ERA-EDTASCIENTIFIC WORKING GROUPS |
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An ERA-EDTA Working Group (WG) must follow the rules listed below, which must be part of the ERA-EDTA Council Regulations. WG’s are expected to encourage research, communication of knowledge, teaching and to participate in education. |
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The creation of a WG should be approved by the ERA-EDTA Council. Working groups should cover / refer to areas of large interest for nephrology. |
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For the foundation of a working group, the Council must receive a list of at least 50 ERA-EDTA members supporting the creation of the same WG. This list must include the names of the Board members. |
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Official Working Groups will have their own logo, which however must include the official ERA-EDTA logo. The “Candidate WG” should present its proposals to the ERA-EDTA Secretary-Treasurer, who must then submit it to Council for final approval. The financial support to individual WG’s will be decided by the Council on the basis of quality of proposals and on their value as related with the scope and the programs of ERA-EDTA. |
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| VISION and MISSION | |
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To improve the outcomes of renal patients. To promote and facilitate research in the field. |
| ROLE OF A WORKING GROUP | |
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COMPOSITION |
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The Working Group consists of a Chairman, a Secretary, Board members and ordinary members. |
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CHAIRMAN |
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The Working Group is directed by the Chairman. The Chairman is proposed by the WG Board and nominated by the Council. He/she serves for 3 years and represents the Working Group with the Council. The Chairman can be re-elected for another 3-year mandate. After the end of the tenure of office, the past Chairman remains a member of the Working Group Board for another maximum one mandate, after this he/she can become an ordinary member. |
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The Chairman is the official representative of the WG with the ERA-EDTA Council. |
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In case of a tie vote, the Chairman has the casting vote. |
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SECRETARY |
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The Chairman will propose the name of the Secretary, that should be a Board member, and is elected by the Board. The Secretary will be in charge of the financial and organizational affairs of the Working Group. Similar to the Chairman, the Secretary can be re-elected for another 3-year mandate. After the end of the tenure of office, the past Secretary remains a Board member for another maximum one mandate, after this he/she can become an ordinary member. |
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The Secretary is responsible of verifying the ERA-EDTA membership of all the WG Board members. |
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Board meetings must be organized by the Secretary who must inform all Board members about the eventual venue and time of the meeting at least one month before. |
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The Secretary will prepare Minutes of the Board meetings, which must be approved by Board members and sent to the ERA-EDTA Secretary-Treasurer. They should also be posted on the ERA-EDTA web-site, in a dedicated area for the WG, in a special restricted area, so that all the WG Board members can view them. Annually the Secretary will send the ERA-EDTA Secretary-Treasurer a report to be submitted at the Fall/Autumn Council. This report must also include a budget for the following year. |
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The Secretary is also the person responsible for making sure that the following regulations are followed by the WG. |
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The Secretary is the person responsible for following the election process of the Board members. |
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BOARD |
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The board is composed by 7 to 10 members including the Chairman and Secretary. The Founding Board of WGs must be confirmed by the Council. All WG Board members, including the Chairman and the Secretary, must be ERA-EDTA members, exceptions are possible only for non-nephrologists. |
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From the fourth year on, new Board members will be elected by the current Board members. To be eligible for election in the Board a member must have been an ordinary member of the WG for at least 3 years and an active ERA-EDTA member: exceptions to this rule can only be made for non-nephrologists. These elections will be made during a WG meeting, whether in person or by teleconference. |
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Candidates for Board membership must send their application to the Secretary, as well as supporting letters from two members (ordinary or Board), at least 1 month before the election date. The Secretary will be in charge of verifying the eligibility of the candidates and informing the Board members at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting in which the election will take place. |
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Notice of any Board vacancy must be sent to all members, at least two months prior to the election date, by the Secretary. |
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TRANSITIONAL NORM |
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Only for the first elections, in order to make sure that not all the WG Board members leave at the same time, 1/3 of the originally elected Board members must leave after their 4th year; another 1/3 after their 5th year and, the remaining 1/3 after their 6th year of service on the Board (this rule does not apply to the Chairman or the Secretary). Each time Board members leave the Board, newly elected members must replace them. The decision on who should leave the board should preferably be done by the Board members who wish to leave, however, in case of problems, the Board will vote on who will have to leave the Board upon a proposal with a list of names prepared by the Chairman. |
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No member can remain on the Board, including the Chairman and the Secretary, more than 9 consecutive years: after this time a minimum break of at least 3 years is required before he/she can be re-elected as a Board member. |
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The function of the WG Board: |
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ORDINARY WG MEMBERS |
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REPORTS and APPROVAL |
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| ACTIVE WORKING GROUPS | |
| EURECA-M | |
| IMMUNONEPHROLOGY | |
| ENDORSED WORKING GROUPS | |
| EUTox | |
For more information please contact Valentina Cocchi workinggroups@era-edta.org