12 May 2007
To: All IDEAS Members
From:   Khadija Khan, Secretary, IDEAS

Dear Members, you are kindly invited to please participate in the Election of 3 new IDEAS Board members (two from developing countries, one from developed) to fill out the positions due to be vacant as reflected in the table below.

1.         Existing Board composition and tenure 

Board positions DUE to be vacated
 

2.         CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS 

2.1        IDEAS constitution provides for the Board to comprise six members from developing countries/ transition economies and four from developed countries. The current three available positions belong to developing/transition countries (2 positions) and developed country (1 position). 

2.2        Countries designated as developing (including transition economies) can be checked on the IDEAS website. 

2.3        The constitution provides for nominations and elections to be conducted electronically.

2.4        The election will be conducted according the IDEAS bylaw, adopted in April 2007.  

3.         PROCESS 

3.1               The nominations process and the election will take place by electronic means prior to the AGM which is expected to be in July 2007. 

3.2               The Board, according to its Election Bylaws under the Constitution has established a five person Nominations and Election Committee to oversee the nominations and the election and to ensure compliance with due process.  The Committee comprises:

Denis Jobin Vice-president, IDEAS (Canada)
Khadija Khan, Secretary, IDEAS (Pakistan)
Daniel Svoboda, Board member, IDEAS (Czech Republic)
Judith Keatumetse Shongwe, IDEAS member (Botswana)
Jim Rugh (USA), IDEAS member,   

3.3              No member may make more than three nominations and 3 secondments for each election. 

3.4               The Committee will vet all nominations.

3.5               The timetable is as follows (all times are GMT).

·         NOMINATIONS must be received by the Secretariat between midnight on 12 May 2007 and midnight on 11 June 2007 a period of four weeks. 

·         A final list of valid nominations will be posted on the IDEAS website no later than midnight on 25 June 2007

·         VOTING will take place between 0100hrs on 25 June 2007 and midnight on 05 July 2007, a period of 10 days.

·         Counting of Ballot from 05 July 2007 to 12 July 2007, a period of 7 days

·         Results will be posted on 19 July 2007, after a period of 7 days

·         Challenges received from 19 July to 29 July 2007, a period of 7 days

·         Board Response to Challenges between 29 July 2007 and 05 August 2007 a period of 7 days.

• Final Announcement 06 August 2007.  

  4.                  ELIGIBILITY 

  4.1               Only individual members of IDEAS whose annual fees are fully paid up at the commence of nomination process have the right to participate, and are qualified to nominate, be nominated and vote. Self-nomination is prohibited.

  4.2               No board member may serve for more than two consecutive three-year terms. Thereafter an individual may be eligible for subsequent appointments so long as a minimum of three years shall have elapsed since the last period of service. 

  4.3               To be valid a nomination must be seconded by one paid up (eligible) member. 

  4.4               All nominees must provide the Secretariat with:
                 a) an acceptance of their nomination in writing.  

                 b) their curriculum vitae and a recent verified photo.
                 c) a statement indicating the skills, level of effort and commitment that they will bring to the Board.
                 d) a statement that they will serve if elected and that they will meet and fulfil the duties and obligations placed on them as a Trustee and Director of IDEAS.
                  e) a copy of a valid passport (page with nationality), to verify nationality. 

  5.         PROCESS 

  5.1        Voting forms will be distributed via the website, via the IDEAS discussion group and will also be emailed to eligible members.   

  5.2        The Nominations and Election Committee will scrutinize and verify all nominations documents. 

  5.3               The ballots will be counted by the Secretariat and two members of the Nominations and Election Committee immediately following the election. 

  5.4               All ballots excluding those that are deemed invalid by the Nominations and Election Committee will be counted. 

  5.5               The candidate gaining the largest number of votes (a simple majority) for each vacancy shall be deemed elected. Since there are two board member positions for developing countries, the first and second candidates with most votes shall be deemed elected. 

  5.6               The official announcement of the election results will be made on the website no later than midnight on 06 August 2007.

  6.         TENURE OF BOARD MEMBERS 

  6.1        Board members serve for 3 years. 

  7.                  EXPECTATIONS AND PERFORMANCE OF BOARD MEMBERS 

  7.1        Performance Agreements have been introduced for IDEAS Board members and Board members are expected to observe the strictures of these agreements and contribute strongly to the delivery of IDEAS strategy and work programme.  

  7.2        Profiles for Office Bearers’ and their responsibilities are being developed.  

  7.3        Board members who fail to perform satisfactorily may be asked, by their peers on the Board, to resign.   

  7.4        The voluntary nature of IDEAS – it has no professional staff - requires that IDEAS has a competent Board comprised of members who are willing to work hard and effectively in the service of IDEAS.  

  7.5        Board members must also be located where there is good telecommunications and internet connectivity and they must have the necessary office equipment.  

  7.6        English is the business language of IDEAS and Board members must be able to communicate easily in English, both verbally and in writing. 

  Nominations must be made on the nomination form attached to this invitation and submitted to:

  IDEAS SECRETARIAT: 

  AND in copy to nomination committee: AND   

   Please use one nomination form  per nomination.

  NOMINATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSING DATE WILL BE INVALID

  BOARD MEMBER NOMINATION FORM

  Submitted by (Member Name):                            ___________________________

  Vacancy (developing or developed country):          ___________________________

   

  Please ensure that your nominee(s) has agreed to his/her nomination and has also agreed to provide the IDEAS Secretariat with the information required.

   

  One form per nomination; maximum of 3 nominations per IDEAS member. 

   

  	Nominee	Nominated by:	Seconded by:	Agreed by Nominee
  	Name, email Sex (Female/Male) Nationality	Name, email, Organizational affiliation, nationality	Name, email Organizational affiliation, nationality	Agreement (Yes or No)
  1.

• PLEASE SUBMIT the COMPLETED form TO: 

  IDEAS SECRETARIAT: 

  AND in copy to: AND  

  NO LATER THAN MIDNIGHT (GMT) ON 11 JUNE 2007 

   

   

  ALL NOMINATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSING DATE WILL BE INVALID

  
  

  BOARD MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES

  An elected Board member of IDEAS is expected to fulfil certain duties and act within certain constraints.  He / She will:

  • Be a paid-up member of IDEAS.

  • Participate fully in the work of the Board by:

  Physically attending official Board meetings as notified by the Executive Committee of the Board at least a month in advance or participating in Board teleconferences as notified a week in advance.

  Responding to official Board communication requesting comments and inputs to such Board matters as minutes and decisions on any matters on the Board agenda. 

  Participating in subcommittees of the Board as assigned by the Executive or as volunteered by individual Board Members

  Agreeing to step down from the position of Board member and to allow the Executive to seek a replacement on the Board if, for any reason, he/she is not able to attend duly notified Board meetings for a prolonged period of time (three months) or participate by some other means (telephone, email) to the satisfaction of the Executive of the Board.

  • Serve IDEAS on a voluntary basis, receiving no financial payment for work as a Board member, other than reasonable compensation for costs incurred in carrying out Board duties.

  • Ensure that costs incurred are kept to a minimum:  air travel will be at economy fares or lower, hotels selected will be three or four star and car hire will be at economy rates.  Every attempt will be made to combine travel for IDEAS with other pre-arranged events in order to minimise or eliminate costs.

  • Abide by accepted codes of conduct and duties of care, loyalty and obedience, specifically -

  Care – to prepare for meetings, attend and participate in meetings and discussions by asking questions and offering advice.

  Loyalty – to give undivided allegiance to IDEAS when serving in the capacity of Board member, avoiding actual or potential conflicts of interest and never acting for personal gain or for the benefit of another organization at the expense of IDEAS.

  Obedience - to be faithful to the mission of IDEAS by not acting in a way that is inconsistent with the central goals of IDEAS.

  • Comply with all applicable laws and regulations of IDEAS.

  • Respect the confidentiality of all information received by IDEAS in verbal, digital, or written form.

  • Use every opportunity that presents itself to promote IDEAS and to recruit new members.

  • Check email and IDEAS web site on daily basis and respond quickly to requests for input on matters of policy.

  • Ensure that at all times he/she has a reliable means of communication and can be contacted by the Board, via email, telephone or cellular phone.

  • Contribute regularly to the IDEAS web site by submitting his/her own relevant papers, news articles and digital photographs and by referring the web site Administrator to other recommended sources. 

  • Remain accountable to the membership of IDEAS.

  • Accept that if he/she is not able to fulfil these obligations as a Board member to the satisfaction of the Board, that the Executive Committee has the right and obligation to ask for  and receive his/her resignation and to find a suitable replacement for him/her on the Board of  IDEAS.