Governance

2022/2023 Nominations now closed.

Governance Summary

The strategy of the Biochemical Society is set and driven by its Council of Trustees, which is elected by members and has the ultimate responsibility for all aspects of the Society’s activities.

The Society’s Articles of Association detail the internal legislative framework by which the Society is governed and can only be amended by agreement from the Society’s membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Governance Review

In 2013 the Trustees commissioned a review of the Governance of the Society, in order to bring its processes, policies, structures and legislative documentation in line with best practice and enable the Society to adapt to future challenges. The review was undertaken by a Working Party of three Trustees, two members of the Senior Management Team and a firm of external consultants.

The members of the Society were asked to vote on the proposals put forward from the review at the Annual General Meeting in July 2016. The changes proposed by the Governance Review were accepted by the membership and will:

Create clear, transparent and responsive governance structures, policies and procedures
Readjust the Trustee body to ensure more proportional representation of the breadth of the Society’s membership, and enable enhanced focus on strategic matters
Create an agile Executive Management Team to ensure continued momentum on the implementation of our strategy
Encourage inter-functional and inter-Society collaboration, in particular with the Biochemical Society Strategy for the Molecular Biosciences (Three Year Strategy)

Responsibility for specific areas of activity and function is delegated to its sub-Committees, according to the following structure:

The governance structure shown above is being implemented currently as agreed by Special Resolution at the 105th AGM on 6 July 2016 in line with recommendations of the Society’s Governance Review.