5 Essentials for Meetings Planning – clear objectives, writing agenda, key personnel invited Pre-notification – time & location of meeting & agenda published Preparation – actions agreed at last meeting completed on time, identify important items to add to agenda Processing – effective chairing of the meeting Putting it on record – minutes to record who was there, progress on actions previously agreed, conclusion of discussions, new actions agreed Chelsom, Payne and Reavill “Management for Engineers, Scientists and Technologists”, 2 nd edition, 2004, Wiley section 10.4 and 11.6.

First Meeting Agenda Introduce to group members Elect a group leader (if group decides that is appropriate) Decide rotation for who will chair meetings and who will write the meeting minutes Identify any no shows and allocate actions to try to make contact if necessary Collect contact details ( , mobile phone etc) Agree date, time & location of next meeting and schedule of later meetings Initial discussions on project brief Allocate actions for next meeting Any other business (AOB)

Chairperson’s Role Ensure everyone makes a contribution Ensure no one dominates discussions, including yourself! Ensure discussions stick to the agenda & meeting objectives Check progress on actions agreed at any previous meeting Allocate responsibility for any new actions agreed Summarise discussions to check for understanding & agreement Try to remain objective & independent of any sub- group

Objectives of Secretary Keep an accurate record of meetings Summarise conclusions reached –Not a ‘word-for-word’ record of dialogue! –Try to calm disputes with a balanced account of contentious issues Ensure actions clearly identified to one or more people with a deadline Publish minutes promptly to ensure actions are publicised

Key Items for Meeting Minutes Those present – record names of those present Apologies – record names of those absent, with reasons if known Matters arising from previous minutes – progress on any actions recorded at previous meetings should be reviewed & recorded Agenda items – record conclusions from items, any actions agreed with name of person responsible & deadline Any other business (AOB) – chance for members to raise new issues at the meeting not on the agenda Date & location of next meeting

Peer Assessment & Minutes Remember meeting minutes are an essential source of evidence to: Generate an audit trail of ‘what was done’ and ‘by who’. Enable later groups to trace important events if project is ongoing.