Wednesday 28 January 2026, 09:30 – 12:30 via Teams

At the 2023 AGM, the membership voted to decouple AGM from the National Conference on a trial basis. The online 2024 and 2025 AGMs received positive feedback and so the 2026 AGM is also being held virtually. Following the 2026 AGM, the HELOA UK Committee will give feedback to the membership if this format has been successful.

AGM stands for Annual General Meeting and it is the policy making body for HELOA. The Association has a legal requirement to hold an Annual General Meeting which gives members the opportunity to give a final stamp of approval for the work carried out by officers of the Association over the last 12 months and give approval, or not, to the proposals for the future running and development of the Association over the coming 12 months. By members using their vote they are directing the work of their Association.

Members are encouraged to attend the AGM. Members attend the AGM in order to represent the views of their institution. Members are invited to speak, ask questions and vote (primary contacts/ proxies) during the meeting and are encouraged to report back to institutions on the meeting and outcomes.

Unfortunately, only full HELOA members can attend the AGM. The AGM reports can be accessed on the website and the minutes will be shared with associate members following the AGM.

To book onto the AGM, please complete the HELOA AGM Form by Monday 19 January 2026.

This form can also be used to book onto the AGM Discussion Forum session being held on Teams on Wednesday 21 January 2026, 12:30 – 13:30.

To register your apologies for the AGM, please complete the HELOA AGM Form by Monday 19 January 2026.

If you are the primary contact for your institution, please complete this form to register your apologies and nominate a proxy.

• Ensure you are familiar with the papers and understand the reports and motions. It is useful to discuss these with the relevant people in your institution so that you are clear about your institution’s views. Decide with your primary contact how your institution will vote on each report/ proposal, where possible. 

• Ensure your institution has a representative at AGM and that a proxy has been nominated to vote, should your primary contact be unable to attend.
• Submit any comments or questions for the UK Committee to your Group Chair prior to AGM. 
• Send Any Other Business (AOB) to be discussed at the AGM, to the Vice-Chair (Membership & Administration) by Wednesday 31 December 2025.
• If you are attending the HELOA National Conference 2026 in Stratford-upon-Avon, there is an AGM drop in on Wednesday 14 January, 14:30-15:00 if you would like to hear more about the AGM or discuss the reports and proposals.
• Attend the AGM Discussion Forum on Wednesday 21 January 12:30 – 13:30 where members have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the reports and proposals and the Chair will provide a run-down of the structure and protocols of AGM, details how members can get involved during the meeting and the voting system.

Discuss any comments or questions with your Group Chair prior to AGM or send any directly to the office or a member of the executive committee. Group meetings will have an AGM item on the agenda prior to AGM. Please see below for a list of upcoming group meetings:

Establishing Quorum – The Chair will first determine if there are enough Primary Contacts or proxies present to hold the AGM.
Welcome and Introduction followed by Minutes of the 2025 AGM.
UKC Reports – each member of the UK Executive will present their report (circulated prior to AGM and available on the website). There will be an opportunity for comments and questions before primary contacts or their proxies vote on the motion.
Financial Accounts – Audited accounts from last year and proposed budgets and subscription levels for the next year will be presented to the AGM for comment. The AGM will then be asked to formally accept the audited accounts.
Proposals – Matters relating to changes in policy and the Constitution will be presented separately in the form of proposals. Each proposal will be open for questions of comments before being put to a vote. 

Each full institutional member of HELOA is entitled to a vote at the AGM. The primary contact, who represents the institution, will vote on behalf of all the institution’s members. 

Check if your primary contact is attending the AGM and if they are unable to attend, you can request to be nominated as their proxy.

If the primary contact is unable to attend the AGM, the institution can nominate another member from their institution to vote on behalf of the institution. To nominate a proxy, primary contacts should complete the HELOA AGM Form by Monday 19 January 2026.

In order to run AGM, the Chair needs to determine if there are enough primary contacts present to hold the AGM – this is called quoracy.

This is set at 1/3 of the number of primary contacts, and if not enough are present, the AGM is unable to go ahead and conduct formal business. Ideally, more than a third of primary contacts would be present.

Voting at the AGM will take place electronically via Mi-Voice, an online voting platform. Primary contacts and nominated proxies will receive an email from Mi-Voice on Tuesday 27 January 2026 with voting details and a single-use link to join the voting site which can be accessed through a browser.

It is the role of the primary contact or nominated proxy to canvas the views of their institutional HELOA members and vote accordingly during the AGM.

Speaking – All full members are invited to make comments on the motions and proposals to contribute to the meeting. When speaking, please first state your name and institution. 
Ask questions – If there is anything that you would like clarified or don’t understand, please ask. When speaking, please first state your name and institution.
Second an item – When asked for a seconder, state your name and institution.
Voting – Primary contacts or their nominated proxies will be invited to vote on each motion.

Contact your Group Chair or a member of the UK executive
Discuss AGM details and questions at group meetings.
If you are attending the HELOA National Conference 2026 in Stratford-upon-Avon, there is an AGM drop in on Wednesday 14 January, 14:30-15:00 if you would like to hear more about the AGM or discuss the reports and proposals.
Attend the AGM Discussion Forum, 21 January 2026, 12:30-13:30 on Teams.
Access the AGM pages of the HELOA website.
Look out for details in the AGM Bulletin

If you wish to submit a nomination for Honorary Membership, please complete the HELOA Honorary Nomination Form, stating your reasons for the nomination by 5pm on Wednesday 7 January 2026.

Nominations for Honorary membership should be for individuals who are no longer represented by institutional membership of the Association and are unlikely to be in the future, and therefore cannot be considered for HELOA membership, but have previously served to support the Association in achieving its aims and objectives.