The UK's Association of Associations

TAF is the UK’s ‘association of associations’, a community of more than 180 trade associations encouraging the development and sharing of best practice among UK trade associations and promoting the role of effective trade associations to government, industry and the wider public.

We focus specifically on trade associations, and that focus helps define everything we do. 
Our 180 trade association members represent close to 190,000 UK businesses, making TAF one of the largest representative bodies in the country.

Whether helping associations share best practice, or helping our members help their members transition to net zero, TAF is at the heart of the UK association community and working every day to help support our sector.

Part of our role for the association community is to shout about the importance of associations to Government, the media, the general public and just about anyone else who will listen! We do this via our ongoing relationship with the UK’s Department of Business and Trade and by facilitating relationships between members and key stakeholders.

TAF is run by associations for associations, with the strategic direction of the organisation led by a Board of volunteers drawn from our member associations.

Our focus is entirely on delivering value for our members and we are hugely grateful to the huge range of volunteers, supporters and partners who help us achieve that.

The secretariat of TAF is provided by strategic communications consultancy Inflect who has been working with TAF since 2021 and provides the team that runs TAF day-to-day under the supervision of the Board. You can find out more about the TAF team below.

We are always keen to hear from people who would like to get involved in TAF, either on an ad hoc basis, by getting involved in one of our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) or by joining our Board, please get in touch if you would like to find out more.

TAF is run by associations, for associations. Our TAF Board is made up of association leaders drawn from our members and they work alongside our Secretariat team to oversee TAF’s operations and strategic direction.

The Board meet 5 times a year to review our activities and plan for the future. We are always keen to hear from our members about what they would like to see TAF do, please get in touch with any ideas or suggestions.

Board elections are held every year at our AGM, which usually takes place each summer. Find out more about joining the Board below.

TAF is an independent not-for-profit organisation run and owned by its members.

It was established in 1997 and originally housed in the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) until it was spun out as a standalone organisation in 2014.

TAF is overseen by a Board of Directors drawn from our members and governed by our Memorandum and Articles of Association which can only be changed via a member vote at an AGM or EGM.

TAF is an independent not-for-profit organisation run and owned by its members, but we work closely with the UK Government's Department for Business and Trade and a representative from the department sits as an Observer on our Board.

The relationship with the Government dates back to TAF's formation back in 1997, with the original idea for an 'association of associations' emanating from a 1996 paper released by the then Department for Trade and Industry entitled 'A Best Practice Guide for the Model Trade Association'. The paper was the final output from work initiated by the then President of the Board of Trade, Michael Heseltine, about the effectiveness and role of trade associations.

Since then TAF has enjoyed a collaborative relationship with the Government, with a senior civil servant co-opted to the board and with ministers and civil servants appearing at TAF events.