IATBR Constitution
1. NAME
The Association shall be called the International Association for Travel Behaviour Research.
The mailing address of the Association is the address of the secretary/treasurer or his or her agent.
2. AIMS
The primary purposes of the Association are to promote the understanding and analysis of travel behaviour and to provide a forum for debate and a mechanism for the dissemination of information. More specifically the aims include:
- The exchange and dissemination of information at an international level on all aspects of the theory, analysis, modelling and evaluation of travel behaviour and related transport policy.
- The encouragement of high-quality research and application in the above areas, through debates, publication and promotion.
- The provision of a clearinghouse for information on recent developments in the field and to foster contacts among professionals within and between various countries and different discipline.
- The promotion of international conferences, seminars and workshops on all aspects of travel behaviour.
- The representation of the viewpoint of members to appropriate national and international bodies, as required by the membership.
3. MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to all those interested in the field of travel behaviour, either from a theoretical, methodological or policy viewpoint.
Members will be required to pay an annual subscription from the start of each calendar year. The annual subscription shall be set at a level sufficient to cover the costs of running the Association in accordance with its aims; the final decision on subscription rates to be taken by the Executive Board.
Each member shall be entitled to receive a free copy of all communications including newsletters and electronic mail messages produced during the year, and to request information on the professional interests and activities of other members.
Applications for membership shall be submitted, together with payment of dues, to the secretary/treasurer or his or her agent. The acceptance of dues by the treasurer or his or her agent shall constitute formal recognition of membership.
Members shall receive notification of subscription rates before the start of the calendar year, and one reminder thereafter, if payment becomes overdue. The member shall then receive no further newsletters or other information, and lose voting rights, until payment has been received.
If payment is not received within 90 days of notification of unpaid subscription, then the person shall no longer be considered a member of the Association.
4. COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD
The affairs of the Association shall be managed by the Executive Board (“Board”), comprising:
- three or four currently-elected ex-officio members – chair, vice-chair, secretary, treasurer (counting the secretary/treasurer as one officer, if both positions are held by the same person), referred to as the “officers”;
- the immediate past chair as an appointed ex-officio member;
- the international conference organiser as an appointed ex-officio member, if not already an elected member (in the event that the conference has multiple organisers, the organisers may – subject to the approval of the Board – select at most one of those named in their approved proposal to be the ex-officio Board member); and
- six elected ordinary members.
The composition of the Board should seek to reflect the international character of the Association, and as a minimum shall include one elected member from each of Europe, North America and Asia. No one country shall have more than three elected members on the Board (including the currently-elected officers, but not counting the past chair and the conference organiser if the latter is an appointed member), and at most two of the currently-elected officers (counting the secretary/ treasurer as one officer if both positions are held by the same person) shall be from a single country.
Except as otherwise specified, membership on the Board shall be by election, based on a secret electronic ballot of all fully paid-up Association members. Additionally, the Board has the authority to approve minor deviations from the rules for cause, such as to provide representation for a region of the world that is not covered by the election procedures, or, in the case of a tie, to allow both parties to be elected.
The posts of chair and vice-chair shall each run for two years, with the vice-chair automatically taking over the chair; the chair cannot serve consecutive terms.
The secretary & treasurer shall be elected every four years. Ordinary or regular Board members shall be elected for four years, with approximately half the posts coming up for re-election every two years. The term of the conference organiser, if appointed rather than elected, shall begin in the calendar year following the previous conference, and end in the calendar year of the conference s/he is organizing.
No individual shall be elected to the Board for more than two consecutive periods; for this purpose the consecutive posts of vice-chair and chair count as one period of office.
No individual shall serve on the Board in any capacity for more than 10 consecutive years. After 10 years of consecutive service (in any capacity), an individual must rotate off the Board for a minimum period of two years before being eligible for election to the Board again.
The Board may fill a vacancy arising between elections, by appointment of another member of the Association until the next election for ordinary or ex-officio members is due to take place.
The posts of secretary and treasurer may be merged and filled by one individual to provide efficiency in record-keeping. The Board may choose to fill these two positions with one individual or two individuals in each election cycle.
After considering the abilities and interests of current Board members, if deemed appropriate the Board can appoint additional Board members to serve as:
- Newsletter editor of the Association;
- Website editor of the Association.
5. POWERS AND DUTIES
The Executive Board is empowered to govern the affairs of the Association, but shall seek the views of the membership (either formally or informally) before making major decisions.
A majority of the elected members of the Board constitute a quorum for making decisions by the Board, including both Board members present and those who have authorised a member present at the meeting to act on their behalf.
Chair. The Chair is the chief executive officer of the Association. The Chairman presides at general meetings of the membership and Board meetings.
Vice Chair. The Vice Chair serves in the absence of the Chairman.
Secretary. The Secretary is responsible for recording of minutes of each general meeting of the membership and meetings of the Board. The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the Constitution, membership books and other records of the Association as the Board directs, and such other duties as the Board may assign.
Treasurer. The Treasurer is responsible for the Association's funds and accounting for those funds.
6. MEETINGS
The Association shall meet formally once or twice a year, in conjunction with the TRB and ETC Annual Conferences. In addition, other meetings may be called by the Executive Board in association with other international events or if there is special business to conduct.
All members have the right to attend those meetings, or to submit comments in writing, to be presented at the meeting.
Members shall be sent an agenda and relevant background papers at least two weeks before each such meeting, to give members time to submit written comments.
If matters arise requiring a formal vote, each member has one vote. Decisions will be taken on the basis of a simple majority of all votes cast, in all of the following ways:
- In person at the meeting
- By postal or e-mail instruction/ballot to the Secretary/Treasurer, before the meeting
- By the use of a proxy (notified to the Secretary/Treasurer by the member granting the proxy before the meeting).
7. ELECTIONS
Elections to the Board shall be held on a two-yearly basis, in accordance with the composition specified in section 4.
All nominations must be submitted to the secretary/treasurer in writing by the date specified.
For all vacancies for which there is more than one candidate, an electronic ballot of members will be held. The minimum period for the ballot will be four weeks.
Election to the Board shall be on the basis of the person(s) recording the highest vote, except that the requirements for international representation (section 4) shall take precedence: in cases where this would affect the outcome or where there is a tied vote, the final decision shall be taken by the Board.
8. ADMINISTRATION
The financial year shall run from 1 January each year.
The Executive Board shall be empowered to contract out the day-to-day administration of the Association. Such tasks shall include all or part of:
- Keeping membership records
- Invoicing members
- Recruiting members
- Distribution of newsletter and other material
- Acting as a communication broker between members
- Provision of administrative support for conferences or other events organised by the Association.
At the close of the fiscal year, the Secretary/Treasurer shall perform an audit of the Association's books and financial accounts. On the basis of this audit, the Treasurer shall make an annual financial statement available to each member upon request, including all income and expenses of the Association.
9. ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION
Any proposed alterations shall be submitted in writing (whether physically or by e-mail) to the secretary with the signatures of at least four fully paid-up Association members, no less than four weeks before the meeting at which the proposal is to be discussed, and shall be circulated to members at least two weeks before this meeting.
Members may express views in person at the meeting or in writing and may register their vote in person or by authorised proxy or in writing or in electronic communications to the secretary.
Proposed alterations to the Constitution or the dissolution of the Association shall become operative when approved by at least two-thirds of the votes cast, provided the number of votes cast represents an absolute majority of the fully paid-up members.
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