When I became Chair of EEUK I wanted to ensure that the organisation was fit for the future of enterprise education and start-up support, but also fit as a not-for-profit organisation returning value to its members and meeting expectations of how forward thinking, socially and environmentally responsible organisations should function.

Having spent winter 2019 with the Board of Directors thinking about the above, then discussing further with EEUK Fellows and Associates from a range of backgrounds and perspectives, it became clear that in order to satisfy the above needs and expectations, EEUK should seek to increase transparency, accountability and cognitive diversity.

As part of the next stage of delivering these improvements I am pleased to be able to use this blog to launch our new Structure and Governance webpage which briefly outlines how decisions are made and who makes them, supporting the transparency and accountability points. However, most importantly I think, this new page introduces over 150 ways, via nine new EEUK committees and groups, for you, our EEUK Associates, to get directly involved in developing EEUK.

As enterprise educators we know how important it is to consider as many perspectives as possible when trying to creatively solve problems or when preparing to take advantage of an opportunity. By opening access and dramatically increasing the number of ways for your points of view and ideas to contribute directly to what EEUK offers and how we offer it, we hope you will help the Board of Directors to make sure our network goes from strength to strength.

We would like to appoint Associates from across the membership to our new committees and groups to ensure we are maximising the cognitive diversity behind our decision making, planning and service delivery, and we believe these roles will be a hugely rewarding way to give back to your network, but also develop your practice and partnerships from a national perspective. The full terms of reference for each group are available from the website, but here is a brief introduction…

Advisory Council

The Advisory Council usually meets annually to help the EEUK Board of Directors determine strategic and operational priorities. Several groups of stakeholders are invited to participate including, EEUK Fellows, past Directors, and strategic partners. In addition, each Member Institution is represented by one of their Associates. There are currently 115 vacancies.

Policy, Research, and Impact Committee

This committee is responsible for overseeing all of EEUK’s activity to develop and support policy, commission and review research, and collect and report on the impact of enterprise education. Members of the committee will help to organise and allocate our Enterprise Education and Research Project Fund (EERPF) as well as oversee our Communities of Interest and Special Interest Groups around key policy and research areas. There are four places on the committee for EEUK Associates, and four vacancies currently.

Nominations and Representation Committee

This committee supports the election of EEUK Directors and the appointment of EEUK Associates to the Advisory Council and the Board’s Sub-committees. It is also responsible for monitoring equality, diversity and inclusion across the organisation and its committees. There are four places on the committee for EEUK Associates and four vacancies currently.

Governance and Risk Committee

As well as supporting the governance of EEUK and overseeing its financial performance, this committee is responsible for the environmental impact of our organisation and activities, and the relationships we have with strategic partners. Members will also be involved with business development activity to support the growth of EEUK. There are three places on this committee for EEUK Associates and three vacancies currently.

Practice and Professional Development Committee

The EEUK Fellowship, our Enterprise Exchange and Fast Track events as well as our Richard Beresford Bursaries and ETC Toolkit are the responsibility of this committee. Members will be involved in promoting, organising, and evaluating these headline activities, ensuring they are accessible and effective at developing the professional practice of our community. There are four places on this committee for EEUK Associates and four vacancies currently.

Conference Steering Committee

This committee is responsible for supporting the Conference Director to design, develop and deliver EEUK’s annual International Entrepreneurship Educators Conference (IEEC) and is composed of EEUK Directors as well as up to three EEUK Associates nominated by the Conference Host organisation. As we recently learned, Swansea University will be hosting IEEC2022 and will join this group.

Membership Advisory Groups

These three groups focus on the needs of EEUK Associates that align with the three professional pathways identified by the EEUK Fellowship; Academic, Practitioner and Influencer. Members of the groups advise the Board of issues and opportunities related to the specific pathway as well as generate ideas on how EEUK can develop its offer. The groups are also responsible for the production of targeted marketing materials, communications and online resources. Each group has six places for the relevant EEUK Associates and each has six vacancies currently.

Back in winter 2019 no one had any idea what unprecedented circumstances were ahead of us and two years later I don’t think anyone is totally sure what the future holds. However, there is no doubt in my mind that EEUK, its Members, Fellows and Associates will be instrumental in shaping it and in so doing help our students and graduates to create economic, social and cultural value for others, so we can all prosper, using difference as a strength, and with the happiness, health and wellbeing of our communities foremost in their minds. By volunteering your time to these new roles, you’ll be further enabling EEUK to support this process and our fantastic profession.

Find out more here and do consider contributing.

Gareth Trainer, Director and former Chair of EEUK