1. Inicio
  2. Research networks
  3. Research Committees
  4. RC09 Social Transformations and Sociology of Development
  5. Statutes

Research Committees

Statutes

Statutes revised in 2007, 2011, 2012, 2016 and in 2021.

I. NATURE OF THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE

  1. The Research Committee bears the name: Research Committee on Social Transformations and the Sociology of Development and is a Research Committee within the organizational structure of the International Sociological Association (henceforth to be called RC09).
  2. It has been established in accordance with article 4 of the Statutes of the International Sociological Association (henceforth to be called ISA).
  3. The RC will administer its own funds, in accordance with article 4.1 of the ISA Statutes.
  4. These funds consist of (see art. 10):
    1. Membership fees from individual members.
    2. Membership fees from institutional members.
    3. ISA subventions.
    4. Donations, grants, and other means.

II. OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE

  1. It is the main objective of RC09 to promote the research on social transformations and the sociology of development within the social sciences. RC09 is a non-profit association of scientific purposes. Its function is to represent sociologists working about social transformations and the sociology of development everywhere, regardless of their school of thought, scientific approaches, or sociological opinion.

III. ACTIVITIES OF THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE

  1. To bring this objective closer to realization, RC09 has formulated the following sub-goals and shall take measures accordingly:
    1. To encourage the international exchange of research findings by developing formal and informal international networks of researchers.
    2. To promote international-collaborative research, especially of a comparative nature.
    3. To publish a regular Newsletter twice a year, e-mailed to all members in good standing, to keep them informed of ongoing and planned activities.
    4. To organize and/or sponsor international meetings, seminars, workshops etc. where researchers on RC09 topics can come together for an exchange of research findings.
    5. To organize sessions at the World Congresses of Sociology and a midterm conference, preferably at the ISA  Forum, more generally, at other congresses of international associations involved in any of the social sciences, and to promote the publication of a selection of the results thereof.
    6. To encourage and facilitate the participation of members from countries of the Global South.
    7. To promote the study of concrete social transformations and the dissemination of the results, also outside of the scientific community.
    8. To cooperate with other Research Committees, and with international associations or institutions engaged in or interested in the study of social transformations and related fields.

IV. MEMBERSHIP IN THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE

  1. Any bona fide social scientist, working in any of the fields described in article 5, can be an individual member of RC09, provided he/she accepts the Statutes and will observe them. Membership in RC09 is possible as a regular member, i.e., a member both of RC09 and of the ISA, and as an affiliated member i.e., a member of RC09 only, with limited rights in accordance with article 4.6a of the ISA Statutes.
  2. Participation in the activities of RC09 is only possible for those who are members in good standing. The presentation of a paper at a World Congress of Sociology or at the ISA Forum furthermore requires being an ISA member in good standing. The Board can decide on exceptions for certain cases.
  3. Members in good standing are those who have either paid their membership dues or have received an exemption of dues from the Secretary/Treasurer, who is empowered by the Board to give such exemptions.
  4. The Board sets the RC09 membership fees for a four-year period at its Business Meeting (see By-Laws for current fees).
  5. The regular members have the right: 
    1. To vote every four years in Board elections.
    2. To suggest themselves or others for Board functions and/or organizational functions (e.g., session organizers).

11B.   All members (regular and affiliated) are entitled to:

  1. To participate in all scientific activities of RC09.
  2. To receive the RC09 Newsletter free of charge.
  3. To ask for support in all matters directly or indirectly relating to their professional lives (e.g., for travel grants to attend RC09 meetings, etc.).
  4. To volunteer for membership in special committees (see art. 16).

 

  1. The members are expected:
    1. To accept and observe the Statutes.
    2. To pay their membership fees.
    3. To fill out occasional questionnaires, an indispensable instrument for the Board to determine its policy and return them promptly.
    4. To send relevant news items (book reviews, announcements of upcoming meetings, proposals for research projects, possibilities for grants, etc.) to the Newsletter editor, and otherwise take an active role in the affairs of RC09.
    5. To produce a paper at least once every four years, whether at the World Congress of Sociology, or at some other international meeting organized by RC09, such as the ISA Forum.

V. GOVERNING BODIES OF THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE

  1. The Board of RC09 is responsible for the overall organization and scientific production of the RC, and shall consist of:
  • A president or co-chairs.
  • A vice-president (may be omitted in case of co-chairs governance).
  • A secretary/treasurer or co-secretaries/treasurers.
  • A newsletter and website editor (may be run by a pair of two members).
  • A past president or past co-chairs (as ex-officio, non-voting members).
  • A minimum of four and a maximum of ten additional members, the exact number to be determined before the elections by the outgoing Board.
  • The World Congress Program Coordinator of RC09 is a Board member by office for the full period of office of the Board and will be elected to this function during the RC09 elections.
  1. All Board members must be regular individual ISA members in good standing in accordance with article 4.6a of the ISA Statutes.
  2. An effort shall be made to ensure a fair and diverse regional as well as disciplinary and gender representation.
  3. The Board may establish committees for specific purposes for a specified and limited duration that will remain accountable to the Board.

VI. ELECTORAL PROCEDURES OF THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE

  1. The Board members are elected by e-mail ballot around the end of the year in which the World Congress of Sociology is held.
    1. In order to ensure this will be possible, the Board will function as a Nominating Committee and will draw up a list of candidates that have to be regular RC09 members to be submitted to and discussed at the business meeting during the World Congress of Sociology. 
    2. Immediately after the Congress, the secretary/treasurer will e-mail this list to all members in good standing (i.e., members who have paid both their ISA and RC09 dues or have received an approved exemption of RC09 dues) with the request to suggest additional candidates - including self-nominations - within a period of no more than two months. 
    3. All nominated candidates, including self-nominated, must be willing to serve the full four-year term if elected and must have the initial written support of at least two members in good standing.
    4. For the functions of president or co-chairs, vice-president, secretary/treasurer or cosecretaries/ treasurers, newsletter editor, and website editor at least one candidate should be presented on the election ballot. Moreover, an effort will be made to also have enough candidates to fill at least four to six additional members positions. 
    5. The outcome of the elections will be determined by the number of votes received within one month after emailing the ballots. Where multiple candidates are nominated, the one receiving the most votes from the votes cast will be elected. 
    6. In case a Board member dies or is incapacitated during his/her term of office or does not pay the dues, he/she must be replaced by a qualified regular member or a pair of members after a discussion with the membership and the Board at the following Business meeting. In exceptional cases and when the function is essential for the good functioning of RC09, the Board member who resigns from a function must be replaced by a qualified  regular member or a pair of members after an email discussion/consultation with the membership and the Board.
    7. Board members can serve no more than two four-year terms in one and the same position.

President: maximum two terms;
Officers (Vice-Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer): no more than two consecutive terms;
Board Members: no more than two consecutive terms.

VII. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES OF THE MEMBERS

  1. The responsibilities of the Board members are the following:
    1. The president or the co-chairs shall:
    • take initiatives regarding the planning of the organizational and scientific activities of RC09.
    • regularly consult with the other Board members about scientific and organizational activities of RC09.
    • chair the Business Meetings of RC09 at the World Congress or/and at the midterm conference.
    • serve as RC09 delegate to the ISA Research Council. 
    • represent RC09 on all formal occasions - such as the signing of contracts with outside bodies - unless arranged otherwise among the Board members.
    • ensure that the office holders of RC09 Board conduct financial transactions in a transparent manner following the ISA rules and statutes. They shall ensure by preparing a budget and overseeing that RC09 resources are used to good effect, with propriety, and not for private, partisan or political purposes. 
    1. The secretary/treasurer or co-secretaries/treasurers shall:
    • closely cooperate with the president/co-chairs in running the day-to-day affairs of the RC09.
    • take care of most correspondence and other contacts with members and non-members.
    • be the RC09 alternate to the ISA Research Council, if necessary.
    • serve as the RC09 Newsletter Editor unless another Board member is appointed in this role.
    • maintain a record of all committee business and executive meetings, and the financial records.
    • make the financial accounting to the ISA Executive Committee, RC09, and to the membership at the quadrennial business meeting. 
    • collect dues from affiliated members if there are any of those members.
    • remind members to pay their RC09 dues on time.
    • provide the president/co-chairs regularly with updated membership lists.
    • try to find additional funding for the work of RC09 and/or for specific research projects executed under the auspices of RC09, unless there is specific Board position devoted to this.
    1. The president/co-chairs and the secretary/treasurer or co-secretaries/treasurers together will make proposals to the other Board members regarding the RC09 program during the World Congresses of Sociology, i.e.,  concerning the program coordinator, session topics, and session organizers; together, they will draw up the agenda for the Board meeting and the business meeting, and together they will produce the bi-annual report of RC09 activities for the ISA Research Council. 
    2. The Newsletter and Website editor(s) shall: 
    • have ultimate responsibility for collecting copy for the Newsletter and for editing, producing, and mailing it. Arrangements shall be made by the Board to assist him/her/them in these different functions. As stated in sub (b) this function can be combined with that of secretary/treasurer, though
      efforts will be made to keep these functions separate.
    1. The vice-president shall:
    • replace the president or the co-chairs whenever necessary.
    • serve as the main adviser to the president/co-chairs in organizational as well as scientific matters.
    • take an active role in the preparation of the RC09 sessions at the World Congresses of Sociology.
    1. The past president shall:
    • provide for a desirable continuity of administration.
    • be available for advice to the current president/co-chairs and the other Board members.
    1. The Board members shall:
    • advise on all scientific and business matters pertaining to the activities of the Research Committee.
    • be willing to assume specific tasks decided upon after each election by the new Board.
    • promote interest in the activities of RC09 in the region(s) or among the subgroup(s) they represent and report at least once a year on relevant developments within that region or subgroup.
    • be invited to (co-)organize an RC09 session at the World Congresses of Sociology and to take an active role in organizing sessions at the meetings of other scholarly associations.
    • review the secretary/treasurer’s quadrennial financial report.

VIII. FINAL REGULATIONS

  1. These Statutes were adopted by the vote of the RC09 membership in 2021.
  2. Changes in and amendments of these Statutes must be proposed in writing to the current Board by at least four members in good standing and must subsequently be approved by email ballot whereby at least one fifth of current RC09 regular members vote and at least a half of those voting express their support; finally, two thirds of the Board must approve the changes.

BY LAWS

Membership Fees
Individual membership fees are fixed as follows for a four-year period:

  • Supporter USD 50
  • Regular USD 35
  • Discount USD 20

Life

  • Voluntary USD 80
  • Category A USD 40
  • Category B&C USD 20

 

Institutional members: a variable amount, depending on the size of the institution concerned, and to be determined by the secretary/treasurer or the co-secretaries/treasurers.


In line with ISA practice, membership fees are collected for a period of four years. For a list of countries in Categories A, B and C see currently valid ISA membership form.