Outcomes from the 2022 EWI AGM
The 2022 Annual General Meeting was, once again, held via Zoom on the 14th June. Whilst this had become a necessity due to the Covid pandemic, it has been highlighted that holding the AGM in this way does enable a much broader geographical range of members to participate in the meeting than if it were a face-to-face evening meeting. It is therefore likely that the AGM will continue to be delivered in this way.
All resolutions were dealt with by online poll in advance of the meeting; also giving a wider range of members the opportunity to participate.
Achievements over the last year
EWI Chair, Sir Martin Spencer, outlined some of the challenges and key achievements from the past year. During the year we:
- Continued to see an increase in member recruitment
- Saw 5 successful applications for Fellowship following the revision of the assessment criteria and application process
- extended our reach by partnering with other professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Information Security
- revised our approach to Certification and secured a new partner for academic validation
- delivered 26 events during the year with 437 delegates including a successful online conference in May 2021.
- relaunched our member magazine ‘Expert Matters’ as a Digital magazine
- made representations to the review of the Future of Legal Aid and review of Criminal Legal Aid consultations and a Forensic Science Regulator consultation on evaluative opinions
- welcomed new members to the Membership Committee and Board including the co-option of Lady Justice Geraldine Andrews, and increased staff capacity by 0.6 FTE by recruiting Wiebke Morgan as our Membership Manager
Financial position
The EWI turnover for 2021 increased to £362,168 compared to £302,573 for the previous year, principally from a large increase in membership income due to an increase in membership fees, strong performance in membership recruitment and retention and increased net profit from courses/events.
At the end of 2021, EWI made a surplus after tax of £68,092 compared to a loss after tax in 2020 of £11,539. EWI’s accumulated capital and reserves have increased from a deficit of £5,557 as at 31 October 2020 to a surplus of £62,535 as at 31 October 2021.
2022/23 Membership Subscriptions
Kay confirmed that the Board had agreed that in response to the current cost of living crisis EWI will freeze membership subscriptions at their current rate for one year.
Board Appointments
Claire Berrington, Daniel Correa, Richard Taylor and The Right Hon. Lady Justice Geraldine Andrews DBE were appointed to the Board and Sir Martin Spencer was reappointed to the Board.
In line with the new Articles of Association approved at last year’s AGM, both Kay Linnell and Richard Porter have held office for six consecutive years and are therefore not eligible for re-election.
Sir Martin thanked both for their service saying:
“Richard has provided excellent advice and guidance and as the ‘Designated Governor’ has dealt with any complaints regarding member conduct with extreme diligence and care.
Kay has been a significant asset to the Board spearheading the development of expert witness certification, representing the organisation and the importance of expert evidence in Europe, and most importantly providing strong financial management, leadership, and oversight of the Institute in her role as Treasurer.
She has made a significant contribution to the success of the Institute and will be much missed by colleagues on the Board and the staff team.”
Following the formal business, Simon Berney-Edwards, gave an update on Certification. This can be viewed below.
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Due to technical issues, Tom Magner was unable to deliver his presentation. This will be recorded shortly and distributed to members as soon as it is available.
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