Over 130,000 in the UK have MS.

The MS Society is here for people living with MS through the highs, lows and everything in between.

They believe in a future where we can stop MS in its tracks by:

• Getting more research funded, more quickly, to make the greatest difference to the lives of people with MS and prevent it in the future.
• Ensuring people have access to treatments that can slow or stop the effects of MS.
• Ensuring every single person affected by MS – those just diagnosed, those who have lived with it for many years, their families and their carers – has the support and friendship they need to stay positive, stay strong, and stay in control of their condition.

As an organisation they have a well-established network of around 270 local groups and the support of around 30,000 members and 5,000 volunteer roles, along with a dedicated team of close to 300 staff.

At the time, the MS Society recognised they had more work to do in reaching broader more diverse communities who were not engaging with the Society together with broadening the ethnic diversity of the Board to be more reflective of their people and beneficiaries.

In July 2020 we partnered with the MS Society to recruit 5 new Trustees.

Our approach focused on initially working closely with the MS Society to understand the skills required of the Trustees and engage with the organisation to help them think differently about the diversity of skills and thinking ‘fresh eyes’ can bring as Trustees.

As well as brining contemporary skills, as part of our selection criteria was the requirement for ‘lived experience’ with MS.

In January 2021 five Trustees were elected by MS Society Members at their Annual General Meeting.

Two candidates elected were existing Trustees wishing to have another term with the Society. These two candidates went through the same recruitment process as fresh applicants. This enabled the MS Society to ’measure’ all applicants equally and ensure everyone had equal equity in the process.

Of the three new Trustees we introduced, two were BAME females in their 30s and 40s with lived experience of MS and the white male has MS.