E-mail the Coalition
MEETING NOTES
The following is a brief summary of the outcome from our recent ATAC Structure Meeting in Houston. Because of the volume of notes and materials that came out of this meeting, I am only summarizing here. Although many people participated in note-taking throughout the meeting, Fred Schaich and Shelley Singer took charge of note gathering, and have compiled the actual meeting notes and discussion that took place. Fred is compiling the actual discussions (and can provide a more detailed report on how we came to our conclusions if you desire) His email address is [email protected]
The separate documents developed in Houston (stemming from the pre-Houston ATAC Structure Proposal written by Eric Goldman) are listed below and will come in separate emails directly following this one. These were the main issues that we debated and discussed:
Mission Statement (revised)
Membership
Committees
Steering Committee (TSC)
Representation
Funding and Budget
Email List
* I suggest that you print these emails individually and lay them out together. Many of these sections feed off of eachother, so it may help you to better understand the process that we went through to come to these conclusions in Houston.
The final count of attendees at the Houston Meeting is 31 (including
the staff and members of CFA who were present). The Center for
AIDS, Hope and Remembrance Project (our hosts for this meeting)
did an absolutely fabulous job of accommodating all of us, and
providing the transportation, food, meeting space, and coffee
to keep us all going. There is something to say about southern
hospitality. A BIG GIANT THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US!
As most of us knew going into this meeting, It was going to be
a grueling two days, but we were able to cover a lot of ground.
We followed the Structure Proposal developed by Eric Goldman and
went through it issue by issue. Each section had a team of individuals
who presented the proposal and led the discussion. After the allotted
time for group discussion and input on all issues, the notes regarding
the proposals were then turned over to a temporary working group.
These working groups met in the evening on Saturday night, collated
the various comments throughout the discussion, and came up with
a revised draft of their respective areas (which was then revisited
on Sunday). Through a process of consensus, we were able to come
to agreement on most of the points. These points are covered in
the separate emails that I mentioned above (i.e.. Committees,
Membership, etc.) Some items have been deferred to the newly elected
Transitional Steering Committee for further research, development,
and a final decision making process.
The TSC will be meeting via conference call in the next week
or two to begin their tasks. The Email working group will also
be developing a set of guidelines to follow which will be in place
ASAP.
Another ATAC meeting has been proposed to further develop ATAC's agenda. This meeting will take place in Chicago (possibly) and several individuals have offered to help plan and coordinate it. (Mark H., Melvin L., Cathy O., Matt S.)
Eric Goldman along with the TSC will begin drafting the final bylaws for ATAC to adopt from input received at the Houston meeting and from other individuals who were not able to attend. These new bylaws, along with the fiscal proposals, and possible staffing plan for ATAC (which are mentioned in the additional sections above) will be presented to the larger group for a possible vote either before or during this planned agenda meeting in Chicago.
Thanks again to everyone for their cooperation and help in making this Houston meeting a success. The next couple of months will be a buzz of activity for the TSC and the Email Working Group. We will post the results of our work to the larger list as it is completed. Such issues requiring a vote by the whole ATAC group will be posted to the larger ATAC list as appropriate. If you see a notice requesting your vote or comment, please respond to it by the deadline listed. As noted, the TSC will have a separate list to do it's work. The ADAP Working Group of ATAC has also been asked to elect one of it's members to the TSC. Please notify Cathy Olufs, Nelson Vergel, and Eric Goldman when that individual has been identified.
I hope I haven't forgotten anything. If so, please excuse me,
and feel free to add your comments to the list.
Thanks to Everyone (including those people who could not be there)
for helping to move us forward.
Cathy
MISSION:
We are a national coalition of AIDS activists, many living with HIV/AIDS, working together to end the AIDS epidemic by advancing research on HIV/AIDS.
GOALS:
1a. To encourage greater and more effective involvement of people with HIV/AIDS in the decisions that affect their lives by identifying, mentoring and empowering treatment activists in all communities affected by the epidemic.
1b. To develop within all communities affected by HIV/AIDS and related coinfections the leadership to provide the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for improved research, treatment and access to care.
2. To enable treatment activists to speak with a united, powerful voice to provide meaningful input into issues concerning HIV disease and related complications and coinfections.
3. To facilitate communications and set agenda items:
a. between HIV/AIDS treatment activists and government, industry and academia in matters affecting research, treatment and access;
b. among HIV/AIDS treatment activists and the larger HIV community in keeping up to date with the latest developments in research, treatment and access.
ATAC will institute a tiered system of membership, supported by appropriate communication tools and channels, which promotes inclusion and diversity within the coalition.
1. Tiered membership:
a. Associate members- any HIV/AIDS treatment activist meeting the eligibility criteria defined below can become an associate member, participating in general discussion on treatment activism issues and receiving information on the work of ATAC and upcoming ATAC events and meetings. Communication will occur through the current ATAC list and other methods to be determined.
b. Voting members- associate members who become an active member of an ATAC committee or working group may become voting members who can participate in votes on organizational issues, including elections and changes in by-laws. The range of issues and situations subject to a membership vote shall be determined by the Transitional Steering Committee (TSC). Communication on such issues will occur through a new, closed ATAC-Decisions List, with periodic reports to the broader ATAC membership.
c. Interim rules for membership voting- Since a full committee structure has not yet been formed, all current members of ATAC, ie. the current ATAC email list, will be considered voting members during this interim period. Stratification into voting and associate memberships will occur 3 months after the agenda-setting meeting, schedule for this to be determined, at which time it is anticipated that a full committee structure will have evolved.
2. Eligibility criteria:
To be eligible for membership, both associate and voting, an individual involved or interested in ATAC treatment activism cannot be a direct employee of a drug company, nor be working indirectly for a drug company through a contracted, for-profit business, such as but not limited to public relations firms for drug companies.
3. Inclusion and diversity:
Associate members and voting members will be asked to complete a brief form identifying their interests and providing voluntary demographic information. Demographic information will be compiled for periodic reports on the composition of ATAC and for setting targets and developing strategies for outreach and recruitment.
4. Removal of a member:
a. Voting members- when a voting member is no longer active on a committee or working group they will be referred to a membership-body, designated by the Steering Committee (SC) to handle membership issues. That designated body will contact the member and ask that they resume active participation or join another committee or working group if they wish to remain as a voting member. If they desire to accept this offer to continue with voting status, a review will be done in three (3) months and a determination will be made on their status as a voting member. Committees will be asked to submit a list of their active members at least annually. The TSC is charged with providing guidance to committees on defining active committee membership.
b. Removal of Associate or Voting members for other reasons- the TSC is charged with developing standards , including mechanisms for appeals, and due process for removal of members based on actions or behavior deemed harmful to ATAC as a whole.
Committees may be formed at the initiation of ATAC Members. Any given Member can draft a proposal for a committee and submit it to the Steering Committee for consideration, Committee proposals shall include, without limitation, a statement of goals, objectives and resource needs. The Steering Committee will evaluate that proposal, and may assist Members in amending the proposal to address any perceived weaknesses.
The Steering Committee will determine whether or not to sanction the proposed committee, as either a Full Committee or an Associate Committee. The Steering Committee will also determine an appropriate level of resources to devote to that committee, i.e., money for conference calls, mailings, separate e-mail lists and travel stipends. It is anticipated that, as a general rule, Full Committees will receive more in resources that Associate Committees; however, in all cases, the needs of the committee will be given due consideration in determining the appropriate and available level of support to be provided.
Member committees may be either ad-hoc or standing committees. They may be content-based (i.e., ADAP, drug company advocacy) or task-based (i.e., treatment education, mentoring). Each committee shall have a contact for new members.
The goal is to allow maximum autonomy for Member committees. These committees can generate their own sign-on letters and public statements. They set their own agendas, schedules and voting structures, and shall provide a list of active members to the Steering Committee no less frequently than annually. They can also coordinate with outside organizations and individuals.
Each Full Committee shall select a representative to the Steering Committee.
In Transitional Steering Committee shall foster the development of Member committees by scheduling a Strategy Summit within three to six months from the Houston Policy Summit. As an initial focus, the Strategy Summit shall seek to establish a strategic plan for addressing three core areas: (1) treatment access; (2) education and mentoring; and (3) research and development. These considerations shall guide the formation of the agenda for the Strategy Summit.
At this Strategy Summit, the Transitional Steering Committee and other interested ATAC Members shall set priorities for ATAC as a whole. Procedures will be established to catalogue existing domestic AIDS advocacy efforts and to allocate ATAC resources to areas of advocacy perceived to be lacking sufficient resources and in-kind support, These procedures shall also enable ATAC to identify local issues which need national advocacy, and national issues which need local grass roots support.
In addition to planning a Strategy Summit, the Transitional Steering Committee shall seek to support committee activities by coordinating the resources of ATAC's Members and committees so that all Members and committees can benefit from the strengths and weaknesses of the others. Towards that end, the Transitional Steering Committee shall maintain databases of local and national contacts, including without limitation legislative contacts, and of sign-on letters and other advocacy documents generated by ATAC, its Members, committees and affiliated entities. The Transitional Steering Committee shall also poll ATAC's Membership for the purpose of creating a database of Member's skills and interests for use as a resource by Members and committees.
As a final note of clarification, a distinction should be drawn between Member committees and other committees generated as a result of the Strategy Summit on the one hand and sub-committees of the Steering Committee (i.e., finance, development, membership) on the other hand.
STEERING COMMITTEE (SC) / TRANSITIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE (TSC), as approved 1-12-03, Houston.
Transitional Steering Committee Membership:
Julie Davids, Eric Goldman, Jon Nahmias, Cathy Olufs, Danile Raymond, Matt Sharp, Nelson Vergel, Bob Munk; Doug Rose (1st alternate), Rob Camp (2nd alternate), Tom Gegeny (3rd alternative), Shelley Singer (4th alternative), Larry Diaz (5th alternative).
ATAC/SC committee shall be:
1. comprised of active, voting members, representing themselves as individuals and not organizations. Consideration is to be given to diversity, i.e. demographics, level of experience, race, geography, sero-status, sexual orientation and gender.
3. a representative committee whose membership will be an odd-number. The representatives elected to the SC will be composed of 50%-1 (elected by and representing each of) the current Standing Committees and 50%+1 (elected by and representing) the at-large, voting membership. These two factions of the SC shall be elected to serve for staggered terms of office.
5. charged with defining its job description.
6. authorized to employ support staff.
7. charged with conducting administrative activities, including budget for ATAC and other financial issues.
8. authorized to create ad-hoc working groups that are not standing committees, based on need. The SC will elect to elevate the status of an associate committee to full committee, and vise versa.
9. authorized to draft and adopt ATAC by-laws, including, but not limited to, procedures for oversight, accountability and evaluation. To this end, the TSC shall create and adopt rules/guidelines for removal of members serving on the SC, including an appeal process and grievance procedure.
STANDING COMMITTEES relation to the Steering Committee:
1. Policy for Standing committees is designated for each committee by the active members of each committee. The SC is not a policy committee.
2. Standing committees are empowered to formulate policy for their area of interest and shall make decisions for their committee process.
3. All ATAC committees, including Standing committees, Associate committees, ad-hoc working groups and the Steering committee, shall publish a monthly activity report, and ensure such report is available to all members.
Representation of ATAC is an issue to be addressed in ATAC's bylaws. Until those bylaws are established:
1. Committees and Working Groups of ATAC (including the Transitional Steering Committee) and individual members of those Committees and Working Groups, may identify themselves as Committees/Working Groups of ATAC and members of those Committees/Working Groups in any context according to the guidelines established and accepted by those Committees/Working Groups.For example, per Working Group/Committee Guidelines, any communication may include:a) From ATAC's ________Working Group Committeeb) On behalf of ATAC's ________Working Group/Committeec) From Member, ATAC's__________Working Group Committee
2. Individuals may only identify themselves as members of ATAC according to the criteria of membership established in ATAC's bylaws. Until those bylaws are completed, no individual may identify him/her self as a member of ATAC. Note: The bylaws governing ATAC membership are expected to be completed shortly. An application form to become a member of ATAC is currently being drafted by Cathy Olufs and Michael Dorosh. After approval and/or revisions by the TSC, this form will be sent via email within the next month to all members of the current ATAC list serve, and anyone requesting to join ATAC. Recipients will have the opportunity to state their interest in ATAC, provide some personal information, and will be asked to check a box defining which level of ATAC membership* they desire (ie. Associate, voting member, etc.*see membership guidelines) A member of the TSC will be assigned to track membership, maintain a confidential record of all applicants, and present new requests for membership to the TSC for review and/or acceptance/denial. (please refer to the ATAC Membership guidelines stated earlier for explanation of reasons for possible refusal of ATAC membership) At such time when there is staff person hired to assist ATAC, all membership records will be turned over to that individual to maintain.Until the membership application process is in place, and ATAC bylaws are adopted, Everyone is asked to use ATAC's name with care.
FUNDING
AND BUDGET ISSUES (1/12/03) ATAC funding and budget
are items of high priority to be addressed by the Transitional
Steering Committee within the next few months. Members of the
TSC will research and discuss various forms of fiscal options
for ATAC to consider, such as 501c3, etc. The best 2 or 3 options
researched by the TSC, will be presented to the larger ATAC group
for discussion and vote (possibly at the upcoming Strategy/Agenda
meeting planned in the next 3 to 4 months to take place tentatively
in Chicago) In the interim, until ATAC's financial stability
is established, TAG (Treatment Action Group) will continue to
provide their services as a fiscal agent for ATAC. Some questions/difficulites
(relating to ATAC's fiscal decisions) for the TSC to ponder should
include:Donors are approached twice by the same people, wearing
different hats. Competition for funds Accountability Transparency
How to fundraise for the strategy working group? Restricted vs
unrestricted donations - how do we use them? Should any $ be off-limits
(tobacco money, etc)? What happens when committee members are
asked to split loyalties, both financially and strategically (if
we don't have consensus, say)? What will be the Fiscal Year? Staff
person issues. A whole slew of "problems" that have
to be resolved. Does that person have time to allocate to committees?
Can individuals use ATAC money? Can they apply to ATAC to go to
a conference etc? How to fund the TSC now, to jumpstart it? Does
there need to be a reserve? Should there be a fundraising traffic
cop (auditor, internal/external)?
First, The entire group wishes to acknowledge and thank Bob Munk for the work he has done to date in coordinating and maintaining the ATAC website and list serve. Kudos to Bob!
A Working Group consisting of the following individuals: Carlton Hogan, Julie Davids, Precious Jackson, Bob Munk, Nelson Vergel, and Larry Diaz has been established to develop a list of guidelines for the current ATAC list serve. These guidelines will pertain to the current list, and to any future lists developed within ATAC. Basically these guidelines will address issues of conduct, confidentiality, courtesy, etc. All persons requesting to join the general ATAC list serve or any of ATAC's committees/working groups, must agree to abide by the email guidelines developed by this group and also to abide by ATAC's bylaws in general. These email guidelines are expected to be drafted within the next few weeks. Items to be considered by the Email Working Group include: The following are possible solutions to the current problems that have been identified relating to the email "overload" described by many individuals: ATAC-ANNOUNCE (a one-way, outgoing, totally public announcement list.) ATAC-DISCUSS (for associate members and full members, where discussion can be developed.) ATAC-VOTE (Specifically for voting members.) The Steering Committee will have its own separate list to be set up by Nelson Vergel on Yahoo for the time being.
Do we need/want a moderator for any of the lists? What offense/s can constitute removal from any of the lists? Web site - What things can be posted to the website to reduce email overload? Reports from meetings, updates etc. should be posted to the website with a notice to the lists, instead of the lists themselves. There should be a permanent archive on the website List moderator vs list manager (who is more of a helper) Moderated lists are complicated. We should try to keep it simple. What to do about disruptive people on the list? The newly formed Email List Serve Working Group (explained above) will develop guidelines for participation. These guidelines will include reasons for possible removal from any ATAC list. Julie and Tom have offered to co-moderate the current list if needed.