ESOMAR Council Elections

I, the undersigned hereby confirm my agreement to comply with the canvassing guidelines for the ESOMAR Council Elections set out below.

I will await the formal approval and announcement of the election, and of all candidates before beginning any PR/canvassing activities.

Send the ESOMAR Office a copy of any canvassing materials that I use, indicating to whom it is distributed and via which media.

Should I be approved as a candidate, I will restrict communications to the benefits of my candidacy. Promotion of commercial services is NOT appropriate.

Should I be approved as a candidate, all electoral campaigning will be conducted in an open, honest, and moderate manner. Any complaints received about unsolicited messaging will be dealt with by the election committee and may include exclusion from the ballot.

Should I be approved as a candidate, I understand that ESOMAR does not endorse any candidate and cannot provide candidates with mailing addresses or database support. Please note that the ESOMAR members directory may NOT be used as a canvassing support mechanism.

Should I be approved as a candidate, I will respect the fact that Canvassing period runs until the closure of voting. There will be a clear announcement to this effect.

Sitting council members (with the exception of Past Presidents) are prohibited from endorsing election candidates. Endorsements made by Past Presidents cannot be communicated via official ESOMAR channels.

Representatives may support whomever they wish, if they do NOT do so through ESOMAR channels.

ESOMAR channels include: ESOMAR email database / Directory / Networking tool / Centrally organized events / Locally organized events with ESOMAR time slots /MyESOMAR.

Official ESOMAR channels may only be used for promoting VOTING, not candidates.

None of the ESOMAR staff may endorse or publicise candidates.

For any events organized from Amsterdam centrally (and locally organized events with ESOMAR slots), if an electoral candidate for an officer position is included on the agenda, then all the candidates for that position should be included in the agenda too, to ensure balance.

The canvassing period runs from the moment of formal announcement of candidates until the closure of the voting, both of which will be communicated in writing.

Canvassing is allowed through any non-ESOMAR channel, direct or indirect, if all privacy / GDPR rules are respected and obeyed.

This implies that the ESOMAR directory and membership messaging system cannot be used for canvassing. Social media, personal relationships, owned or available contact details or other public information may be used as a basis for canvassing.

The frequency and tone of canvassing is up to the candidates to decide, within the limits of what can be expected of ESOMAR members in good standing.

If complaints are made to the election committee or its members, the election committee will deliberate and decide on possible sanctions (including the potential exclusion of a candidate) based on the evidence at hand.

All decisions of the Elections Committee are final – and have been agreed to in the candidate application form. In the periode of 2022-2023.

I also confirm that should my compliance with these guidelines be questioned, I will abide by the ruling(s) of the ESOMAR Election Committee, whose decision(s) will be deemed final. In the case of the committee determining a breach has been found, I also accept that my application, or should I be accepted as a candidate, my nomination, may be withdrawn from the elections.

I, the undersigned hereby confirm that, if confirmed as a candidate and elected, I am prepared to serve and agree to comply with the ESOMAR Council Code of Conduct as set out below.

Act with personal and professional integrity and uphold the ethical principles of ESOMAR.

Respect and promote ESOMAR's Codes, Guidelines and Self-Regulatory efforts always.

Advocate and defend ESOMAR's entire mission, within the industry and beyond.

Act in the best interests of the whole global membership, irrespective of personal interests or gain.

Represent the interests of the profession/industry as a whole – beyond personal company or sector interests and beyond any regional/national bias.

Act with impartiality in all ESOMAR related activities and declare any potential conflict of interest in advance.

Uphold the resolutely apolitical stance of ESOMAR.

Furthermore, to facilitate efficient and transparent working practices, if elected to Council, I agree to:

Attend Council Meetings (business and social sessions) and read all preparatory documents in advance.

Engage in open, constructive and respectful debate, with a focus on reaching a decision.

Publicly support Council decisions and actions.

Demonstrate loyalty to ESOMAR's operations.

Accept and fulfill responsibilities as agreed in Council.

Seek agreement to represent ESOMAR in any third party meetings and events and inform ESOMAR Management in advance of any speaking engagements or participation in industry related meetings, events and other platforms.

Treat Council deliberations, discussions and documentation in strict confidence.

Not to engage in any financial obligations on ESOMAR's behalf without informing and consulting the Statuatory Director and full Council in advance.

I, the undersigned hereby confirm that, if confirmed as a candidate and elected, I am prepared to serve and agree to comply with the ESOMAR Council role and responsibilities set out below.

How is the Council composed?
ESOMAR is governed by a member-elected Council which serves a two-year term. The Council consists of President, Vice-President, Treasurer (both appointed by the Council Elect), and seven members (one of which will also be appointed to serve as Treasurer). An immediate Past-President can be invited to attend meeting of the Council, but he or she shall not have voting rights. Council also can appoint two additional members to serve, if it is determined that adding a particular skillset or diversification will enable the council to make and implement effective decisions.

How much time should I devote to the Council if elected?
Before taking the decision to be a candidate for Council, you should ask yourself if you truly have the time to dedicate to it. Being a member of the Council implies an important responsibility towards the members of the ESOMAR community. The fact that it is an honorary role does not mean that the time commitment is optional.

In addition to the Council meetings, you should devote time to the working groups you have chosen to join or initiate/drive, together with other Council and/or staff members. These working groups involve meetings but also ACTUAL WORK. At each Council, meeting the working groups will present progress reports.

What is the role of the Council?
The Council shall manage the Association. As an elected member of the Council, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you will be representing the 8,000+ members of our global Association. The main task of the Council is to implement the ESOMAR mission in line with Article 3 of the Statutes. The overriding challenge is to be relevant to members and society. Council’s policy development and objectives setting are based on the assessment and understanding of external and internal factors impacting ESOMAR.

Council’s main responsibility areas are:

• Determining desired outcomes for organizational success.

• Adapting an appropriate governance design (how and when it will govern and the processes to use; this includes creation of legal entities of the set up to address specific, well defined organizational challenges).

• Evaluating, setting objectives, the role of the DG/CEO (and CFO/COO & Staff); establishing a good working relationship and enhancing communication.

• Overseeing financial performance and reporting to membership based on results.

Note that the Council does not have an executive role. Council delegates responsibilities for realizing objectives, strategy and tactical planning, within defined parameters to the Management/ DG/ CFO/COO.

How and how often does the Council meet?
Typically, there are four two-day face-to-face meetings per year, three of them in Amsterdam and one in the city where the Congress takes place. This means that you need to be able to travel to Europe and/or a location determined by Congress every 3 months. ESOMAR covers these travel expenses. In addition, there may be online meetings interspersed between the face-to-face meetings, each lasting about two hours.

What are the responsibilities of a Council member?
The participation in and work of Council should be led by the following principles:

• Selflessness (act solely in terms of public interest).

• Integrity (avoid inappropriate influence and financial/material benefits, declare conflict of interests).

• Objectivity (act and decide impartially, fairly, using the best evidence).

• Accountability (be responsible for your decisions and actions).

• Openness (take decisions in an open and transparent manner).

• Honesty (be truthful).

• Leadership (exhibit the above-mentioned principles in your own behavior).

Each Council Members agrees at the beginning of his/her term to take over a minimum of one working group or ‘portfolio’ with specific objectives according to the strategy and agreed with the President and DG.

Each Council member should be part of the Programme Committee of any ESOMAR conference and included the ESOMAR Congress at least once during his or her term.

Each Council member is encouraged to represent ESOMAR in any circumstances. This can be done by presenting papers at events, writing articles, posting on social media to promote ESOMAR programs and services, giving interviews, giving lectures at universities, etc.

The activities of the Council and the Council members will be documented in a designated Council section on the ESOMAR website.

Poor behavior of Council members will be challenged and may result in expulsion from Council. If two or more meetings are missed in any single 12-month period without adequate explanation, Council may ask the Council member to step down, and co-opt a replacement for the reminder of the term. The same applies to a negligence of portfolio obligations.

As of the 2023-2024 term, Council members will be subject to one self-evaluation during each of their terms on Council. These self-evaluations will be done based on criteria and goals set at the start of the Council term, confirmed by the Council Members. The evaluations will be discussed one to one together with the ExEco and shared with the Council Members, on an annual basis, at the last Council meeting prior the next elections. The Council Members who are part of ExEco (President, Vice President, Treasurer) will be evaluated by the DG, COO/CFO and the other Council members. Any ESOMAR Council Member who chooses to run for re-election also submits to share their self-review(s) with the ESOMAR Members as part of their election application. Newly entering candidates will not have such evaluations which will be clearly indicated.

Can I propose new projects to the Council?
Any new proposal is welcome, and, assuming it aligns with ESOMAR strategy, will surely be accepted and you will be invited to lead the project.