STAFF CONTACTS

HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTJoanna Horton J_Horton@imeche.org

INTERNATIONAL MEMBER DEVELOPMENTIman Kouchouk iman_kouchouk@imeche.org

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTTom Owen T_Owen@imeche.org

COMMUNICATIONSKevin Manning K_Manning@imeche.org

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Setting up a Committee

ESSENTIALS• Constitution

• Use the one from Spain or Switzerland as basis and edit to suit local country requirements.

• Minimum size 5:• Chairman – ideally FEng

(CEng if none)• Vice Chairman • Treasurer - CEng• Secretary• Young Members representative

• Local bank account • Inaugural AGM between February and

May (inform members well enough in advance!).• Official election of first Committee at

AGM.• Communication to HQ of results.

RECOMMENDATIONS• Hold an initial meeting with the

proposed Committee to establish a way of working.• Set up an initial event to judge the

membership response in the country.• Identify the geographical split of

membership in the country.• Identify your key enablers (e.g. Industry,

Universities, Young Members).• Contact other Committees in the Europe

Region via the ‘Near you’ links on the IMechE web page for support and advice.

Golden rules for Committee set-up and leadership

Running Committee meetings

ESSENTIALS• Select a location which is easily

accessible for all Committee members and where you can have some privacy (a quiet pub or an office of one of the committee members).• At the beginning, use face-to-face

meetings and avoid the use of audio (Webex, BT Meetme) or Skype as it’s important to build relationships.• Set up SMART objectives for the

different Committee members.• Use the Committee members to set up

initial technical visits or lectures.• Remember to keep good records of

expenses (note: expenses for the initial meetings can generally be claimed).

RECOMMENDATIONS• The first year is all about establishing

the ground work: setting up a good way of working and allocating who does what in the committee.• Establish links with HQ to provide

support and set up the mailing lists.• Understand your membership: where

they are and what do they want.• There are no stupid questions. Ask other

Committees for help when you need it.

After 1 year with a Committee

ESSENTIALS• Hold an AGM between February and May

every year (inform members well enough in advance!).• Official election of committee at AGM.• Official auditing of annual accounts at

AGM.• Communication of results to HQ.

RECOMMENDATIONS• As far as possible, re-elect the same

Committee: continuity is key at the beginning.• Launch additional support activities to

enlarge the Committee e.g.:• Industrial Liaison Officer.• Academic Liaison Officer.• Young Member Representative.• Retired Member Officer.

• If your country has difficulties due to travelling or distance, launch local support groups to cover the pockets of membership.• Try to organise at least 4 events (1 per

quarter) plus an annual dinner.• Organize networking events in addition

to the regular Committee meetings in order to involve more people.• No subject is off the books when it

comes to visits, conferences or lectures – the only basic rule is that it should be engineering-related.• Ask other Committees for lecturers they

can pass on to you.

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