Nā Te Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive update

Tēnā koutou.

There is much to celebrate in this month’s newsletter. 

The induction of new Fellows to the Society is always a time of celebration and acknowledgement of excellence and achievement.  We also celebrate Dr Jim Salinger, a Companion of the Society, who was recently recognised as New Zealander of the Year, and profile Dr Louise Hennessy who is one of the co-chairs of the Early Career Researcher Forum Committee.  

All are outstanding individuals in their own fields of expertise, and a reminder of the extraordinary opportunity (and privilege) we have as an organisation with people such as these forming part of our extended membership family, as noted in my update last month. Additionally, over the past few weeks we have had the opportunity to meet with members of our Branches and Constituent Organisations and ensure we remain closely connected and well informed. 

In my last update I mentioned the business planning process we are now going through which will include some new initiatives to address key priority areas identified in our long-term strategy.  The Council will sign-off the 2024/25 plan and accompanying budget at the mid-year meeting, and we will be in a position to share more details with you at that stage.  That said, we are looking at initiatives that include mechanisms enabling easy access to up-to-date, evidence-based information on complex issues and topics of current interest viewed from multiple perspectives.  Such approaches will draw on the expertise from our Fellows and Companions, as well as our wider membership.

In closing I note the recent announcement of the Advisory Group members for the two critically important reviews related to our University and Science systems.  The Society is looking forward to actively engaging with these review processes as the work of consultation gets underway.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Paul Atkins
Chief Executive