As we reach the end of another financial reporting period, with thanks to our auditor, Sayer Vincent, and are well into the start of a new Strategic Planning cycle (thanks, Martin), the budgets, forecasts, cash flow model, risk register and all the tools we have to manage the business are in overdrive (thanks Seb & Karen). Our down-turn in revenues, principally through the renegotiation of the publishing contract with T&F did not just come “Out of the Blue”. We have been readying ourselves for this eventuality for quite some time. But there is an understandable discomfort when we report FY losses of £63k (following £272k loss in 2022) and are forecasting a deficit in the two years to come. The reasons for this are very well understood and discussed in the Annual Report. I hope that many of you had the opportunity to join us at the AGM in June.
The Board and leadership team have been building a growth and diversification plan over the last couple of years. This requires a long-term investment approach and well executed projects, seen through to successful outcomes. Now is not the time to batten down the hatches and cut costs. That’s not to say that we aren’t careful with our spending. The HQ team continually seek to manage our costs better; the recent decision to outsource our IT managed service is one example, and the renegotiation and replatforming of our website another.
Our membership drive spearheaded by Sarah and the team ha already seen an almost 9% growth YOY (23/22). It’s a fine balance of REtaining our existing members, REcruiting new members and REengaging with lapsed members. Add to that better corporate partner deals that meet the needs of business and our members. All of this will be enhanced with the development of our CRM capabilities, an investment project long overdue. Our accreditation proposition is another area with potential growth. I have personally never applied for accreditation, there must be others like me who could and should ask the team led by Alex to “plug me in” to the process. This team is also leading the development of our L7 Apprenticeship programme and managing our application to be an EPAO. This represents a completely new line of revenue for the Society and multiple opportunities to expand for long term growth.
Our existing revenue streams of training, events & conferences have struggled since the pandemic. The training portfolio is undergoing a complete syllabus overhaul and a user needs review. Events are certainly picking up, and from a personal point of view, the in-person format suits better. But as with training, a balance with virtual formats is required. The monthly webinars are certainly hitting new highs in attendance. The annual conference in Bath was a fantastic event, with increased attendees, increased levels of sponsorship and extremely high quality of papers. It was lovely to hear that the Grand Challenges session has spawned active Pro Bono projects in the thorny areas of homelessness and housing, the kind of public policy issues that OR has often been challenged to assist with.