Dear MCGers,

In a late breaking addition to the AGM notice, we'll also be asking people to vote to accept a proposed ‘Association CIO’ Constitution so that we can send it in and apply for formal status with the Charity Commission.

If you think this sounds familiar, you're right! We first discussed formalising the MCG as an Association CIO several years ago. If you'd like more background on the decision to incorporate the MCG as an Association CIO, there's an earlier post at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=mcg;e154fca.1410 and further information on the options at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/charity-types-how-to-choose-a-structure. For reference, our current Constitution is at http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/about/mcg-constitution. We chose the 'Association charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)' option as it allows us to be a corporate body with 'a wider membership, including voting members other than the charity trustees'.

A commentable version of our proposed Constitution is available to read/discuss at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QHrbzEDBGEyjVCGzGWCFvJPdKV6OuwhFrWu_nnWkFRU/edit?usp=sharing

Some details (e.g. cross-references to sections of the document) may change as we proof-read it before the AGM, but we'll finalise it with enough time before the AGM that anyone really keen can read it through before being asked to vote on it.

As far as possible, I've based it on the model Constitution for Association CIOs. Our current Constitution has a lot of detail about events, publications, etc, which will be documented outside the Constitution in future. This should mean future Committees have more flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances.

Our core purpose remains: 'MCG is a non-profit association of individuals who encourage, promote, improve and influence best practice in the use of technology and digital platforms within the Museum and Heritage sector in the United Kingdom, to the benefit of professionals, volunteers, students, and the public'.

Some decisions I want to highlight:

I'm proposing that the MCG Exec (that is, the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary) become trustees when the Association CIO is formed. Association CIOs generally require a minimum of three trustees. We could consider making every Committee member a trustee, but it seems unnecessarily complicated, especially as we find Committee members sometimes need time out for caring leave, etc, and this could lead to a lot of paperwork. As the Exec are already signatories on the bank account and have the most responsibility for managing the Committee and work of the MCG, it formalises rather than changes the role of the Exec. I'm proposing that trustees are elected through our usual process, and become 'Ex officio' charity trustees, with their role as trustee linked to their election to the Executive of the MCG Committee.
The trustees can 'delegate any of their powers or functions to a committee or committees'. A line to this effect must be (and has been) included in the Constitution to allow Committee members to make decisions on behalf of the MCG (for example, when liaising with event venues). The role of the Committee in running the MCG would remain unchanged, but for the sake of transparency it should be documented by the 2017-2018 Committee.
Members can vote by email, should this be necessary in future.
The main implication for ordinary members of the MCG is that rather than renewing each year, you remain a member until you resign. We'd provide a form for this on the website, so it won't be hard to resign, but I wanted to highlight that detail out in case it caught anyone by surprise.

The motions I'm adding to the AGM notice are:

To adopt the proposed Constitution
To elect the Executive members of the MCG Committee - the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary - as the first trustees

Obviously this will need to be voted on after the election of the new Chair and other Committee members!

Finally, thanks to everyone who read this far, and who commented on or contributed to earlier work on this, particularly Ivan Teage.

Cheers,

Mia

(As Chair, Museums Computer Group)

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http://openobjects.org.uk/
http://twitter.com/mia_out

Check out my book! http://bit.ly/CrowdsourcingOurCulturalHeritage
P.S. I mostly use this address for list mail and don't check it daily

On 3 October 2017 at 16:44, Jessica Suess <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Dear All,

I would like to officially notify you that the Museum Computer Group (MCG)’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place at the Museum+Tech conference on Friday 3^rd November 2017 from 1:00pm-2:00pm at the Imperial War Museum in London.

The agenda for the AGM is available here: http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/about/agm-reports/mcg-agm-2017-reports/ (and summarised below). Papers for the meeting will also be posted here in due course. If you would like to suggest any business to be added to the agenda please email: secretary@museumscomputergroup.org.uk at least 24 hours prior to the AGM.

As per previous emails, and as you can see on the agenda, the AGM is also where we elect new committee members, and this year, also a new Chair for MCG. Full details about this are available here: http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/mcgs-call-new-committee-members-now-open/. This is a great opportunity to support the sector and develop yourself professionally, so please do consider this and get in touch with the committee for more details about what is involved.

Best wishes,

Jess [MCG Secretary]

AGENDA

1.       Apologies for absence

2.       Minutes from the last AGM [Wellcome Collection, 19 October 2016]

3.       Committee Reports

a.       Chair – Mia Ridge

b.      Accounts – Kath Biggs

c.       Membership – Kath Biggs [for Jessica Suess]

4.       Operational Reports

a.       Events – Ian Pruegel

b.      Communications – Alex Ward

5.       Committee Elections

a.       Election of new committee members

b.      Election of Chair

6.       Handover

7.       Any other urgent business

Jessica Suess

Digital Partnership Manager

Oxford University Museums

01865 613783 | 07768150465 | @JessicaSuess

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http://www.oxfordaspiremuseums.org/



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