Tumu Whakahaere Chief Executive Update

Kia ora koutou,

Since my last update in May I have had the privilege of visiting a number of academies in the UK, and the International Science Council in Paris, to meet with their senior leadership and discuss areas of mutual interest….of which there are many! I am extremely grateful to everyone for their warmth of welcome, generosity with their time, and openness in discussion. 

These have been important and strong relationships for many years, and will continue to be so.  We have much in common, not least with regard to the role we should play in addressing societal challenges, and how best to support, facilitate and mobilise the very considerable resource of knowledge and expertise we all have through our Fellowships, memberships and networks.

It is not surprising that many of these organisations are, just like us, revisiting what it means to be a learned society in an era of rapid change and global stressors. In relation to their outward facing influence, one of the Societies I met with are approaching this broad area of activity through their ‘ability to convene’ (something we would describe of ourselves), with the goal of “Transforming our Future.” Their public programmes are an important mixture of listening and dialogue with a focus on a few ‘big themes’ including areas such as climate, biodiversity and mis/disinformation. Other academies are using phrases such as “mission driven for public service”, and “Fellowship for the future” to describe their purpose at a high level.

The Academy of Medical Sciences has recently published its 10-year strategic plan to 2032  which provides a very clearly articulated and helpfully structured summary of what the organisation is there to do and how it plans to deliver on its strategic objectives. Similarly, the Royal Society of London’s 5-year plan.

So, as we embark on the next stage of planning for the development of our long-term strategy as mentioned in my May update, I am extremely grateful for the invaluable advice and support from our counterparts in the UK/Europe.

Regarding the development of that strategy, and following approval from our Council at their last meeting, we are now working on the first stage in the process. This will involve a programme of consultation with our Fellows, broader membership, staff and office-holders, and stakeholders that will directly inform the drafting of a long-term strategy. We will utilise a range of mechanisms, including country-wide regional workshops, to enable as many people as possible to participate in considering the type of questions I outlined in May. 

I am looking forward to engaging with you in this exciting programme of work and we will update you with details as soon as these have been finalised.

In the meantime, ngā manaakitanga,

Paul