The regional membership team continue to work on projects, process and protocol to further move forward the Evolving the Partnership initiative which focuses on the three overarching themes of Volunteer Engagement, LI Visibility and LI Proposition Development.
Volunteer engagement: NC2025 / Volunteer Awards at NC2025
This year’s volunteer conference – NC2025, took place at Cameron House, Loch Lomond, Scotland on 18th and 19th June. 111 delegates were in attendance, with total attendance equating to 142, when you factor in CII staff. Initial feedback has been extremely positive. The annual volunteer awards took place following this year’s Network Conference. The awards, supported and sponsored again by AVIVA, were adjudicated by a panel of eight members drawn from Local Institutes and PFS regions. Two exceptional service awards were presented to Leslie Gillanders (Northern Ireland) and Alina Schatten (London). Four distinguished awards were presented to Nat Brown (Plymouth and Cornwall), Richard Cockbain (Perth and Dundee), Joanne Kirkby (Bolton) and Matthew Pyke (Exeter).
Volunteer engagement: ELT visits
The team recently promoted the opportunity for Local Institute councils to receive a visit from an ELT member over the coming months. 10 institutes responded requesting a visit. Please note this opportunity will be offered to Local Institutes every four months. The following institutes requested a visit; these visits will take place between June and September. Cardiff, Chester, Exeter, Luton, Newcastle, Nottingham, Perth & Dundee, Plymouth & Cornwall, Royal Tunbridge Wells and Southampton.
Volunteer engagement: Volunteer Survey
The team have been working on a volunteer survey which will be sent to all local institute volunteers covering the previous volunteering year. The survey is being sent to obtain intel on how we can improve the support we offer our network of volunteers and benchmark satisfaction / engagement levels. The survey will be sent on an annual basis going forward. Results of the survey are currently being collated by the team for wider discussion.
Volunteer engagement: Local Institute National Forum (June 2025)
A successful LINF took place in June allowing the network of National Forum Officers to share good practice and question the regional membership team. The meeting also included a session on ethics delivered by the CIIs Professional Standards Manager.
Local Institute Visibility: social media (Linked In) + The Journal
Regular LI updates and profiling of CII activities are being provided via both platforms. Please note the team now have access to 36 Local Institute accounts – allowing us to update with content on a regular basis. The team hopes to increase this over the coming months.
Local institute Visibility: Website refresh + LIs sites connecting to RealTime Marketing
The regional membership team has been working closely with our digital agency, Graph, and a group of local institute volunteers to enhance the look and feel of the Local Institute websites. Our aim is to improve the member experience and streamline how members interact with your site. This initiative has been part of a broader Customer Insights project across the CII, the team have worked with both Graph and the CII project team to ensure the relevant updates and developments have been adhered to.Further updates will be provided to your communications officer over the coming weeks.
Local Institute Visibility: LI Promotional Campaign
The team have recently met with Poulsen Selleck (marketing agency) to discuss a marketing campaign to promote the benefits of members engaging with their local institute. We have asked the agency to consider how we can develop this campaign to also promote within key corporates.
Local Proposition: Local institute output (Jan 25 – June 25)
The local institute network has run 1,078 member events since the start of the year – covering technical CPD, business skills, social events, and networking activities.
Staffing: Regional Membership Team
Faiza Israth joined the team this month as Regional Membership Administrator, ensuring that the local institute network is again supported by six CII employees.