Current activities and projects

The Society has six Groups, each with its own committee reporting regularly to the Executive Committee. Each Group has the remit to consider one of the Society's current six themes, and develop ideas for topics and speakers for Society meetings and activities. The Groups are:
- Arts chaired by Professor Mario Minichiello
- Heritage, chaired by Marion Roberts
- Medicine & Science, chaired by Professor Michael Overduin
- Investment & Regeneration, chaired by Hon Ald John Charlton
- Transport & Climate Change, chaired by Professor Alan Wenban-Smith
- Youth & Diversity, chaired by Estelle Rowe

The Society also has an annual programme of events.

In late 2007, Liam Byrne MP suggested that the Society could play a unique contribution in enabling the next generation of decision-makers in the city and region to reflect the demographics of its population. To that end, the Society is seeking to widen its membership, create relationships with more and different organisations, and to design and source meetings and events to broaden debate on this matter. We have also set in motion a collaboration between Aston University, the University of Birmingham and the Equality and Human Rights Commission with Trevor Phillips.

The Society's Transport and Climate Change Group with Rt Hon David Miliband, MP at the 2007 Annual Dinner. L-R: Sandy Taylor, Deborah de Haes, David Miliband, Kate Cooper, Alan Wenban-Smith IN 2006, the Society set an ambitious aim for the region to aim for carbon neutralality by 2030 — a stretching target to which David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, pledged his support at the Society's 2006 Annual Dinner.
(Shown here, L-R: Sandy Taylor, Deborah de Haes, David Miliband, Kate Cooper & Alan Wenban-Smith)

This Group, after consulting with Society members and leading social policy-makers in the region, wrote a well-received Response to the TIF-funded Green Paper Gridlock or Growth.

The Society also actively supports the Birmingham Science City initiative through its meetings and discussions.

The Society's Executive welcomes ideas from members about issues we should tackle. We depend on voluntary effort and active involvement from members, sometimes in partnership with the wider community, to take these forward.