By-Laws on ISCA SIGs

1. The function of a Special Interest Group is to encourage interest and activity (in specific areas) within the broad field of the Association - including links with related areas - by means such as (specialist) workshops, special conference sessions, dedicated web pages and other schemes that might be proposed. A SIG can have a single scientific focus, but could also have a wider scope and relate to language, region, or member status.
   
2. The establishment of a SIG shall be approved by the Board.
   
3. A candidate SIG is given one-year before final approval in which to organise itself and to meet the requirements of the by-laws.
   
4. Each SIG shall have a statement of purpose and constitution approved by the Board, and shall be designated as an "ISCA Special Interest Group on " or "ISCARegional Branch / Language Branch", or "ISCA Member Section".
   
5. A SIG shall have a committee of at least two elected officers - Chairperson and Secretary - and elections shall be held for these positions every two years. These two officers must be members of ISCA. Re-election is possible but consecutive appointments are limited to four successive terms. The election procedure must be specified in the constitution.
   
6. Each SIG shall appoint a Liaison Representative (who may be one of the officers) who shall be responsible for communication with members of the SIG and with the ISCA Board.
   
7. Each SIG committee shall provide a written annual report to the Board before 1st July each year.
   
8. A SIG's statement of purpose, current officer information, and annual report shall be published on the web pages of the Association.
   
9. Each SIG may have access to the membership list of the Association, and SIG announcements may be included in normal publicity of the Association.
   
10. A SIG must have at least twenty-five members, and it shall maintain a list of its members and supply this to the Board along with its annual report. It is not obligatory for a member of an ISCA SIG to be member of ISCA. However, membership of ISCA (and its corresponding benefits) should be encouraged by the SIG.
    
11. A SIG may hold workshops in conjunction with conferences of the Association (independent of other workshops it may hold).
    
12. All participants in an event organised by a SIG should be or become a member of the Association. It is up to the SIG whether associate membership or full membership is required.
    
13. ISCA will not provide any automatic financial support for a SIG. Each SIG must cover its own running costs, and any significant proposed expenditures must be approved by the ISCA Board. A SIG may apply to the Board for an annual budget - not to subsidise events, but as an advance on costs.
    
14. A SIG is not required to solicit subscriptions from its members. Any proposal to support a SIG via membership subscriptions must be explicitly approved by the ISCA Board.
    
15. Profits from any activity organised by a SIG will be shared in equal parts by the organisers, the SIG, and the Association.
    
16. A SIG must request Board approval for any activities sponsored jointly with any other non-ISCA organisation(s).
    
17. The Board can approve the establishment of a SIG jointly with other organisations. In that case, at least two members of the SIG committee should be member of the Association, one of which as Liaison Representative. All by-law articles on an ISCA SIG should apply for the joint SIG. Participants in SIG activities should be member of at least one of the organisations that established the SIG.
    
18. The ISCA Board may choose to close a SIG at any time on grounds such as failure to adhere to the required procedures, inactivity over a period of years, or divergence from the interests of the Association.