benjamin | candidate for ifmsa treasurer 2013-14

Benjamin Skov Kaas-Hansen | IFMSA Treasurer 2013-14 Candidature 1/7

Candidature

IFMSA Treasurer Benjamin Skov Kaas-Hansen

Aarhus, Denmark | May 1, 2013Dear IFMSA friends,

I am very excited to present to you my candidature for the position of IFMSA Treasurer for the term 2013-14.

I utterly enjoy working in IFMSA! I strongly believe that utilising the synergy that arises from an efficient and united EB will be key in taking IFMSA to the next level. I am consensus-seeking, solution-oriented and a team player. I value highly honesty and contemplation, and I think it is incredible to work in multicultural teams, identify shared objectives, and work shoulder to shoulder to realise our mission. Utilising the knowledge and experience I have acquired in the past several years to make IFMSA thrive, and paving the road for new global health advocates by offering a solid or-ganisational platform to work from -- that is what motivates me.

Having fun must be at the core of volunteering! And something is fundamentally wrong if it is not. Surely, it is time con-suming, and sometimes it can really take a toll on you. Therefore, it is our shared responsibilty, as NMOs and Officials, to ensure that those dedicating years of their lives to IFMSA do not regret their decision to do so.

What I have learnt through IFMSA is inexplicable. It is an international forum, in which medical students from around the globe come together to address cross cutting global public health issues beyond their own communities. How-ever, we do not really know where IFMSA is headed. Indeed, NMOs are yet to come together and agree on a shared vision and mission for our organisation, and any talking about strategic planning is meaningless without a vision to strive for. Therefore, it is crucial to set this straight, and I fully agree that AM2013 is the time and the place to adopt a vision and a mission for IFMSA.

Evidently, IFMSA could be much more effective, and we should rethink how we work internally to improve our results externally. It is paramount to embrace the nature of IFMSA as an international federation, with a membership consist-ing of 115 autonomous national member organisations. Further, as a federation based on the tireless work of volun-teers we must prioritise how we best invest our time and energy to have the greatest possible impact. I call this Ap-preciative Appraisal, derived from the terms Appreciative Inquiry and Critical Appraisal. Appreciative Inquiry is a lead-ership approach in which one builds on and further develops activities that are successful and effective instead of try-ing, and often failing to improve activities that are not. Critical Appraisal can have many meanings, but one is the process of rigurously evaluating the performance of an organisation based on facts rather than assumptions.

Indeed, IFMSA has recently taken on the difficult, yet refreshing task of (re)defining itself and improving its working methods. By employing this Appreciative Appraisal approach, I believe NMOs and Officials in a collaborative manner can and must identify how to make IFMSA excel. This way, we can consolidate IFMSA’s position as the leading stu-dent organisation on the global health arena.

As Treasurer of IFMSA, I promise to do everything in my power to ensure that the EB and the TO are open, responsi-ble and responsive. By founding our work on these three values we will rebuild the trust both between NMOs and TO and within the TO. This way we can sensibly share the load throughout the term, and thus accomplish more.

Any organisation must have its finances in order. Sound financial management, however, is not an end in itself, but a means for us to ensure that we have funds to sustain and develop our activities, and achieve our goals. We therefore need EB members with financial savvy, and that is exactly what I have got. As Chair of the AM2011 Denmark OC, I was responsible for a €450,000 GA budget. And in the IMCC Executive Board we currently manage a financially com-plex organisation with employed staff and an annual budget of €700,000, more than twice the size of IFMSA’s budget.

So, with a large body of theoretical and practical experience to draw on, and the motivation to give IFMSA my full at-tention, I hope you will entrust me with the task of serving as Treasurer 2013-14. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me by email or skype, or approach me in person, and I will gladly elaborate and explain.

Yours,

Benjamin Skov Kaas-HansenCandidate for the position of IFMSA Treasurer 2013-14


Proposed Focus Areas for the 2013-14 EB

I have purposely chosen not to formulate an elaborate plan of action. Indeed, the EB-elect should, based on the pri-orities of the individual members, formulate a collective action plan for the term, a first and crucial step towards work-ing jointly as a united team. Hence, which of the following issues will receive the greatest attention depends on how the other four EB member weight the importance of each of them, and what will be the main focus of the collective EB plan of action.

The 2013-14 EB should focus its energy on three overarching themes: ensuring sound finances, carrying out strategic management of the Federation, and engaging in the visionary reform process currently underway. For each of the themes I highlight three issues that I believe deserve particular attention during the term. Each of these issues, in turn, requires engagement of either internal actors (i.e. the EB and/or TO), external actors (i.e. NMOs and/or IFMSA part-ners) or both. Below you find a graphical representation of the three overarching themes, with their respective issues, and how they require the engagement of internal and external actors. As such, on this page I list what should be ad-dressed in the 2013-14 term, and on the following page I outline how I believe the EB should go about doing it.


Inte

rnal

- EB

and

TOExternal - NM

Os and IFM

SA partners

Sound Finances

Proper and transparent financial managemant

Stronger NMO engagement

Financial robustness

Strategic Management

An effective Federation

A united EB to confidently lead the organisation

Sensible support for Organising Committees

Visionary Reform

Sustainable GAs and RMs

Apt leadership structure

Responsive organisational structure


Continue the work of the current Treasurer and en-sure that proper bookkeeping is carried out by an accountant. This will allow for professional, external auditing of the IFMSA finances. Additionally, budget allocations must represent our needs and priorities, so that the budget provides an accurate picture of our activities and spendings. This would also add to IFMSA’s credibility when we approach current and potential partners, e.g. for collaboration or funding purposes.

Provide quaterly budget follow-up reports, to con-tinuously keep NMOs in the loop and maintain NMOs’ interest in the financial situation of IFMSA.

Possibly restructure the finances, again to make them more representative of the activities carried out within the organisation. One way could be to incorpo-rate the GAs in the IFMSA budget.

Develop IFMSA finances video tutorials for NMOs, explaining key concepts and figures.

Promote and advocate sound prioritisation to pre-vent any more rushed, financially unwise decisions.

Explore whether, and if so how our activities have unanticipated legal implications on IFMSA, and pos-sible ways to mitigate such possible adverse conse-quences.

Soun

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As an active participant in the reform deliberations, I can draw on my experience with many aspects of IFMSA: organising a GA, instigating the Nordic branch of an IFMSA transnational project, and being my NMO’s focal point to IFMSA for two terms.

The EB must continue to support and sustain the reform movement, and promote wide geographical representation in the process. In addition, the EB - being a diverse group of experienced members - should actively engage in the process.

The process itself does not necessarily, however, have to be spearheaded by the EB. NMO coordina-

tion will allow EB members to play a much more active role in the deliberations, as they will not need to balance the double role of active participant and neutral facilitator; more active engagement of NMOs will allow the EB to focus on developing a strategic plan, an extremely time consuming task; and truly novel ideas for structural changes seldomly originate from those holding positions within these structures.

Through my national network I can, free of charge, obtain advice from a consultant with expertise in organisational development in volunteer organisa-tions, and thus bring professional guidance to the table at this crucial point in IFMSA’s history.

Visi

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y Re

form

The EB to devote the 2013-14 term to spearhead the development of a specific, realistic and appropriate multiyear strategy for IFMSA with focus on key is-sues. Strong NMO engagement must be a center-piece of this process, by both drawing on NMOs’ experience with strategic planning and properly en-gaging NMOs, allowing for national consultations.

Establishment of a permanent International Secretar-iat to serve as the organisational mainstay of IFMSA. As such, the Secretariat should build and maintain our institutional memory and strength; support our fundraising efforts; and provide professional assis-tance to our Officials, allowing them to do what they do best: promoting the vision and mission of IFMSA.

Fundraising must stay a key focus area for the entire EB, and the VPE and the Treasurer in particular. But more funds is not a goal in itself. Indeed, we need to have a plan in place for how to prudently invest in-reased inflow of funds. This should be part of the strategic plan, and is also likely to make the task of raising funds less strenuous.

Full disclosure of rationales behind EB decisions. For too long there has been little, if any trust in the EB. There are many reaons for this, and it has has a range of adverse consequences, e.g. micromanagement by NMOs. Thus, it is paramount for the EB to regain the trust of the NMO, giving more room for the EB to again lead and manage the organisation.

Being the only EB member with concrete experience in organising a GA, I bring invaluable insights into how the EB can best support GA hosts, which is and should be a substantial part of the EB’s work.

A substantial portion of our recent Youth in Action grant was earmarked to employing a secretary. In my NMO we have a very well-functioning national secretariat, which was established relatively recently. Therefore, when IFMSA embarks on the process of staffing the office in Amsterdam - which is scheduled to take place after the elections in Chile - I can draw on the experience from my NMO, so we fully exploit this amazing opportunity and avoid as many pitfalls as possible.

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Curriculum Vitae

General informationBenjamin Skov Kaas-HansenBorn July 9, 1987 in Aarhus, DenmarkTelephone: +45 60 19 68 01Email: [email protected] // [email protected]: benjamin.skov.kaas-hansen

Project and Organisational Experience2012 Instigator, 4-day simulation of a World Health Assembly for Nordic students (now

called “NorWHO” and part of the IFMSA Transnational Project “WHO Simulations”)4/2012-present Member of UAEM, engaged in the CEWG process1/2012-present Vice-president for International Relations as member of the national Executive Board of

IMCC-Denmark2011 Cofounder, IMCC Danzania (partnership project on family planning and sexual rights be-

tween IMCC-Denmark and TAMSA-Tanzania)2011 Facilitator, IFMSA SCOPH SWG on Infectious Diseases1/2011 Co-organiser, IMCC/Medsin-UK Global Health Weekend Seminar on Health in Disaster

and Crisis Situations5/2010-8/2011 Chair of the IFMSA August Meeting 2011 Organising Committee2009 Co-organiser, Sexekspressen Summer Seminar 2009

Extracurricular Courses Followed2/2013 “Health for All through Primary Health Care”, four-week online course hosted by Johns

Hopkins School of Public Health9/2012 Refleks 2012 - Personal Clout as a Leadership Compentecy9/2011 Refleks 2011 - Strategic Leadership in Volunteer Organisations8/2011 “Global Health Challenges”, two-week summer school at Copenhagen School of Global

Health5/2011 International Leader Training Seminar2/2011 IFMSA Training New Trainers11/2009 Project Monitoring and Evaluation. A seminar on continuous monitoring and evaluation of

long-term projects10/2009 Logical Framework Approach (LFA). A generic management tool for proper planning,

monitoring, and evaluation of projects

IFMSA Meetings Attended4/2013 IFMSA X EuRegMe 2013 “Europe’s Health” (Italy)3/2013 IFMSA General Assembly March Meeting 2013 + preGA “Global Health Diplomacy”

(USA)8/2012 IFMSA General Assembly August Meeting 2012 + preGA “Think Tank” (India)3/2012 IFMSA General Assembly March Meeting 2012 + preGA “Presidents’ Workshop” (Ghana)2/2012 FINO Annual Meeting (Finland)8/2011 IFMSA General Assembly August Meeting 2011 - 60 years Anniversary (Denmark)3/2011 IFMSA General Assembly March Meeting 2011 + preGA “Think Global” (Indonesia)8/2010 IFMSA General Assembly August Meeting 2010 + preGA “Health and the City” (Canada)3/2010 IFMSA General Assembly March Meeting 2010 + preGA “Media” (Thailand)11/2009 Sexpression National Assembly (UK)


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

International Conferences Attended11/2012 UAEM Annual Fall Conference

Irvine, California, USA5/2012 World Health Assembly (WHO’s annual general assembly) in the UAEM delegation with

principal focus on the CEWG processGeneva, Switzerland

4/2012 Medsin Global Health Conference - “Conflicted: The war for Health”London, England

12/2010 EuWHO - the first European World Health Assembly simulation“The right to health and access to essential medicines and vaccines”London, England

10/2010 Second World Health SummitBerlin, Germany

4/2010 Unite for Sight Global Health and Innovation Conference 2010New Haven, Connecticut, USA


benjamin | candidate for ifmsa treasurer 2013-14

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