5) It is the main objective of RC09 to promote the research on social transformations and the sociology of development within the social sciences. RC 09 is a non-profit association of scientific purposes. Its function is to represent sociologists working about social transformations and the sociology of development everywhere, regardless of their school of thought, scientific approaches or sociological opinion.

Article III.: Activities in which RC 09 engages in order to achieve the objectives

6) To bring this objective closer to realization, RC 09 has formulated the following sub-goals and shall take measures accordingly:

• a) To encourage the international exchange of research findings by developing formal and informal international networks of researchers;
• b) To promote international-collaborative research, especially of a comparative nature;
• c) To publish a regular Newsletter, e-mailed to all members in good standing, to keep them informed of ongoing and planned activities;
• d) To organize and/or sponsor international meetings, seminars, workshops etc. where researchers on RC 09 topics can come together for an exchange of research findings;
• e) To organize sessions at the World Congresses of Sociology and, more generally, at other congresses of international associations involved in any of the social sciences, and to promote the publication of a selection of the results thereof;
• f) To encourage and facilitate the participation of members from Third World countries;
• g) To promote the study of concrete social transformations and the dissemination of the results, also outside of the scientific community;
• h) To cooperate with other Research Committees, and with international associations or institutions engaged in or interested in the study of social transformations and related fields.
  

7) Any bona fide social scientist, working in any of the fields described in article 5, can be an individual member of RC 09, provided he/she accepts the statutes and will observe them. Membership in RC 09 is possible as a regular member, i.e. a member both of RC 09 and of the ISA, and as affiliated member with limited rights in accordance with article 4.6a of the ISA statutes, i.e. a member of RC 09 only.

8) Participation in the activities of RC 09 is only possible for those who are members in good standing. The presentation of a paper at a World Congress of Sociology furthermore requires being an ISA member in good standing. The board can decide on exceptions for certain cases.

9) Members in good standing are those who have either paid their membership dues, or have received an exemption of dues from the Secretary/Treasurer, who is empowered by the board to give such exemptions.

10) The board sets the RC 09 membership fees for the four-year period in between World Congresses of Sociology:

• For individual members of ISA country category A (35 $);
• For individual student members of ISA country category A (20 $);
• For individual members of ISA country categories B and C (20 $);
• A variable amount for institutional members, depending on the size of the institution concerned, and to be determined by the secretary/treasurer or the co-secretaries/treasurers.
  

• a) To vote every four years in board elections;
• b) To suggest themselves or others for board functions and/or organizational functions (e.g. session organizers);
• c) To participate in all scientific activities of RC 09;
• d) To receive the RC 09 Newsletter free of charge;
• e) To ask for support in all matters directly or indirectly relating to their professional lives (e.g. for travel grants to attend RC 09 meetings, etc.);
• f) To volunteer for membership in special committees (see art. 16).
  

• a) To accept and observe the statutes;
• b) To pay their membership fees;
• c) To fill out occasional questionnaires, an indispensable instrument for the board to determine its policy, and return them promptly;
• d) To send relevant news items (book reviews, announcements of upcoming meetings, proposals for research projects, possibilities for grants, etc.) to the Newsletter editor, produce occasional contributions to a possible “Journal of Social Transformations and Sociology of Development”, and also otherwise take an active role in the affairs of RC 09;
• e) To produce a paper at least once every four years, whether at the World Congress of Sociology, or at some other international meeting organized by RC 09.

  
  Article V.: Governing bodies of the RC 09

13) The board of RC 09 is responsible for the overall organization and scientific production of the RC, and shall consist of:

• A president or co-chairs;
• A vice-president (may be omitted in case of co-chairs governance);
• A secretary/treasurer or co-secretaries/treasurers;
• A past president or past co-chairs (as ex-officio, non-voting members);
• A minimum of four and a maximum of ten additional board members, the exact number to be determined before the elections by the outgoing board.
• The World Congress Program Coordinator of RC 09 is a board member by office for the full period of office of the board and will be elected to this function during the RC 09 board elections.
  

15) An effort shall be made to ensure a fair and diverse regional as well as disciplinary and gender representation.

16) The board may establish committees for specific purposes for a specified and limited duration that will remain accountable to the board.

Article VI.: Electoral Procedures in RC 09

17) The board members are elected by e-mail ballot around the end of the year in which the World Congress of Sociology is held, unless a quorum is present during the World Congress.

• a) In order to ensure this will be possible, the board will function as a Nominating Committee and will draw up a list of candidates to be submitted to and discussed at the business meeting during the World Congress of Sociology.
• b) Immediately after the congress, the secretary/treasurer will e-mail this list to all members in good standing (i.e. members who have paid both their ISA and RC 09 dues or have received a board-approved exemption of dues) with the request to suggest additional candidates - including self-nominations - within a period of no more than two months.
• c) All nominated candidates, including self-nominated, must be willing to serve the full four-year term if elected and must have the initial written support of at least three members in good standing.
• d) For the functions of president or co-chairs, vice-president (unless in case of co-chairs) and secretary/treasurer or co-secretaries/treasurers, at least one candidate should be presented on the election ballot; moreover, an effort will be made to also have enough candidates to fill at least four to six additional board member positions.
• e) The outcome of the elections will be determined by the number of votes received within one month after emailing the ballots. Where multiple candidates are nominated, the one receiving the most votes from the votes cast will be elected. Where only one candidate is nominated for a position, he/she will be elected if he/she receives support from at least half of the members casting their votes.
• f) In case a board member dies or is incapacitated during his/her term of office or does not pay the dues, he/she will be replaced by one of the other board members (determined by the board as a whole) or the board will leave the function vacant.
• g) Board members can serve no more than two consecutive four-year terms in one and the same position.

  
  

Article VII.: Responsibilities and duties of the governing bodies

18) The responsibilities of the board members are the following:

a) The president or the co-chairs shall:

• take initiatives regarding the planning of the organizational and scientific activities of RC 09;
• regularly consult with the other board members about scientific and organizational activities of RC 09;
• chair the Business Meetings of RC 09;
• serve as RC delegate to the ISA Research Council;
• represent RC 09 on all formal occasions - such as the signing of contracts with outside bodies - unless arranged otherwise among the board members.
  

• closely cooperate with the president/co-chairs in running the day-to-day affairs of the RC 09;
• take care of most correspondence and other contacts with members and non-members;
• be the RC's alternate to the ISA Research Council, if necessary;
• serve as the RC09 Newsletter Editor, unless another board member is appointed in this role;
• maintain a record of all committee business and executive meetings, and the financial records;
• make the financial accounting to the ISA Executive Committee, RC09 Board, and to the membership at the quadrennial business meeting;
• remind members to pay their RC 09 dues on time;
• provide the president/co-chairs regularly with updated membership lists;
• make an effort to find additional funding for the work of RC 09 and/or for specific research projects executed under the auspices of RC 09, unless there is specific board position devoted to this.

d) The Newsletter editor(s) shall:

• have ultimate responsibility for collecting copy for the Newsletter and for editing, producing, and mailing it. Arrangements shall be made by the board to assist him/her/them in these different functions. As stated sub b) this function can be combined with that of secretary/treasurer, though efforts will be made to keep these functions separate.

e) The vice-president shall:

• replace the president or the co-chairs whenever necessary;
• serve as the main adviser to the president/co-chairs in organizational as well as scientific matters;
• take an active role in the preparation of the RC 09 sessions at the World Congresses of Sociology.

• provide for a desirable continuity of administration;
• be available for advice to the current president/co-chairs and the other board members.

g) The board members shall:

• advise on all scientific and business matters pertaining to the activities of the Research Committee;
• be willing to assume specific tasks decided upon after each election by the new board;
• promote interest in the activities of RC 09 in the region(s) or among the subgroup(s) they represent and report at least once a year on relevant developments within that region or subgroup
• be invited to (co-)organize an RC 09 session at the World Congresses of Sociology and to take an active role in organizing sessions at the meetings of other scholarly associations, such as the International Institute of Sociology;
• review the secretary/treasurer’s quadrennial financial report.

Article VIII: Final regulations

19) These statutes were adopted by the vote of the RC 09 membership in the fall 2007.

20) Changes in and amendments of these statutes must be proposed in writing to the current Board by at least four members in good standing, and must subsequently be approved by email ballot whereby at least one third of current RC09 members vote and at least a half of those voting express their support; finally, two thirds of the board have to approve the changes.