Council and our committees
The Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers is a
registered charity established in 1863, governed by by-Laws, which
were last amended in July 2001, and incorporated by Royal Charter
in 1929.
IGEM has a Governance Manual which is regularly
reviewed and summarises all of the key governing documents,
incorporating charter, by-laws, membership policy and procedures,
finance policy and procedures, charity law and IGEM's quality
policies and procedures. In addition, IGEM has a conflicts of
interest policy.
The main decision making body of IGEM is Council which
governs and identifies the strategy that IGEM will adopt and
implement.
The Council is responsible for the overall
governance and control of IGEM. It creates and facilitates policy
and strategy initiatives through the committee structure. Each of
our committees reports to the council by the submission of meeting
minutes and papers. At least one member of Council sits on each
committee. In addition, the Chair or Vice Chair is a trustee.
Nominations for Council are now open,
you can download the nomination form and the roles and
responsibilities of trustees from the Resources Panel on this
page.
Audit
Committee
The Audit Committee was set up to assist in
compliance with the requirements of IGEM's certification for the
Quality Management System BS EN ISO 9001:2015. Certification
was first awarded on 3 July 1997 and transferred to Lloyds Register
Quality Assurance (LRQA) on 18 January 2013. The Audit Committee
normally meets at least twice a year to review the Quality
Management System for compliance.
It reports directly to Council and its role is to audit the
application of and compliance with IGEM policies, procedures and
governance, and to provide assurance to the trustees that the
running of IGEM is compliant with governance requirements. It also
audits the membership registration and application procedures to
test for compliance with Engineering Council requirements. It
ensures that the requirements are met for external bodies such as
the Privy Council, Charity Commission and Engineering Council UK
(ECUK). The audit programme has been developed on a risk based
approach, which is managed through IGEM's risk register and
internal audits are carried out on a three year rolling
programme.
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee, on behalf of Council, approves
applications for the election and transfer for the different
classes of membership. Two sub-committees, namely the Academic
Panel and Professional Development Committee, assess and approve
non-exemplifying individual academic qualifications. The
Membership Committee retains its critical role in maintaining the
Institution's license from the Engineering Council. The Chairman
ensures the functioning of all processes and obligations under the
Membership Policies and Procedures Manual. The whole process is now
covered by strict quality assurance procedures compliant with BS EN
ISO 9001, the Institution's Quality Manual and Governance Manual.
Every five years, the Institution is audited for compliance by the
Engineering Council for the renewal of its license to register gas
engineers.
Finance Committee
IGEM's Finance Committee is accountable to Council for guidance
and assurance in respect of most financial matters. It has
amongst its members Trustees, investment and engineering experts
and also the Head of Finance who is a Chartered Accountant. It
meets at least twice a year to oversee finance policy and
investments. The committee monitors the governance of IGEM
through financial viability, continued development of financial
policy and procedures and the assessment of financial risk.
Marketing Committee
A standing committee of the Institution, the Marketing Committee
is responsible for promoting IGEM's brand and optimising all
revenue opportunities through the promotion of membership services,
technical publications, codes of practice, events, sponsorship and
advertising and the IGEM House conference facilities.
The committee advises the Marketing and Communications Manager
and Media Manager in the development of the marketing and
communications strategy and annual budget. It promotes and
represents the voice of the members and, as with all other
committees, is chaired and run by volunteer members with the
support and input of the full time team. The committee is supported
by a Website Subcommittee and the Editorial Panel that guide the
strategic direction of the Journal and IGEM's website.
Technical Co-ordinating
Committee
The Chairman's Technical Committee,
originally created in 1939, became the Technical Co-ordinating
Committee in 1972. The new name was deemed more suitable since it
was believed the terms of reference would better allow its members
to review future programmes of technical work and make policy
recommendations. It was also decided that, for continuity, the
Chairman would hold office for three years. The new terms of
reference empowered the committee to co-opt additional members
whose advice was deemed to be desirable. In the first year,
representatives from the Gas Council's production and supply
division, marketing division and the SBGI were asked to serve on
the committee. This pattern is still followed today with
representatives of various bodies such as the HSE, Energy &
Utilities Alliance (EUA) formally SBGI, Ofgem and companies dealing
with gas supply, distribution, utilisation and LPG sitting on the
committee in order to encompass the whole industry. There are four
sub-committees dealing specifically with utilisation, transmission
and distribution, measurement and LNG. There are also technical
panels who deal with the standards and ad-hoc working groups as
required. These groups also have representatives from relevant
bodies within the gas industry and from the technical services
department.
Strategic Planning Committee
The Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) was
created by Past President Richard Haddon and includes the full
presidential chain, the CEO and the Chairman of all seven working
committees. Depending on the meeting agenda, guests and other
members are invited to attend, normally to provide an update on a
specific issue or strategic objective. The committee was originally
envisaged to be in existence for a short period, but still
continues to this day - although with a slightly different remit to
their initial role. The SPC, which was formerly the Executive Board
and prior to this the Finances and General Purposes Committee,
reports to Council with regard to policy matters and makes
recommendations accordingly. Their core function is the preparation
of a business plan to ensure that the agreed business strategy is
being delivered. Recently, the focus has been to help reshape the
Institution to meet the changing needs of stakeholders and the
wider gas industry.
International
Committee
The International Committee reports to
Council bi-annually and was set up in 2011 to develop an
international strategy and consider regional activity and its
potential impact on IGEM activities. Typically, these reports would
reflect the interests of members, major conferences, significant
investments, the role of competitors, academic interventions and
consideration of mutually beneficial partnerships. They will
investigate opportunities for new memberships and new sections to
be formed and identify suitable training and development
opportunities for individuals and companies working within the gas
sector.