Dear All,
In support of Simon's membership message below, I am writing to urge all
list members to renew your membership of, or join, the SPA as soon as
possible.
As those of you who are due to attend conference this year will be made
aware, the Association has been experiencing some financial problems over
the past year, which has necessitated keeping a rather lower profile than
is ideal - particularly in the current political climate. The Executive
Committee is in the process of getting to grips with the financial
situation and I'm confident that we are making progress in this regard.
Part of the new financial strategy has been the move to Direct Debit for
members. This brings the SPA into line with the majority of learned
societies, but changing the payment system is not without risk...we need
to retain (and increase) our membership and cannot afford a 'fee slump'!
Our hope is that Direct Debit will make it easier for the majority of
members to renew each year while - and let's not beat about the bush -
also enabling the Association to plan a short-to-medium-term budgetary
strategy on the basis of more secure and predictable income. Sound
finances are particularly important if the Association is to be able to
pursue the sorts of activities that the Executive Committee has in mind
(these will be presented for discussion at the AGM in July).
To renew or join you need to go the SPA website, click on 'join the SPA',
then click on 'join or renew as a UK member' (or overseas member if you do
not live in the UK). The URL is:
http://www.social-policy.org.uk/membership.html. For UK members, a Direct
Debit form will appear and
you need to download this, fill it in, and send to the Lavenham Group at
the address supplied. In the bottom right quadrant of the form just put
the date on which you sign the form as the 'date of first payment'. You
only have to fill this form in once, of course. Overseas members can pay
through PayPal or Direct Debit if this can be arranged (for those who wish
to continue to pay through Paypal please contact Simon Pemberton at the
email address below).
PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW - OR JOIN THE ASSOCIATION IF YOU ARE NOT
ALREADY A MEMBER!!! If there was ever a time to renew/join and/or
participate in the SPA it surely must be now...we need a strong SPA both
to preserve and enhance our field of study and to provide clear
evidence-based knowledge to inform current debates about welfare.
Very best wishes to all,
Nick Ellison
(Chair, SPA)
On 05/04/2013 09:24, "Simon Pemberton" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Dear All,
>
>It is not too late to join the Social Policy Association for this
>membership year. There are many benefits available to members of the
>Association, including:
>
>- Hard copies of The Journal of Social Policy and Social Policy and
>Society (both published four times a year in collaboration with Cambridge
>University Press);
>- Policy World, contains news, updates on current developments and
>debates, book reviews and details of teaching resources, conferences,
>workshops and other events;
>- Social Policy Review, published annually: an edited collection of
>articles reviewing developments and debates in social policy in Britain
>and internationally;
>- A Postgraduate Group which organises a support network and tailored
>events for postgraduates;
>- Discounts on subscriptions to other leading academic journals: Journal
>of European Social Policy, Policy and Politics, Social Policy and
>Administration and Global Social Policy;
>- Discounted registration for the annual Social Policy Association
>conference;
>- Reciprocal arrangements with other learned societies;
>- Grants schemes to which any member can apply.
>
>This year we have introduced a Direct Debit scheme to make it easier for
>members to renew their membership on an annual basis. For more details of
>membership, as well as joining instructions please visit our website:
>
>http://www.social-policy.org.uk/membership.html
>
>
>Best wishes, Simon
>
>==========================================================================
>==========
>Telephone +44(0)121 415 8025
>
>Email [log in to unmask]
>Dr Simon Pemberton
>School of Social Policy
>Muirhead Tower
>University of Birmingham
>Edgbaston
>Birmingham
>B15 2TT
>
>Website:
>http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/social-policy/departments/applied-soci
>al-studies/staff/profile.aspx?ReferenceId=35944
|