I.
Mission Statement
Initially
formalized in November 1994, the ARM Mission Statement remains
a declaration of the Group's purpose and the focus of its activities,
namely:
The
task of the Audience Research Methods Group is to act as the international
joint industry clearing house on electronic media audience research methodology:
i.
To contribute to the improvement of measurement methods and to create
and
update harmonization guidelines as and when required.
ii. Collect and disseminate facts and figures about the impact of advanced
media
on research methodology.
iii. To exchange information on the performance of existing and prospective
measurement systems, as well as the organization of audience measurement
procedures.
iv.
To discuss all relevant methodological and practical aspects of radio
and TV
research with interested parties, including public service and private
broadcasters,
advertising agencies, advertisers, data suppliers and national controlling
bodies.
v. To assist the setting up and development of audience measurement
in
different countries."
II. Membership
2.1
Membership in the ARM Group is open to any bona-fide trade or professional
associations
meeting the following criteria:
a)
The advancement of electronic media audience research should be relevant
to its primary goals.
b) It must have a not for profit status.
c) It shall not be catering for, or purporting to represent, substantially
the same constituency represented by an existing member.
d) It shall not be representing Research Suppliers exclusively.
2.2.
Current membership of the ARM consists of the following organizations
that have joined the group
between 1989 and 1998. In recognition of their early and important contributions,
these organizations shall
remain members of the ARM Group at their pleasure and shall be exempt
from requirements for new
membership applications.
-
EBU European Broadcasting Union
- ARF Advertising Research Foundation (USA)
- CARF Canadian Advertising Research Foundation
- EAAA European Association of Advertising Agencies
- EGTA European Group of Television Advertising
- EMRO European Media Research Organizations
- ESOMAR European Society for Opinion & Marketing Research
- GEAR Group of European Audience Researchers
- PETV Pan-European Television Research Group
- WFA World Federation of Advertisers
2.3
New memberships shall be granted by the Chair when all the following conditions
are met:
a)
A new member is nominated by an existing member and seconded by another.
Such nominations shall be sent - in writing - to the Chair and received
no later than 60 days
prior to the next Annual Meeting.
b) A written application from the chief executive officer of the applying
Organization is received
by the Chair at least 60 days prior to the next Annual Meeting.
c) The Chair shall exercise due diligence in establishing the legitimacy
of the application and
the applying organization prior to issuing its recommendation.
d) The application is circulated to the membership, including a Chair's
recommendation, not
less than 30 days prior to the next Annual Plenary Meeting.
e) The new member's application is approved by a two thirds majority
of the members present
at that Annual meeting.
2.4
Other Organizations not fulfilling the above conditions for memberships,
or only willing to
support the ARM, could be accepted as "Sponsors" provided that they pay
an annual contribution
at least equal to the annual membership fee. Sponsors shall be invited
only in selected meetings
and they do not vote. They are kept informed of the activities and receive
the main Publications.
The admission of Sponsor shall be done following the same procedure as
for the Members.
2.5
There are two membership statuses:
a) Full
Membership: new or existing members fulfilling the above conditions
(2.1 to 2.3) and
paying the annual membership fee.
b) Associate membership: new or existing members fulfilling the above
conditions (2.1 to 2.3)
but allowed by the full members not to pay the annual membership fee.
They do not vote.
2.6
Each individual member organization shall appoint one Representative and
two Alternate
Representatives to the ARM Group. Representatives and Alternates may attend
all meeting but
each Member organization shall have only one vote. A person working for
the research supplier
is not eligible to be a representative.
III.
Financing
Financial resources of the ARM are provided by the
Annual Membership Fees, the Contributions from Sponsors and the
subscriptions to specific projects.
3.1
Membership fee is determined annually to defray publishing and other administrative
expenses
and cover the costs of exploratory work potentially leading to specific
Projects. It is based upon a
provisional annual budget and recommended by the Executive Committee to
the Annual Plenary
Meeting, for the year to come. It shall be approved by a majority of the
vote of the annual meeting.
Members not paying the Annual Fee by the end of the second quarter, may
have their
"full membership" status suspended.
3.2
Projects involving the participation and the payment of Consultants or
Suppliers and (or)
generating extra-costs, should be the object of specific budgets, separate
from the Budget of th
ARM itself. The financing of such Projects will be provided through the
"subscription" to each of
them. May be Subscribers: the Members (Full and Associate), .the Sponsors,
and also other
non-member Organizations invited to or, after approval by the Executive
Committee, requesting it.
Members may decline to subscribe to a Project, in this case they will
not participate in it and will
not have access to results.
3.3
Individual expenses for travel, meals, entertainment and other non-specified
administrative
expenses shall be the responsibility of each member.
IV.
Management
The ARM is managed by two bodies:
the Plenary Meeting and the Executive Committee.
4.1.
The Plenary Meeting. The membership - each member organization represented
by its
designated Representative or an Alternate or by a proxy - shall meet at
least once every year,
sometime in the Spring, in a Plenary Meeting. The date and place for the
Annual Plenary Meeting
shall be established at the end of each preceding meeting.
4. 2. The main roles of the Plenary Meetings are:
a) discuss
and decide projects Ñ nature, scope and financing systems.
b) acceptance of new members and other subjects related with the Membership,
c) review and approve the budget,
d) approve the past year and next year Budgets, and determine annual
membership fee,
e) elect the Executive Committee. f. Approve and amend the Statutes,
with a two thirds majority
of the full members present at that Plenary meeting.
4.3 Quorum for Annual Meetings must include at least one Representative
or Alternate from
at least three quarters of the Member organizations. Teleconferencing
shall constitute attendance.
4.4
In respect of the spirit and traditions of the Group, the Plenary Meeting
should seek for the
largest possible consensus in its decisions. When full consensus cannot
be reached, any
Full Member may request a vote. Decisions are accepted when the majority
of full members
present in the Plenary Meeting vote in favor, except for the matters where
the Statutes request
a larger majority. Secret vote may be requested by 1/3 of the Members.
4.5
The current affairs of the ARM shall be managed by an Executive Committee,
composed
by 4 Officers: a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary and a Member.
Only Full Members,
as defined above (2.5) are eligible as Officers.
4.6
The Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and the Secretary are appointed
by the Executive
Committee among its members. Vice-Chairperson shall succeed the Chairperson
following
his/her two year term.
4.7
Officers shall be elected for a two year term at alternate year Annual
Meetings.
4.8
Chairperson, his/her designee Officers, and, more in general the Executive
Committee shall
have the following duties:
a) Execute
the tasks necessary to maintain the Group in activity and in good shape,
as indicated
in the Statutes. Call and schedule meetings, circulate meetings' agenda,
distribute minutes of
previous meetings.
b) Hold and administer the Group's funds. Submit last year and next
year budgets for Group
approval at the Annual Meeting.
c) Act as spokesperson for the Group between meetings.
d) Supervise Projects whose work is in progress. Evaluate opportunity
of new projects. If appropriate,
and within the limits of cost established by the approved Budget, initiate
exploratory work for these
potential New Projects. Chairpereson must be present and preside at
all meetings, or be represented
by one of his Alternates. He/she shall have no vote, except as a tie-breaker.
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V.
Other
5.1
The ARM Group operates independently of any other organization.
5.2
The common language of the Group is English.
5.3
The ARM Group may itself decide to interrupt its activities and dissolve.
The Dissolution,
and the devolution of the existing funds, shall be decided by the Plenary
Meeting with a majority of
three quarters of attending Full Members.
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