Expressions of interest for membership of the UK Domestic Advisory Group under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement
Published 29 April 2024
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The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA/the Agreement) provides for the involvement of civil society through the creation of a Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) to advise on the implementation of the Agreement.
The UK DAG was established in April 2022 and the government regularly consults with its members on relevant TCA related matters. The DAG gathers representatives from civil society organisations across the United Kingdom, including business and employers’ organisations, charities and trade unions.
The DAG elected an Executive Council comprising of a chair and 2 vice chairs drawn from the membership. Ahead of the current Executive Council term ending at the end of 2024, the government is reviewing the DAG membership via an expression of interest campaign for new suitably qualified and independent civil society organisations.
New applicants and existing members will be considered against the same eligibility criteria. Applicants in this campaign will be notified after the current expression of interest exercise has closed.
The current DAG members will continue in post until the new membership is confirmed. The Executive Council will continue to operate until the end of its term. If you are already a DAG member, email the DAG secretariat to reconfirm your interest in membership.
For more information, see UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Domestic Advisory Group.
Eligibility
The membership will be held by an organisation as a whole and different individuals can represent the organisation at different meetings. As a result, we do not seek expressions of interests from individuals.
Candidate organisations for membership of the Domestic Advisory Group must have specific professional expertise or competence with regard to the areas covered by the TCA. The membership list will be kept under review and additional members will be considered in the future.
To be considered for appointment under this campaign, the organisation must:
- be a civil society or business organisation and not an individual business
- be not for profit
- represent the interest of UK businesses or citizens
- have specific professional competence or expertise relating to the TCA
Candidate organisations should have a good understanding of how the TCA impacts people across the UK and that involvement in the Domestic Advisory Group is representative of the challenges faced by the UK’s businesses and citizens. When selecting the member organisations geographical and regional representation will be considered.
The DAG has a virtual participation option. This will allow organisations to be able to engage without the need to invest significant resources on travel.
Diversity
The government embraces and values diversity in all forms. We welcome and pride ourselves on the positive impact diversity has on the work we do, and we promote equality of opportunity throughout the organisation. We therefore encourage applications from the widest range of qualified groups.
Data protection
During the application stage and if your organisation is selected to be a part of the Domestic Advisory Group, we will need to process personal data belonging to the individual who represents your organisation. Any personal data processed will be done so in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018, for more information about how personal data is processed for this scheme please view our privacy notice.
If you have any further queries about the way your representative’s personal data will be processed, email the FCDO’s Data Protection Officer: Data.Protection@fcdo.gov.uk.
Selection process
New applicants must submit a cover letter (1,000 words maximum) to dagsecretariat@fcdo.gov.uk. In the cover letter, organisations should set out their reasons for applying for the Domestic Advisory Group, their suitability for membership and how they meet the requirements set out in the Eligibility section.
Current DAG members should email the DAG Secretariat to reconfirm their interest in remaining a member, and may provide additional supporting information if they wish.
The deadline for sending applications is 11:59pm on 19 June 2024.
Applications, and any queries about this process, should be emailed to dagsecretariat@fcdo.gov.uk.
Next steps
Following the expression of interest campaign, we will determine the updated DAG membership while ensuring that involvement in these groups is as balanced as it can be, including considering geographical and regional representation. We will publish the outcome of the expression of interest campaign for both current and new DAG members as soon as possible.