It is proposed that a cross regional finance panel be established in the West. 

The West currently has funds in its bank account which could be used to help stimulate Fellowship activity across the region. At present, there is no mechanism in place for Fellows to be able to access these resources. 

Primarily driven by requests from Fellows, Allan Bosley, acting chair of the West, and myself are proposing to establish a regional finance panel to help address this barrier to increasing levels of activity. The panel will be constituted by Fellows and provide a transparent and open process to enable applications to be made for the allocation of financial resources for projects across the region. 

This is an invite to become a member of this panel. There will be no upper limit to the number of Fellows that form this panel. If your Fellowship is current and paid up to date and you can commit to the process then you can be a member of the panel. In short, if you would like to be involved, you can be. 

It will be incumbent on this group, whether it numbers 5 or 500, to nominate from amongst their number a chair and to define a terms of reference for how and what activity this group will consider eligible for regional funding support, how often it will meet (physically and/or virtually), and other framing principles. 

There are a number of different finance models successfully in operation across other regions, so there is plenty of best practice to utilise.

To become involved in this process please email or contact me using the details below by 

26 July. 

I will then contact all of those who have put themselves forward. 

A provisional date for the West Fellows Annual Forum has been made for the 21 September. It is anticipated that the final Terms of Reference and additional details regarding the Finance Panel will be delivered at this meeting. 

Further details regarding the Fellows Forum including an agenda, times and location will be confirmed in due course. 

Chris Luffingham – Fellowship Networks Manager