Our voice is your voice

The IBMS is open to hearing and addressing our members’ issues and representing the profession’s interests across the four nations, and beyond. One key piece of feedback that we received in our membership survey was that the IBMS should be more willing to making position statements and disseminate opinion pieces on the current issues affecting the profession, and our members in particular.

In order to support our members and accomplish this, IBMS Chief Executive Jill Rodney and your elected Council members have put an operational procedure in place so that all IBMS members can make suggestions for statements and have their voices heard at the highest levels of their professional body. In order to put forward a suggested topic for a public statement or opinion simply email us (see below) and, if accepted, the IBMS will produce and publish a response that presents the Institute's official position on the subject raised.

By introducing this approach, we are demonstrating our commitment to representing our members’ voices and interests. It is also a helping hand to all of those members who cannot afford the time to volunteer for Council or other leadership roles in the Institute but want to have their voices heard and help the profession. 

We look forward to hearing from more of our members and hope that we can amplify your concerns in the most effective ways. This is your profession and we are your voice.


Before you submit a request: 

For your topic to merit the production of a position statement or opinion piece it must be of significance to a majority of the membership or, exceptionally, to a single discipline or professional group within the membership, and be a key issue for the Institute.

Suggestions for topics and the rationale behind the suggestion should be sent by email to communications@ibms.org entitled “IBMS Position Statement” so that it can be forwarded to IBMS Chief Executive Jill Rodney and the appropriate IBMS Council members – who will then decide upon the suitability of the proposal within 5 working days. 

In the event that your proposal is accepted, a suitable lead author will be appointed - usually from the IBMS Council, panels or staff. The lead author will have 14 days to respond and then send their statement/piece to Council for approval. Unless revisions are requested, the statement will be published within a further 5 working days. 

Of course, these represent maximum turnaround times and we will do everything in our power to ensure quicker response rates - particularly if the issues are time-sensitive.