Minutes of meeting of the Board of directors of The Autscape Organisation Meeting date: Saturday 23rd May 2015 Meeting time: 15:00 BST Meeting Chair: Martijn Present: Kalen, Martijn, StephenM, Trish Apologies: Debbie (Partial attendance), Elaine, Liz Meeting opened 15:13. 1. Request to waive right to formal notice of meeting Approved (4 for). It was noted that those not present also have to waive notice within a certain period of the meeting. 2. Ratifications 2.1. To change the fees to variant C of the options presented to the board (2 votes for C, one vote for 1), in order to reduce the workload for the programmer and as such get the booking opened sooner. [See Appendix A for summary] Fees approved (4 for). 3. Proposals 3.1. The vice treasurer proposed that the board accept the draft accounts forwarded to the board on May 6th. (Handled out of turn whilst Debbie was present.) Draft accounts accepted (4 for). 3.2. The vice treasurer proposed that the board amends item c) in the reserves policy to "Set the reserves upper and lower limits to GBP 2000 and GBP 5000 respectively." (See Appendix B for rationale) Amended Reserves approved (4 for). 4. Follow Ups 4.1. Annual Report (Liz) Liz posted to Board list: "With regards to the Annual Report, Peter has very kindly looked over the draft version of the report, made corrections and has also added a section for the accounts. I haven’t had a chance to have another look at it yet, though, but will aim to do this this week and get it sent to Stephen for proofing. It would be great if you could have a look over it, too, Elaine, if you can. I'm not sure whether I will have time to do any fancy formatting with it but I will see how I go." (Kalen left the meeting at this point.) 4.2. Opening Registration (Debbie - Sent to list) The most important parts of Debbie's report, for the minutes: Debbie and Stephen have split registration with Debbie responsible for their initial registration (payments, queries, liaising with venue co-ordinator etc) and Stephen for the room placement. The new fee set is considerably easier to implement as it is the closest to last year's structure. 4.3. Policy Updates (Elaine) Not present however a draft of the complaints policy has been sent to list for comments. 4.4. Personal Data Retention Policy (Martijn) No progress. 4.5. Allowances policy for out and about (Elaine) No report. 4.6. Guidance for splitting conference from governance (Elaine) No report. 4.7. Domain purchase (Martijn) No progress. 4.8. Purchase of Font License (Martijn) No progress. 4.9. Finance Authorisations (Stephen) No progress, hoping to do tomorrow. 4.10. Extra Facebook Admin (Martijn) Martijn to confirm if he has added Kalen, also to add Trish. 5. Role Reports 5.1. Chair (Martijn) Nothing to report. 5.2. Treasurer (Stephen as Vice) We recently received an e-mail reminding us that the accounts need filing by the end of next month. An invoice of £42 has been paid for website hosting. 5.3. Company Secretary (Elaine) No report. 5.4. Web Systems (Martijn) There are some technical problems: Martijn needs to log in and restart whenever the host reboots the system for maintenance. This appears to be due to an outdated operating system. Upgrade is too complex to fix immediately due to extensive customisations and unacceptable this time of year so Martijn will continue to do this manually. 5.5. Honorary Secretary (Stephen) No progress with the authorisations list however as Stephen's part in registration is large but in chunks he should find time in between to do this. (Kalen rejoined the meeting at this point) 5.6. Programme Coordinator (Kalen) Programme is a bit on the late side, but that's a side effect of it being so good. All the high quality proposals are making for a much harder decision making process, which hopefully we'll finish today. Lifeguards are sorted, but still getting quotes on DJs. She will seek out participant-led (leisure) activities over the next month or two. 5.7. Venue Coordinator (Elaine) No report. 5.8 Childcare (Elaine) No report. 6. Subcommittee and working group reports 6.1. Fundraising (Liz) No report. 6.2. Publicity and Publications (Martijn) No progress. Elaine has requested a brochure and a start on the infopack which he will do asap. There was a discussion as to what is required from other people and Martijn said anyone can get started and send to SC pub for proofreading and integration to a coherent layout. Each section needs to be consistent throughout and it is desirable but not necessary that all sections have the same layout. It was suggested that instead each section be produced separately and put on the website rather than printed. Deferred to SC for discussion. 6.3. Merchandise and Purchasing (Stephen) No progress on sensory and equipment purchases since sending queries to WG, response was limited but present. Awaiting response from Yo about getting Autscape stuff from storage. 6.4 Newsletter Martijn is not aware of any recent developments. 7. AOB No other business.
CLOSED PART OF MEETING (Debbie joined the meeting at this point) 8. Programme 8.1. Programme for Autscape 2015 Using a multiple-stage voting process led by the programme coordinator, the board selected the following proposals for the Autscape 2015 programme: - Catriona: Our natural space - Damian Milton: Beyond reasonable adjustment: autistic-friendly spaces and 'Universal Design' - Heta: Calming touch: autistic preferences and simple shiatsu techniques - (Name removed at presenter's request): Spin - Rock - Express - Kabie Brook: Autistic People's Organisations, creating space for change: a case study - Kalen: Who's in and who's out? Diversity and acceptance within the autistic community - Martijn Dekker: A history of early autistic space - Sharon Jeffreys and Mel Bruce: keeping a check on your mental health - Yo: Getting what you need from public services: understanding and using the law - Hannah Ebben: Autistic beings-in-the-world: Neurodiverse negotiations of space - Caroline Hearst: Autistic inner space - Helen Kirk: "To be" or "Not to be" - An exploration into Autistic Embodiment. It was agreed that in future the programme coordinator would try to provide a summary of the pros and cons of each proposal, or particularly those more difficult to decide on. 9. Role assignments 9.1. Treasurer (Candidates - Stephen) Stephen elected treasurer, 4 for. 9.2. Vice Treasurer (Candidates - Debbie) Debbie elected vice treasurer, 4 for. Debbie reiterated that she may need to drop this at the end of the Autscape year. Meeting closed 5:09 BST.
Actions from meeting 1. Check into need for those present to waive notice of meeting. Elaine? 3.2 The vice treasurer proposes that the board amends item c) in the reserves policy (amend documentation?) 4.1 Annual Report (Liz)Liz to send to Stephen and Elaine for proofreading. 4.2 Opening Registration (Debbie - Sent to list) 4.3 Policy Updates (Elaine) 4.4 Personal Data Retention Policy (Martijn) 4.5 Allowances policy for out and about (Elaine) 4.6 Guidance for splitting conference from governance(Elaine) 4.7 Domain purchase (Martijn) 4.8 Purchase of Font License (Martijn) 4.9 Finance Authorisations (Stephen) 4.10 Extra Facebook Admin (Martijn) Martijn to confirm if he has added Kalen, also to add Trish. 5.2 Treasurer (Stephen as Vice)Accounts filing by deadline 5.5 Honorary Secretary (Stephen)Authorisation list. 6.2 Publicity and Publications (Martijn) Elaine has requested a brochure and a start on the infopack. It was suggested that instead each section be produced separately and put on the website rather than printed. Deferred to SC for discussion. 6.3 Merchandise and Purchasing (Stephen) Awaiting response from Yo about getting Autscape stuff from storage. 8.1 Programme for Autscape 2015 (Kalen) Informing proposers whether selected. New roles: 9.1 Treasurer - Stephen 9.2 Vice Treasurer - Debbie