Along with the support of the ICS Office the Board of Trustees have been busy since our amazing meeting in Tokyo. Sherif has now taken over from Adrian and is driving the ICS forward. Here is a brief update on what the office and Board have been working on.
Finances: The 2016 finances were finalised and after a cautious approach to ICS 2016 in Tokyo we are pleased to report a $119,000 profit share. In general the ICS has fared well during 2016 with Brexit working to the charity's advantage by allowing some currency exchange gains. More information will be available soon when the accounts are signed off by the accountants and the Treasurer.
Strategy update: The Board met in mid February and amongst a 40 agenda item, 2 day meeting they met with their strategic consultant, George Levvy, to review the current ICS long term strategy. After a thought-provoking brainstorming session the Board agreed that the new primary aim for 2022 is "To be the global home of science and clinical education for LUTS, Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Disorders". More news to come on this shortly.
ICS 2017 in Florence: The 2017 meeting is progressing well with strong industry support and a record breaking year for abstract submissions. The local organising committee are looking into innovative sessions with science and education at the core. We hope to see you there.
ICS Institute: The ICS institute is a framework for bringing together all ICS educational resources under ”ICS Schools” of study. All Schools are in the process of being created and having Directors assigned, with content ready to follow. To date the Schools assigned include: Urogynaecology; Male LUTS; Urodynamics; Physiotherapy; Nursing; Bowel Dysfunction; Translational Research and Neurourology. The ICS institute will be the home of e-learning and education for the ICS. Expect to see much more on this exciting developing in the build up to ICS 2017.
Committees: All the committees are forging on with their years activities. The Education Committee have worked with Hashim Hashim to prepare the first ICS run Cadaver Course to be held in Bristol in June. They have also prepared an excellent workshop programme for you in Florence and are working hard preparing online content to work with the latest addition to the ICS Office team, Rob Lewis who will start shortly as a video editor for the ICS. The Standardisation Committee have been helping the working groups continue with their aims to prepare high standard terminology documents. There is a call for new working group members so please contact the office if you want to be involved. There are too many other committee activities to mention but look out shortly for updates from each committee.
Membership drive: The other main activity has been the drive to bring more members to join the ICS. We have offered over 200 free memberships to early career professionals. We hope that they enjoy the ICS and decide to stay with us for years to come. We also want to see more nurses, gynaecologists and colorectal specialists join the ICS so please help us spread the word and invite your colleagues to join us.