The Governance Working Group has published its proposal for the Association’s governance approach, which lays out a proposed structure for the Association, a model for membership for both individuals and institutions, and a timeline for elections. Each section of the proposal includes suggestions for the Association to take forward and a discussion of why the Working Group made those recommendations.

The Association would like extend its thanks to the members of the Working Group who contributed their time and expertise to this proposal, as well as all of the community members who shared their views during the initial consultation process.

The Association Collective will now begin working to implement the recommendations within the proposal, taking into account community feedback. The first step will be running an open call for new members to join the Collective, which will be open in the spring.

The proposal document is now open for community feedback. We welcome comments made directly in the document or shared via the Association’s email address, uk-ie.digitalhumanities@sas.ac.uk.

Executive Summary

The Governance Working Group proposes a phased governance and membership approach, where the governance structures for the Association are developed in 2025 based on this proposal and the membership scheme is piloted in 2025-26. 

The Association will be led by an Executive Committee composed of 12 members – 6 elected general members, 3 members elected to represent specific constituencies, 2 ex officio members from the School of Advanced Study, and 1 Community Interest Group Coordinator nominated by the other coordinators. This Committee will provide the strategic leadership for the Association and be responsible for delivering its core programmes. The Committee will elect from within its members two co-chairs.

Committee members will be elected for three-year terms and ⅓ of the elected members will be up for election each year. Existing members of the Collective will roll off in stages as new members are elected. The Association will appoint three (3) new members in 2025 and hold its first open election in early 2026.

The Association will allow for individual and organisational members. Organisational members will be entitled to a certain number of individual memberships, which they can assign to people from their organisation. These members will have the same privileges as individual members. Members can vote, stand for election, and have access to specific benefits. 

The Association will not incorporate as a charity at the time, but rather continue its existing relationship with the School of Advanced Study. It should revisit this decision in three (3) years.

The Association should publish an Implementation Plan, laying out how it will implement the recommendations contained in this proposal so that it can be held accountable to delivering.

Please read the full proposal for more details, including an implementation plan.