SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPSAt the Annual General Meeting in November 1996, a proposal from the Committee of Management was approved to foster the development of Special Interest Groups within the Society. The initiative has been a great success. There have been a couple of false starts, but the current groups are vibrant and active, and responsible for delivering an increasingly large proportion of the Society's activities during the course of the year. The aim of the SIG initiative was to provide the Society with a more flexible structure, capable of accommodating the varied interests of its members and their desire for depth as well as breadth of debate on particular topics. This too has been achieved. The philosophy behind the initiative was one of empowerment and the Special Interest Groups that have emerged are an organic response to grassroots needs, not foisted on the membership from the centre. The Society will provide every encouragement and resource to aid the birth and nurture of new groups. A Special Interest Group may be based on a topic or issue, a geographical area or on a research technique. Members can meet and discuss topics of mutual interest and benefit from the Society's funding, services and advocacy. Special Interest Groups will be supported by the Society where they are able to provide evidence of support in excess of an agreed threshold. The SPR will provide the support of its secretariat and financial assistance up to an agreed maximum amount for each group each year. The groups' principal responsibility is to publicise their events through SPR publications, mailings and our website and to report back to the AGM on their activity during the year. Anyone that would like to join one of the existing groups should register their interest with the appropriate Convenor. Anyone who is willing to convene a group for an interest that is not currently represented should contact the Society's Chair, Mark Charlton. |