Setting up a New Club, Society or Project If you can’t find a Club, Society or Project that does what you want it to do – and you are keen and willing to take on some responsibility – you can start your own.
Before You Start You must be a registered undergraduate or postgraduate Imperial student to start a Club, Society or Project. Double-check your activity is currently unavailable. E-mail the Deputy President (Clubs & Societies) and they will be able to tell you if what you want is already on offer. The DPCS’ email address is: dpcs@imperial.ac.uk. If at any time while you're attempting to start your new group you feel you need some help then email the Deputy President (Clubs & Societies) and they will always be happy to offer advice and assistance.
Starting out If you have spotted a potentially popular gap in the market, you need to complete a New Club, Society or Project Startup Form (appended to this information) and email it to the Deputy President (Clubs & Societies). The main things you need to consider are: • The Aims and Objectives of the Club, Society or Project you want to start - i.e. what is the point of it, what is it aiming to do? The more defined and clear these are, the better. • What you will need in terms of financial support, space and other resources. • It is a good idea to have a well-researched proposed budget for the Club, Society & Project you want to setup so that the Committee can see that you are not just pulling numbers out of mid-air. • You will need to get the signatures and CID numbers of 20 other Imperial students who would be willing to support a new Club or Society, or five Imperial students to support a new Project
These committees is formed of members of the Clubs & Socities Board, in the case of the New Clubs Committee, or members of the Representation & Welfare Baord in the case of the New Projects Committee. What happens at the meeting The meeting is quite informal, so you do not need to get too worried about it. You will need to give a short 10 minute talk, expanding on the things you have written on your form. The committee will be focussing on: • Does the new Club, Society or Project have different aims and objectives from other Clubs, Societies & Projects? • Is it feasible from a financial, spatial and resource point of view? • Do the activities proposed suggest that the Club, Society or Project will have a long-term future? • Are the activities proposed safe? • Have the proposers got a clear and well thought out idea of a programme of activities and events for the new Club, Society or Project to flourish? If you convince the committee that what you want to do is worthwhile and that you have thought things through sensibly and thoroughly, then your group will be officially created and the committee may give you some money to help you get off the ground.
What Happens Next
Hopefully you will know what you want to do and what the point is, so this should be fairly straight forward.
After your group has been created it will be put into a Management Group with other similar Clubs, Societies & Projects. You will also be introduced to your Management Group Chair who will help you to learn more about what you need to do in running the Club, Society or Project. You will need to get training, either from your Management Chair and Treasurer or from the Deputy President (Clubs & Societies) or Deputy President (Welfare). You will also need to submit Documentation which your Management Group Chair should guide you through.
Committees
Appealing the Decision
Once everything is ready you will be asked to come to either the New Clubs Committee (for Clubs & Societies) or to the New Projects Committee (for Projects) to present your idea.
If the committee decides not to form your Club, Society or Project you can appeal to the Clubs & Societies Board or the Representation & Welfare Board.
Version 1.1 - 18 October 2010
New Club/Society/Project Start-up Form So you’re thinking of creating a new Club, Society or Project? Below you’ll find a list of steps you need to take to start one. Remember, if you have any questions about the process, feel free to ask the Deputy President (Clubs & Societies) or Deputy President (Welfare) for help or advice: dpcs@imperial.ac.uk or dpeducation@imperial.ac.uk 1. Have an idea! 2. Check that no-one else has had the same idea and that a similar club doesn’t already exist 3. Think of the aims and objectives of the group (what the point of the Club, Society or Project is) 4. Work out what you’d like to do (activities, events, sessions etc.) 5. Collect 20 signatures (for Clubs & Societies) or 5 (for Projects) and CID numbers from other Imperial students – undergraduate or postgraduate, but not staff 6. Answer all the questions on this form 7. Email this form to dpcs@imperial.ac.uk or bring it to the Union Reception on the floor 2M of the Union Building. NB: Everything in this form must be submitted at once for it to be considered 8. Shortly after submitting this form, you’ll receive an invitation to either the New Clubs Committee (NCC) or New Projects Committee (NPC), which generally meet once a month. There you’ll present your idea and take some questions. The committee will then decide whether or not to start your Club, Society or Project.
Surname
First Name
College Log in
CID
Proposed Name of Club/Society/Project
Your CID number can be found on the front of your College swipe card.
What is the Club/Society/Project’s core activity? What else do you aim to do?
Which existing Clubs/Societies/Projects are you most similar to and how? It is advised to name at least one other group.
imperialcollegeunion.org
How are you going to achieve your Club/Society/Project’s aims? What events/activities will you organise? You are strongly encouraged to provide details on how you plan to finance the Club/Society/Project
How will you measure whether you have met your aims or not?
How do you plan to recruit students to your Club/Society/Project?
What will your Club/Society/Project bring to the ICU community? Why should we support your idea?
What are your long term hopes for the Club/Society/Project? How will you ensure the it continues successfully?
Would you require any equipment for your activities? If so, what?
How much do you anticipate charging for membership? Realistically, how many members do you estimate will join the club by the end of its first year?
Note: You must be not be one of the 20 signatures (for Clubs & Societies), five signatures (for Projects)
Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Department
PG/UG and Year
CID Number
Signature