President’s Letter, December 2017

As the end of 2017 approaches, it seems fitting to look back over a year that, for our Society, has seen a number of important events and initiatives.   

On the policy front we have: launched our new impact statement, followed up by our core policy objectives, in particular the focus on prevention; focused our work on psychological support for children and young people; launched a report on psychology and work; engaged policy and communications consultants at Westminster; and established an All Party Parliamentary Group for Psychology.  

We have held events and organised symposia both here and at the European Congress of Psychology, which have emphasised good science and scientific integrity. We have launched new Practice Guidelines that provide a set of shared guidelines for practice for all applied psychologists.  

Our Declaration on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion has laid the foundations for a Society that is open and welcoming to all. We have collaborated with European and international colleagues, and are proud to be hosting 2018’s European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations’ European Semester.   

Our directors and staff teams have worked hard to deliver the infrastructure, such as conferences and events, qualifications and standards, communications and web, facilities management, and meeting support, without which none of this would happen.  

Within the Society, we have encountered some big challenges along the way, and we know we can do a lot more to deliver the impact and benefit our members want to see. We have developed proposals for our Structural Review and held a series of roadshows to garner member feedback, outlined our proposal for a Senate at the General Assembly of our Representative Council and tested the debating model. We have begun a programme of organisational culture change across the Society.  Our Senior Management Team are making this visible to you, and you will notice a real difference.  

The process of appointment of our new Chief Executive is in full swing. It’s a significant leadership role, to embed a culture of continuous improvement and high performance, play a key ambassadorial role both nationally and internationally maximising impact and influence, develop relationships with key stakeholders, and be focused on our membership.

Our Society has much to do and much to be proud of. I wish you a joyful and relaxing festive season.
    
- Nicola Gale is President of the British Psychological Society. Contact her at [email protected]