British Dietetic Association (BDA) Country Board Constitution

A. Identify the key stakeholders in the country

B. Engage with the stakeholders that are relevant to the country board activity and ensure that there is BDA representation on, at and in key stakeholder committees, events and meetings

C. Take every opportunity to promote the dietetic profession to stakeholders within the country

D. Develop a work plan each year for the following year that states the 3 main objectives for work by each respective Country Board. The work plan must be in line with the BDA Strategic Plan and other four country BDA activities

E. Deliver the work plan objectives during the year

F. Report on achievements and outcomes from the workplan

G. Keep abreast of changes happening on the horizon that have an actual or potential impact on the profession and its workforce in that country i.e.

1. The national, political environment and parliamentary/assembly activity
2. Government policy and legislation
3. The way in which health and social care are provided
4. NHS Strategic direction and key policy drivers
5. Developments in dietetic practice
6. The requirements for dietitians and dietetic support workers
7. The provision of higher education and developments in the ways in which it is possible to qualify as a dietitian
8. The provision of medical nutrition products
9. Developments in food and drink policy, its provision and its manufacture
10. Activity in the media including social media
11. Interactions with external stakeholders
12. Food, nutrition and dietetic policy activities of the other three UK nations 

The aims are reviewed at least bi-annually to establish whether the Board is still ‘Fit for Purpose’ and adjusted/updated accordingly.  Updates and amends to the Terms of Reference need to go to a Board of Directors meeting – Agenda B – for endorsement.

In addition to Core Members or other defined member roles, each Country Board may co-opt non-voting members who will be identified according to the work priorities of that Country Board. The remit of a Co-opted Member shall be agreed by the Core Membership prior to co-option. Co-opted Members can play a full part in a Country Board’s proceedings, but shall not be able to vote. There shall be no more than 2 Co-opted Members on a Country Board.

Co-opted members will be appointed by simple majority of a Country Board’s Core Membership, subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

A Director from the BDA Board of Directors will be allocated a seat on each Country Board. This Director will act as a conduit through whom information about what the Country Board is doing (its activities and any concerns) will be represented at BDA Board and also information about relevant decisions, taken at the Board of Directors, is reported back to the Country Board.

The Chairman and the Director will work closely together to ensure that BDA strategy and work is consistent across all four nations yet allows flexibility of each nation.

The terms of office for a Core Member shall be for three years. These will be ‘staggered’ to ensure that not all posts are changed at the same time. 

The limit to the number of the terms of office that a Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Core Member or Co-opted Member may serve shall be two consecutive terms of office.

Details about being a Country Board Chairman can be found on the BDA website along with a job description and Person Specification for the role.

For an informal discussion about the role potential candidates can contact either the Chairman [email protected]) or the Chief Executive.

Application is via a CV and a covering letter (no more than 2 sides of A4 each), explaining how and why the potential Chairman believes they meet the criteria and what they would add to the role of Country Board Chairman.

Candidates’ CVs are reviewed and a shortlist of candidates are interviewed by the BDA Selection Committee. The successful candidate is selected based on their ability to meet the requirements on the Job Description and Person specification and their performance at interview.

The Trade Union Representative, will be appointed by the Country’s BDA Employment Relations Committee.

The Deputy Chairman and all other Core Members will have their appointment approved by the BDA Board of Directors, following selection by a Country Board. The process for selection should be as follows:

1. The Country Board identifies that a vacancy exists and outlines the skills/experience (if applicable) required.
2. The vacancy is promoted to BDA members through official channels (website, email newsletters, Dietetics Today, BDA social media etc) for not less than 4 weeks. A closing date should also be identified.
3. Applicants should be asked to submit a brief CV and supporting paragraph to the Country Board as to why they should be appointed.
4. The Country Board will then consider all applications and make (a) recommendation(s) to the BDA Board of Directors
5. Successful applicants are notified of the approval by the BDA Board of Directors by the Country Board Chairman.

The BDA in all four countries abides by the principle that there be no discrimination based on the protected characteristics when selected any BDA member for any of the roles on the Country Boards.

The Chairman will Chair each meeting. In her/his absence, the Deputy Chairman will Chair the meeting. In the event that both are absent from a meeting, the Core Members present will nominate a Chairman for that meeting.

A Country Board shall meet at least 3 times per year in person (face to face) and has the option to meet virtually via teleconference as well – this may be another three times a year.

The presence of at least 50% of voting (i.e. Core) members is required to establish a quorum. One of these Core Members should be the Chairman or Deputy Chairman or where both have given apologies, by the nominated Chairman as outlined above.

• Date of meetings are agreed at the previous meetings.
• A meeting date reminder will be sent to all Board members prior to the next meeting requesting apologies in order to make catering arrangements.
• An agenda will be drafted two weeks before meeting by the Country Board Chairman and the BDA policy staff.
• The agenda and relevant papers will be sent to Board members a week ahead of the meeting.
• An attendance sheet will be provided for the meeting.
• Minutes of meeting will be taken by BDA Policy staff.
• Draft Minutes will be sent to the Country Board Chairman for agreement and then formatted and with a DRAFT watermark added before sending out to the Board members.
• Minutes will not be finalised ‘as a true record’ until they are agreed at the next Board meeting at which point the DRAFT can be removed.
• The approved minutes will be added to the Country Board website page.
• Significant Board activities to be summarised and posted on the specific Country Board webpage on the BDA website by the Policy Officer.
• All paperwork saved in Country Board folder on BDA system.

Expenses for Board members are covered by the BDA. Expenses forms can be accessed from the BDA website. Board members should complete these as soon as possible after a Board meeting. Completed expense forms should be sent to the BDA office, c/o Policy Officer. The relevant finance code should be assigned and forms passed on to BDA Business Support to process. All Board members will comply with the relevant policies and guidelines for submitting claims e.g. to submit claims before the end of the financial year.

Boards should focus their work and meetings on achieving the agreed workplan. This may involve the convening of task and finish groups or work that needs to be done between Board meetings by Board members or the Policy Officer.

Other pieces of work may come up which are not on the work plan.

These might come from:

• Items raised at BDA Board of Directors
• The Chairman
• Board Members
• BDA Strategic Plan
• NHS Strategic Direction/Key Policy Drivers
• Parliamentary activity
• Horizon Scanning which highlights a number of advancing issues
• Meetings attended and/or approaches seeking Board involvement

When deciding whether pieces of work are a priority or whether there is a role for the Board the following points should be considered:

• The Boards should work at a strategic level 
• A defined piece of work could be delegated to a ‘Task and Finish’ group overseen by the board
• What are the current big issues for the profession, how relevant is the subject /issue to the profession? 
• What contribution/influence/impact can the Board have?
• What capacity is there to get involved?
• What is the risk if the Board is not involved?