Our help centre is home to FAQs and top tips for organising and promoting your events, managing your finances, and generally getting the most from being a BCS volunteer!
Learn about group websites, governance, and other key activities
Take up a role on one of our strategic boards or committees and help steer the Institute’s direction — browse the volunteer roles
Check in with your fellow volunteers to share ideas and experiences, or to ask for advice — join the conversation
It’s a great way to connect with people outside of your day-to-day and make a real difference — discover volunteering at BCS
Get the full BCS experience by becoming a member and tapping into exclusive CPD resources and professional recognition tools.
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Our first ever BCS community impact report celebrates the amazing achievements of our volunteer community.
Read the report
Follow us on X and keep yourself up to date with all latest news and events happening across the BCS volunteering landscape.
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What would you like to see in our Community Volunteers newsletter? We’d love to receive your suggestions and feedback.
Send us your ideas
There are events and activities taking place throughout the BCS year - for all dates, on our BCS events calendar.
BCS events calendar
September: Community kick-offs
The first of September marks the start of our BCS financial year. During September, groups will receive the outcome of their budget bids and can kick-off their yearly activities.
February: Finance training workshop
An opportunity for Chairs and Treasurers to get clued up on our finance policies and processes ahead of their March budget proposal submissions to bid for funding. BCS provide full training during virtual sessions and you will have the opportunity to ask everything you ever wanted to know about member group budgeting!
February: BCS Convene Conference
Launching in February 2025, BCS Convene is an exciting one-day conference dedicated to celebrating ethical professionalism and innovation. This event unites government, organisational leaders, tech professionals, and academics to collaboratively shape the future of the tech landscape in the UK.
You can find dates for all upcoming events on our BCS events calendar.
If you wish to submit papers for consideration at a Community Board meeting, please ensure you submit these before the deadline given below to the Community Team at groups@bcs.uk
| Meeting date | Papers due by: |
| Wednesday 10 December 2025 | Friday 28 November 2025 |
2026 dates will be relesed in due course.
If you wish to submit papers for consideration at a CB Finance meeting, please submit to allow enough time for your coordinator review and submit to the CBFC on your behalf.
Please visit the Supplementary funding request page for more information on applying for additional funds and submission deadlines.
Please send the completed relevant SFR to groups@bcs.uk for the attention of your groups coordinator.
| Meeting dates | Papers due by: |
| Monday 17 November 2025 - Cancelled | Wednesday 5 November 2025 |
| Monday 8 December 2025 | Wednesday 3 December 2025 |
| Monday 19 January 2026 | Wednesday 7 January 2026 |
| Monday 16 February 2026 | Wednesday 4 February 2026 |
| Monday 16 March 2026 | Wednesday 4 March 2026 |
| Monday 20 April 2026 | Wednesday 8 April 2026 |
| Monday 18 May 2026 | Wednesday 6 May 2026 |
| Monday 15 June 2026 | Wednesday 3 June 2026 |
| Monday 20 July 2026 | Wednesday 8 July 2026 |
| Monday 17 August 2026 | Wednesday 5 August 2026 |
| Monday 21 September 2026 | Wednesday 9 September 2026 |
| Monday 19 October 2026 | Wednesday 7 October 2026 |
| Monday 16 November 2026 | Wednesday 4 November 2026 |
| Monday 7 December 2026 | Wednesday 25 November 2026 |
If you wish to submit papers for consideration at a Community Support Committee meeting, please ensure you submit these before the deadline given above to the Community Team at groups@bcs.uk
| Meeting dates | Papers due by: |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, 11 November 2025 (Cancelled) | Thursday, 30 October 2025 |
| Tuesday, 09 December 2025 | Thursday, 27 November 2025 |
The BCS Community team is the main point of contact for our volunteers, supporting activities across the BCS member group network of branches, specialist groups and international sections. The team also provides secretariat support to the Community Board and its committees, and the BCS Faculty of Health and Care.
Watch: How the Community team works with you
Meet Kerry, one of our coordinators:
The coordinator's role involves:
Got a query? Check out our volunteer resources or contact us at:
Online form
Email: groups@bcs.uk
Tel: 01793 417478
Jak is BCS’ Membership & Volunteer Engagement Manager. With a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Consumer Marketing, he’s passionate about people and what makes them tick. Jak is part of the Community Support Committee and works alongside them, and the internal co-ordination team, to enhance the experiences of BCS volunteers. Although he originally hails from the North West, he lived in South Wales for a decade, and is now based in the South. Fun fact, outside of work he’s an avid fan of video games, with a total collection of 13 consoles (and counting!).
Beccy initially joined BCS in February 2024 as a part-time Community Co-ordinator and looks after a number of Branch and Specialist Groups. She provides secretariat support for the Fellows Technical Advisory Group (F-TAG). Beccy is a proud mum of three children, and outside of work, she loves swimming, walking her French Bulldog (Pablo) and also works part-time at the local theatres.
Beccy loves to sing – she once took part in a 'flash mob' and has even sung at Wembley Stadium! Her trademark is that she loves a cup of tea, requiring at least 10 cuppas a day to keep her going (she’s been known to indulge in a cup at the cinema!)
Kerry has worked at BCS for over twenty years, supporting community volunteers within branches, specialist groups, and international sections. She also supports the Community Board, Community Support Committee, and Fellowship Committee.
Her favourite part of the job is helping the volunteers realise their visions, and she appreciates the amount of time they dedicate to BCS for free.
In her leisure time, Kerry likes to be creative by sewing, cross-stitching and baking. She plays computer games, mostly Pokémon, on her Switch. Kerry is an avid fan of many motorsports, with her favourite being BTCC (British Touring Car Championship).
Discover the committee role that's right for you and then apply for any of our volunteering vacancies.
If you can’t find the right role for you, get in touch with the Community Team.
In a new update to the Community Board Member Group rules, soon you will have to become a BCS member to volunteer on a Member Group committee.
We hold conventions for our volunteers in Winter and Spring. The conventions are an opportunity for volunteers to come together on the biggest issues affecting the BCS community. You will be invited to a convention by email and within our BCS volunteer newsletter, if you have consented to receive communications from BCS.
That’s great you want to share knowledge with the BCS community. To create a BCS event, simply complete the event request form and refer to our guidance on running a community event.
Go to BCS Eventbrite and select your event. Then click 'Register' to view how many tickets are remaining for your event. You can deduct the number remaining from the number of tickets that were originally available. If you need any further support, please send an email to groups@bcs.uk where one of our BCS Coordinators will be able to help you.
Get in touch with your BCS Community Coordinator to organise a post-event survey for your Member Group. You can add custom questions to the survey providing you are following our guidance and policies on communicating with members and the public.
You can explore our London office and then contact your BCS Community Coordinator to book a room on your behalf. BCS Member Groups can use the facilities free of charge for events and meetings. There is a small fee for non-BCS use of the facilities, for which bookings through BCS members receive a discount.
Once you’ve used your BCS budget allocation for your Member Group, there is a small pool of funding you can apply to use. Please submit a supplementary funding request justifying your expenditure to your BCS Community Coordinator.
Your BCS Community Coordinator will provide you with a method of contacting your fellow committee members. To speak with your member group, your Coordinator can also show you how to use the BCS Community forum to liaise with your member group members and the wider BCS membership.
View our BCS training and development opportunities for volunteers. We are continually adding further training for our volunteers, and we often advertise ad hoc chances to better your volunteering experience here and in our newsletter.
View the guidance on student prizes, awards, competition and bursaries that are available to your member group. You can also use the forms on this page to request prizes and nominate a fellow volunteer for BCS recognition.
You need to login to MyBCS and select ‘My profile’ to update your email address and other contact information. Alternatively, you can contact our Customer Services team for membership services.
Firstly, we would recommend you explore our Member Group communities and then login to MyBCS, select BCS communities from the ‘Communities and events’ menu, find the branch, specialist group or section you wish to join, and follow the instructions to be automatically added to the Member Group of your choice.
To join the committee of a member group, you need to nominate yourself for a position at the Member Group’s annual general meeting (AGM) and be successfully elected to the post. Alternatively, to join part-way through the year, a small number of members can be co-opted onto a committee.
Get in touch with the Community team to find out more.
