Council Reports

Honorary (Company) Secretary Update

Report from Dr John Francis Leader

Building on a busy start to 2024, Council met for its third meeting of the year on 19 March. PSI President Dr Odhrán Mc Carthy welcomed members and staff to the meeting, and PSI CEO Sheena Horgan provided an up to date dashboard of key information for the Society.

Topics of discussion included considering the membership renewal process and terms of reference for committees. To help with demand in the office, the recruitment of a new member of staff was approved to proceed. Work is underway to support divisions and SIGs in allocating resources from their budgets for various initiatives. A review is to be taken of PSI’s affiliations so these can be clearly charted.

Council was disappointed to accept the resignation of Council member Dr Gráinne Kirwan. We wish Gráinne all the best and thank her for her many contributions to the Society.

In the governance update, members discussed the increasing demands on, and communication to, Council and ways to better manage this through a combination of improved technology and clearer delegated authority structures. A review of the PSI Constitution and governance processes is due in the near future, and this will be a useful opportunity to ensure that processes are both effective and integrated.

Council considered the role of staff on PSI committees, confirming that it is ex-officio. The process for appointees to external committees was clarified, so that short notice nominations will be reviewed by the Governance Team (the group consisting of the Society’s officers and the CEO ex-officio), with Council reviewing in cases where the deadline is beyond the next scheduled Council meeting.

In order to ensure that suitable expertise can be drawn on to support committees, Council approved the option to co-opt non-members to committees under certain conditions (such as the chair being a Council member, and the majority of members being PSI members). This is already the case with the Resources Committee, which co-opts financial expertise, and this will allow for a similar approach to be taken elsewhere.

Updates were received from a number of committees. The Resources Committee update included updates on the Society’s Investment Policy, Reserves Policy and the Committee’s Terms of Reference. The importance, it was discussed, for committee functioning is finding the right balance so that Council can delegate appropriately while still retaining good oversight. Updates were provided from the Communications & Events (C&E) Committee, the Undergraduate Accreditation Committee (UAC), the Postgraduate Accreditation Committee (PAC), the External Validation Committee (EVC), and from the Membership Qualification Chartership Committee (MQCC) meeting, where committee structuring was considered. The terms of reference were approved for the newly formed International Affairs Committee, now formally established as a committee dedicated to managing the various aspects of PSI’s international relationship in conjunction with the International Liaison Officer.

Council continued to track CORU developments, which are being regularly shared with the membership via the IP and ezine. Work is also actively underway in the search for PSI’s new headquarters. Having recently received professional property advice, the specifications of the Society’s needs are being updated and collated with lessons learnt from previous viewings in order to help the property search.

I hope these updates give some insight into the work happening on Council. I look forward to sharing further updates as they emerge. Remember that PSI is here to support members, so if you have feedback please don't hesitate to get in touch.

John Francis Leader
PSI Council Member & Honorary Secretary
honorarysecretary@psychologicalsociety.ie