Our board of trustees guides our policies and governance, to ensure we meet our aims in the most efficient and effective manner. As Jon Prichard, Chair of our board of trustees and Chief Executive of the IChemE puts it;
“Trustees are legally responsible for ensuring the charity is well run and that it only acts in accordance with its objects. It is an exciting opportunity to engage with and further an agenda that you believe in.”
Although the trustees are ultimately responsible under the Articles of Association for the management and administration of the charity, because of the scale of our work, decision-making on management is delegated to our Chief Executive.
Our board is made up of a maximum of eight trustees. Of these, six are appointed by the trustees and two are member-elected. One of our current member-elected trustees is Nav Sawhney, an active member of the organisation since university and founder of The Washing Machine Project;
“[..] I have grown with the charity through my professional career. I was inspired to represent the Engineers Without Borders UK’s membership and make sure their voices are heard at a board level. To do so is such a privilege and an honour.”
Similarly, trustee Stephen Lindley-Jones, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Adviser at the Department for International Development, has been heavily involved in the charity since university and saw becoming a trustee as an opportunity to continue to contribute to the organisation strategically. Strategy is a key part of the role of a trustee, guiding the organisation through fundamental decisions, such as creating a new organisational strategy, a task which we are currently undertaking as our 2016-21 strategy comes to an end. When asked what he would like to see the organisation achieve in the next ten years, Jon responded;
“I hope to see formal recognition for global responsibility as a capability. This recognition could take the form of an engineering competence shared by all engineering disciplines in the same way that safety is today.”
Trustee Helena Barratt, Head of Synergy at the Biodiversity Infrastructure Group, suggested she wanted to see the organisation “[…] expand its sphere of influence such that the next generation of engineering students will enter into a changed corporate environment.”
Our trustees are responsible for setting the new strategy, but our whole community plays a critical role in shaping our direction. As part of our strategy development, we have begun a consultation with our community to gain a wide range of insights on what individuals hope to see the charity achieve during the pivotal years to come. We want to know what you hope to see for the future of the organisation; don’t miss the opportunity to contribute to our strategy consultation, every voice matters.
