POLICY
A simple majority vote of the ICE is necessary to adopt or to alter Policy.
1. International Ethological Conferences will be held every two years.
2. International Ethological Conferences shall be distributed at locations around the world so as to minimize total costs while maintaining scientific quality. The tradition has been to hold Conferences alternately in Europe and elsewhere.
3. Bids to the ICE to host an International Ethological Conference are to be made in writing to the Council at least four years, and preferably six years prior to the date of such proposed conference. The proposal should follow the guidelines as outlined in a document available from the Corresponding Secretary or Secretary-General on Hosting an International Ethology Conference.
4. Each International Ethological Conference should be organized to have a duration of between five and seven days.
5. The International Ethological Conferences are open meetings in so far as this is possible within the constraints imposed by the host site. Details of any possible allocations of delegate numbers according to country will be determined by the ICE.
6. All oral and poster paper presentations submitted for possible inclusion in the program at an ICE should be reviewed using the following guidelines. (a) Each contribution should be refereed by 2-4 reviewers, and (b) The Local Host Committee should select the moderators for the sessions who then are responsible for assigning the papers in that area for review and for selecting the oral and poster presentations on that topic.
7. Portions of the proceedings of an Ethology Conference may be published by a Local Host Committee at their discretion. This may include Plenary Session texts and/or abstracts. No one may be forced to have their abstract published. All such publications by a Local Host Committee must contain a statement indicating that the Ethology Conference was the course of the materials. The name of the International Ethology Conference or International Ethological Conference may not be used in the title of any publication arising from an International Conference.
8. Each conference must attempt to implement one or more new features regarding the scientific program and organization. These features will be decided upon in conjunction with the Secretary-General and/or the Vice-Secretary-General. This procedure should help to promote innovations in the process of scientific communication.
9. There shall be a representative of the Secretary-General on the Local Organizing Committee for each International Conference. This representative shall be appointed by joint agreement between the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee and the Secretary-General of the ICE. The individual selected shall represent the views and policies of the Local Organizing Committee to the Secretary-General. (adopted at Madison, WI 1987)
10. The expression of public comment by the ICE shall be made by the Secretary- General or the representative(s) he/she has nominated; the process shall involve a consideration of an issue by any member, group of members, or subcommittee of the ICE, the preparation of a report for submission to the members of the Council, and its consideration by the members of the Council. The basis for the adoption of the report by the Council shall be the quality of the scientific content of the work. The Council shall adopt a report on the basis of a 2/3 majority of those present and voting. If adopted, the report may be embodied in an official release to the media representatives by the Secretary-General, who may take no part in any political debate arising from the report. (adopted at Madison, WI 1987)
11. The Secretary-General is responsible for decisions on the use of ICE funds. Such funds shall not be used for attendance at IE Conferences by ICE officers, except in special cases where an application is made to the Secretary-General, who shall report such expenditure at the next meeting of the ICE. ICE funds shall be used for administrative expenses, including the Newsletters, for IE Conference site visits by the Secretary-General
or her/his representatives, and to support attendance at the IE Conferences by delegates in
need of assistance. Such support should be administered by the Local Host Committee.
12. The person in charge of the local organizing committee for each conference shall be known as the ‘Conference President’ (adopted at Rennes, 2009)
Additional Comments
1. The ICE derives funds from two sources
a. deposit account interest
b. $20 for each full delegate at a conference. It is the responsibility of the host to collect and remit these funds to the ICE treasurer within 6 months of the conference. (adopted at Halifax, 2007)
2. Reserves should exceed $15,000. (adopted at Halifax, 2007)
3. Each conference may receive $10,000 as a loan. This loan will be repaid to the ICE treasurer within 6 months of the conference (adopted at Halifax, 2007)
4. The ICE does not underwrite conferences. This is done at the risk of local organizers.