It was recognised several years ago that ACS’s current rules are in need of replacement.
A series of consultation rounds has been completed, considering first the principles to guide development of the new constitutional document, the features it should have, and the clauses to implement those features.
The third and final discussion round was launched in late June. "The consultation closed as planned on 5 August. We were pleased to receive over 300 votes and 400 comments on particular elements,” said Working Group co-convenor, Roger Clarke.
"It was clear that participants strongly supported the draft, because it implements the features that the large majority of members are seeking,” he continued.
"But there were also many suggestions for refinements, and of course some points of difference among participants. The comments look like resulting in some scores of adjustments to the draft.”
The Working Group's Report Back to Members, and an Annex containing the members' input, are available on the website.
ACS President, Nick Tate, who is also co-convenor of the Working Group, expressed his thanks to participants for their input. "We are now working on adaptations to the draft to reflect members' input. It's then necessary that we ensure that all legal and regulatory factors are considered and addressed,” he said.
"We also need to check that the expressions in the document are clear and practical, and create no unintended negative impacts on governance, on the society's operations, or on the agility of committees and staff.
"I am confident that the group can shortly present its recommended constitution to Congress, and that this will give time for Congress and MC to consider proposing any change to members during 2023,” he concluded.
