## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** **From Period start date To Period end date** ## **Charity name:** ## **Charity registration number:** ## **Objectives and Activities** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|For much of its long history, The British
Society for Research on Ageing has solely
relied on its volunteer board of Trustees to
manage the operational side of its activity. In
October 2023, the board took the decision to
appoint a part-time freelance Chief
Executive to support and oversee
operations.
The Trustees took this decision to invest in
support staff to help them deliver ambitious
targets for the charity, based on a Vision for
the organisation that has 5 interconnecting
pillars:
1.
Bring our scientist members together
2.
Educate the general public
3.
Advocate for more funding for high
quality research
4.
Raise money to provide grants to
support excellent research
5.
Enable translation of research by
relevant stakeholders
Trustees remain integral to the operational
work of the charity. They are appointed for a
term of 3 years, with the option to renew,
and are encouraged to take on a specific
role in line with their skills and experience. A
majority of the Trustees are academics
drawn from the ageing research community,
with others bringing experience from the
private and charity sectors. Applications and
nominations can be made at any time
through the year, via the BSRA website, with
candidates elected by ballot of members
either online or in person at our AGM.
The Board of Trustees is supported by a
Scientific Advisory Board, a group of 6
individuals who dedicate their time to assist
with reviewing and making decisions about| |||grants awarded by the society, in line with
AMRC guidelines.
All new Trustees and members of the SAB
read the guidance on public benefit issued
by the Charity Commission and sign the
BSRA Trustee register to say that they have
understood the content of the document and
the requirements of being a charity Trustee
under UK law.| |---|---|---| |Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or services
identified in the accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|The Trustees were committed to making
progress against the 5 pillars of the society’s
Vision. To do this they made the decision to
invest in a part time freelance Chief
Executive and part time freelance
Communications Manager, who helped them
increase the charity’s output and impact.
1.
Bring Scientist Members Together
-
The number of BSRA members
increased by over 10% and
membership broadened through
outreach to students, industry,
international researchers and
institutions.
-
Six leading figures in the field of
ageing research were invited to
share their work in our 2024
Academic Seminar Series, attracting
approximately 300 participants.
-
Our 73rdAnnual Scientific Meeting
(ASM) at the University of
Birmingham brought together
approximately 135 delegates and
over 20 speakers for 3 days of
stimulating talks, networking
opportunities and poster
presentations.
2.
Educate the Public
-
The public lecture at our Annual
Scientific Meeting is a key part of our
public outreach. The guest speaker
at our Birmingham meeting was
Professor Steve Harridge from King’s
College London, whose talk on
exercise and ageing was attended by
70 representatives from the
Birmingham 1000 Elders cohort.
-
A core objective of 2023-2024 was to
develop a public engagement
strategy to deliver on the charity’s
commitment to education. Led by our
new CEO and Communications| ||Manager, this strategy includes the| |---|---| ||development of new opportunities for| ||members of the public to engage with| ||scientists in the field of research| ||ageing, including the launch of an| ||online public lecture series.| |3.|Advocate for More Funding| |-|The Chair of the Board of Trustees,| ||Professor Weinkove, represented the| ||BSRA at an event on ageing at the| ||Royal Society and discussed ageing| ||research priorities with former Chief| ||Medical Officer, Chris Witty, and Lord| ||Kakkar, Chair of the OSCHR.| - Members of the BSRA represent over 56 UK institutions involved in ageing research, providing a significant platform for promoting the value of this area of research as a means of preventing disease and improving the health of all individuals. - 4. Raise Money to Provide Grants - The BSRA supported the work of 13 young researchers in 2023-2024. As a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRS), the BSRA has its own Scientific Advisory Board to assess and award grant applications. These prizes included ongoing support for a PhD student at the University of Birmingham with the support of The Chernajovsky Foundation; the Korenchevsky Prize awarded to the best elevated Oral Presentation to an Early Career Researcher at our Annual Scientific Meeting; two small research grants, two travel grants, three summer studentship grants and poster prizes at our ASM. 5. Enable Translation of Research - The BSRA launched a new initiative to develop partnerships with specific disease charities and identify ways in which the expertise of ageing researchers can help them fulfil their objectives. Charities include Cystic Fibrosis Trust, The Macular Society and Cancer Research UK. - The BSRA hosted a one-day satellite event before the annual ASM for the eleven UK Ageing Networks (UKAN) |||to meet in person.
-
The ASM included an inaugural Early
Career Commercialisation Prize to
encourage these young researchers
to translate their laboratory research
into commercial opportunities.| |---|---|---| |Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|On appointment to the board, all new
trustees must read the guidance on public
benefit issued by the charity commission and
sign a the BSRA trustee register to say that
they have understood the content of the
document.| ## **Additional information (optional)** |**Additional information (optional)**|**Additional information (optional)**|**Additional information (optional)**| |---|---|---| |You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:||| ||SORP reference|| |Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|When awarding grants, the BSRA conforms
to the AMRC principles of peer review
guidelines, and utilises a minimum of 2 peer
reviewers (for awards exceeding £2000) and
an independent Scientific Advisory Board for
selecting projects for funding. The BSRA is
also committed to the 3Rs relating to the use
of animals in research.| |Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|N/A| |Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|The BSRA is wholly reliant on volunteers in
order to function. The board of trustees are
at the heart of the society and are
responsible for its management and running.
In addition, the BSRA has a scientific
advisory board; a group of 6 individuals who
dedicate their time to assist with reviewing
and making decisions about grants awarded
by the society.| |Other||N/A| ## **Achievements and Performance** SORP reference ||Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|In Sept 2024 we hosted our Annual Scientific
1at the University of Birmingham with 135
delegates. This continues to provide the
BSRA with an excellent forum to discuss the
biology of ageing. The meeting includes a
public lecture, open to all members of the
public as a way to engage wider
communities in the importance of ageing
research. As part of the ASM, the BSRA also
awarded the Korenchevsky prize to enable a
young researcher to present their work at the
AGE meeting in America in 2025. This
continues to represent an excellent
mechanism to spread the message about
the BSRA to a wider audience, and also
support early career researchers in the field
of biogerontology.
The BSRA has continued to support
research into the biology of ageing through
awards of small grants to researchers in the
field. In 2024 we awarded almost £15000 to
researchers to enable them to conduct and
publish work in this field.
The BSRA has worked alongside the
Chernajovsky Foundation in 2024 to
administer a PhD award to the University of
Birmingham. The BSRA provides additional
support to this student via providing
opportunities and funding to attend and
network at our annual meeting. This project
was successfully completed in 2024.
The BSRA has also established an online
lecture series from leading scientists in the
field.|| |---|---|---|---|---| ## **Additional information (optional)** ## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |
Achievements against
objectives set|
Para 1.41|| |---|---|---| |Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|| |Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|| |Other||| ## **Financial Review** |**Financial Review**||| |---|---|---| |Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|As of the 30th of November 2024, the British
Society for Research on Ageing has total
cash funds of £68,896. This represents a net
profit of approximately £7,378 over the last
12 months.| |Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|The BSRA do not have a specific policy on
holding reserves. However, we do not have
any financial dependencies (e.g.
employee’s) and the cash funds held by the
BSRA are more than adequate to conduct
our main aims of hosting our annual
scientific meeting and awarded small grants
to our members.| |Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|N/A| |Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|N/A| |Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|N/A| |Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|N/A| ## **Additional information (optional)** ## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |
The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|
Para 1.47|
The principal sources of funding to the
BSRA are:
1. Donations to the charity
2. Registrations to the annual scientific
meeting
3. Membership subscriptions| |---|---|---| |Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|N/A| |A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|N/A| |Other||| ## **Structure, Governance and Management** |Description of charity’s
trusts:||| |---|---|---| |Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|Constitution| |How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|CIO| |Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|All trustees are subject to election by the
membership| ## **Additional information (optional)** ## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |
Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction and
training of trustees|
Para 1.51|
All newly elected trustee’s must read the
Charity Commission document “The
essential trustee” and sign the BSRA training
register to confirm that they have read and
understood the document and the
responsibilities of a trustee. New trustees
typically spend some time observing and
shadowing existing trustee’s before taking
on a substantive role within the charity.| |---|---|---| |The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51|Responsibility for the management of the
BSRA lies with the board of trustees, who
are led by the chairperson. The trustees are
supported by the Scientific Advisory Board,
comprising 6 persons, who work with the
board of trustees to review and select from
applications for BSRA funding. The BSRA
development board are a separate panel of
volunteers whose role is to help the BSRA
secure funds to advance our aims and
deliver our core activities. The board of
trustees, scientific advisory board and
development board are all comprised of
volunteers. In Oct 2024 a CEO was
appointed to assist with the running of the
charity.| |Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51|N/A| |Other||| ## **Reference and Administrative details** Charity name |Other name the charity uses|British Society for Research on Ageing| |---|---| |Registered charity number|1174127| |Charity’s principal address|British Society for Research on Ageing, Durham University,
Science Site, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE| ||| ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |1
2
3|**Trustee name**|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint trustee (if**
**any)**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint trustee (if**
**any)**|| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||Professor David
Weinkove||Chair||||||| ||Sally Bird||CEO||Oct 2024 on||||| ||Dr Paul Morgan||Honorary Secretary||||||| ||4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20|Dr Paul Potter||HonoraryTreasurer|||||| |||Dr BradleyElliott||Communications|||||| |||Dr Niharika Duggal|||||||| |||Dr Ira Milosevic|||||||| |||Dr Sophie Joanisse||Grants and Awards||Jan 2024 on|||| |||Elizabeth Mills|||||||| |||Tina Woods|||||||| |||Dr Charalampos
Rallis||||Nov 2024 on|||| |||Dr Diana Marcu||||Nov 2024 on|||| |||Dr Jon Houseley||||Jan 2024 on|||| |||Dr Hector Zenil||||Jan 2024 on|||| |||Dr James Murray||Honorary Secretary||Sept 2024 on|||| |||Adrian Cull||||Resigned March|||| ||||||||||| ||||||||||| ||||||||||| ||||||||||| – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved **Director name** Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity **Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year** ## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** Description of the assets N/A held in this capacity Name and objects of the N/A charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for N/A safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets ## **Additional information (optional)** ## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** **Type of Name Address adviser** ## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** ## **Exemptions from disclosure** Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details ## **Other optional information** ## **Declarations** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** **Signature(s)** **Full name(s)** Dr Paul K Potter ~~ee~~ **Position (eg Secretary,** Honorary Treasurer **Chair, etc)** ~~ee ee~~ **Date** 20/9/25 ~~|~~ |**Charity Name**||**No (if any)**| |---|---|---| |**Receipts andpayments accounts**||| |**For the period**
**from**|01/12/2023
Period start date|30/11/2024
Period end date
**To**| ## **CC16a** ## **Section A Receipts and payments** |||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Restricted**
**funds**||**Endowment**
**funds**||**Total funds**||**Last year**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**to the nearest £**|**to the nearest £**|**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**| ||**A1 Receipts**|||||||||| ||Membership|4997.6||**-**||**-**||**4,998**||**4,901**| ||Annual Scientific Meeting|**59766.54**||**-**||**-**||**59,767**||**29,490**| ||Donations|**8672.99**||**-**||**-**||**8,673**||**3,239**| ||Refunds|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**907**| ||Grant Funds|6574.32||**-**||**-**||**6,574**||**67,480**| |||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_|||||||||| ||_AR)_|**80,011**||**-**||**-**||**80,011**||**106,017**| |**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Total receipts_ 80,011**
**-**
**-**
**80,011**
**106,017**
~~S555~~||||||||||| ||**A3 Payments**|||||||||| ||Travel expenses and refunds|**2,059**||**-**||**-**||**2,059**||**5,956**| ||Annual Scientific Meeting|**37566.6**||**-**||**-**||**37,567**||**35,049**| ||Grants and Awards|**14362.8**||**-**||**-**||**14,363**||**79,358**| ||Professional costs|**720**||**-**||**-**||**720**||**600**| ||Subscriptions|**866**||**-**||**-**||**866**||**790**| ||Website|**923.32**||**-**||**-**||**923**||**653**| ||Bank and Fraudulent Charges|**45**||**-**||**-**||**45**||**193**| ||Consultancy|**16041.9**||**-**||**-**||**16,042**||**3,264**| ||PayPal Refunds|**48.55**||**-**||**-**||**49**||**-**| ||**_Sub total_ **|**72,633**||**-**||**-**||**72,633**||**125,863**| **A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) - - - - - - - -** _**Sub total**_ **[ - ] - - - -** ~~S~~ _**Total payments**_ ~~555~~ **72,633 - - 72,633 125,863** _**Net of receipts/(payments)**_ **7,378 - - 7,378 - 19,846 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 61,518 - - 61,518 81,364** _**Cash funds this year end**_ ~~SS~~ **68,896** ~~=~~ **- 68,896 61,518** CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 30/09/2025 1 |**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**the end of the period**|| |---|---|---|---| |**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**|Signature
**Details**
**Details**
Bank account
**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**68,896**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**68,896**
**-**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Dr Paul K Potter|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||OK| ||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**When due**
**(optional)**| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||Date of
approval| |||Dr Paul K Potter|| ||||| CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 30/09/2025 2 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of British Society for the Research into Ageing On accounts for the year ended 30th November 2024 Charity no (if any) 279932 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 3011112024 Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act") I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5){b} of the Act. Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination Éotlw which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act., or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records., or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirement5 concerning the form and content of accounts set out In the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Signed: Date: 2810g12025 Name: Tracy Rhys-williams Relevant professional qualification(s> or body MA4T IER Oct 2018 (if any): Address: 7 Rosebarn Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 OHN Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018