FAQs
Help with General Queries
For questions about the election process, such as what the election is about or why you received this information, please contact [email protected] and include the name of the election in your query: The Ivors Academy Senate electionIf your question concerns The Ivors Academy and their role, please contact [email protected].
About the Senate
What is the Senate?
The Senate provides vital insight and critical feedback which will influence thinking and help us to shape policy, campaigning and public affairs activity on key issues such as Artificial Intelligence, creator remuneration, improving works data and identifiers, unfair commissioning practices, the future of public funding for the arts and making the industry accessible to all. Senate members will also help improve communication and member involvement within the Academy.Members of the Senate will be able to establish their own Councils, which will be open to all members of The Ivors Academy to join depending on their interests.
The Senate includes designated seats: two each for Classical, Jazz, Media and Songwriting genres. One seat for each of those four genres will be designated on the Board. Two seats on the Senate and one on the Board will also be designated for under-25 songwriters and composers.
The remaining seats are open to all, with a commitment to championing and increasing equality, representation and inclusion.
What does a Senator do?
As a Senator, you will:- Be at the heart of an organisation which aims to be the most value driven partner to authors, composers and songwriters.
- Be part of a vibrant consultation space that connects with our Councils and membership.
- Meet four times a year to put member views at the centre of the Academy’s strategy and plans, consult with the Board on strategic aims, receive Board reports and be able to request the Board puts questions or topics on its agenda.
- Be an effective advocate for The Ivors Academy growing our influence with the music industry, public, government and key decision makers. You will be a powerful voice promoting the Academy and reasons to become a member, friend or supporter.
- Connect with songwriters and composers across genres, grow your career and support campaigns that advocate for our community’s rights.
- Be able to get involved in establishing Councils that represent our members’ interests.
- Have the opportunity to stand for election to the Board.
How do I stand for election to become a Senator?
You can nominate yourself to stand for election through this election site, hosted by UK Engage.To stand for election, provide your contact details, a photo, your social media handles, the genre/s you represent, a short bio, and a manifesto up to 250 words explaining why you think you should be elected.
Nominations close at 4pm on Friday 27th September. Only Professional members can stand for election, so as a Standard member you will need to upgrade to Professional membership to put yourself forward. To become a Professional member you need to be a voting member of PRS for Music or an equivalent collecting society, or earn an equivalent amount from composing or songwriting – currently £1,707 in the previous 1-3 years.To apply for Professional membership email [email protected].
Technical Queries
Below are common solutions to technical issues you might encounter. Please try these troubleshooting steps first, as many problems can be easily resolved. If your issue persists, contact UK Engage at [email protected]We will need as much information as possible to investigate the problem, including:
- The name of the election and constituency in which you are entitled to vote;
- Your Unique Security Code (USC);
- Details of any error message you have received - please try to explain the error message accurately;
- The date and time you tried to vote;
- The browser that you are using (e.g. Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari);
- What type of connection you are using (e.g. broadband, public Wi-Fi, 3G/4G).
Unable to access the voting site
There may be a local connectivity problem – try opening www.uk-engage.org or www.google.com – if these websites do not open it is most likely that your device is not connected to the internet. Initially you may want to try closing down your browser and trying again, however, more serious cases may require you to reboot your device.If your connection problems persist please contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for further guidance.
Supported browsers
This site supports all common browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, & Safari. If you encounter any difficulties with these or any other browsers please send a report to [email protected]Data security
Our online voting system uses cryptography, which requires two separate mathematically-related keys upon the creation of the election. One of these keys is made public, the other key is held by UK Engage and is kept private. The combination of the public key and private key is described as a key pair. By leveraging cryptography in this way, ballot requests, updates, and submissions made within the system are kept secure, as they cannot be hacked or faked in any way. Also, once an individual has used their vote, the vote is stored in our online voting system’s ballot box, it cannot be changed by any other voter within the system.Data storage
Your data is securely stored in UK data centres and is managed by local experts. Election data is kept for up to 30 days after the results are declared, after which it is deleted. Candidate nomination data is retained for 12 months before being securely destroyed.Voting on mobile devices
The site is optimised to work with most common mobile devices. If you experience any difficulties while using a smartphone or tablet to access the site please try from another device or send a report to [email protected]Unique Security Code (USC)
Your USC is an 8-character code (2 letters and 6 numbers) unique to you. It may be sent via email or post and is required to cast your vote. If the voting system doesn’t accept your USC, ensure you’ve entered it correctly without spaces. If your USC was provided via a link, manual entry may be bypassed.Already voted message
Once you confirm your vote, it cannot be changed. If you attempt to use your USC again, you will receive an error message.Document access issues
Throughout the site there are documents for you to view, such as candidate statements that have been saved as PDFs. In order to open any PDF documents on the website you will need to have Adobe Reader installed, it can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website.FAQs
Help with General Queries
For questions about the election process, such as what the election is about or why you received this information, please contact [email protected] and include the name of the election in your query: The Ivors Academy Senate electionIf your question concerns The Ivors Academy and their role, please contact [email protected].
About the Senate
What is the Senate?
The Senate provides vital insight and critical feedback which will influence thinking and help us to shape policy, campaigning and public affairs activity on key issues such as Artificial Intelligence, creator remuneration, improving works data and identifiers, unfair commissioning practices, the future of public funding for the arts and making the industry accessible to all. Senate members will also help improve communication and member involvement within the Academy.Members of the Senate will be able to establish their own Councils, which will be open to all members of The Ivors Academy to join depending on their interests.
The Senate includes designated seats: two each for Classical, Jazz, Media and Songwriting genres. One seat for each of those four genres will be designated on the Board. Two seats on the Senate and one on the Board will also be designated for under-25 songwriters and composers.
The remaining seats are open to all, with a commitment to championing and increasing equality, representation and inclusion.
What does a Senator do?
As a Senator, you will:- Be at the heart of an organisation which aims to be the most value driven partner to authors, composers and songwriters.
- Be part of a vibrant consultation space that connects with our Councils and membership.
- Meet four times a year to put member views at the centre of the Academy’s strategy and plans, consult with the Board on strategic aims, receive Board reports and be able to request the Board puts questions or topics on its agenda.
- Be an effective advocate for The Ivors Academy growing our influence with the music industry, public, government and key decision makers. You will be a powerful voice promoting the Academy and reasons to become a member, friend or supporter.
- Connect with songwriters and composers across genres, grow your career and support campaigns that advocate for our community’s rights.
- Be able to get involved in establishing Councils that represent our members’ interests.
- Have the opportunity to stand for election to the Board.
How do I stand for election to become a Senator?
You can nominate yourself to stand for election through this election site, hosted by UK Engage.To stand for election, provide your contact details, a photo, your social media handles, the genre/s you represent, a short bio, and a manifesto up to 250 words explaining why you think you should be elected.
Nominations close at 4pm on Friday 27th September. Only Professional members can stand for election, so as a Standard member you will need to upgrade to Professional membership to put yourself forward. To become a Professional member you need to be a voting member of PRS for Music or an equivalent collecting society, or earn an equivalent amount from composing or songwriting – currently £1,707 in the previous 1-3 years.To apply for Professional membership email [email protected].
Technical Queries
Below are common solutions to technical issues you might encounter. Please try these troubleshooting steps first, as many problems can be easily resolved. If your issue persists, contact UK Engage at [email protected]We will need as much information as possible to investigate the problem, including:
- The name of the election and constituency in which you are entitled to vote;
- Your Unique Security Code (USC);
- Details of any error message you have received - please try to explain the error message accurately;
- The date and time you tried to vote;
- The browser that you are using (e.g. Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari);
- What type of connection you are using (e.g. broadband, public Wi-Fi, 3G/4G).
Unable to access the voting site
There may be a local connectivity problem – try opening www.uk-engage.org or www.google.com – if these websites do not open it is most likely that your device is not connected to the internet. Initially you may want to try closing down your browser and trying again, however, more serious cases may require you to reboot your device.If your connection problems persist please contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for further guidance.