The IMA-LMS Frameworks Study Initiative
Looking at the future options for the IMA and LMS

The IMA and the LMS have been working increasingly closely together over the past few years, in order to serve their members better and to speak for mathematics with a unified voice.  In November 2003 the Councils of the two societies asked a joint working party (the “Framework Study Initiative” or FSI group) to consider the nature of their collaboration and prepare a discussion paper that describes a range of options for the two organisations’ futures.

The responses to this consultation were considered carefully by the two Councils in November 2005 and again in March 2006.

In March 2006 the Councils of the LMS and the IMA voted in favour of the motion:

Council authorises the preparation of detailed plans for a route to unification of the IMA and the LMS.

The plans shall be on the lines of the 'inverted-Y framework' described in the FSI Report (April 2005). The planning process will be subject to regular review by the Council. In due course Council will decide whether it wishes the plans to be implemented, with the proviso that final decisions must involve the membership, as laid down in the articles of governance. The following objectives for the activities of a unified organisation shall be observed in the preparation of the plans:

1. To maintain and enhance support for mathematical research, by making grants and by other means.
2. To recognise and support the professional status and activities of mathematicians working in all sectors of employment.
3. To speak as a national voice on behalf of mathematics.
4. To represent the UK in the international mathematical community, building on the existing reputations of the two organisations.

Next Steps Initiative

The two working groups of the IMA and the LMS met on 24 May 2006 to consider the establishment of a Joint Planning Group to progress the next phase of the 'Next Steps Initiative'.

The Joint Planning Group has decided that the 'Implementation Model for a Unified Society' should contain the following chapters or themes:

• Vision and Mission
• Constitution
• Membership

Reports from the Joint Planning Group have been published in Mathematics Today to keep the membership closely involved. The following reports are accessible:

October 2007 (pdf)

February 2007 (pdf)

April 2007 (pdf)

The Councils of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) and the London Mathematical Society (LMS), at their meetings on 25 June 2008 and 4 July 2008 respectively, received and adopted a Report describing the creation of a new single society for mathematics.  The new national society would, if agreed by the memberships of both bodies, replace the existing societies.

The Councils agreed to commend the proposals to their memberships as preserving the best of both the current societies and providing real opportunities for increasing the scope, scale and effectiveness of all activities in the support and promotion of mathematics.

The Report will be circulated to all members over the summer for consultation, and mechanisms will be put in place to enable members to comment and seek clarification on the proposals.  The Presidents of both bodies will be contacting universities and society branches around the UK to offer to come and speak to members and other interested parties in their area about the proposals.

A decision to create a new society, if both memberships are in favour, would require formal resolutions at General Meetings of the two societies, as well as the approval of the Privy Council and Charity Commission.  The timescale for that, if the proposals go ahead, is unknown but is expected to be at least two years.