5. EDI Policy
  6. Conflict of Interest Policy
  7. Complaints and Grievance Policy

All of these policies can be found on the Policy page.

We do encourage the use of our governance policies to make it easier for you rather than each SIG creating their own.  If you do decide to write your own, we ask for details on how these policies will be used, and how they will be applied to volunteers and committee members.  This should be included within the Terms of Reference.

Publicity and Communication

To help publicise each SIG we will provide access to the following publicity and communication channels:

  1. Website
  2. Society Newsletter
  3. Slack
  4. Twitter
  5. LinkedIn
  6. Mailing List

Together these means of communication can broadcast and advertise the efforts of the SIG to a large and diverse audience.

We will also create a dedicated page for your SIG on our website so you can have a maintained and established homepage without paying any overhead costs. We can also provide you with a dedicated email address and space within our Google Drive to store documents.

We ask that you regularly update and keep in touch with the Society trustees, firstly so that we can include your progress in our annual report and monthly newsletter. Secondly, so that we can provide any advice or information you might need and help put you in touch with our contacts across the community and with stakeholders such as the UKRI.

Funding

Currently SIGs do not have a specific budget.  If you would like funding for an event or activities please apply through the events and initiatives fund.

Terms of Reference Document

To formalise how your SIG will operate and use the resources offered by the Society you are required to write a Terms of Reference (ToR) document. We provide a template for you to complete and you can ask for help from the trustees to complete it.  

The Terms of Reference document should follow the Charity Governance Code section 4.5.3 (https://www.charitygovernancecode.org/en/4-decision-making):

4.5.3 – The board makes sure that its committees have suitable terms of reference and membership and that:

  1. The terms of reference are reviewed regularly
  2. The committee membership is refreshed regularly and does not rely too much on particular people
  3. Committee members recognise that the board has ultimate responsibility.

Special Interest Group template –  here

The ToR should include information on how the group will organise it’s activities and committee.