On 27th February 2024, we reconvened the Perseus Steering Group, co-chaired by the British Business Bank and Icebreaker One. This meeting aimed to set the scene and direction for Project Perseus, and gain endorsement for the Perseus 2024 plan and the programme’s updated governance structure.

Summary

  • It was noted that Perseus’ governance will continue to include the Steering Group and Advisory Groups (as before) with the addition of:
    • Delivery Oversight Committee (DOC): developed with UK Finance and the IoD, to conduct formal independent monitoring and reporting on delivery.
    • Working Groups (WGs): Targeted, practical work on focused tasks.
  • It was noted that a new Terms of Reference will be circulated to members before the end of March.
  • It was agreed to amend the definition of the ‘financial provider’ to include ‘Banks and Lenders’ for the 2024 plan. It was noted that a Future Ecosystem Enablers Working Group has been established to address opportunities for Perseus outside of the current use case. 
  • It was agreed that the proposition to the government for funding will be circulated with the DOC before submission.
  • It was noted that commercial membership shows a pipeline of just over £1.9 million, with new members in the process of joining and current members renewing.
  • An update on the political ecosystem was noted:
    • B4NZ is balancing existing political work with the possibility of a change in government, amidst the upcoming election.
    • This year, it will be critical to increase awareness of Perseus and maximise impact.
    • It was agreed that further discussion on messaging and political engagement will be explored [action: B4NZ].
  • The Perseus high-level roadmap for 2024 was presented. It was noted that this includes:
    • Q1: Update existing Members and gain new members; initiate detailed design for governance, assurance, legal terms, codes/regs; design onboarding for pilot with members, map data flows from reporting solutions to banks.
    • Q2: Members renewed and expanded; register members in TF; refine prototype and build learnings into Pilot Plan; design and agree assurance terms, legal terms, codes/regs.
    • Q3: Pilot onboarding & implementation; register members in pilot scheme, engagement workshops; pilot communications design & engagement; legal terms signed; code interventions initiated.
    • Q4: Pilot live; user feedback; member-led communications; Perseus report and 2025 plan.
    • AGs 1-5 will continue to work on definition, scope, oversight and formal adoption of recommendations. Meetings will take place quarterly.
    • Working Group meetings will take place between AGs to tackle specific tasks, which will be reported back to the AG for sign-off.
    • Project plan overview and risk register, which will be reviewed by the DOC.
    • development, delivery and implementation costs were shared by IB1 and B4NZ.
    • It was discussed that the ideal, realistic target for the pilot is for a ‘sandbox’ environment with >10 organisations involved.

The next meeting will take place on May 1st 2024. 

Principal:

Heather Buchanan, Bankers for Net Zero

Co-chairs:

Tony Greenham, British Business Bank

Gavin Starks, Icebreaker One