Welcome to 2024 and a very happy new year to you all. I hope you had a great time over the festive period. Now it’s back to normality which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing after a couple of weeks of festivities. At least I’m beginning to realise what day of the week it is, which wasn’t the case over the Christmas and New Year break. Or is that just my age showing?
I think 2024 will be a period of development and change for ADSO to prepare us for the years to come. With Matthew Hall, our still relatively new Director of Business Development & Strategy leading the way, the ADSO Board will be focussing on building our resources and resilience to ensure we are a more robust and business-like organisation, with additional investment in capacity to help Directors focus on the more strategic issues and to increase the services we offer to you as members. It’s an exciting time and we will keep you informed of progress throughout the year.
Annual General Meeting – 8 February at 4pm
Please put this remote meeting in your diary. It’s a very important event in our calendar which will help shape how ADSO operates in the future. An agenda with a joining link will be sent to all members a couple of weeks beforehand.
Training Course Pilot
The following training course is currently being developed (details below) and participants are sought to assist in its fine tuning by way of a pilot session. The pilot will be virtual and free to attend and attendees are sought who can review the course once delivered and provide feedback for its final compilation. If you can fulfil what is required and can attend the pilot then please contact adsotraining@emcouncils.gov.uk
An introduction to Licensing and Planning Committees – 7 February 2024 11am – 3pm (time has been allowed for a lunch break approximately halfway through the session)
This session will be aimed at Officers with some Democratic Services experience but are new to organising and clerking Licensing and Planning Committees. The session will focus on the legal framework, how Officers work together as a Team to manage each meeting and provide some practical tips. This session would also be useful to DSOs who are not managing Licensing or Planning Committees but have an interest in the role.
Constitution Reviews
Are you thinking of reviewing your Council’s Constitution? If so, let ADSO take the strain and do the work for you. We have a team of expert practitioners (including legal resources) who can support you in bringing your Constitution up to date and ensuring it is compliant. If you wish to know more, please get in touch with me on john.austin@adso.co.uk.
ADSO Conference 2023 resources now available
The conference plenary and workshop PowerPoints and facilitated discussion notes are now available to view on the Conference 2023 page along with other conference resources. The notes from the five facilitated discussions which kicked off the conference may be particularly interesting to you as they cover topics such as developing as a DSO and working in a political environment.
You can also find out who won and was presented with their ADSO Award at the conference dinner this year and hear from the winners here.
Webinar bookings open – Beyond Elections with Sym Roe from Democracy Club
The first webinar of 2024 takes place on Tuesday 23 January and is now open for bookings. Democracy Club provides some of the most comprehensive election data in the UK and their digital tools make election information more accessible, user-friendly and readily available online, enhancing the democratic process and boosting voter engagement.
This webinar will explore why Democracy Club thought these services were needed in the first place, how they went about delivering them and how they have worked with the electoral administration community along the way. The session will be particularly suitable for Electoral and Democratic Services Officers, councillors, or anyone working at a council.
Click HERE for full details and to register.
Have a great week everyone.
John Austin, ADSO Chair