Rules & Procedures (March 7, 2012)

1.1.The Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) pursues innovative and interdisciplinary/trans-disciplinary research concerning the environment, sustainability and social-ecological resilience. Ultimately, it aspires to contribute to facilitating society’s transition towards sustainability.

1.2.The basic objectives of ESRC are as follows:

1.2.1. To encourage interdisciplinary, trans-disciplinary, integrative, and environmentally oriented research by faculty, librarians, and students.

1.2.2. To cultivate and mobilize networks at local through international scales that foster generation of innovative knowledge and make possible information dissemination about the environment.

1.2.3. To engage with communities of practitioners and policy makers to foster knowledge impacts at local through international levels about the environment.

 

2.1.The ESRC Committee (hereafter ‘the Committee’) is the core constituent body of ESRC, comprised of all ESRC members in good standing (see section 6.0 below for the eligibility and procedural requirements of ESRC membership). All ESRC members in good standing have the right and obligation to participate in Committee affairs. 

2.2.The Committee will meet no less than once per term.  Meetings of the Committee can be called at the discretion of the ESRC Director or through petition by at least half of the ESRC membership. Two weeks’ notice must be given before each Committee meeting. 

2.3.All meetings of the Committee will follow Robert’s Rules of Order in its proceedings.

2.4.Every member in good standing of ESRC has one vote in Committee proceedings. Committee votes may be conducted in-person or electronically, at the discretion of the Director. For in-person votes, quorum for the Committee is a simple majority of the ESRC membership. For electronic votes, no quorum rule applies since all members will have an opportunity to vote. Unless otherwise indicated in these Rules and Procedures, decisions of the Committee will be taken by simple majority vote.

2.5.The Committee has the following rights/duties in ESRC governance:

·              It will elect the members of the ESRC Executive

·              It will advise the ESRC Executive on the activities and strategic direction of ESRC

·              It will review the annual report of the ESRC Director

·              It will receive and review reports from the ESRC Advisory Committee

·              It will amend the ESRC Rules and Procedures, as necessary

 

3.1.The ESRC Committee will be chaired by the ESRC Director (hereafter ‘the Director’) or his or her designate.

3.2.The Director will normally serve a three-year term which may be renewed.

3.3.The Director will be selected through the following procedure:

3.3.1. During the fall term of the final year of a Director’s term, the Committee shall record a vote indicating its choice for the next Director.

3.3.2. This choice will be forwarded to the Dean of Social Science who may consult further.

3.3.3. The Dean will forward the results of the vote and his/her recommendation to the President who will appoint the next Director.

 

4.1.The ESRC Executive (hereafter ‘the Executive’) is the core executive body of ESRC. Any member in good standing of the Committee can make nominations and stand for election to the ESRC Executive. All positions on the ESRC Executive (except the Director – see section 3 above) are elected by simple majority vote of the Committee.

4.2.All members of the Executive are entitled to one vote in its proceedings, and Executive decisions are determined by a simple majority vote. Quorum for the Executive is four members.

4.3.All meetings of the Executive will follow Robert’s Rules of Order in its proceedings.

4.4.The Executive is comprised of the following positions and terms:

·              Director (three-year term)

·              Secretary/Treasurer (two-year term for the first holder, then a three-year term thereafter)

·              Research Coordinator (two-year term for the first holder, then a three-year term thereafter)

·              Communications Coordinator (three-year term)

·              Program Coordinator (three-year term)

·              Member-at-Large (one-year term for the first holder, then a two-year term thereafter)

·              Member-at-Large (two-year term)

 

4.5.The positions of the Executive will include the following duties:

4.5.1. Director

4.5.1.1.      Develop, implement and monitor a strategic plan for ESRC, in consultation with the Committee, the Executive, the Advisory Committee, and the Dean of FOSS.

4.5.1.2.      Act as a liaison between government agencies, organizations and partners and ESRC.

4.5.1.3.      Chair regular ESRC meetings; interact with the Committee and Advisory Committee; supervise ESRC staff.

4.5.1.4.      Provide a written report and presentation to the Committee, the Advisory Committee, and the Dean of FOSS annually.  The report and presentation summarizes the activities of ESRC and seeks advice on future strategic directions.  It will be distributed at least two weeks before the annual meeting.

4.5.2. Secretary/Treasurer

4.5.2.1.      Records minutes at meetings of the Executive and the Committee.

4.5.2.2.      Maintenance of financial records and production of annual financial report.

4.5.2.3.      Maintenance and updating of ESRC Rules and Procedures.

4.5.3. Research Coordinator

4.5.3.1.      Source research opportunities and facilitate the formation of research teams to make funding applications in the key thematic areas of ESRC.

4.5.3.2.      Serve as liaison between the Committee, the Executive, the Advisory Committee, faculty, Office of Research Services, government agencies, and other participating agencies.

4.5.3.3.      Maintain a database on research activities of ESRC members.

4.5.3.4.      Receives membership applications and presents them to the Executive.

4.5.4. Communications/Partnership Coordinator

4.5.4.1.      Contribute to the design and creation of communications and public relations tools; coordinates meetings among community, faculty, research teams, and support staff.

4.5.4.2.      Ensure communication within ESRC and facilitate knowledge mobilization to the various audiences (e.g., researchers, policy makers, community members etc.) about ESRC research and its implications.

4.5.4.3.      Oversee and update the ESRC website, as necessary.

4.5.5.  Program Co-ordinator

4.5.5.1 Oversee and co-ordinate applications for Programs

4.5.6. Members-at-Large

4.5.6.1.      Represent concerns of the Committee to the Executive.

4.5.6.2.      Contribute to the workings of the Executive, as appropriate.

 

5.1.The ESRC Advisory Committee (hereafter ‘the Advisory Committee’) is a consultative body that advises the Committee on the strategic direction of ESRC. It is chaired by the Dean of Social Sciences, and is comprised of up to five other members of the business, government, NGO, and/or academic communities. Members of the Advisory Committee sit for three-year terms.

5.2.Members of the Advisory Committee may be nominated by any member in good standing of the Committee, and appointments to the Advisory Committee are made by simple majority vote of the Committee. 

5.3.The Advisory Committee will meet at least once each academic year, and meetings of the Advisory Committee are called by the chair (the Dean of Social Science).

5.4.The rights/duties of the Advisory Committee include the following:

·              To review the annual report of the Director and evaluate the strategic direction of ESRC

·              To report annually to the Committee on the strategic direction of ESRC

·              To provide advice to the Executive, as requested by the Executive

5.5.Members of the Advisory Committee may sit as observers on the Committee and the Executive, but they do not have nominating or voting rights on either of these bodies.

 

6.1.Membership in ESRC is open to all members of the Brock academic staff who can make a demonstrable and positive contribution to ESRC’s mission and objectives.

6.2.The process for becoming a member of ESRC is as follows:

·              Prospective applicants must submit a CV and a one to two page state of intent – outlining the relevance of their research to ESRC and their planned contribution to ESRC – to the Research Coordinator.

·              The Research Coordinator shall bring forward all membership applications to the Executive at its next scheduled meeting, where membership decisions will be decided by a simple majority vote.

·              The Research Coordinator shall notify each applicant of the results of the membership vote.

 

6.3.All members of ESRC may resign their membership through a letter of resignation to the Research Coordinator.

 

6.4.Members of ESRC whom the Executive have determined to have become inactive (i.e., they have not participated in the Committee or other ESRC activities for at least two years) or to have acted contrary to the mission and objectives of ESRC, may have their membership cancelled through the unanimous vote of the Executive.

6.5.All membership decisions of the Executive (new membership approvals, new membership rejections, and membership cancellations) can be overridden by the Committee through a two-thirds majority vote.

 

7.1.Amendment of the ESRC Rules and Procedures can be proposed by any member of the Committee and must be passed by a two-thirds majority vote of the Committee.

8.1.Individuals and groups who are not members of the Brock academic staff may participate in ESRC activities through ESRC affiliation. ESRC Affiliates (hereafter the ‘Affiliates’) may be community members, students, businesses, NGOs or researchers from other universities who can make a demonstrable and positive contribution to ESRC’s mission and objectives.

8.2.Affiliates may participate in all ESRC activities and may attend meetings of the Committee, but they may not vote in Committee proceedings nor may they stand for election or hold office in the Executive.

8.3.The process for becoming an Affiliate is as follows:

·              Prospective Affiliates must be nominated by a Committee member.

·              Prospective applicants must submit a CV and a one to two page state of intent – outlining the relevance of their research to ESRC and/or their planned contribution to ESRC – to the Research Coordinator.

·              The Research Coordinator shall bring forward all membership applications to the Executive at its next scheduled meeting, where membership decisions will be decided by a simple majority vote.

·              The Research Coordinator shall notify each applicant of the results of the membership vote.

8.4.All Affiliates may resign their membership through a letter of resignation to the Research Coordinator.

8.5.Affiliates whom the Executive have determined to have become inactive (i.e., they have not participated in the Committee or other ESRC activities for at least two years) or to have acted contrary to the mission and objectives of ESRC, may have their affiliation cancelled through the unanimous vote of the Executive.

8.6.All affiliation decisions of the Executive (new affiliation approvals, new affiliation rejections, and affiliation cancellations) can be overridden by the Committee through a two-thirds majority vote.