Annual General Meeting 2025 - Minutes

Bologna

Tuesday 8^th April 2025

12 pm – Room Europa

ANNUAL  GENERAL MEETING (AGM) – MINUTES

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) began at 12:10, after verifying the presence of the necessary quorum.

The President opened the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and welcomed all members, presenting the agenda:

1. Approval of the minutes from the 2024 AGM (available on the IRSPM website)
2. President’s communications
3. Amendment to the Constitution
4. Treasurer’s report
5. Election report
6. Conference Manager’s report
7. Any Other Business (AOB)

 

1. Approval of the minutes from the 2024 AGM

The minutes of the 2024 AGM were approved without amendments and are available on the IRSPM website.

President’s Communications

The President, Ileana Steccolini, opened her remarks by reflecting on the strategic direction IRSPM has taken in recent years. She emphasized the Society’s transition from being primarily a conference-focused organization to a member-driven association, capable of offering value beyond the annual event. This transformation responds to both internal aspirations and external challenges, including geopolitical tensions, budget cuts in academia, and shifting expectations around professional associations.

The President highlighted that the Board has invested significant effort in aligning governance structures, operational processes, and member engagement with this new strategic positioning. Several working groups were activated in this direction, focusing on financial management, creation of a conference handbook to support transparency and risk mitigation, evaluation of a new membership platform, ethical principles and board governance (elections, roles, composition), collaboration and relationships with publishers.

As part of this strategic and governance rethinking, the President introduced the rationale for suggested revisions of the IRSPM Constitution. She noted that the amendments were not intended to introduce radical changes, but rather to institutionalize principles and practices developed by working groups with the endorsement of the Board, with the objective of providing effectiveness, stability and continuity in governance, clarifying roles and competencies, improving transparency and fairness in the election process, strengthening the Society’s ethical framework, and recognizing the changing role of the editorial link. These amendments were designed to better support the Society’s diversity of membership, geographical expansion, and need for professionalization, ensuring IRSPM remains a vibrant, inclusive, and forward-looking academic community.

Amendments to the constitution

The Secretary, Deborah Agostino, presented the full package of Constitutional Amendments. These amendments aimed to align governance roles and processes with the Society’s growing complexity; strengthen transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness; reflect IRSPM’s expanding international membership and professional standards

The following key changes were proposed and approved by the AGM:

Duration of Tenure for Board Members

• From: 2 years (renewable once)
• To: 3 years (renewable once), maintaining a 6-year total limit
• Rationale: To ensure a balance between continuity and rotation in strategic roles
• Result of the vote: The amendment was approved by the majority of the AGM, with one vote against, and no abstentions.

Clarification of Board Composition: Elected vs Appointed Members

• From: A structure composed solely of elected members
• To: A distinction between elected members (e.g., VPs, Secretary, At-large members) and appointed members (Treasurer and Conference Manager), recognizing the need for specific competencies in the latter roles. The appointment process will be overseen by the Nomination Committee and requires board approval, based on qualifications and experience.
• Addition included: A clause confirming that appointed members hold the same voting rights as elected members.
• Result of the vote: The amendment was unanimously approved with the above addition.

Streamlining the Election Process

• Revised language clarifies the guiding principles of elections—inclusivity, fairness, and transparency—and defines the enhanced role of the Nomination Committee, as well as updated procedures and timelines.
• Addition included: A more proactive role for the Nomination Committee in managing and communicating the electoral process and results.
• Result of the vote: The amendment was unanimously approved.

 Revised Article on Ethical Behaviour

• The previous general reference to institutional standards has been replaced with a clear commitment by IRSPM to uphold integrity, inclusion, and respect, explicitly prohibiting discrimination, harassment, and bullying.
• This article reinforces the Society’s expectations regarding conduct at all IRSPM-sponsored activities.
• Discussion: Several members emphasized the need to complement this article with a formal Code of Ethics, to be developed in the coming year.
• Result of the vote: The amendment, and the commitment to develop a Code of Ethics within the next year, was approved by the majority of the AGM, with one vote against and no abstentions.

Update of the Role of the Editorial Board Link

• The role has been reframed to include broader engagement with publishers and academic journals, in addition to confirming the privileged link with Public Management Review (PMR).
• Discussion: Clarifications were requested and offered regarding the new scope of the role.
• Result of the vote: The amendment was approved by the majority of the AGM, with one vote against and one abstention.  

Technical Minor Changes
Several additional modifications were introduced to modernize and clarify the Constitution, including:

• Expanded disciplinary focus (adding public administration)
• Recognition of dissemination to practitioners and policymakers
• Updated legal references (Canton of Bern)
• More precise fiscal terminology (fiscal year, financial records)
• Result of the vote: The amendment was approved unanimously by the AGM.

Outcome

All constitutional amendments were approved by the AGM, with changes and details reported above. The Secretary confirmed that the updated Constitution will be finalized and published on the IRSPM website.

Treasurer’s report

The Treasurer, Kristina Weißmüller, presented the financial situation of IRSPM, highlighting a modest loss of €7,476 for 2024—significantly lower than forecasted—mainly due to the success of the Tampere conference. While membership fees remained stable, administrative costs rose sharply, prompting the proposal to transition to a more integrated platform such as EventsAir by 2026. The Treasurer also reported the resolution of outstanding tax matters and confirmed IRSPM’s continued tax-exempt status. Financial management guidelines and a revised conference budgeting framework are being developed. Overall, IRSPM remains in a solid financial position, though attention to efficiency and external risks remains crucial.

Update on the election process

The Secretary summarized the year’s election process, which was facilitated by a Nomination Committee, composed of the following 4 members: Deborah Agostino (Secretary and chair of the committee), Tiina Randma-Liiv and Joris Voets (internal board members), and Denita Cepiku (external board member). The Election secretary reported on the incoming members along with their respective roles:

• Alfred Ho will take over as Vice President of Asia, as Lihua Yang reached his term limits.
• Maria Cucciniello will take over as “At-large” member, as Helen Sullivan reached her term limits.

For both positions, more than one name was nominated, and thus a ballot was organized.

Conference Updates

The Conference Manager, Lode De Waele, reflected on the success and challenges of the Bologna 2025 conference, which welcomed over 1,000 participants. He emphasized the need to balance scale with the Society’s collegial spirit, calling for clearer agreements when working with PCOs. The growth in participation was seen as a positive signal, though it brings logistical and financial complexities. Strategic reflections also focused on future conferences in Perth (2026) and Trondheim (2027), inclusiveness, and strengthening IRSPM’s value for early-career researchers.

Any Other Business (AOB)

No additional points were raised.

The meeting ended at 1.40 pm