The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7331 (insert)
1/8 January 2005

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It can be a risky business running a Society branch

The risk management problems brought to light by high profile cases such as the Enron scandal may seem far removed from the Society’s branches, but the fallout has had implications that impact across the Society’s work. Network News asked the Society’s legal adviser, David Gomez, and the head of information technology, Andy Langler, to offer some of their views on managing risk

The Society vs the branches

In assessing the risk profile of the Society, the purpose of the organisation must first be considered, says David Gomez, who examines the relationship between the Society and its branches.

The Society’s Byelaws and model rules set out the purpose for the branches. These state the objects of the branch shall be to “further the interests of the Society and its members”. This includes “co-operating with the Council generally in the work of the Society” (rule 2(2)) and “promoting a corporate spirit among members and securing the observance of such standards of professional conduct as will uphold the dignity of the Society.” (rule 2(3)).

The new Charter, under Article 7, further underlines the role of the branches where it states that the Council “may, by regulation establish, regulate and dissolve … branches … of the Society for the purposes of meeting the needs and requirements of the Society and the profession …”

The governing instruments under which the individual branches are set up make it clear that they have a dual role — first, to further the interests of the Society and, secondly, to further those of the members of the profession.

The branches are the local face of the Society. It is therefore important to ensure that any views publicly expressed are in line with the policy published by the Council.

Minimising risk within the fast changing IT environment

It may be tempting to try to avoid risk by simply maintaining the status quo. But by avoiding new ways of doing things there is the potential to miss out on real opportunities for innovation, says Andy Langer, who considers ways of minimising risk in the fast changing environment of IT.

The speed of change within IT means that the risk of standing still is just as dangerous as moving forward too quickly and the aim should be to chart a middle course of adopting well-accepted technology.

On-line risk

Branch websites provide a fast and effective way of communicating with members, but every internet presence carries a risk element. This can vary from simply not keeping the content up to date, to publishing incorrect, libellous or misleading information.

Another risk is that of security. The hacking and defacing of websites is unfortunately all too common and a problem that will probably never go away. To help minimise the risk in this area the Society has appointed a new company to host both the branches’ and the Society’s websites. This will improve the level of security by ensuring that the servers are now managed continually and that any necessary changes are made to the systems to minimise the risk of attack.

The improved capabilities of the server also mean that the Society will be able to offer greater functionality in the future to allow you to further develop your websites.

Sharing data

The retention, use and circulation of personal data provides a large potential risk for the Society in terms of loss of credibility as well as issues with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Great care is therefore taken to minimise any risks associated with these issues.

One area that generated a great deal of comment from branches last year concerned the collection and use of members’ e-mail addresses as a means of contact. Although e-mail is an effective method of communication, the ease with which addresses can be hijacked and used to help generate unwanted spam messages means that the risk of using them is high. Nevertheless, a suitable way for collecting and using members’ e-mail addresses is currently being explored by the Society and more details of this work will be made available during 2005.

Risk assessment

The branch secretaries’ meeting scheduled for 16 March will provide an opportunity to discuss risk issues more fully. In the meantime, branches that have concerns about any areas of risk should contact the Society’s membership team, who will look to provide help and advice.