ISPB Constitution

1. The name of the Society will be “International Society for Plasmid Biology” also known as the “International Society for Plasmid Biology and other Mobile Genetic Elements” or ISPB.
2. The purpose of the Society will be to promote the study of plasmids and other mobile genetic elements.

  1. The Society will engage in collective activities that increase the awareness and understanding of the importance of these genetic elements both in the scientific community and more generally in the public arena.
  2. The Society will support the organization of the biennial International Plasmid Biology Conference (IPBC).
  3. The Society will help to demonstrate the applications of plasmid biology and the study of mobile genetic elements for example, through the development of web pages and links to key articles.
  4. The Society will provide a forum for the Plasmid Biology community to work with sequence databases to ensure the highest standard of quality control over nomenclature and annotation.
3. The Society will provide continuity between the International Plasmid Biology Conferences organized biennially. The Society will add legitimacy to the biennial meetings and help funding from outside sources.
4. The Society will provide a mechanism whereby information relevant to the Plasmid Biology Community can be disseminated easily via email list, the IPBS web site and other mechanisms.
5. The Society will provide a mechanism for members of the Society to voice opinions and respond to appropriate initiatives both individually and collectively.
6. The Officers of the Society will be:

  • President
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  1. President. The President will support the goals of the Society and preside over the meeting two years after his/her election. The President will also oversee the succession of the roles of Secretary and Treasurer. The Term of Office for the post of President will be three years with the last year being in an advisory role as Past President. The current President, in consultation with the other Officers, will nominate a candidate for President in the following term and will nominate candidates for Secretary and Treasurer as needed (see below).

b.    Secretary.   The Secretary will run the key administrative functions of the Society. These include:

i. establishing the venue and dates for the next IPBC;

ii. facilitating the programme for the next conference in conjunction with the other Officers and the Chair of the IPBC Organizing Committee;

iii. being responsible for organizing the ISPB General Meeting and circulating the Minutes to the membership afterwards.

iv. producing a report of the Society’s activities for the ISPB General Meeting at the IPB Conference;

v. keeping records of the society’s activities such that all communications are archived and actions noted.

The Term of Office for the post of Secretary will be two years in the first instance, but the incumbent can be re-elected by acclamation.

c.    Treasurer.     The Treasurer will be responsible for managing the accounts of the IPBS and will be charged with managing the membership. The term of office of the Treasurer will be indefinite because of the issues of moving the bank account to a new location every two years. However, the Society must vote on the Treasurer remaining in Office at each ISPB meeting. If the President, in consultation with the current Treasurer or the general ISPB membership deem that a new Treasurer is needed, the President will nominate a new Treasurer to be elected at the next IPBC.

Candidates nominated by the Executive must be approved by members of the Society and a ballot will be taken at the ISPB General Meeting during the biennial IPB Conference. If an elected Officer resigns, a new candidate, nominated by the Officers of the ISPB, will be elected on-line with “dissents only” being registered.
7. Working groups will be set up as necessary. For example, a standing group on Sequence Annotation will help with the development of new databases and the improvement of existing databases; a working group on modern communication platforms could be considered.
8. All attendees of ISPB conferences will be members of the Society. Membership does not expire. Withdrawal from the ISPB requires a communication by the retiring member to the Society’s Secretary and Treasurer. Others can join the IPBS without a need to attend a meeting, subject to approval by the Officers of the IPBS. The membership fee will be 30GBP or its equivalent. All members are requested to communicate changes in affiliation or E-mail addresses to the ISPB Secretary to keep the membership database up to date.
9. The Society will maintain a bank account in the UK in GBP with a Charitable Status designation. The proceeds from each Plasmid Biology Meeting will be added to the Society funds. These will be available to the organizers of the next conference as a loan in order to facilitate the process, and to support the attendance of younger scientists. Use of these funds must be approved by the Officers in advance of any expenditure.
10. The Society will appoint a Chair of the Organizing Committee to run the next IPB Conference at the previous IPBC. The Chair will be responsible for setting up the Organizing Committee and consulting with Officers of the Society in the formulation of a Programme.   The Chair may borrow money from the Society to facilitate organizing the IPB Conference but this sum must be paid back after the conference along with a sum equivalent to at least GBP 20 for each attendee at the conference.
 11.  Relationship with the Elsevier journal “Plasmid”:
The journal Plasmid will be designated the journal of the International Society for Plasmid Biology on the following basis:a.    It will publish the Abstracts of the Plasmid Biology Conferences as well as reviews that may arise by agreement from the members at an IPB Conference.

  1. Members of the Society will receive discounted personal subscriptions.
  2. The journal will provide some sponsorship for the Plasmid Biology Conferences.
  3. The journal will have a standing advertisement for the ISPB as part of its cover material.
  4. The IPBS web page will advertise Plasmid and have a link to Science Direct. The ISPB will provide Elsevier with a list of those members who choose to be on a mailing list for promotional purposes. This information will only be used for promoting Plasmid.
12. Changes to this constitution can be made by the following. First, the proposed changes should be circulated to the whole membership by email with a stated deadline for votes for or against the amendments. If there is unanimous agreement then the changes will be accepted immediately after the responses have been collected.   If members request that the proposals are discussed then they will be presented for discussion at the ISPB meeting in the biennial Conference of the Society before a decision is made following a vote.