ESA Renewal Process
Frequently
Asked Questions - Sections
Why four Sections instead of the current six?
What would happen to the other two Sections?
What capabilities will the new Sections have?
Do the new Sections correlate to the journals?
I don’t seem to fit into any of the new Sections. What now?
I fit into more than one of the new Sections. What now?
Will Sections hold annual scientific meetings like Branches?
Do we anticipate that the four proposed Sections will be equivalent in size?
If I join more than one Section, can I vote twice?
What will it cost to join more than one Section?
Can Sections subdivide into something like the current Subsections?
How will ESA maintain fiscal authority for ESA Central with the newly empowered Section Treasurers acting independently?
Who gets to decide what the official ESA position is on
'outreach on science and public policy' topics?
Several reasons – (1) ESA is much smaller now than it was at its peak by almost
50% -- and the discipline focus of the day are much broader, (2) beyond the 6
sections, ESA has numerous Subsections which further bog down governance, (3) to
truly be empowered and active, there needs to be a critical mass and a
leadership structure. By reducing to 4 Sections and creating Leadership Councils
for Sections, we believe we enable this to happen. After long, long study,
discussion, debate and reflection the Governing Board proposed a 4-Section model
as the best model to collect groups of common interest for governance purposes.
Nobody’s Section would disappear. All the Sections would be restructured top to
bottom with the result being four, instead of six. However, members may join as
many Sections as they wish, which is a new component. In addition, any number of
Member Networks can emerge for you to affiliate with – these are not governance
bodies, but they may affiliate with one or more Sections to proposed symposia,
etc.
Sections will be led by Section Leadership Councils; a group of members would
form the core of future Society officers. This body would have the
responsibility and authority to determine needs and wants of the members of the
Section, create associations with other organizations, and levy fees for special
services with approval of the Section membership.
No. The journals are an ESA Central activity so they will remain as they are
with little change to their structure. However, the composition of the Editorial
boards would change to reflect the new Sections representation.
The new Sections would be structured broadly so that everyone would be able to
identify with at least one of them to some degree, if even slightly. It is
possible that some members will not identify perfectly with any one Section –
but our fastest growing group in ESA today is members that do not choose a
Section affiliation which is anecdotal evidence that the current Sections do not
fully represent today’s interests either. The good news is that you many join
multiple Sections AND you may join or form a Network to create your web of
colleagues.
No problem. If you feel that you would like to associate with more than one
Section, simply join the second (or third, or fourth) as well.
The Annual Meeting is considered to be a strength for all Sections and managed
by ESA Central. All sections will support and participate in the annual meeting program and activities
– and Sections will have a great deal of influence on the Annual Meeting Program.
Probably not, but that is not a design principle (however, more balanced than today!).
The focus is on aggregations of scientific interests that can collectively influence public policy, advance
their areas of entomology, and develop new and exciting opportunities for their members.
You will be eligible to vote for officers and issues related to each Section that you join,
though you will still only be able to record one vote for ESA-Central offices
and issues.
These details are not yet developed, but the principle would be to offset costs of the
additional membership services by ESA Central and the Section.
The proposed structure does not provide provisions for Subsections and proposes to meet this need
with effective networks that may form based on need or common interest.
Truthfully, there is much that needs to be sorted out with regard to finances, rules, etc... ,
but the fundamental principle is that each ESA member, regardless of section affiliation will pay ESA Central
Membership Dues to cover the ESA Central services noted in the proposal (e.g., publications, Annual Meeting,
Membership services, Admin. Infrastructure, etc...) – all of this would be the responsibility of the ESA
Treasurer and Finance Committee/Governing Board to plan and oversee just as it is today. However, because
Sections would now have the opportunity to levy additional fees specific to the Section in order to carry
forth their Agenda, the Treasurer for the Section and the Section Leadership Council would serve as the
accountable planners. For example, if the Section on "Structural, Veterinary, and Public Health Systems"
found it essential to their "Influence Science/Public Policy" strategy to be connected in Washington and
decide to established fellowships to work within NIH, DoD, CDC, etc... then the Section would need a devise
a plan to fund this activity. The actual dollars would be physically held by ESA Central in a separate
account for the Section -- there would not be a proliferation of accounts outside the fiduciary/legal control
of ESA. Sections would not have the ability to use ESA "core" funds unless the ESA Governing Board approved
it as being in the best interest of ESA as a whole. But, one concept for consideration down the road would
be to establish Program Enhancement Funds for Sections in a similar fashion to Branches where a "dividend"
is given to Sections based on membership and annual meeting attendance. These funds could arguably be used
at the discretion of the Section. With regard to Branches, the same arrangement could be considered regarding
holding accounts ... but for now it certainly is not an urgently pressing issue.
The proposed capability of outreach on science and public policy will be primarily owned by each of the four proposed Sections because they are closer to the science and the facts than a central Governing Board ever will be. As to which topics will be addressed, that too will be at the discretion of the Section Leadership Council -- our hope is that experts in the Section with knowledge and passion about topics will work to create a plan for the topics that are most relevant to their professional livelihood.
Some also believe that we always jump to "public policy" or socially controversial topics and forget that a scientific society is in a great position to formulate recommendations on good science. Insecticide Resistance Management is a good example, ESA should,
according to some members, should have been the organizer for the science and principles ultimately used by EPA and other agencies -- for the most part ESA played no direct role in formulation or debate of the scientific aspects of these regulatory policies. I'm sure you can think of many examples where experts who are members of ESA can have a positive and proactive impact on areas of complex science that also has public policy implications. Generally, there is money and influence associated to those who are willing to address these complex problems ...
and that can be good for our members. Now, one question that has been posed is what if one Section takes a position detrimental to another Section? If this does emerge (which I believe to be unlikely or at best rare), the ESA Governing Board will serve as referee and ultimate authority on any position taken by the Society. We also are proposing the creation of "Capability Committees" to encourage the 4 Sections to talk to one another as they formulate their issues list to address -- if there are common positions, it certainly is possible that multiple Sections or all Sections take a similar position. Again, our mantra has been ... "Unity in the Essentials and Freedom in the Nonessentials".
Links to other FAQs:
General
Sections
Branches
Networks
ESA-Central
