I have just picked up on the current round of BCS ‘transformations’ and your call for an EGM.
I am the chairman for the British APL Association who were forced to leave the BCS about 2 years ago after their previous round of membership changes. At that time our group had a very large overseas membership (60%) and a high number of retired professional members (25%). The BCS insisted that all group members had to become full BCS members etc. Etc. This was of no interest to our membership and combined with many other effects of the new rules caused us to call an EGM at which of our own only 1 person out of 652 voted for us to stay in the BCS – subsequently we left. To say the least our members were furious.
We have since (and remain) in conflict with the BCS over the position they left us in. Our funds, including specific gifts, have been absorbed by the BCS who refuse to return any of it. They can give no evidence to our exact membership status as a group or to the terms in which we were originally signed up. The acceptance of the BCS rules were never agreed to. I suspect however that this is not new as my discussions with some other groups have indicated similar issues and a concern that they too may have to leave.
The BCS have shown themselves to be highly un-professional and deliberately obstructive. The Finance department have never returned any of our communications and any communication with the membership departments has fallen on deaf ears. After saying that Judith Taylor has been somewhat more helpful in recent times. We have been left with the view that actually the BCS do not care about the membership only their own internal processes and procedures and we would agree that the BCS is operating outside of their Royal Charter and in some instances against the Charity Commission guidelines.
After our AGM last month it was decided that we would be writing to the Trustees of the BCS to indicate, in more forceful terms, our position and that we will consider a legal challenge to their currently held position if our questions cannot be satisfactorily answered or funds returned.
In our experience the BCS priority is most certainly not its members.
I am not sure if any of this helps you with your campaign but we wish you every success; if only to give the BCS a well deserved ‘kick up the backside’ and a reality check. If they carry on the way they are going they will lose what little credibility they currently have and become the ‘Golden Wonder’ of the IT world; Good idea, Good product but just not good enough.
Best regards
Paul Grosvenor
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@Paul "only 1 person out of 652 voted for us to stay in the BCS – subsequently we left. To say the least our members were furious."
ReplyDeleteAs a current member of the BCS, my personal wish would be to see your entire membership be introduced back to the fold in a manner that suits purposes for you all. This type of thing may take some many discussions and negotiating but ought not to be an impossibility. That is if the bridges are not 'completely blown'.
@Paul "We have since (and remain) in conflict with the BCS over the position they left us in. Our funds, including specific gifts, have been absorbed by the BCS who refuse to return any of it. They can give no evidence to our exact membership status as a group or to the terms in which we were originally signed up. The acceptance of the BCS rules were never agreed to. I suspect however that this is not new as my discussions with some other groups have indicated similar issues and a concern that they too may have to leave."
I'm of the opinion that you know the situation better than 'rank and file' BCS membership. Categaorising myself within this 'rank and file' group I can state that all this is news to me and if the case, then the BCS needs to do the right thing here. Whether the correct and proper options and decisions are taken is something else.
If true I'm quite ashamed that BCS can behave this way and it becomes clearer where all the reserves that were used for the transformation programme may have come from.
ReplyDeleteAlong with the cuts that branches are experiencing it doesn't look good. Unless this is sorted I may not renew my membership!
My concern is that moving towards making the BCS a 'commercial' organisation will leave the door wide open to career opportunists, whose interest in the BCS will be solely to promote themselves with no regard for the professional society which the BCS represents.
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