OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2023-12-31-accounts

The Trustees Annual Report and Accounts

1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023

Registered Charity Number 240034

The British Cartographic Society Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023

The British Cartographic Society, c/o Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, is registered with the Charity Commission (No. 240034). The Society was founded 28th September 1963 as a Learned Society and the Constitution and By-Laws adopted in September 1964.

The Charity is administered by the Council of the Society, who are the Trustees, comprising (at 31 December 2022):

President Dr S Cassettari Vice-President Mr P Naylor Hon. Secretary Mr D Sherren Treasurer Mr B Anderson

Council Members: Mr C Budas, Mr S Burry, Mr J Goldsmith, Mr H Holbrook, Dr A Kent, Dr J Peaty, Ms C Seldon, Ms E Watts.

The normal term of office for service on Council shall be one year for Officers and two years for Members. When a Member does not complete the normal term of office, Council may seek to fill the vacancy for the unexpired period by election at an Annual General Meeting.

Co-opted Members of Council: Mr K Black, Mrs P Williams. Co-opted Members are not Trustees of the Society.

Honorary Coordinators and other post-holders: Chair of Membership Committee: Ms E Watts Chair of Programme Committee: Mr P Naylor Chair of the Publications Committee: Mr J Goldsmith Chair of UK Cartography Committee, International Cartographic Association: Dr A J Kent External Liaison Officer: Mr A Grimwade

Editor, The Cartographic Journal, and Chair of the Editorial Board: Dr A J Kent

Editorial team, Maplines: A Vizireanu, C Vrinceanu, G Sahbeni, O Candit, P Vujakovic, J Goldsmith, L Bourne Editor, Cartographiti: Ms J Fox Historical Military Mapping Group (HMMG) Convener: Dr J Peaty Maps and Surveys Editor: Mr P Hesp Map Curators’ Group Convener: Mrs P Williams Restless Earth Coordinator: Ms J Johnston

2

Society Administrator: Ms R Derby Society Awards Officer: Mr J Goldsmith

Aims

The object of the Charity is the promotion of that class of knowledge which distinguishes the Art and Science of Cartography. For that purpose, the Society shall, inter alia:

The Trustees’ policy is to offer a forum for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of cartographic knowledge, and to inform Members of technical changes and opportunities that affect their professional standing. Volunteer members manage most of the Society activities, apart from:

Society administration is outsourced to Ms R Derby. Website development and management is undertaken by Dominique Rene. Design of Maplines, the Society’s membership magazine, is outsourced to Pink Salt Design.

Our Restless Earth programme is run by Jennifer Johnston.

Services Provided

Conferences (Society Annual Conference) Regular cartographic/GIS-related talks Society Awards for excellence in cartography Society Awards Archive Support for students at the Conference in the form of bursaries Corporate and Freelancers’ Directories (website) GeoViz Programme to promote innovative cartographic visualisation Restless Earth Workshops for schools

General cartographic information and advice through the BCS Forum

3

Society Publications and Resources

The Cartographic Journal (the peer-reviewed academic periodical of the Society – ISSN 0008-7041)

Maplines (the news magazine of the Society) Cartographiti (the newsletter of the Map Curators’ Group)

Maps and Surveys (the newsletter of the Historical Military Mapping Group) Cartography – an introduction (2[nd] edition) (ISBN 978-0-904482-25-6) A Celebration of 50 Years of The British Cartographic Society (ISBN 978-0904482-24-9)

Careers in Cartography (available on the website) The Map Curators’ Toolbox (available on the website) Directory of UK Map Collections (available on the website)

Representation on National and International organisations

British and Irish Committee for Map Information and Cataloguing Systems (BRICMICS) International Cartographic Association (ICA) UK Committee of the ICA (UK Cartography Committee) UK GEOForum World Cartographic Forum

Special Interest Groups

Historical Military Mapping Group Map Curators’ Group

Partnerships and Collaborations

The Society has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with the Charles Close Society. the International Map Industry Association (IMIA) and the Association of Geographic Information (AGI) to co-promote each other’s aims and activities. It has also signed an MoU with the Government Geography Profession (GGP) to collaborate on the GeoViz Programme (see below).

The Society remains in discussion with the Defence Surveyors Association (DSA) to establish a closer working relationship.

The Society is a member of the Foundation for Science and Technology and benefits from free advice on legislation.

Review of the Year

Council and Committee Meetings

During the reporting period, Council continued with the established pattern of holding shorter monthly meetings virtually via Google Meet/Zoom. In December 2023 some members of Council attended an in-person meeting in a conference room provided by the Steer Group in London. Other

4

members of the Committee joined the meeting virtually via Google Meet on a large screen. Committee meetings generally took place on a regular basis allowing a more responsive way of working.

Membership

The BCS membership year runs from 1 January to 31 December. As of 31 December 2023, BCS membership comprised 12 Honorary Fellows, 64 Fellows, 330 Full members, 25 Corporate members, 17 Small Corporate members, 2 Educational, 50 Student and 40 Affiliate members, making a total of 540.

Membership subscriptions are a main source of Society income with recruitment and retention of existing members being a continuous process.

This year has been another exceptional one and following have been introduced:

Programme

The BCS Programme Committee is responsible for delivering the Society’s Annual Conference and its calendar of events. It has members that report on the Map Curators’ Group, the Historical Military Mapping Group, Restless Earth, BCS Awards, Teatime Talks and GeoViz.

In September 2023 we ran our first in-person conference since covid in celebration of the Society's 60-year anniversary. The conference was run in conjunction with the British Antarctic Survey where our annual awards were also awarded. This included a GeoViz hackday and main conference.

Our Teatime Talks continue to be popular and regularly attract 40-50 registrations and this year we introduced Map Memoirs, online presentations for people to present their favourite map(s). Restless Earth continues to be popular amongst schools and we often hold two to three events per month. The Annual Winter Lecture was held virtually in November and brought together Presidents of the British Cartographic Society, Swiss Society of Cartography and German Cartographic Society to discuss what the future holds for modern day cartography. The GeoViz toolkit is almost finished and

5

will be released later in 2024. In September 2024 our conference will again be in-person.

Awards

In April 2023 the Barbara Petchenik Children's Map Competition UK entries were judged by Dr Alexander Kent, Chair of UK Cartography Committee and Jim Goldsmith, BCS Awards Officer.

The following were selected and sent to ICA as the UK entries.

Category 6-8 years

Peace on Earth by Grace McNaughton (aged 8)

Protect Our Planet by Charlotte Langston (aged 7)

Category 9-12 years

Love our Earth by Hannah Kehoe (aged 11)

Move to the Moon by Veronica Myazin (aged 12)

Save the World, to Save the Bees, to Save the People by Georgia Loughton (aged 10)

The Weight of the World by Harriet Northall (aged 10)

In 2023 awards were presented in the following categories: the Avenza Award for Electronic Mapping, the John C. Bartholomew Award for Thematic Mapping, the Garsdale Design Award for 3D Mapping, the OS Award for Excellence in the Use of Ordnance Survey Data, the Stanfords Award for Printed Mapping and the Peter Jolly Award, which is only open to BCS members and voted for by the 2023 BCS membership. There were no Entries for the Ian Mumford Award in 2023.

The 2023 Awards announcements and presentations took place at the end of the BCS 60th Anniversary Dinner at Christ’s College Cambridge, a fantastic venue for the event (and a logistical challenge!). It was well attended but sadly not all the winners were able to be there. The main conference was held at the British Antarctic Survey where we had a room to display all the Award entries. Some were physical and others were shown on posters, and there was a TV running a looping slideshow with all the 2023 entries.

The prestigious BCS Award was presented to the best entry from the winners of the major design awards. The 2023 winner was Ribbon Mekong entered by Marko Kallio.

Judges’ comments: ‘Unusual and fun presentation of a river course. Very original, entertaining details. A simple concept, clearly executed and easy to follow’. There is a Video on the BCS YouTube channel featuring a chat with Marko about his winning entry.

Because of the delays in publishing The Cartographic Journal, printed by Taylor & Francis, two Henry Johns awards were announced in 2023.

6

Henry Johns Award for the Most outstanding Paper Published in The Cartographic Journal

Full details of all these award categories and the results of the Society’s awards can be found on the Society’s website and were published in the 2023 winter edition of Maplines pages 16-21 and will be included in a future edition of The Cartographic Journal in 2023.

Restless Earth Workshops

The British Cartographic Society’s Restless Earth programme ran for its tenth year during 2023, with 28 sessions at 15 different schools. The interest this year was well received with a total of 1,642 students taking part.

All the workshops were in-person events and will continue as such into the 2024 school year.

The development of the second case study using the Türkİye/Syria 2023 earthquake has begun involving Richard Martin from MapAction. The current Japanese Earthquake Tsunami workshop is being delivered in a simplified format breaking up the tasks into more manageable chunks and using a reduced number of reference maps to accommodate the current abilities of students.

Once again, we are very grateful to all our volunteers and those who support the workshops. Special thanks to all our volunteers, especially Stephen Dodds, Peter Jones and Chris Barrington Brown and Emily Altham from the Ministry of Defence for their contribution.

Teachers continue to comment on the value of the workshops, impressed by the amount skills and knowledge acquired during a 2-hour period. They express their surprise at the students that excel beyond expectation. The Society intends to continue offering the programme for the foreseeable future.

GeoViz

GeoViz is the direct replacement for our Better Mapping programme of activity and is intended to offer design advice, online resources and the

7

opportunity to share experiences for people involved in making maps and geographic data visualisations. A GeoViz hackday run in conjunction with the British Antarctic Survey was held as part of the annual conference in 2023 and the GeoViz toolkit is almost complete and ready for publication later this year.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

Members of the Society represent a wide range of cartographic interests; they include practical mapmakers, map curators and collectors, academics and teachers, historians, GIS specialists and so on. Corporate Members cover an equally diverse field, including hardware and software manufacturers, government and commercial map publishers, and retailers and national libraries. To cater for these interests there are two main groups. If the need arises, the Society is willing to promote further groups.

Historical Military Mapping Group (HMMG )

The group (founded by Dr Peter Chasseaud FRGS) provides a point of contact and a forum for discussion for those interested in or engaged in research into any aspect of the history of military survey and mapping. A joint webinar was held with the Charles Close Society in March under our MOU. Other planned activities did not take place because of the Convenor's ill health. Extensive discussions were held with the Defence Surveyors Association about a MOU. Though the DSA eventually declined, it was agreed that the HMMG and DSA would continue to co-operate informally.

Map Curators’ Group (MCG)

The Map Curators’ Group is for librarians, curators, archivists, map historians and map collectors – anyone interested or involved in looking after map collections. It aims to provide a forum for discussion and professional support for all aspects of managing map collections in any format. In September 2023, as part of the Society's Conference, the Group hosted a workshop on the theme of 'Exploring Maps’. This included papers on the practical use of collections of the British Antarctic Survey and The Alpine Club, decolonising collections at the Royal Geographical Society, and machines reading maps. The MCG has also initiated a new discussion group on Diversifying our Map Collections which aims to meet quarterly.

UK Cartography Committee (UKCC)

The BCS is the adhering body for the United Kingdom to the International Cartographic Association (ICA). The Royal Society continues to take an active interest in ICA affairs and contributes to the annual subscription. A sub-committee of BCS Council, the UKCC is responsible for submitting the

8

UK National Report to the ICA General Assembly and for supporting the UK National Delegate to attend. The UKCC also allows individuals to participate in ICA activities by offering BCS ICA support awards. In this period, the UKCC met to discuss the proposed changes to the ICA Statutes and recommend voting strategies for the UK National Delegate (Alex Kent), who attended the ICA General Assembly in Cape Town during the International Cartographic Conference, where he was supported by David Forrest as the UK’s Deputy Delegate.

World Cartographic Forum

An initiative to bring together leaders of national cartographic societies from around the world to discuss common issues such as membership, collaboration and fostering the learning of new mapping skills. The fourth meeting of the World Cartographic Forum took place at ICC2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. Due to an unfortunate clash with the conference programme, fewer attended this time.

Publications

The Cartographic Journal (the peer-reviewed academic periodical of the Society)

The printing and distribution of hardcopies of The Cartographic Journal remained delayed throughout 2022, exacerbated by late submissions for the production of the ‘bumper’ Issue 4 (Special Issue on Soviet Mapping). Nevertheless, the Special Issue was a highlight of Volume 59 and attracted especially good feedback from BCS members.

The Journal’s impact factor (IF) dipped slightly for 2022, with its one-year IF standing at 1.0, although the modest drop is commensurate with that of other journals in the field that are published by Taylor & Francis. The number of article downloads has continued to rise markedly, from 57,000 to nearly 64,000 this year. Fewer manuscripts have been submitted during 2022-2023, which will be addressed by greater representation at conferences in cartography (and associated fields) to drive up submissions and attract more authors.

Volume 60 (2023) celebrates the foundation of the BCS and has two Special Issues; the first being the UK National Report to the ICA (Issue 2) and another celebrating the 90th anniversary of the first printing of Beck’s Underground map (Issue 4). A planned Special Issue on geospatial ethics will be incorporated into Volume 61, which celebrates 60 years of The Cartographic Journal.

Maplines (membership magazine)

The Society’s membership magazine was produced by Liz Bourne along with fellow editors Oana Candit, Ghada Sahbeni, Alina Vizireanu, Cristina

9

Andra VrÎnceanu, Peter Vujakovic and Publications Committee Chair, Jim Goldsmith. Printed copies were distributed to all members apart from Student members who received digital versions.

Cartographiti (the newsletter of the Map Curators’ Group)

Cartographiti continues to publish twice a year online and has now reached a milestone publication of issue 100 in January 2023. Recent issues have included summaries of papers delivered at the MCG Workshop and at other events. Members and non-members wishing to receive back copies should contact BCS Administration.

Maps and Surveys

The high quality HMMG newsletter Maps and Surveys is edited by Paul Hesp and is published quarterly (spring, summer, autumn, winter).

Cartography – an introduction (2[nd] edition)

The second edition of the Society’s practical guide to making better maps by Giles Darkes and Mary Spence MBE was published in June 2017 and is available for purchase on the Society’s website.

Directory of UK Map Collections

The Directory is freely published on the BCS website for research purposes only. While efforts have been made to update the Directory, many entries should be considered historic and do not reflect current collection status.

Additions and amendments are collated through:

MCGMapcollections@cartography.org.uk.

Corporate Members’ Directory

Accessible to all via the website, the Directory provides an opportunity for all Corporate Members to advertise their work and to list their contact details and areas of expertise. Corporate Members who wish to be included should contact BCS Administration or edit their own profile through the membership platform, Membermojo.

Freelancers’ Directory

Promoting the work of self-employed cartographers who are members of the Society, the Freelancers’ Directory is available on the website. Members who wish to be included should contact BCS Administration or edit their own profile through the membership platform, Membermojo.

10

Website

www.cartography.org.uk

The website was updated and maintained by Dominique Rene throughout 2023 and continues to offer useful resources for members and those interested in cartography and geovisualisation.

Social Media

The Society’s social media channels have grown by over 1,300 followers to 10,600 since January 2023, and include X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and our subscribers on our YouTube Channel. The biggest annual increase (37%) has been on YouTube where our videos have engaged almost 200 additional subscribers to our regular Teatime talks and conference recordings. Engaging via these channels has led to growing membership, and to improved attendance at our online events. This insight allows the Council to focus on events and resources to match our members’ needs based on feedback.

X: @bcsmaps

LinkedIn: britishcartographicsociety Facebook: britishcartographicsociety Instagram: @bcsmaps YouTube: British Cartographic Society

Exhibitions and Public Relations

2022 saw a return to in-person external events and we were pleased to be represented at DGI 2023, the GA Conference, Geospatial World Forum, GEOBusiness, the Association for Geographic Information GeoCom event and the Government Geography Profession conference.

Education

Prof. Peter Vujakovic stood down as Committee Chair in April 2022 and the Society is currently seeking to find a replacement. In the meantime the committee remains in abeyance. In addition, the ongoing development of the GeoViz resource should also support teachers and education into the future.

Finance

The principal sources of income for the Society remain membership subscriptions and the revenue from its publications. These are supported by donations, investment interest and Gift Aid claimed on a proportion of membership subscriptions.

The financial policy of the Society remains unchanged — to maintain a minimum level of funds in reserve which is sufficient to cover (a) 18 months

11

of the cost of production of the Society’s publications and its web presence, and (b) an amount equivalent to the cash flow requirement for a 12-month period. At the discretion of Council up to 20% of the reserve may be used to fund a special project on the condition that a plan is put in place to return the level of reserves to their target within a 12-month period. This provision has been used to fund the work of the GeoViz Co-ordinator for the initial year.

Subscription income remains stable with a modest increase compared with the previous year, the donation from Informa (the publishers of the Cartographic Journal) towards the general work of the Society covers two years in the accounts for 2023, other small donations have not made a significant contribution to the Society’s funds. Reorganisation of the Society’s administration had minimal impact on its finances. Income from Restless Earth Workshops has recovered and provided a surplus on the operating costs of this aspect of the Society’s activities. The co-ordinator for these workshops is not funded from this income.

Throughout the period, management of the Society’s finances has been in broadly in line with the agreed budget although the higher than anticipated costs incurred to support attendance at events, particularly those outside the UK, have resulted in a deficit over the year. In view of this and the need to ensure that the Society is able to return a small surplus in the future it was decided to increase membership subscriptions commencing in 2024.

The value of the Society’s investments declined over the year, from £98,570.28 to £96,448.79, however, this is smaller than in the previous year and it remains the case that the level of accumulated assets is considered adequate to meet the agreed reserves.

The trustees have considered the financial risks to which the Society is exposed and are of the opinion that systems are in place to mitigate any exposure to these.

Signed by Dr G Cassettari (President) for, and on behalf of, the Council of the British Cartographic Society.

12 March 2024

12

Charlty Commission NuM￿r Charlty Nam• Financial Period Ending 240034 Brilish Cartographle Society 3111212023 3111212022 In¢ome 2023 2022 Voluntsry Sources Membership Sltbs￿ptlonS Donations Gift 26.206.00 2.041 (N) 2,683. 25.071.17 2.745.75 SU￿t0￿1 £30,930.96 £27,816.92 Trading A¢tlvlties Cartographic Joumal Roy31ts'es Cartographic Joumal Edilotial Eypensos Cartography- an Introduciion So￿etY Evonls including Fellows Lunch. AGM. Auiumn Lecture Sperial Interest Gtoup Activi1188 Misc Income 20,842.62 8.OCQ.00 601.69 21.742.19 8,140.39 637.24 1,342.45 0.00 0.00 723.57 343.05 SutrAot41 £30,167.88 £32,206.32 Incom• fr¢m Asg•ts Diwdends 5.661.27 5,441.82 Sub4otal £86.780.11 £65,484.06 Ml$¢ellan•ou• Rwlpts ICA Affili81ion Awards Funding R8slless Earth Worksh¢¥8 Conference Refun 650.00 250.00 500.00 4.5(MJ.00 3.975.CQ 10.176.81 Sub-totsl £15.051.81 £5.650.00 Totsl Re¢•ipts £81.811.92 £71,114.06 13

Expendibjre 2023 2022 Direct Charitable Expendtture Affiliations and Meetings Society Meetings ICoun¢il, Prog. Mefflb. Pub) Cartographic Journal (Members Subs) CartographK Journal Editorial Maplines Cartography. an Introd(Kti¢)n Web$itellnlemel Student SupportlGrants Speaal Inte￿$1 Group8 Expenses Better Mapping se￿nar$/GeoVLz 4,003.53 252.77 3.266.49 213.15 14.110.50 4.534.82 9.M.86 8.452.02 8,118.20 12.¢J) 2.778 37 3.996. 518.24 101.54 165.CLI 35,664.85 22.677.64 Other Exp•ndlture Publicity Insurance 778 67 409.92 45.1)0 409.92 Stalionerylsociety Printing Solfvlare and IT Admlni$ldon Foe Communulion Conlr8cI Restless Earth c￿ordIn91¢Y Fa•s Postsge Consum8bles Miscellaneous Adminstr8iion Prèsident's Expenses Commissicfj (From receipts} 217.26 122 76 244.95 13.750.CQ 3,C#XI.Q) 6,$50.C 1,629.28 18,000.00 5.500.CX) 1,945.95 345.84 818.23 2C6.46 1,449.71 356.96 li 940.25 28.422.21 421.11 28,719.44 Sul>totsl 64.087.06 51,397.08 14

Payment for other assets Fixed Assets 199.¥J 7.W 83 636.81 Geovyz Cwrdinalor Sub4otal 8.160.82 Miscellanèous Payments Restless Earth Workshops Society Events and Fun¢tions Conference Subs¢riplion R&funds Miscellaneous SymposiumlAward$ 2,943.85 7,956.29 3.￿.71 0.00 192.35 3,722.70 1.984.32 75. 1,(K)5.32 841.47 SulAotal 16.064.52 6.623.49 Totsl Paymonts £88,312.40 £58,657.38 Surplu8 IDoff¢lt) 16,$00.481 £12.456.68 Bank Balar￿ Brought FoNard Bank Ba18nce in Hand 69.688.53 63.358.12 57.19124 69.688.53 Balan¢• ¢n unr••trl¢t¢d fund¥ 18.330.411 £12.497.29 15

Charty Commission Numb•r Charity Name Financlal Perlod Endlng 240034 Britlsh Cartographlc Socl•ty 3111212023 3111ZQ022 Statsment of Assets and LlabllltJe¥ PAonotary A88ets cul￿nt Attount Balance Membershlp Atxount BaFance 58.847.12 4.511. e6.527.53 3.181.Th) Total Bank Balan¢• £63,358.12 £69,688.53 Non-mon•tary A88ets held for Invo8kn¢nt purpo￿$ Unit Prlc• 31 Dec 2023 (pl Numb•r of Unlts C￿tt0 P•l&G Ch•dfund M&G Charfbond Sh•r¢$ 6,471.48 3,204.31 67.010. S.(￿.1x1 1434.99 92,865 09 3.583.70 95,099 69 3,470.59 111.84 £96.448.79 £98,570.28 Accumul•tsd Surplu• at Dec•mb8r 31812023 Tradlng Summary 2023 2022 Surplus IO&ficil) on all a¢Aivili 16.5fy).481 12,456.68 A¢cumulat￿ As8et• Bank Balance$ VAT Account Balance Charifund and Charibond Valuo 63.358.12 69.688.53 12,716.081 98,570 28 12.886.151 96.448.79 £156.920.76 £165.542.73 16

British Cartographic Society Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the British Cartographic Society UNDER SECTION 144 OF THE CHARrriES ACT 2011 I report on the accounts of the Swety for the year er)ded 3111 December 2023 whFch are sel out in the preceding pages Rospectlve responsibilities of the Trustees and Examiner The Charity's trustees are respon&ble for the preparats.on of the accounts. The Chanty's trustees consider that an audit is not required under s￿t￿n 144121 of the Charibes Act 2011 (The Act) bul an independent examination is needed. l understand that my ￿SponSibl11￿"eS are". To examine the accounts under section 145 of the Act To follow the procedures laid down inl the general Directions given by th8 Charity Commission under Section 14515b) of the Act. To ststs whether particular matters have come to my attention in the examination Basis of tho Independent Examiner's Report My examination was carrted OLrt in accordan￿ with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. The examination included a review of the accounb'ng records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also included a considerakn'on of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanabon$ from the trustees concerning any such matters. The prO￿dureS followed do not provide all the evidenc8 that would be required in an audit and consequenty no opinion has been expresses as to whether the accounts present a'fair and true view. and this report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Indepondent Examln&r'$ Stalement In connection with my examination. no matter has come to my attent￿tin.. l. ￿lch gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements.. To keep accounting records in accordance with SeCt￿n 130 of the Act To Prepa￿ accounts which accord wrth the accounts'ng records and ¢ximply with the accounts'ng requirerrEnts of the Acl Have not ￿en met or 2. To Wh￿ in my opinion attent￿n shoukl be drawn in to enable a proFer understanding of the accounts to be reached. Name of Examiner. (LJk*) ￿ li 8￿j sL14 QualifLqtions C4 Ad<>J Signature Date. 01. og,. 2419 17