19 Oct 2015
SCI’s Board of Trustees for 2015/16 met for the first time since the July AGM in September. It was a privilege for me to take the chair for the first time, having been active in SCI for more than ten years now. The new Board and the new Executive Director are keen to make SCI an exciting organisation to get involved in and one which will make its mark across the diverse, yet connected, industry sectors we serve. This will involve leadership, commitment and team work from all involved in SCI’s governance: Board, Advisory and other Committees, Executive Team and Groups. We must create a motivating ‘can-do’ culture, which will reflect the value of SCI for its members as an organisation with professional and social aspects, an anchor for careers and personal development, and, of course, where science meets business.
Two days of meetings included the annual Strategy Day. It was pleasing to have had such a good response to the SWOT analysis, and many thanks to all who contributed. This confirmed SCI’s strong points and laid bare a number of issues, which we shall not shy away from tackling. Sharon and I have been discussing these and the way forward with group committees, and these conversations will continue by webinars and a workshop in early 2016.
There are four critical pillars to the new strategy: engage with members and grow the membership; align the organisation to focus our activities and create value; connect with industry - major players and SMEs; and build an innovation agenda - as was SCI’s original raison d’être. It’s important that we all contribute to these pillars to move our society forward.
A very significant output of the meeting was to agree a re-statement of SCI’s vision, identity and mission statements, confirming the breadth of our sciences and disciplines, which acknowledges our very wide definition of the contemporary chemical industry, covering Energy, Environment, Food, Heath, Materials and more, and focusing particularly on innovation and careers.
Dr Alan D Baylis
Chair, SCI Board of Trustees
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