This page provides an overview of the role and make-up of the IPA Council and the procedure and timings for this year’s elections.
Council is the governing body of the IPA, incorporated by Royal Charter. It fulfils several important roles:
As such, its members are typically C-Suite level agency leaders.
Council is led by the President, who is responsible for running its meetings, aided by the Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer. Each President serves a maximum of two years in office. The Honorary Secretary also chairs the Membership Committee and the Honorary Treasurer the Finance Committee.
Council comprises 42 elected members – 30 in the corporate class (representing the IPA’s agency members) and 12 in the personal class (representing the IPA’s personal members and Fellows) – plus the following 'ex officio' members: the two most recent past Presidents (if still employed by member agencies), plus the four Chairs of the 44 Club, England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Elected members are chosen by their peers for a period of three years, after which they can either stand for re-election or resign. 'Ex officio' members are not elected, but they are required to relinquish their position when they cease to be the Chair of their respective Group. They have the same rights and responsibilities as elected members.
Please see the list of current Council members.
Members are asked to attend and contribute to Council meetings – there are four, two-hour meetings held at the IPA each year, in March, June, September and December – while maintaining confidentiality.
The financial management of the IPA is devolved to the Finance Committee (which includes members with appropriate financial qualifications), but it is the responsibility of Council to approve the Annual Accounts and other important decisions such as major items of expenditure.
Given the sensitive nature of some of the subjects that come up for discussion at Council meetings, it is important that confidentiality is maintained. For this reason, all members are asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement upon joining.
There are two electoral classes for Council: corporate and personal.
Anyone who qualifies for both classes is entitled to stand in either (but not both). However, the IPA would advise candidates to avoid standing against anyone from their own agency to maximise their chances of success.
The timetable for the 2021 elections is as follows:
Please contact Suzanne Livingstone at the IPA in the first instance at suzanne.livingstone@ipa.co.uk / 020 7201 8243.