Membership Application Information

According to the Constitution, any multidisciplinary academy representing a geographic region that is focused on childhood-onset disabilities and is comprised of twenty-five or more active members is eligible to apply for membership in the IAACD as a Member Academy.

Member Academies must meet the Standards for Membership:

1. The academy shall respect human rights. There should be no form of discrimination in regard of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion. Reference to this standard should be observed within academy by-laws or constitution, or in the letter of application.
2. The academy shall be multi-professional in membership and leadership and shall welcome all professions that are engaged in working with patients with childhood onset disabilities.
3. The academy shall be registered as a non-profit organization. The economy of the academy and its activity shall be transparent.
4. Education and training shall be evidence-based.

There are three membership categories – Full, Provisional and Potential as defined below.  We welcome expressions of interest, and/or applications for membership, from eligible and/or potentially eligible Academies as described below.

Full Member. An Academy that has demonstrated through a formal application that they meet the Standards for IAACD Membership according to the Constitution and Administrative Procedures. Full members have all the rights and responsibilities of membership. Full members will usually pay membership dues in accordance with the IAACD protocols. Full members who are on the Hinari list, may apply for an exemption or reduction in fees.

Provisional Member. An Academy that has provided a formal application for membership that addresses each of the Standards for Membership but has been deemed to not yet meet the Standards. A member in this category will usually require no more than one year to address any issues identified with meeting one or two Standards to fully comply with IAACD Constitution, or for information provided to be verified. If needed, an extension to the one-year period can be agreed, based on information provided to AMAC regarding progress towards goals. Provisional Members have the responsibility to be active within the IAACD by contributing to IAACD Committee work but will have no voting powers.  There is no cost for Provisional membership. At a minimum, Provisional Members must:

• be legal entities, i.e., be registered as a non-profit organization
• have a multidisciplinary membership of at least 25 people
• have a Constitution or Bylaws that provide evidence of the purpose and scope of the entity
• provide evidence-based education and training, and
• be reasonably able to meet all the Standards within 1 year of application for membership.

Potential Member. Academies or Societies that are formative, or do not meet the Membership Standards and are unlikely to do so within 12 months, may seek support for their ongoing development as an academy from the IAACD and Member Academies. These potential member academies are highly likely to require more than one year to meet the Standards. Academies in this situation will be identified either through their submission of an expression of interest in receiving support, or because they have applied formally for membership, and deemed to require more than 12 months to meet the Membership Standards.  Further details of support that may be provided by AMAC and IAACD for Potential Members is described below.

Note. Individuals and unformed groups cannot apply for membership of the IAACD but can be linked to regional Member Academies for support and encouragement to form a group.

To express interest in applying for membership, or to seek information about the application process and the different Member Categories, please email the AMAC Chair at membership@iaacd.net. The AMAC may allocate an IAACD liaison to work with the Applicant Academy, who will guide the process of application.

To formally apply for membership, a written application is submitted to the Chair of the AMAC by email membership@iaacd.net by the presiding President and Secretary (or equivalent positions) of the Applicant Academy. To demonstrate how the Applicant Academy meets the Standards for Membership of the IAACD, the application is required to include the following:

1. Letter of application signed by the applicant academy’s President/Chair;
2. Names and professions of Executive Committee and Governing Council (or equivalent positions);
3. Identification of the geographic region represented;
4. List of active members, their profession and locality in the region represented by the applicant academy;
5. Copy of the applicant academy’s current constitution or Bylaws in English. The Constitution must adhere to the goals and standards of the IAACD as described in the Constitution;
6. Proof of registration/incorporation as a not-for-profit organisation; and
7. An annual budget and evidence of economic status of the organisation.
8. Information about education events hosted or sponsored by the Applicant Academy that demonstrate that education is evidence-based (e.g., copies of event program schedules).

The written application addressing items 1 to 8 (above) will be reviewed by the AMAC for the purposes of making a recommendation to the Governing Council. The process for forming the recommendation is as follows:

1. The Chair of the AMAC will review completeness of documentation, in consultation with the AMAC liaison if there is one appointed;
2. Complete documentation will be sent to all members of the AMAC for independent review against the Membership Criteria and Checklist (See Appendix A.1 for template). The application will be then discussed at a meeting of the AMAC to determine the extent to which the application meets the Standards.
3. The Chair of the AMAC will provide written advice to the Applicant Academy, detailing the AMAC assessment of the application against the Standards as per the Checklist;
4. Following receipt of a written application, and interim assessment by the AMAC, a discussion will be held with the Applicant Academy and a determination made as to whether they are likely to meet Full, Provisional or Potential Membership standards;
5. One member of the AMAC may be assigned the role of liaison to the applicant academy. The liaison role is to support the applicant in addressing the Standards for membership as needed and/or support them in engaging with the IAACD as a Provisional Member;
6. The liaison will report to the AMAC on discussions/progress/concerns at quarterly meetings or earlier as needed. Records of discussions and progress will be documented in the AMAC minutes, and kept in the shared drive, but do not form part of the application;
7. Following receipt of a written application, and interim assessment by the AMAC the applicant academy shall be deemed a Provisional Member Academy;
8. Within 12 months of becoming a Provisional Member Academy, the AMAC will provide a recommendation to the Governing Council (or Steering Group in the interim period) as to whether the Provisional Member Academy meets the Standards for IAACD Membership. This recommendation will be based on documentation provided in the original application and a subsequent report that details additional information or changes to the academy’s organisation that enable it to meet the Standards;
9. If a Provisional Member Academy does not meet the Standards for membership within 12 months the application will lapse, or they will be deemed Potential Academy and a new application will be required; and
10. The Governing Council is responsible for determining whether an Applicant Academy will be a Full member.

We welcome and invite potential member Academies to engage with the IAACD. Academies or Societies that are not yet ready to apply for Full or Provisional Membership, will be those that have some formal standing – that is, they are a group of multi-disciplinary professionals with a declared interest in child-onset disability and a commitment to work towards IAACD membership eligibility.

Potential members are encouraged to review the membership requirements as detailed on the website, and to lodge an expression of interest, if seeking support from the IAACD.  Potential Academies will be asked to nominate a working group to liaise with the IAACD, comprising a minimum of four individual members of the potential academy.

The AMAC will appoint a liaison (AMAC member) to be the key person to communicate/coordinate the next steps for the potential member. The Chair of AMAC and the allocated AMAC liaison will meet with senior members (e.g. President/Secretary) of the potential member Academy and their working group, to discuss IAACD membership requirements, provide advise and assist in developing a plan for progressing towards Provisional and Full Membership.  Potential Academies may also be provided with a Mentoring Academy to assist them in working towards the standards of Full membership.

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