CHIC was established by seven housing associations in 2010. It was established as a membership organisation, with an ethos that would always welcome new members. It has now grown to over 200 members, consisting of housing associations, local authorities and others who are required to comply with Public Contract Regulations (PCR-2015).
CHIC is governed by a Board of Directors, which mainly comprises member representatives, with an independent chair who is appointed by the directors. All new CHIC members are required to sign a membership agreement.
Feedback from a range of new members has led the Board to commission a review of the membership agreement. It was designed for a much smaller membership organisation than CHIC is now and is seen as unnecessarily complex and bureaucratic for new members. Some issues still require consultation with the full membership, where in reality the Board is better placed to make such strategic decisions.
The review is recommending a simplification of the new Members Agreement and the process by which new members join – to become fully electronic. This will be considered by the Board by the end of March and will then, if agreed, require full consultation and agreement by current members.
We therefore expect to be communicating with all current members in April/May, with a view to implementing any changes agreed in May/June.
The objectives are to:
• Make the process of becoming a CHIC member as clear and streamlined as possible.
• Avoid unnecessary consultation and administration for all members, but
• Still retain the core membership ethos by CHIC.
The Board will remain responsible for the business strategy and performance monitoring and for any key decisions day to day. However, the need for all members to still be consulted on any fundamental issues will not change.
John Fisher, CHIC’s Chief Executive said “The Boards aim is to streamline the process by which compliant organisations become and remain members of CHIC, so they can get the benefits of collaborative procurement and associated commercial support in the most effective way.”
If any member wants to be represented on the CHIC Board they can provide a nomination at any time. Directors are appointed to ensure that the Board has an appropriate spread of skills and experience, to refer CHIC’s business strategy.
If you have any questions about these changes, please get in touch with jfisher@chicltd.co.uk.
