Enterprise Educators UK's New Legal Status
Saturday, 15 May 2010 11:54
Chair's Blog
I set myself one major task for my period of office – to get Enterprise Educators UK onto a firm financial and legal footing. In 2007 UKSEC became Enterprise Educators UK and from then the Chairs and Board have been considering what sort of legal entity Enterprise Educators UK should be.
Being a membership organisation with enterprise education as its focus, this was not an easy matter.
However, being an unincorporated organisation has meant that entering into contractual arrangements has not been straightforward and in particular, receiving sponsorship money has become a more complex and fraught process than initially imagined.
That is why we are now well along the path to becoming a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. Since Christmas we have been working with a legal firm to convert our constitution into the various articles and memoranda that are required for incorporation and recognition by the Charities Commission.
When we do become incorporated there will be some minor changes to how we define members and membership of Enterprise Educators UK. The main difference will be that the named individual within each University will be ‘the member’ and they will have the voting rights. They may choose to nominate a proxy at times when votes are required, but they will be ‘the member’ of Enterprise Educators UK. We plan to continue to allow all employees of the university that ‘the member’ is employed by, to access the benefits of being part of Enterprise Educators UK. So in practice – nothing will change for most academics and support staff in universities that have membership, except it is even more critical that you ensure your membership records are up to date. Members can still stand for election to the board and seek to lead the organisation.
We plan to take the nominal financial liability figure from the annual membership rather than ask for an extra £1 or £10, which is what we are legally required to promise to pay in the event of us being wound up. As you will know we are working to deliver an even bigger and better IEEC (see next page for delegate rates) this year. We have been working with our partners on this event, NCGE, and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) to secure sponsorship to allow us to take this event to Cardiff. Enterprise Educators UK has offered to lead with the organising and management of the event, and to be the lead partners in the contractual and financial side. Therefore it has become even more critical to resolve the question of Enterprise Educators UK as a legal entity. I am pleased to report that lengthy and complex negotiations are now approaching finalisation.
You will have already seen the call for contributions – get your proposal in, the deadline of 2 June is approaching fast!
If you have any questions or comments regarding the above, can you please send - them to Jenny Moore -
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
– if she cannot respond, she will forward enquiries onto me.
Simon Brown
Chair
Enterprise Educators UK