NB: it is proposed that the clauses relating to the officers of the organisation, and to the nature of the business meeting will be amended in 2019, to reflect the current working structure of the organisation.
HFRN Constitution
Name of organisation: Historical Fictions Research Network
Aims:
- To encourage and generate conversation on line, in print and on a range of platforms about the constructed nature of history in a range of media and platforms.
- To organise a conference once a year.
- To create a platform for publishing rearch in the field.
- All members will have paid a fee set by the Business Meeting on the last day of the conference.
- There will be provision for a reduced fee for low income members.
- There will be provision for complimentary membership for speakers and for members from nations with large income/conversion disparities with the UK.
- Membership will run from conference to conference.
- Members cease to be members if they do not renew in a given year. However this does not correlate with removal from the annual mailing for Call for Papers.
- Benefits of membership:
- Attendance at conference.
- Receipt of all publications.
- Access to any closed communication site eventually created.
- The facebook page is open to non-members.
- The organisation is committed to equal opportunity of access and experience. This will include but is not restricted to…
- Choosing “accessible” venues and ensuring accessibility needs are identified and supported. This includes accessibility relating to gender identity, racial and religious identity among other factors.
- Retaining price controls/constructing subsidies to enable the participation of lower income members or those from countries where income/exchange disparities or travel costs inhibits participation.
- Ensuring that the conference is advertised in such a way to encourage the participation of people from a range of academic and identity communities.
- For the period 2016 to 2020 officers will be elected once a year. In 2020 the Business Meeting will consider creating longer terms and restricted terms for the stabilisation of the organisation, and consider the move to a member’s ballot.
- 2016 Officers:
- Chair (for this period maintains membership)
- Treasurer
- Hotel Liason
- Programme
- Mailing List
- Web Manager
- 2017 the above and as decided.
- Officers from 2017 onwards should have attended at least one conference.
- The Treasurer must be located in the UK and have Right to Remain or citizenship.
- There will be an AGM on the final day of each conference.
- Members will be notified of the time and date when the Programme is released in December of the preceding year.
- There should be no more than 15 months between AGMs
- Items may be submitted for discussion by noon on the day of the AGM.
- Nominations for the committee should be submitted by noon on the day of the AGM.
- The meeting is quorate if 30% of the attending membership of the year’s conference is present.
- The AGM will:
- Receive the accounts.
- Receive an account of the conference.
- Elect officers (until such time as the organisation moves to the election of officers through a member’s ballot)
Standing items will consist of:
- Apologies for absence
- Minutes of previous AGM
- Chair’s report
- Membership report
- Financial report
- Election of committee
Votes will be taken through show of hands.
Non-financial decisions may receive a simple majority.
Financial decisions must receive a majority plus 10%.
Finances
- a bank account will be maintained on behalf of the group at a bank agreed by the committee
- signatories to the account will be the officers of the association.
- each payment will require two signatures one of whom will normally be the Treasurer
- records of income and expenditure will be maintained by the Treasurer and accessible to a named member;
- a financial statement given to each meeting;
- an annual statement of accounts will be presented to the Annual General Meeting
- all money raised by the Association will be spent solely on the objects laid out in the constitution
- The initial constitution will be ratified in 2017 with 60% of the attendees at the meeting.
- Further changes to the constitution must be submitted to the chair one week before the Business meeting to allow them to be distributed to the membership. They must receive 60% approval of the year’s registered members.
- In the event of no conference being held in two successive years, and no alternate activity having been chosen deliberately by the membership to replace this, the organisation will be laid down.
- who is entitled to make this decision: the Committee or in the absence of a functioning committee, the Chair and Treasurer.
- how much notice is needed—six months; all members must be informed in advance and with the time available to organise a qualifying event.
- what would happen to any money and assets still held by the group:
- any assets held by the group at this time up to £4k should be donated to the Department of English and Media (or its successor) at Anglia Ruskin University. This is has been chosen in recognition of the seed money the organisation received from ARU in its first three years. Any remaining assets should be transferred to the Journal of Historical Fictions if still active and donated to a congruent group or activity agreed by the final closing AGM.
Historical Fictions Research Network 