Trade Association Forum
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Trade Association Forum (TAF) is an umbrella body for industry trade associations in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, representing more than 160 trade associations that in turn represent more than 180,000 businesses from every sector of the economy. Established in 1997, TAF was originally supported with seed funding by the then Department of Trade and Industry (now called the Department of Business and Trade) following a series of speeches by the then President of the Board of Trade
Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket Media Group in 1957. Heseltine se ...
from 1993 onwards about the effectiveness and role of trade associations. These resulted in the publication of a paper by the DTI in 1996 entitled 'A Best Practice Guide for the Model Trade Association', which in turn led to the creation of TAF as a means of fostering
best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to alternatives because it tends to produce superior results. Best practices are used to achieve quality as an alternative to mandatory standards. Best practice ...
and developing networks across UK trade associations. Following its establishment, TAF was originally housed within the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) but since 2014 has been a standalone organisation governed by a Board of representatives drawn from its members. The organisation is still supported by the Department of Business and Trade, with a senior civil servant co-opted to the board and with ministers and civil servants appearing at TAF events. It is not a policy influencing or lobbying body, but instead champions the role of trade associations in the UK and provides its members with services to assist them in the running of their organisations, as well as providing information to buyers, government departments, and the public about UK trade associations and business sectors. TAF provides a range of services and events to support its members - it maintains a Directory that provides information on UK trade associations,Trade Association Awards
/ref> runs annual conferences an
awards
offers events and training and a range of other member benefits.


References


External links


Trade Association Forum website

Trade Association Awards website
Trade associations based in the United Kingdom 1997 establishments in the United Kingdom {{business-org-stub