‘The IBMS has come a long way… and we plan to go much further…’

Two years ago, the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) Council and our Executives met to discuss our once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring diagnostics out of the shadows. The pandemic had given us an opportunity to publicly demonstrate the importance of our profession’s expertise and make inroads towards informing and influencing national strategy and policy at higher levels. We had also just completed a full-scale membership survey and found out what was most important to our members. The time was right to fight for a better future.

After the discussion, we collaborated to produce and launch the IBMS Strategy 2022 – a bold five-year plan for the IBMS to build upon the profession’s experience and expertise and develop its future. It also aimed to develop the IBMS’s ability to increase support, resources and funding for the profession in order to give it the time, space and capacity it needs to keep pace with change and deliver earlier diagnoses for patients.

During the pandemic, the progress the IBMS made towards giving our members a voice respected at the appropriate levels was both difficult and hard fought. To guide, influence and contribute to biomedical science and patient care, we decided that going forward we had to be on the front foot with politicians, government and policymakers. That’s why one of our ‘big three’ strategic goals was to develop a policy and engagement capability.