To: IARU Member Societies

Date: 22 October 1999

RE: Review of the IARU Organizational Structure

The IARU Administrative Council has instructed me to circulate the following report to member societies for review and comment. The report is based on the report of the IARU Structural Review Committee (SRC) that was delivered to the Administrative Council prior to its meeting in Lillehammer, Norway, last month, and includes output from the IARU Region 1 Conference that was held in Lillehammer immediately preceding the Administrative Council meeting.

A. What Should You Do With This Report?

1.Take out your copy of the current IARU Constitution (May 9, 1989 revision). If you do not have a copy, download one from the IARU Web site, http://www.iaru.org/iarucnst.html, or request a copy from the International Secretariat.

• With the current Constitution as a reference, read this report.
  
• Discuss the report with others in your member society who should see it, and prepare comments representing the view of your member society. Some suggested topics for your comments are offered at the end of the report.
  
• Submit your comments by 22 March 2000 as described at the end of the report.

B. Background

The Structural Review Committee was established by the Administrative Council at its October 1998 meeting in Porlamar, Venezuela, following the discharging of the Constitutional Review Committee that had been created a year earlier. The terms of reference for the SRC are contained in Resolution 97-2 (revised 1998), which is attached as an annex to this report.

Later that month the following members were appointed to the SRC by IARU President Richard L. Baldwin, W1RU:

Chairman -- Michael Owen, VK3KI
Region 1 -- Tim Hughes, G3GVV
Region 2 -- Eduardo Estrada, HC2EE
Region 3 -- Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB
International Secretariat -- David Sumner, K1ZZ

The members from the three regions were appointed at the suggestion of the respective regional chairmen. However, they worked in their capacity of their personal expertise rather than as representatives of their regions' views.

Communications were conducted principally by electronic mail through a remailer established at the International Secretariat. Each SRC member submitted at least one paper setting out his views.

C. Issues

The SRC identified the following issues, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. Leadership:

• Perceived domination of IARU by one country, particularly with regard to the selection of officers.

• Alternation of regional representation at the presidency.

• Preservation of the global unity of IARU.

2. Participation:

• Means for member society participation in IARU decision-making, including but not limited to a possiblethe role of the regional organizations and the possibility of an IARU World Conference.

• Possible participation in the IARU by the commercial sector of amateur radio.

3. Finances:

• The perceived lack of national or financial independence.

• The need for openness in accounting for the funds that are provided to the IARU by its member societies.

• The financial burden of IARU participation on member societies, and particularly on the smaller ones.

• The cost of operating the IARU independently of a member society serving as International Secretariat.

4. Mission:

• The need for an IARU structure that ensures (1) that the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Services are represented as effectively as possible in the forums where decisions affecting spectrum allocations and regulations are made; (2) that the IARU enjoys strong support of individual radio amateurs, expressed through their national amateur radio organizations; (3) continuity in willing, capable, trained leadership at all levels in the organization; and (4) that the required financial resources are available at all times.

• Assistance to member societies in fulfilling their responsibility to represent amateur radio in domestic meetings at which national spectrum allocations and regulation proposals and positions are developed.

• Means of increasing opportunities for IARU participation in private-sector telecommunications forums, given the increased importance of the private sector within the ITU and regional telecommunications organizations.

D. Discussion of the Issues

The SRC did not confine itself merely to identifying the issues. Facts were developed that were believed to be of benefit to the Administrative Council. Also, opinions regarding possible changes in the Administrative Council structure and the method of selecting officers were exchanged.

1. Leadership:

The perception that the selection of IARU officers is dominated by a single member society was identified by more than one SRC member as a threat to global IARU unity.

Three different structural models for the Administrative Council and the officers were offered by the SRC members from the three regions.

One envisions a system in which the IARU president for a given year is from the region that will hold its regional conference that year. In this system, there are two vice presidents, each representing one of the other two regions. At the end of the year, the appropriate vice president automatically becomes president for the year and the former president reverts to the position of vice president. The proponent of this approach observes that this places more responsibility on the secretary as the only permanent officer. The rest of the Administrative Council would be as now, ie, two representatives from each of the three regions.

A second envisions a system where the president does not have an operational role; a new position of executive vice president would be created to perform this role. In addition there would be the secretary and three vice presidents, one from each region, plus two representatives from each of the three regions for a total membership of 12.

A third envisions three officers elected on a regional basis by open balloting of the member societies in each region. These three officers would select one of their number to serve as president; the other two would serve as vice presidents. The rest of the Administrative Council would be the secretary and either one or two (if financial condition allows) regional representatives. The proponent of this approach states that the principal executive authority would rest with the president, with the secretary having less authority than at present.

While there is a common theme of greater regional participation in the IARU presidency, the three models are quite different. They would variously increase or reduce the size of the Administrative Council, and increase or reduce the authority of the president or of the secretary. The selection of a structural model will require balancing the need for encouraging unity and a sense of universal participation with the need for efficiency, effectiveness, and continuity.

At the Region 1 Conference in Lillehammer a working party of Committee 3 (the General Administrative and Organizational Committee) was created for the purpose of discussing a document submitted by Norsk Radio Relæ Liga (NRRL). The working party reported back to Committee 3, and both Committee 3 and the Conference Plenary adopted its report. The report proposed that the following suggestions regarding the composition and election of the Administrative Council of the IARU be forwarded to the Administrative Council and to Regions 2 and 3 to inform their discussions concerning the Constitution of the IARU:

• Each Region shall elect, at their general conference, one Vice President to serve on the Administrative Council (AC)
• A Vice President elected by a Region will attend the AC not in their own right but as a representative of their Region
• Each Region's ruling body shall appoint a further member to serve on the AC, representing that Region
• A Vice President of IARU should not also hold the office of Chairman or President of a Region's ruling body
• The society providing the International Secretariat (IS) shall retain the right to nominate the President of IARU, following the consultation process as set out in the existing IARU Constitution
• Guidelines that will form a policy of the AC should be produced to assist the IS in their task of consultation prior to the nomination of the IARU President
• In the event of a casual vacancy in the office of President of IARU, the IS shall, following due consultation, nominate a President to serve for the remainder of the current term of office from among the three Vice Presidents. This nomination shall be ratified by all member societies. The nominee shall serve as Acting President until the nomination has been ratified. The ruling body of the Region whose Vice President has been nominated as IARU President shall appoint a replacement Vice President to serve until their next Regional Conference.

The Administrative Council received this output from the Region 1 Conference and agreed that it should be included in this report to the member societies.

2. Participation:

Opportunities for participation by member societies in IARU decision making presently include (1) voting on all proposals published in the Calendar, (2) presenting proposals through its regional organization, and (3) participating in the activities and conferences of its regional organization. Active participation by member societies thus is tied more closely to the regional organizations than it is to the IARU as a whole, although the membership of the IARU is defined in the Constitution as its member societies, not its regional organizations. The only meetings of member societies that are envisioned in the Constitution are regional conferences; there is no regular mechanism for the convening of a formal World Conference.

The convening of an IARU World Conference is seen as an ideal that would be very difficult to achieve in practice. The cost of participation in such a conference would be prohibitive for many, if not most, member societies. If significant decisions were to be made at such a conference, many member societies would be left out. On the other hand, if a critical issue were to arise that made the holding of an international meeting essential, SRC members believe that many member societies would find a way to be represented.

The present Constitution provides that a member society (with the exception of the International Secretariat) shall have no financial obligations to the IARU, but also provides that there may be financial obligations between a member society and its regional organization. The member society that serves as the International Secretariat is the only member society that has a direct voice in the Administrative Council; other large member societies do not, although they contribute significant sums to the work of the IARU through the dues they pay to their respective regional organizations.

The advantages and disadvantages of opening the IARU to some degree of commercial participation have not yet been explored. The issue arises because of the dramatic increases in private-sector participation in the ITU and regional telecommunications organizations, and because commercial participation might provide a new source of funding.

3. Finances:

The SRC estimates that the annual cost of operating the IARU independent of a sponsoring member society would be approximately $330,000 at recent levels of activity, not allowing either for inflation or for the increased levels of activity that are likely to be required in the future. This estimate does not imply that an independent IARU office would have all of the same capabilities that can be provided by the staff of a host member society serving as International Secretariat. The estimate does not include the cost of operating the regional organizations, presently about $300,000 per year and also likely to rise in the future, nor does it include the cost to member societies of participating in the IARU through their attendance at meetings and conferences.

The funding for all IARU activities comes from the member societies. In turn, their principal source of financial support is membership dues paid by individual radio amateurs. The cost of operating the IARU, not including the cost of member societies' participation, is approximately US$1.11 per licensed member or approximately US$.23 per licensed radio amateur. However, individuals and member societies throughout the world do not have an equal ability to pay, nor is there a uniform percentage of radio amateurs who are members of their national IARU society. For some member societies, IARU dues represent a significant financial burden that must be passed on to their members.

The financial burden of participating in IARU conferences and meetings falls disproportionately on the smaller member societies. The size of an effective national delegation to a meeting or conference is about the same, regardless of the number of radio amateurs being represented.

Finally, increasing numbers of member societies of all sizes report having financial problems. Any structural changes to the IARU must not increase the operating expenses of the IARU or its member societies, and preferably should reduce expenses.

4. Mission:

Some SRC members expressed the view that the examination of the IARU structure should be driven by the question of how our performance of the mission of the IARU can be improved, especially the preservation and extension of radio amateurs' spectrum access. In their view, consideration of changes in the IARU structure should be responsive to the changes in the ITU (particularly the increased influence of the private sector) and the greatly increased influence of the regional telecommunications organizations. It might be said that there were two schools of thought on the committee. One viewed the reasons to consider structural change to be primarily external, while the other viewed them primarily as internal. In preparing the SRC report it was not necessary to choose one over the other; each is valid in its own way and the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

One mission-related issue on which there is broad agreement is the need for continuity in willing, capable, trained leadership at all levels in the organization. Identifying and nurturing talented volunteers is critical to the future of the IARU. Any structural changes should ensure that volunteers from all member societies and all regions have ample opportunity to assume progressively greater levels of responsibility within organized amateur radio as they demonstrate their capabilities and gain experience.

E. The Next Step

The Structural Review Committee has completed its assignment and the committee has been discharged. The Administrative Council has authorized a new committee called the Committee on IARU Structure to receive the input from member societies in response to this report and to issue a further report based on distillation of the views of the member societies. The composition of the new committee as appointed by IARU President Larry E. Price, W4RA, is quite similar to the old:

Chairman: Vice President David Wardlaw, VK3ADW

Members: Michael Owen, VK3KI
David Sumner, K1ZZ
Tim Hughes, G3GVV
Eduardo Estrada, HC2EE
Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB

F. Timetable

The terms of the incumbent President and Vice President expire in May 2004. The Constitution requires that discussions to identify suitably qualified candidates must begin no later than 12 months prior to the expiration of the terms. Therefore, it is essential that any revisions to the IARU Constitution relating to the nomination of officers must be in force no later than May 2003. This means, in turn, that proposed revisions must be offered to the member societies for their formal consideration no later than December 2002, since the process of voting on proposals for amendments to the Constitution takes five months. The SRC suggested a timetable that envisioned agreement on principles at the September 2000 meeting of the Administrative Council, and agreement on draft revisions to the constitutions of the IARU and the regional organizations, if required, at the 2001 meeting. If more time is required in order to develop a consensus, an additional year (until 2002) is available.

G. Action by Member Societies Requested

You now have before you the output of the Structural Review Committee as well as the related output from the Region 1 Conference. It is now time for member societies to offer their comments. Here are some suggestions as to what you may wish to address in your comments:

• Did the SRC identify all of the issues that face the IARU with regard to its organizational structure? If not, what are the additional issues that you believe should be addressed? Which of the issues do you believe are the most important for the future of the IARU? Least important?
• Four possible models for selecting and organizing the responsibilities of the IARU officers have been offered. Are any of these models preferable to the present Constitution? If so, which one do you prefer and why? Are there other alternatives (including modifications to the model you prefer) that should be considered?
• What other comments would you like to offer on the contents of this report, or on related matters that may not have been addressed?

Member societies are requested to respond no later than 22 March 2000. This deadline is necessary to provide the Committee on IARU Structure adequate time to review all of the inputs received and to prepare a report in advance of the September 2000 meeting of the Administrative Council. Your comments should be addressed to:

Committee on IARU Structure
c/o David Sumner, K1ZZ, Secretary
International Amateur Radio Union
P.O. Box 310905
Newington, CT 06131-0905 USA

You may use one of the following alternative means of submitting your comments:

Electronic mail: dsumner@iaru.org (RTF or Microsoft Word attachment preferred)

FAX:+1 860 594 0259

All comments received from member societies will be forwarded to all committee members.

On behalf of the Administrative Council and the members of the Committee on IARU Structure, thank you for your participation in this important process.

Sincerely,

David Sumner, K1ZZ Secretary

ANNEX

RESOLUTION 97-2

(revised 1998)

concerning review of the structure of the IARU

The IARU Council, Beijing, September 1997,

recognizing

a)the need to review the structure of the IARU to ensure its long term viability and the need to investigate how the financial situation of the IARU can be improved;

b)the complexity of the issues that may be relevant;

c)the necessity to balance the importance of this task against the importance of not diverting effort from the other tasks presently facing the IARU which are of fundamental importance,

resolves

that, as a first step and with the object of defining the issues to provide a basis for further consideration by this council, not more than 5 members designated by the President shall exchange papers raising the issues and options as each perceives them and responding each to the other's views, this group to provide a preliminary report ninety days prior to the next meeting of this Council.