Guidelines for Special Interest Group Coordinators 1. How to ... - Earli

Guidelines for Special Interest Group CoordinatorsAs a coordinator of a Special Interest Group, you have assumed important responsibilitiesthat include (a) taking a leadership role in further development of your SIG; (b) servingas a liaison and a communication channel between the members of your SIG, the EARLIExecutive Board and the rest of the EARLI community; (c) organising SIG activities,such as seminars, newsletters or other publications, consistent with the EARLI scientificmission and strategy; (d) organising the SIG symposia during the EARLI conference.These guidelines are intended to inform you of the possibilities, regulations, tasks andpast conventions in order to help you work with your co-ordinator colleagues as part of aleadership team for the benefit of your SIG.Please do not hesitate to contact the EARLI office (earli@ped.kuleuven.be) or the ECmemberholding the SIGs portfolio Costas Constantinou (c.p.constantinou@ucy.ac.cy)with any questions.Table of contents1. How to found a new SIG2. Requirements for the SIG to be active3. Responsibilities of the SIG-coordinator4. Junior Assisstant SIG coordinator5. Communication with the EARLI office6. Financial support for SIG-activities7. The conference management system for SIG-conferences8. Contact information1. How to found a new Special Interest GroupThe European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction includes 22 SpecialInterest Groups on specific themes within the domain of educational research related tolearning and instruction processes. These SIGs consist of researchers who study one ormore aspects of learning and instruction. If you feel that a certain theme or researchdomain in educational science is not represented, it is possible to apply for theestablishment of a new SIG.

The application procedure is as follows:Send by e-mail to the EARLI office a proposal which includes the following information:o A mission statement with a clear profile description of the new SIG (see the EARLIwebsite for examples of a mission statement). This mission statement gives a descriptionof the identity, aims and scope of the SIG and it should not exceed 500 words.o A short curriculum vitae of the two SIG-coordinators who are willing to start the SIG.These two persons have to be from different countries and at least one of them must workin Europe.o A plan of activities to be organised in the future.o A list of at least 20 EARLI members who intend to join the SIG.The EARLI office will present this proposal to the next meeting of the ExecutiveCommittee of EARLI. These meetings are held twice a year. The EC evaluates theproposal and takes the final decision. The EARLI office informs the applicants of thedecision. Once a new SIG is founded, one of the two first coordinators will serve for 6years while the other will be replaced after 4 years. In this way it is possible to form acontinuum where only one coordinator is changed every two years. The founding SIGcoordinators may decide which one of the two will remain as the coordinator for 4 andwhich one for 6 years.2. Minimum requirements for a SIG to remain activeIn order to keep a SIG active, there are a few minimum requirements:o A SIG should have at least 20 members at any time;o Every SIG should hold a members business meeting during the biennial EARLIconferences. The agenda for this meeting should be communicated to all SIG members atleast one month in advance;o There should be at least one activity (for example a meeting, conference, newsletter,etc...) in the years between the biennial EARLI conferences;o Every SIG-coordinator should organise an election when stepping down, in order toensure that the SIG has two coordinators at any time;o At the end of every year, upon request by the EARLI office, the SIG coordinatorssubmit a report on the activities of the SIG;o The SIG is expected to organise an invited symposium at each biennial conference. TheSIG coordinators are responsible for the organisation of this symposium.If any of the above requirements is not met, the EARLI EC may decide to dissolve theSIG.3. Requirements and responsibilities for the SIG coordinatorsAll EARLI members with a minimum period of 4 years of membership and established

esearch experience documented by a record of publications in a field of relevance to oneof the Special Interest Groups, are eligible to stand for election as SIG coordinator. Thetwo SIG-coordinators need to work in different countries. No more than one coordinatorcan be non-European. A SIG coordinator can serve for a minimum of two years and amaximum of four years, starting their term at the SIG members meeting of the BiennialEARLI conference. By exception, one of the two founding co-ordinators may serve for 6years.Besides the two SIG coordinators, it is also possible to appoint a junior assistant SIG coordinatorfor a maximum period of 4 years.The main responsibility of the SIG-coordinators is to keep the SIG active (see paragraph2).The SIG-coordinators are expected to undertake the following tasks:o Organising a SIG invited symposium at the EARLI biennial conference;o Organising a SIG members meeting at the EARLI biennial conference. The Agenda forthis meeting should be communicated to the SIG members and posted on the EARLIwebsite at least one month ahead of the meeting.o Monitoring the financial situation of the SIG and the balances of the activities;o Organising at least one SIG activity (conference, newsletter, etc.) in the years inbetween the biennial conferences;o Finding a successor or possible candidate for a successor when stepping down.o Liaising with the EARLI Office to organise the elections well ahead of the biennialconference, using the online voting system provided by the EARLI Office;o Composing a report of activities, including a list of participants for each activity. Thisshould be sent directly after the activity, and not later than 1 December of every year;o Acting as a link between the SIG members and the EARLI office;o Informing the EARLI EC about the SIG's future and past activities;o Proposing keynote speakers for the biennial EARLI meeting. Both SIG coordinatorswill receive a request from the EARLI office to suggest keynote presenters prior to everybiennial conference. The SIG-coordinators are advised to consult their SIG members onthis issue. Final decisions are made by the Conference Planning Committee and the EC.The EC normally receives more proposals than can be accommodated. The selectionprocess places emphasis on broad thematic coverage within the discipline of Learning &Instruction, balance, but also a rigorous research record and good communication skills.o Acting as a reviewer for submissions to the main EARLI Biennial conference and theJURE summer school and pre-conferences;o SIG coordinators are invited to act as reviewers for the EARLI publication award(which is announced during the EARLI biennial conferences).o Proposing reviewers for the EARLI Conference. SIG co-ordinators should take theinitiative to pre-select SIG members who can productively serve as reviewers, seekconsent from those members and send the EARLI Office and the conference organizers alist of suggested reviewers after they have agreed to serve.4. Junior Assisstant SIG Coordinator

SIGs may decide to appoint a Junior Assisstant Coordinator to help with the organisationof activities for a SIG. These are the requirements and regulations:o JURE coordinators can be appointed or replaced only in the years linked to the EARLIconference;o The JURE coordinator should be a member of JURE at the start of his/her term andshould stay on for a minimum of two years and a maximum of 4 years;o SIG coordinators can disseminate a call for candidates to JURE members and shouldmanage the procedure of selection and appointment;o Elections need to be organised well ahead of the EARLI conference; the EARLI votingsystem has to be used;o Only one JURE coordinator can be appointed at any time;o The EARLI office must be informed when a JURE coordinator is appointed and allinformation to update the website must be provided via email to earli@ped.kuleuven.be.5. Communication with the EARLI officeo Twice a year (in February and in June), the EARLI office will send a list of SIGmembers to the SIG-coordinators. If a more updated list is required at any time, this canbe received upon request to the EARLI office;o Messages from coordinators to SIG members should be distributed directly by the SIGcoordinators;o Information about all SIG activities (including newsletters, conferences and seminars)should be sent to the EARLI office well ahead of time so that it can be published on theEARLI website and promoted through the EARLI network;o In order to receive funding for SIG activities, a request for funding prior to the activityand a report after the activity must be submitted to the EARLI office (see paragraph 6);o Twice a year, EARLI publishes association news in the EARLI journals and on theEARLI website. A request for information about upcoming SIG activities will be sent tothe coordinator in advance;o At every EARLI biennial conference, a SIG coordinators meeting will be organised.The agenda will be distributed to all coordinators at least one month before the meeting,with a request for suggestion of additional agenda-items.6. Financial support for SIG sEARLI provides financial support consisting of 2000 euro per two years for SIGactivities. In order to receive this financial support, a request for funding must besubmitted to the EARLI office ahead of the planned activity and a report must besubmitted after the activity.The 2000 euro will be paid by the EARLI office after the SIG-activity is performed andupon receipt of the SIG-coordinators report. This report should include a list of theparticipants indicating who is a SIG member. If pre-payment is needed, EARLI can pay a

maximum of 50% in advance and the remaining amount will be paid upon receipt of thisreport.The funding proposal should be submitted at least four months prior to the activity andshould contain the following elements:o Information about the nature, goals and aims of the activity and the preliminaryprogram (invited speakers, submission formats, etc...);o The expected number of participants;o A preliminary budget (showing the estimated income and expenses of the event);o An open call for participation which will be sent to the EARLI list.The request should be submitted to the EARLI office by one of the SIG-coordinators andit should take into account the following rules:o Submission of the request at least four months before the event takes place;o A meeting of the two SIG-coordinators cannot be considered for funding;o Any activity taking place during the year of the biennial EARLI conference, includingthe members meeting, cannot be considered for funding;o In the case where the activity includes a registration fee (eg for a conference), areduced registration fee should apply for EARLI members. This reduced rate should beno more than 80% of the fee that is calculated for non EARLI members;o The balance of SIG-activities should be reinvested in the organisation of future SIGactivities. It is the responsibility of the coordinators to monitor the financial situation (seeparagraph 3). In order to secure the continuity of the SIGs financial situation, EARLIoffers the possibility to safeguard this balance;o The sponsored SIG activity must take place within Europe (to include Israel);o Joint conferences (co-organised by more than one SIG) receive a maximum funding of4000 euro.o It is only possible to submit 1 funding request every 2 years, for a maximum amount of2000 euro. It is not possible to spread the funding over several proposals and activities.In order to implement a payment, the EARLI Office has to be supplied with the followingdetails:o IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identifier Code) of thebank account in which the amount has to be paid;o Name of the account holder;o Address of the bank.Besides this support for biennial SIG activities, the SIG-coordinators are entitled for freeregistration to the main EARLI biennial conference. Once a year, the Executivecommittee will launch a call for proposals for extra funding for SIGs that initiate newactivities like a digital journal, newsletter, etc. More information about the proposalrequirements is provided as part of the call.7. The conference management system for SIG-conferences

The EARLI conference management system for SIG’s has been developed for themanagement of smaller conferences. It provides the conference organisers with thefacility to automate processes like the submission of contributions, the review of thesubmissions, the conference registration and the hotel bookings. The system is flexible upto a certain level and can be adjusted to specific conference requirements only to alimited extent. A manual for the use of the conference management system is availableupon request. SIG coordinators will need to appoint a person who will take responsibilityfor the management of the conference system for a period of at least 12 months straddlingthe conference.For additional information and support prior to using this system, please contact theEARLI office.8. Contact InformationThe EARLI office can be contacted at: info@earli.orgWithin the EARLI office, we have assigned the following responsibilities:Updating the EARLI website: Tonia.davison@ppw.kuleuven.beOther issues: Belinda.boogaerts@ppw.kuleuven.beThe EC-member holding the SIGs portfolio is Costas Constantinou. He can be contactedat: c.p.constantinou@ucy.ac.cyEARLI Executive Committee15 March 2012