IPA Council Elections 2021

What is Council and what does it do?

Council is the governing body of the IPA, incorporated by Royal Charter. It fulfils several important roles:

• As the entity responsible for the overall direction and management of the IPA;
• As the main policy-making body for the IPA; and
• As a debating forum for the key issues of the day facing the IPA membership as a whole.

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.

How many members of Council are there and how are they elected?

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.

What are Council members’ responsibilities?

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.

How will the election process work and what is the timetable?

There are two electoral classes for Council: corporate and personal.

• To stand in the corporate class, an individual would need to be employed by an IPA member agency and either a designated representative of that agency and/or a Fellow (FIPA), and have his/her nomination endorsed by the heads (i.e. Chairman, CEO, MD) of two member agencies (one of whom could be from his/her own agency). Please see the list of member agencies.
  
  
• To stand in the personal class, an individual would need to be a personal member (MIPA) or a Fellow (FIPA) working in a member agency, and have his/her nomination endorsed by two other MIPAs or FIPAs.

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:

• In early January, the IPA will e-mail qualified individuals to let them know about the elections and seek nominations for the available places.
  
  
• The nominations deadline, by when the IPA will need to have received the completed paperwork for anyone wishing to stand, is 12 noon on Thursday, 11 February 2021. (The number of nominations received for each class, versus the number of available places, will determine whether an election will be required in one or both – or possibly neither – class.)
  
  
• The election(s) will take place from late-February to early March 2021, after which all candidates will be informed of the outcome personally. (Candidates are simply informed whether or not they have been successful; the specific number of votes cast for candidates is not revealed.)
  
  
• The newly elected members will be invited to attend their first Council meeting in June 2021.

How can I find out more or register my interest?

Please contact Suzanne Livingstone at the IPA in the first instance at suzanne.livingstone@ipa.co.uk / 020 7201 8243.