Below is an overview of our existing approach to managing conflicts of interest at Camden Giving and a proposed plan for how we will approach conflicts of interest in relation to staff members relatives applying for grant panel roles going forwards.

Our existing approach

Camden Giving is a transparent and fair organisation. Camden Giving has no reason to believe that conflicts of interest undermine decision-making, but we must be vigilant about the risk and have appropriate policies and plans in place to mitigate this. Where there might be a conflict of interest we have a policy to protect Camden Giving, trustees, staff and volunteers from any appearance of impropriety (see attached for definitions). We also have a conflict of interest register for key management and trustees to declare any conflicts of interest or loyalty, which is made public on our website.

Conflicts of interest or of loyalty may arise where an individual's personal or family interests and or loyalties conflict with those of Camden Giving. As we are seeing more relatives of staff applying for, and being recruited onto panels, we will expand on this to create a rule that is fair and transparent around recruiting relatives onto community panels. This will form part of our conflict of interest policy and be included in our staff handbook.

The proposed process

Reporting, recording and managing potential conflicts effectively protects staff and can help to generate public trust and confidence. Our plan is that we will ask staff members to disclose any potential conflict of interest via a declaration form, at the point of recruitment, for any relative(s) applying for a grants panel role at Camden Giving. We propose this form would include:

• their relationship to you;

• an agreement agreeing that you do not seek to enquire into or influence decision on grant applicants.

This will be recorded in a conflict of interest register and reviewed regularly at the point of recruiting panels.

Consultation Process

The survey has been designed to help you share with us any feedback and ideas on our approach above to recruiting relatives of staff members onto our grant panels, as part of our conflict-of-interest policy. Please complete this consultation survey by Thursday 11th August and speak to Danielle if you would like to expand on your thoughts further.