Individuals from any Member organization are eligible for nomination and election to positions on Council, but there are some practical considerations which must be taken into account.
- Service as a member of the ISPRS Council is considered an honour. That means that it does not provide any salary to the incumbent. It is also a time-consuming function. The President, the Secretary General, and the Congress Director could easily spend full time on the tasks. However, realistically, one quarter to one half time is required by these positions. The Vice President and the Past President and the Treasurer find that somewhat less time is required. Potential members of Council must be prepared to make these commitments of time.
- It is essential that Council Members, particularly the President and Secretary General, are provided with secretarial assistance, preferably multilingual, but at a minimum, fluent in English. Experience has shown that about half time help is required. In general, it has been very difficult for the Society to pay salaries for secretarial assistance. Consequently, it is desirable that the Member association or the Council member's employer is prepared to provide this amount of secretarial help.
- Council members are required to attend two Council meetings per year. These will usually rotate between the home locations of the officers and or the location of major ISPRS events. It is also desirable that Council members, particularly the President, Secretary General and Congress Director attend some or all of the inter-Congress Technical Commission symposia. This means that Council members must be free to undertake international travel.
- The Society operates on a very limited financial basis. It is therefore very useful if the officer's Member association or employer is prepared to support the international travel expenses required. However, no worthy individual would be rejected as a Council member because of inability to provide his/her own travel expenses.
- Financial arrangements for the Society's Congress are the total responsibility of the host member. The Congress Director's related expenses for travel, secretarial assistance, communications, etc. cannot be borne by the Society and should therefore be part of the Congress budget.
- Annual fees of Members to the Society are paid in Swiss francs, Euros or US Dollars. These funds are currently deposited in a Swiss bank account. It may also be feasible to have a bank account under the name of the Treasurer, and in his/her home location. Because the Society expenditures are international in scope, it is essential that the Treasurer be from a nation having freely convertible currency.
Members planning to nominate Council members should keep these considerations in mind.
(3. Jan. 2024, CH)