## **TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT**
**Period:** 1 October 2019 – 31 December 2020
**Charity Number:** 1185514
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
## **The Objects**
The objects of the Academy are “to improve public health and well being by supporting research, education and associated activities which advance the knowledge and application of evidence-based nutrition science.”
## **Charitable Purposes for Public Benefit**
As a charity the Academy must have aims that fall within the descriptions of charitable purposes set out in the Charities Act 2006. The charitable purposes of the Academy in pursuit of its objects are:
- The advancement of health
- The advancement of science
- The advancement of animal welfare
The Trustees have complied with the duty in s.17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s published general and relevant sub-sector guidance concerning the operation of the public benefit requirement under that Act. The beneficiaries are considered to be:
Members of the Academy:
Membership of the Academy is open to organisations only. Currently there are 4 members: the Association for Nutrition; British Dietetic Association; the British Nutrition Foundation; The Nutrition Society. The Academy plans to open membership to other organisations who are interested in furthering the Academy’s objects in 2021. Through these organisations the Academy can significantly extend its public benefit.
## Humanity:
All people benefit from the scientific advice given to government departments, public agencies, the scientific community and the food industry; and from the dissemination of nutritional science through the
Academy publishing position papers, participating in relevant public consultations, and scientific conferences.
## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE**
## **Introduction and Foundation**
The Academy of Nutrition Sciences is a joint initiative between the Association for Nutrition (AfN), the British Dietetic Association (BDA), the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) and the Nutrition Society, established in October 2019 to: ‘ _Improve public health and wellbeing by supporting excellence in research, education and associated activities to advance the knowledge and application of evidence-based nutrition science.’_
This object will be furthered, in collaboration with the both the founding member organisations and additional new member organisations, through common goals and collective activities. The focus will be in four main areas:
## _Leadership_
The Academy will provide a collective voice to engage with stakeholders in the area of nutrition and dietetics, including government and industry. It will also work with partner organisations to ensure publicly available nutrition and diet advice is evidence-based.
## _Communication, Education and Training_
The Academy will champion nutrition science in evidence-based policy making and as a subject in education at all levels. The Academy will also promote education, training, information and guidance and advocate for greater nutrition education for medical students.
## _Stakeholder Relationships_
The Academy will champion research, knowledge transfer and public engagement in the nutrition field. The Academy will champion the public’s greater awareness of the importance of properly regulated nutritionists and dietitians with suitable qualifications and experience.
## _Advancing the Research Agenda_
The Academy will develop a concordat for funders and universities about what constitutes rigorous and ethically sound research in the nutrition field.
## **Year One**
Throughout 2020, as the first full year of activities for the Academy, the trustees have met on five occasions to develop their policies, procedures, systems and plans to support delivery of their charitable objects. A strategic planning process has commenced to enable detailed goals and collective activities to be identified, which is intended to bring a clear focus to the work of the Academy for the next 3 years. The strategic planning process is due to be completed within the first 6 months of 2021. A membership application process has been developed, ready to open the Academy to applications from potential new member organisations in 2021.
The trustees established 3 Working Groups to develop three position papers which will review and report upon: _Nature of the evidence base and frameworks underpinning dietary recommendations for prevention of non-communicable disease_ ; _The Nature of the Evidence underpinning approvals of Health Claims on Food Products - Challenges and Opportunities_ ; _Sustainable food systems._
The first of these Working Groups delivered their findings in a position paper, which was submitted to the British Journal of Nutrition. It was approved for publication in December 2020, titled _Nature of the evidence base and frameworks underpinning dietary recommendations for prevention of non-communicable disease._ The Academy, and its member organisations, communicated the paper to a wide, relevant, and influential audience. This communication included an editorial, authored by Williams CM, Buttriss JL, Whelan K, _Synthesising nutrition science into dietary guidelines for populations amidst the challenge of fake news: summary of an Academy of Nutrition Sciences position paper,_ published in the Nutrition Bulletin.
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
## **Income and Expenditure**
At the end of the extended first year of the Academy’s operations income had been generated through seed funding from the 4 founding member organisations paying a membership fee, totalling £20,000. It is the initial intention of the Academy to generate its income through membership fees. Trustees are exploring, within their strategic planning process, additional sources of sustainable revenue. No operational running costs had been incurred in this first year, as the founding member organisations continued to cover any administrative expenses. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that all trustee meetings had to be conducted online, thus avoiding any travel expenses for trustees. In 2021 the founding member organisations have agreed the Academy will begin to cover all its operating costs. The Academy undertook one significant charitable activity in the publication of its first position paper. The Open Access fees for publication in the British Journal of Nutrition were £2,454. The
Academy ended its first financial year with an operating surplus, and net worth, of £17,546.
## **Policy for Holding Reserves**
The free reserves are defined as funds that are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees. The Trustees have included in the reserves the cash and bank balances held for the day to day business requirements of the Academy. It is the intention of the Trustees to build a reserve fund sufficient to ensure the Academy can continue to operate, should revenues be reduced, for a minimum period of one year.
## **Risk Management**
The main areas of risk that have been identified by the Trustees are: damage to the Academy’s reputation through adverse publicity; significant loss of member organisations; financial losses through fraud or loss of income. In these cases, and in the new activities, preventative measures and financial controls have been agreed and established and the Trustees have implemented procedures for reporting internal control failures immediately to the Trustees, together with details of corrective action being taken.
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
## **Introduction**
The governing document is the Constitution as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, dated 9 May 2019.
## **How the Academy is Constituted**
The Academy’s governing body is the Trustee Board, which has 9 members. Three Trustees undertake the duties of Chair, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer.
The Trustees exercise all the powers of the Academy, subject to the provisions of the charity laws currently in force and with the assistance and advice of an Operational Support Group and a Secretariat. The Operational Support Group comprises of the CEOs of the 4 founding member organisations. The Secretariat provides administrative services, at no cost, to the Academy. The Secretariat is hosted by the Nutrition Society, one of the founding member organisations. In addition there are from time-to-time, sub-committees and working groups reporting to the Trustees on specialist areas of the Academy’s activities. With these arrangements in place, the Trustees at all times have a detailed knowledge of the business being transacted by the Academy.
## **Methods Used to Appoint Trustees**
Procedures for election for Trustee posts are in place. When nominations are needed they will be sought, as proscribed in the Constitution, from the membership and through advertising on the website to which members’ attention is drawn by personal email alerts. Trustees will be elected by decision of the members at the annual general meeting. The Constitution, containing the appointment of trustees’ procedure, is available on the Academy’s website.
It will be the intention of the Academy to ensure all new Trustees receive an induction pack and guidance from the Trustees. An induction meeting will be held to ensure that the incoming Trustees have the opportunity to question the other officers about policy and actions of the board so that they can take up their duties with clear understanding of the current position of the Academy. In addition, all new trustees will attend within their first 6 months in post an external governance training workshop.
## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS**
**The name** : The Academy of Nutrition Sciences
**Charity registration number** : It is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 1185514
**Address of the principal office and address of the registered office:**
Boyd Orr House, 10 Cambridge Court, 210 Shepherds Bush Road, London W6 7NJ
## **The Trustees at 31 December 2020**
Professor Kevin Whelan Professor Harry McArdle - Chair Professor Andrew Salter – Honorary Secretary Dr Frank Thies Dr Fiona McCullough Dr Margaret Ashwell Mrs. Barbara Saunders Professor Judy Buttriss – Honorary Treasurer Professor Christine Williams
**Bankers:** Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
## **By Order of the Trustees**
## **-----------------------------**
## **Mark Hollingsworth, Secretary**
## **Approved by the Trustees 19 May 2021.**
## **Academy of Nutrition Sciences**
## **Balance Sheet**
## Year Ending: 31 December 2020
NB: This first year of the Academy covers 1 October 2019 to 31 December 2020
|**CURRENT ASSETS**
Bank
Debtors
Creditors - amounts falling due within one year
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
**ACADEMY FUNDS**
Unrestricted
**TOTAL FUNDS**|**2020**
**£**
20,000
-|
|---|---|
||20,000
2,454|
||**17,546**|
||17,546|
||**17,546**|
Registered Charity Number 1185514
## **Academy of Nutrition Sciences**
## **Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA)**
## Year Ending: 31 December 2020
NB: This first year of the Academy covers 1 October 2019 to 31 December 2020
||Note|**2020**|
|---|---|---|
|||**£**|
|**Income from:**|||
|Membership seed funding|1|20,000|
|**Total Income**||**20,000**|
|**Expenditure on:**|||
|Charitable Actvites||2,454|
|**Total expenditure**|2|**2,454**|
|**Net income**||**17,546**|
|**Total funds carried forward**||**17,546**|
|Note|||
|1
Seed funding of £5,000|received from each of the 4 founding members,||
|BDA, NS, AfN, BNF|||
- 2 Article Processing Fee for publication in BJN of ANS first paper
## **Academy of Nutrition Sciences**
## **Profit and Loss Account**
## Year Ending: 31 December 2020
NB: This first year of the Academy covers 1 October 2019 to 31 December 2020
|**Date**
**Item**
18-May-20 Seed funding AFN
19-May-20 Seed Funding NS
22-May-20 Seed Funding BNF
29-May-20 Seed Funding BDA
11-Dec-20 APC CUP
Proft c/f
**Totals**|**Income**
**Expenditure**
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
2,454
17,546
**20,000**
**20,000**|
|---|---|