ERAC — European Renal Association Curatorium

I. Objectives
1. The aim of ERAC is to have a structure where an open and balanced discussion between ERA bodies and supporting members can occur with the aim of facilitating the reaching of the goals of the Association through specific projects.
2. Examples of these common projects are to support young talents in nephrology with research fellowship programmes or to support basic and advanced training through scholarships. Other examples are supporting exchange programs including visiting Professor projects and/or supporting ERA initiatives for the improvement of diagnosis and treatment of Kidney Disease, etc.

II. Composition
1. ERAC is composed of ERA members (representing the Council) and supporting members.
2. ERA and the supporting members elect within their respective groups, their representatives within the Executive Committee.
3. A supporting member is any natural or legal person who provides a substantial amount of money determined by the Executive Committee itself to promote the purposes of the Association.
4. New supporting members must send a request to the Chair, the Chair must immediately inform the Vice-Chair and then the Executive Committee must vote on approval or not.

III. Executive Committee composition and election procedure
1. Only ERA representatives or supporting members can become a member of the Executive Committee.
2. The ERAC Executive Committee will be composed of ERA members and supporting members. There is no limit on the number of supporting members, however, each supporting member can have only 1 representative.
3. The ERA members are nominated by the ERA Council from the current Council members. All ex-officio Council members will automatically become ERA representative members.
4. The Chair of ERAC is the ERA Secretary General. His/her term will be the same as that of the Council.
5. A Vice-Chair must be nominated by the supporting members among the representatives nominated by the supporting members. The nominated Vice-Chair must be approved by the ERA Council.
6. All members must have filled in their respective Application Forms (ERA representatives or supporting members supporting members).
7. The term of the members is three years and can be renewed only for another three-year term. The ex-officio Council members will follow the same term they have within the Council.
8. Once a Committee member has served two terms, a minimum break of three years before applying for the same Committee is required.
9. If a member withdraws from the Executive Committee before the end of his/her term the Executive Committee members should nominate a replacement following the rules mentioned above. The newly elected member will follow the normal as indicated above.
10. Members can be removed from the Executive Committee if they do not attend two meetings without a valid reason and/or if they are in breach of the ERA rules. For this to happen the Executive Committee members must approve the motion by voting.

IV. Duty of the Executive Committee
1. It advises the ERA Council on concrete measures and projects in any field that serve the achievement of the goals of the Association, these can include organizational aspects, scientific work, public relations, etc. These can be proposed by any member of the Executive Committee.
2. It is in charge of approving the activities and the allocation of financial resources to the various activities.
3. It is in charge of electing the supporting members.
4. Any proposal must follow the normal ERA evaluation rules and thus be reviewed by the SAB – Scientific Advisory Board if needed, before it can be implemented.

V. Funding
1. All supporting members will pay a fee directly to ERA (membership). The fee is valid for the calendar year (independently of when it is paid).
2. The amount of the annual fees will be confirmed every three years (the year before it is valid) by the Executive Committee. There will be different levels of contribution depending on the annual turnover of the supporting members, in any case, the minimum amount is EUR 5,000 while the maximum is EUR 40,000.
3. Extra funding (unrestricted grant) is possible but does not allow supporting members to have more voting power within the Executive Committee.

VI. Meetings and quorum
1. Normally there will be 1 face-to-face Executive Committee meeting each year, the other Executive Committee meetings will take place via the web.
2. The Executive Committee meetings are called by the Chair and the invitations must be sent out to all members at least 4 weeks before the date of the meeting with the agenda of the meeting (in case of urgency a 2-week notice is sufficient).
3. The agenda is prepared by the Chair and the Vice-Chair.
4. The Chair is in charge of the meetings, if the Chair is unavailable, it will be the Vice-Chair will be in charge of the meeting.
5. The quorum is reached if at least half of the members are present.
6. Decisions and votes are taken by majority vote, each member has one vote. In case of an equal number of votes, the Chair has the casting vote.
7. Votes can be taken by raise of hands or by secret vote. A secret vote will occur each time the matter concerns a person or upon request by one of the members.
8. Whenever a member is directly involved in a topic of discussion, he/she must leave the room at the time of discussion and vote, he/she may enter the room to answer specific questions that the other members may have.
9. Minutes of the meetings are recorded and kept by the ERA, they must be co-signed by the Chair and Vice-Chair.
10. The Executive Committee members can decide at any time to invite third parties to attend the meetings, however, these invitees will not have a vote.
11. Once a year, during the annual ERA Congress, there will be a General Assembly meeting of all the ERAC members. Each supporting member will have a voice and one vote during the General Assembly. During the General Assembly, the Chair must present an annual report, both with regard to the ERAC activities as well as to the finances, for discussion/approval. The meeting rules for the General Assembly are the same as those indicated in the points above of this clause related to the Executive Committee Meetings.

VII. Varia
1. The ERAC is supported in its activities, including the drawing up of the accounts and the creation of the budget, the secretarial matters related to the elections/rotation as well as the drafting and safekeeping of the minutes, by the ERA Operative Headquarters.
2. All Supporting Members that provide a substantial amount of money, as indicated in article 3 of the present rules, have the right to receive a 10% discount in supporting all the educational events
3. ERAC has its own logo.
4. The Chair must submit regular reports on the activities as well as the finances of ERAC at ERA Council meetings and the ERA General Assembly through the ERA President.
5. For the rules regarding the reimbursement policy for ERAC Executive Committee members who participate in face-to-face meetings, for example, organised at the time of the annual ERA Congress, one must refer to the “General Rules for ERA Committees”. This rule is not valid for the supporting members.
6. Diplomas for ERAC Executive Committee members. For this matter, one should refer to the appropriate section in the “General Rules for ERA Committees”.
7. All ERA ERAC publications, if any, and initiatives must clearly mention the fact that the ERAC is an official body of ERA. The sentence approved by Council related to this matter is: “This article (to be adapted accordingly) was written by (to be adapted accordingly) on behalf of the ERA ERAC which is an official body of the ERA (European Renal Association).
8. Proper disclaimer of support must always be disclosed.

Last update: July 2024