INSAR Nominations & Elections
INSAR is governed by an elected, volunteer Board of Directors who oversee all functions of the Society. Various committees assist the Board in carrying out the mission of the Society.
The membership of INSAR elects the new Board of Directors. Transition from one board to the next takes place at the business meeting of the INSAR Annual Meeting.
The nomination and election of positions on the Board are on bi-yearly, alternating, two-year cycles. Every two years, a new President-Elect is
chosen. On the alternating cycle, the positions of Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary are chosen.
The nomination and election process is managed by the Nomination and Elections Committee.
Goals of Board Nominations & Elections
The INSAR Board has approved the following goals and criteria for nominations and elections to support diverse and global representation within the Society’s leadership. The Nominations and Elections Committee work is guided by this strategic direction culminating with a proposed slate of nominees for each annual election.
The goals include:
- Identifying candidates with significant histories of contributions to autism research, or the autism community and the society for leadership roles within INSAR;
- Across a four-year cycle of elections balancing the diversity of leadership on the Board through selective nominations that target the numerous diversity factors on an as-needed basis:
- Gender;
- Research discipline;
- Global region, and
- Racial/ethnic/cultural backgrounds
Criteria for Nominees
- Current Full member of INSAR at the time of nomination
- Have a history of INSAR involvement
- Prior leadership role or active role within the society
- Have attended at least one INSAR Annual Meeting in the last 3 years
- Evidence of an active research career
- Senior Level Researcher
Commitment
The basic commitment of all Board members includes attendance, participation in discussion, and Board voting during a two-hour monthly remote meeting. Board members also attend and participate in a 2-3 day Strategic Planning meeting each year (remote or in person), as well as a Board meeting and Annual Business Meeting at the in-person Annual Meeting. Review of materials on multiple topics for discussion is typically required for each Board meeting.
Finally, Board members meet with specific INSAR Committee Chairs once a month to ensure continued committee communications with the Board as well as to provide committees with guidance and oversite.
The INSAR organizational chart (linked below) shows the Board Liaison / Committee Assignments of each Board Officer position.