Invitation to volunteer for a working group

Introduction

We are setting up four working groups on:

Industry Standards (title to be confirmed)

Better Education

Public Information and Awareness

Video Games

Working Group Chairs will be appointed by the end of January and they will then decide the membership of each of their groups. We are seeking to have a list of Council members who would like to be on one or more of the groups.

The formation of these groups was agreed at the Executive Board on 9 December 2008 and the recruitment of chairs for the groups is underway.Their over-arching aim is to contribute to the development of the UK’s first Child Safety Strategy in spring 2009.

Working Group Details

As indicated above, there will be four groups:

Industry Standards (title to be confirmed)

To develop clearer common standards (in the form of codes of practice or other guidelines) that are adopted, monitored and consistent with EU partners and are widely recognised as good practice.

Better Education

To ensure that children, families and the children’s workforce have access to consistent and comprehensive support and information that improves their knowledge, skills and understanding of internet safety.

Public Information and Awareness

To develop a comprehensive and joined-up public awareness campaign on internet safety for children and families based on consistent messages that form the basis of the one stop shop for all aspects of internet safety.

Video Games

Aim: To ensure that children and young people have a safer gaming experience and parents are aware of the issues and support mechanisms around gaming.

Chairs

The Executive Board to the council have nominated experienced individuals to chair the working groups and Ministers will agree appointments within the next weeks or so.

The Chairs will be appointed on a non-executive basis and will not receive renumeration for their services.

It will be the responsibility of each Chair to oversee each meeting of their respective group, manage the group’s work and report progress to the Executive Board of the council. The Chair will be supported by the secretariat in carrying out these responsibilities.

Membership responsibilities

Members of working groups will be expected to attend most meetings and contribute constructively to the delivery of the group’s aims.Each group will operate as a collaborative forum and agree outputs that represent the views of the majority.

The first meeting of each group will take place in February or March 2009: we anticipate that the majority of meetings will be held in London every 4-6 weeks on average for approximately the next 12-18 months.

Renumeration and expenses

Membership of the working groups is a on a non-executive basis and members must be prepared to contribute to the group without renumeration.

Travelling expenses to attend group meetings will be paid members could not otherwise attend meetings.

Refreshments will be provided for each meeting and this will include a buffet where the meeting runs over lunchtime.

Support

Each group will be supported by two members of the UKCCIS secretariat who will be responsible for organising the meetings and providing secretarial and other support as needed.

The secretariat will also ensure that all council members are kept up to date on working group progress by e-mail newsletter.

Qualifying criteria for membership of a working group

All applicants must be a member of the council in an individual capacity or be employed (either directly or indirectly as a subcontractor, consultant, associate or other similar role) by a member organisation of the council.

Applications

To apply to join a working group, please complete the form on the following pages and return this document to by Friday 13 February 2009.

All completed forms will be considered for membership by the chair of the respective group and the secretariat. Results of applications will be communicated to members in early February.

At the moment it is not possible to anticipate the number of applications that will be received for each group but it is important that the groups are of a workable size. A strict limit on the size of each group has not been set but a group comprising of significantly more than 20 members may cause operational problems.

As a result, if the chair to the group feels the number of applications received might compromise the group’s ability to deliver on its aims, the chair will decide on an appropriate limit to the membership whilst ensuring that membership reflects a broad and comprehensive spread of relevant experience, interests and sectors. This may mean that not all applications are successful and we would like to apologise in advance if this happens.

Queries

If you have any queries please contact the secretariat to the council at

IN CONFIDENCE - UKCCIS Working Group Application

Section 1

Your details
Name:
Position:

Organisation:

E-mail address:

Telephone:

Section 2

Which working group(s) are you applying to be member of?

(Please select all that apply)

Working Group

Industry Standards (title subject to change)

Better Education

Public information and Awareness

Video games

Are you aware of any conflicts of interest that might call into question your involvement in the above groups?

Yes (please provide brief details below)

No

Section 3

Supporting Statement

Please provide a brief career synopsis to support your application in no more than 300 words.

1