Benefits of Membership

EURIM is not a conduit for lobbying but for better informing public debate.

• Opportunities to help create frameworks for future policies.

• Opportunities to make your views known before future legislation/regulation is agreed.

• Opportunities to network with decision makers in Government and Business.

• Opportunities to work with EURIM's partner organisations on joint events and initiatives.

• Opportunities to keep abreast of developments that will change the way you do business.
   

The benefits of membership will depend on what you put in, time and resources, over and above your subscriptions. Some members wish merely to keep in touch with what is happening and receive notices of policy initiatives and consultations. Others wish not only to work with their peers to influence what is happening but to help set the political agendas of the future, before policies are drafted. 

Opportunities to help set the policies of the future

EURIM brings together working groups from the ICT industry (suppliers, users, trade associations and professional bodies) to work with officials to analyse issues not well addressed by others, identify possible ways forward, test these for consensus (professional, industrial and political) and help achieve sensible outcomes during the legislative process.

EURIM’s past track record on issues like Data Protection, Telecommunications Policy, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers, the electronic signatures legislation, Y2K and Good Practice in planning and procurement mean that members can genuinely help improve the legislative process, not just via high-level political contact, but by working with those responsible for drafting policy, particularly where it cuts across departmental boundaries.

This does, however, require that members are willing to work with their competitors, as well as their partners, suppliers and customers to provide well informed and balanced inputs to discussion. 

EURIM is increasingly proactively consulted by Government and Officials as part of the pre-legislative process and has an excellent track record of success in making constructive and transparent suggestions at all stages of the consultation process. That position is achieved and maintained by the quality of the inputs from its members.

"EURIM is an indispensable forum for progressing the policy interests of the Information Society between business, parliamentarians and officials in a climate of expert, professional and confidential dialogue."

Chris Godwin, Government Programmes, IBM (UK) Ltd

Opportunities to make your views known before future legislation/regulation is agreed

EURIM’s ongoing high level dialogue with politicians and officials enables members to communicate business perspectives to decision makers at the start of the legislative process, before commitments are made and the policy choices are formalised for consultation. Focussed discussion at the policy-making stage has long term benefits for all parties, especially if it is followed by well-informed debate at each stage, from consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny through legislative debate to the statutory instruments and regulatory decisions.

A flexible structure allows EURIM to respond quickly to developments in the legislative and pre-legislative arena.  Working groups and sub-groups are formed around issues with a focus on specific objectives and are then disbanded once their work is complete. 

"EURIM's roundtable approach is particularly successful in finding consensus and highlighting areas of concern that need to be addressed."

Sarah Terry, Head of Govt. Relations UK, Nortel Networks

Opportunities to network with decision makers in Government and Business

EURIM's Parliamentary membership comprises MPs, Peers and MEPs and includes Ministers, Select Committee Chairmen and members and their counterparts in the European Parliament. The diversity of EURIM's Industry membership, which spans large and small corporations, uses and suppliers, trade associations, professional bodies and other not-for-profit organisations, allows for a more complete representation of the ICT sector and makes senior figures more willing to attend events and listen.

"EURIM provides a distinctive forum in which to tackle topical policy issues with a broad range of relevant stakeholders."

Nick Penston, Cisco Systems

Opportunities to work with EURIM's partner organisations on joint events and initiatives

EURIM works with and through partners such as Intellect, UK Payments, CPS, DEMOS, IPPR, BCS, CILIP, IET, ISSA and the BSG wherever possible so as to demonstrate the collective views of industry on the need for change - or to persuade politicians to leave things to evolve without government intervention because of the risk that intervention would not achieve its objectives and might even be counter-productive.

"Participation in EURIM and its sister organisation PITCOM, is our way of keeping our 14,000 members in touch with the many UK and EU proposals to change the way they are permitted to do e-business and of channelling their views and experience to where it matters."

Vanessa Hymas, IMIS

Opportunities to keep abreast of developments that will change the way you do business

EURIM members receive notice of consultations on the subjects in which they have shown interest and events organised by partners on those consultations. Where no-one else is doing so, EURIM will organise round tables with those running consultations to help ensure balanced responses – and collective responses on points where there is agreement. Members have access to all responses to consultation exercises, along with published status reports, briefings, position papers and guides.  Members can also access a large archive of unpublished papers, minutes and other documents that trace the course of legislation and which provide vital background information for new developments.

"EURIM helps inform debate by keeping us up to date with business thinking." 

Richard Allan

"Membership of EURIM helps us keep in touch with new and emerging issues relating to the Information Society and the application of ICT in the wider social, economic and political context." 

Mike Allen, Oakleigh Consulting Ltd

Other Comments from EURIM Members

"EURIM brings together expertise from parliament, public sector and the ICT industry in a valuable discussion forum to influence the modernisation of government in the UK."

Stephen Darvill, Marketing & Govt Relations Director, Logica

"What is of most interest to me about EURIM is that there is a broad range of interests involved in its debates."

EURIM Achievements

• EURIM helped set the agenda and organise the pre-legislative scrutiny for the Communications Bill that created Ofcom. It was credited with helping save an estimate of over 400 “friendly” amendments.

• EURIM is helping to remove the barriers to achieving real e-Government: clarifying and publicising good practice in consultation, planning, procurement and shared service delivery.

• EURIM was one of the first organisations to recognise the impact of the proposed RIP legislation. It helped organise well-informed discussion and inputs at every stage: from the original consultation, through the passage of the Bill to the Statutory Instrument for the “Lawful interception of business communications”.

• EURIM alerted government and politicians to the need for co-operation with industry in the fight against e-Crime. The ground-breaking EURIM-IPPR study set the original agenda for what is now the UK Cyber Crime Strategy. It is helping launch the E-Crime Reduction Partnership, to turn rhetoric into action.

• EURIM is helping to improve the legislative scrutiny process: e.g. by preparing material for use by those likely to serve on future Select Committees on the questions they should bear in mind when checking that proposals have indeed been thought through and are likely to meet their objectives.

• EURIM cuts across departmental and organisational silos: as in its work on Information and Identity Governance and on the issues that need to be addressed to attract and retain Knowledge Based industries.

• EURIM confers competitive advantage on its members by keeping them abreast of developments: e.g. by circulating the original press releases and calls for submissions provided by our departmental observers.

More on Achievements

What does the subscription cover?

Membership of all working groups and sub-groups. Corporate and Associate members may nominate different representatives to join each working group or sub-group.

Access to all group activities, meetings and events.

Access to all EURIM documentation:- minutes, briefings, overviews, guides, status reports, position statements, consultation responses, etc.

See subscription rates