£B Board Elections. Individual representative nominee statements

Every two years, individual members of Bristol Pound have an opportunity to elect a representative to the board. Thank you to everyone who voted and helped to shape the direction of the Bristol Pound.

We are thrilled to announce that Nick Plant has won the Individual Member Board Representative election with 69.2% of the vote. We are delighted that he will be representing the individual members of the Bristol Pound and bringing their voices and ideas to board level discussions.

Conan Wills was elected in 2015, and we are very grateful for the time and energy he has given to the role during his time in office.  Having served two terms, Conan is not allowed to stand for election again under the terms of our Articles of Association.

This year two candidates came forward, following our call for nominations:

Nick Plant

I am standing for election to the Bristol Pound CIC Board so that my skills, experience, enthusiasm and ideas might help it become a fully sustainable social business.

I have been a loyal and enthusiastic Bristol Pound member for years, and believe strongly that local currencies can help reform and replace our broken economic system.

I am one of the new Community Champions, “spreading the word” about £B in Bishopston, having been a long-standing community activist in this part of town – see https://bristolpound.wpengine.com/nickplant/.

I have been a member of several co-operatives, and served on the boards of charities, social enterprises, community organisations and self-help groups. I have also been employed professionally in such organisations, and am acutely conscious of the need for an explicit and mutual power balance between the staff team and Board as a feature of good collective governance.

If elected as a member representative I will work closely with other £B members, and potential members, to help grow individual take-up whilst we continue developing business engagement.

I have an IT background and do part-time web development and systems consultancy, with a career-long emphasis on aligning technology and people systems. This experience might come in useful too.

Fergus Arkley

I’m encouraged by the prospect of a new economy. I believe we cannot wait for the regenerative economy we critically need to be designed and delivered by economists and governments across the globe; we need to be the vanguard as Bristol citizens, consumers and community members, to test and push boundaries and find alternative ways to a fairer more equitable society.

I currently work in the R&D team of an independent Trust focused on supporting community business. My role is to develop the infrastructure that supports the sector; helping communities to access the resources, support and finance they require. So, I can bring a wealth of relevant contacts, ideas and experience in facilitation, alternative finance, and encouraging communities to take control. Community accountability is an essential feature of community business, so if successful I would advocate for greater involvement of Bristol Pound membership in future direction of the currency. 

I’m enthused by this opportunity.  I can offer a lot to the future resilience and success of the Bristol Pound; and personally, gain by getting directly involved in a movement I’m passionate about; where we can make a tangible difference within our exciting local currency, demonstrating we can act locally to influence globally.

Please take a minute to follow this link to vote for your preferred candidate to represent you as a business member on the board.

Voting closed on Monday 2^nd December at 9am.

Many thanks for voting.