The International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites its members to submit proposals proposing new Working Groups. Proposals for new working groups should focus on topics consistent with the Association's aims, and which are not addressed by the existing Working Groups or Sections. Please read the details below and – if you are interested– submit an application by 15 August 2023.
1. What is a Working Group?
Together with the thematic Sections, Working Groups are responsible for most of the content at IAMCR conferences. In comparison to Sections, Working Groups pursue more specific topics and/or questions of interest to members, consistent with the Association's aims and not dealt with by the existing Sections or other Working Groups. Moreover, Working Groups are established for a four year period (although this can be extended). IAMCR currently has 18 working groups. More information regarding the IAMCR Sections and Working Groups can be found on the Association's website.
2. How is a Working Group organised?
A Working Group is managed by a team which is called "the Head". The Head of a Working Group consists of a minimum of 2 persons and a maximum of 5 persons. The members of the Head must all be IAMCR members in good standing. The Head might be constituted of:
- 1 Chair and one or more Vice-Chairs,
- 2 Co-Chairs, or,
- 2 Co-Chairs and one or more Vice-Chairs.
3. What are the requirements for the Working Groups?
There are four requirements for the Working Groups, they are:
- Have an elected Head, consisting of IAMCR members,
- Have a mission statement,
- Organise minimally one session with peer-reviewed papers at each IAMCR main conference,
- Deploy demonstrable activities to support the work of the members of the Working Group.
4. Procedures to submit a proposal to form a new Working Group
4.1. The proposal
Proposals to establish a Working Group must come from a team of IAMCR members and should include the following:
- A proposed Head of the Working Group, which is constituted according to the requirements mentioned above,
- A statement confirming that each member of the Head is a paid-up member of IAMCR (directly or through an IAMCR institutional member who has listed them among its IAMCR representatives),
- A mission statement combining (1) the remit of the Working Group, (2) a motivation for its establishment (also showing that the remit is consistent with the Association's aims and not dealt with by the existing Sections or Working Groups),
- A 2-year work plan addressing how to fulfil the aforementioned list of requirements for the Working Groups (see above),
- Signatures of at least 20 IAMCR members located on at least three continents who support the proposed mission statement and plan of work,
- Support signatures of at least 5 IC members located in at least two continents.
4.2. Submission of the proposal
The proposal should be submitted to Scholarly Review Committee (SRC) by 15 August 2023, through the following email address: src@iamcr.org. The SRC will then work with applicants to evaluate and provide feedback on the proposal before submitting a final version and its recommendations to the Executive Board (EB) for approval and subsequent distribution to the International Council (IC). Then, the General Assembly (GA) will vote upon the proposals accepted by the IC.
4.3. Timeline
Submission of the proposal to form a Working Group to SRC – 15 August 2023
Submission of the final proposal by SRC to EB – 1 October 2023
IC decision on the proposal – 1 December 2023
GA ratification on the establishment of the Working Group – July 2024