ROYAL TELEVISION SOCIETY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of a meeting held on Wednesday 23 March 2011 at 4.00pm at the Royal Television Society, Kildare House, Dorset Rise, London EC4Y 8EN.
Present: Mike Darcey Chair
Simon Albury, Paul Corley, Carolyn Fairbairn (by phone),Jane Lighting, David Lowen, Grant Murray, Claire Price, Graeme Thompson and Caroline Thomson.
Apologies: Wayne Garvie
1.0 Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the last meeting held on Wednesday 20 January 2011 were approved.
2.0 Matters arising
2.1 Office Accommodation
SA reported that the situation had changed several times since the last meeting. It was possible that the Society could move to the smaller 7th floor in Kildare House when it had been re-furbished. SA and CP were also going to look at four other offices the following day although SA thought that two might be unsuitable as the disabled access was possible but difficult. He said that he would like the RTS to stay at Kildare House if we could comfortably fit into the smaller space.
The Chair said that we needed a viable alternative if this did not work out. After discussion it was agreed that our first choice was 7th Floor at Kildare House if we could fit into it Second choice was one of the other offices if they were suitable and third choice would be remaining on the 5th Floor. The last choice would however mean a move into temporary accommodation whilst the re-furb was being carried out. The Trustees agreed to delegate responsibility to the Chair as decisions would need to be made quickly.
2.2 IT
The new website went live at the beginning of March and the next phase – Events Management would start shortly..
3.0 Annual Accounts & Report
JL said that the accounts had been presented by the auditors, ABG who had no significant issues with them. ABG had commented that our accountant, Breda O’Donoghue had done a good job in preparing all the information necessary for the audit and the Audit Committee wished to record their thanks to her.
JL said that there had been a reduction in income in 2010 from 2009 and that this was both because of the economic climate and because it was a non-Cambridge year. Patron donations were down investment income was also reduced but we were maximising our revenue.
The Chair asked the Board to approve the 2010 Accounts. The Board approved the accounts unanimously.
The Board discussed the Annual Report and asked for some minor changes to be made. It then approved the Report unanimously.
4.0 IBC Report
Mike Crimp, the Chief Executive of IBC gave a report on IBC. He tabled a paper – Why is IBC performing so well and where is it going? and spoke to it.
CF asked where the growth would come from and MC said that 50% of customers were from the traditional areas but the new customers were from IPTV and mobile. IBC was working on packaged engagement so that customers derived benefit from more than just the basic footprint.
The Chair asked about the IBC team and MC said that he was comfortable with the team competency and their skillset. IBC had invested in personal development.
The key people in IBC were the operational, finance and sales directors who reported direct to MC and there was also a conference manager and a marketing manager.
PC asked whether the RTS could help and MC said that the RTS Thames Valley Group were very active.
Future Strategy
MC said that IBC needed to have its eye on other opportunities – it needed to be pro-active in finding projects for sustainable development, to spread the risk and continue to build the brand. He asked for the Board’s view on investment strategy.
The Chair said that the contribution from IBC was very important to the Society and the Board placed a high level of priority on IBC continuing to do what it did well. The RTS was interested in diversification but cautious as this could be a risk to the core activity..
The Trustees congratulated MC on IBC’s performance to date.
When MC had left, the Trustees agreed that he should be encouraged to seek out other opportunities and be clear that the Society was not zero risk averse.
5.0 Quarterly Report from Hon Treasurer
GM tabled the Quarterly Report. Income and expenditure had been better than budget. As JL had reported, steps had been taken to increase the returns from the deposits but the Audit Committee still maintained a low risk approach to investments. It was too early to take a view on the forecast for the year.
6.0 Chief Executive’s Report
A paper had been circulated.
SA commented that as well as a higher level strategy group, a lower level ‘nuts and bolts’ group would be needed as well.
The TVJ Awards had gone well and Richard Sambrook was now confirmed as the new Chair.
SA stated that the Society’s activities in the period satisfy the public benefit requirements for charities.
7.0 Report from the Executive Committee
It had not been possible to hold any Exec Com meetings since the last Trustees’ Meeting.
8.0 Advisory Council Report
CF reported that the meeting had been well attended. One of the major issues is – What is the Advisory Council for? The mixture of Centres and Council Members did not seem to be working as some people felt that they could not contribute to the meeting. DL would be asking all the Advisory Council Members for feedback.
DL said that after nearly three years, it was right to focus on whether the Advisory Council was valuable to people. A report on the feedback would go to the Exec Com and then to the Board.
Other topics raised at the meeting included streaming and use of the internet, merging Centres and whether Helen Scott had succeeded in transporting different events formats.
9.0 Centre Matters
GT said that now the Society had increased its reserves, we should re-visit the idea of dedicated support for the Centres. More discussion was needed about the advantages of membership. GT suggested that we could do more with student membership.
10.0 Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 15 June 2011 at 4.00pm at the RTS.