Rules of Procedure for the Committee on Geodesy (DGK) and the Geodesy Advisory Board of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities

The Committee on Geodesy (DGK) and the Geodesy Advisory Board of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, acting as a community of scientists, adopt the following Rules of Procedure with the approval of Section III (Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. All references to persons and positions in this election notice apply equally to both women and men.

The Committee on Geodesy (DGK) and the Geodesy Advisory Board form part of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and belong to the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology (Section III) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

The committee is known as the “Committee on Geodesy of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (DGK)”. The advisory board is known as the “Geodesy Advisory Board of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities”.

(1) The Geodesy Committee is responsible for the following tasks:
a) Scientific research in all fields of geodesy
b) Participating in national and international research projects
c) Representing geodesy at national and international level
d) Coordinating geodetic research in the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as providing scientific advice and support to universities and non-university institutes
e) Publishing and disseminating its research findings
f) Coordinating geodesy degree programmes at universities in the Federal Republic of Germany

(2) The Geodesy Advisory Board advises the Committee on the tasks referred to in Section 3(1).

(1) The Geodesy Committee is composed of its ordinary members. Ordinary membership is open to professors from all fields of geodesy at German universities, as well as other individuals engaged in geodetic research or related disciplines. The number of ordinary members is capped at 45.

(2) Additional ordinary members of the Committee shall be co-opted on the recommendation of one or more ordinary members. The proposal requires the approval of at least three-quarters of all ordinary members. If the proposal receives the necessary approval, it will be forwarded to the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities for confirmation of the appointment.

(3) Ordinary members are appointed for a term of five years; re-election is permitted. The status of ordinary members as at 1 October 2015 remains unchanged.

(4) The Director of Department 1 at the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam (GFZ) and the Director of the German Geodetic Research Institute at the Technical University of Munich (DGFI-TUM) are ex officio ordinary members of the Committee. These memberships are not included in the maximum number of 45 ordinary members.

(5) Ordinary membership of the Geodesy Committee shall cease
a) upon the expiry of a five-year term, unless the member is re-elected;
b) on the date of retirement or on being conferred emeritus status;
c) upon resignation, which may be notified at any time;
d) upon taking up employment outside of Germany. In this case, membership automatically reverts to that of a corresponding member;
e) by expulsion for good cause following a vote of no confidence passed by a majority of at least three-quarters of all ordinary members.

(6) If an ordinary member is appointed chair of the Geodesy Advisory Board, their ordinary membership shall be suspended for the duration of their term of office and shall be reinstated upon the conclusion of that term. If the maximum number of members (45) has been reached by that time, the next vacancy will be filled.

(1) The Executive Committee of the Geodesy Committee consists of the chair and the permanent secretary. Each of the two individuals is authorised to manage the Committee’s affairs independently.

(2) The chair of the Committee shall be elected on the recommendation of one or more ordinary members. The nominee must be an ordinary member of the Committee. The proposal requires the approval of at least two-thirds of all ordinary members. If the proposal receives the necessary approval, it will be forwarded to the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities for confirmation of the appointment. The permanent secretary’s term of office is five years. Re-election is permitted.

(3) Paragraph 2, sentences 1 to 4, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the election and appointment of the permanent secretary of the Committee. The permanent secretary also acts as the deputy chairperson in line with Section 13(4) of the Rules of Procedure of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The permanent secretary’s term of office is five years. Re-election is permitted.

(4) The chair or the permanent secretary of the Committee may resign at any time or may be removed from office by a vote of at least two-thirds of all ordinary members.

(5) The chair and the permanent secretary are assisted in the performance of their duties by the Committee’s central office.

(1) Honorary members and corresponding members

(a) Ordinary members who leave the Committee due to retirement or upon being conferred emeritus status shall become honorary members of the Committee on the date of their departure.

(b) Researchers working outside the Federal Republic of Germany may serve as corresponding members of the Committee.
Section 4(2) applies to the admission and appointment of corresponding members to the Committee; Section 4(5)(b), (c) and (e) apply mutatis mutandis to the termination of the membership of honorary members and corresponding members.

(2) Permanent guests
In order to ensure close links between the Committee and key non-university institutes relevant to the field of geodesy, representatives of these institutions may serve as permanent guests on the Committee. As a general rule, each institute should be represented by a single representative.

Admission to the Committee as a permanent guest is granted by the Committee in consultation with the relevant institutes. Membership of the Committee as a permanent guest shall cease in the event of a change in the status on which membership is based, in consultation with the institute concerned.

(3) The members and permanent guests referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 are entitled to attend the Committee’s meetings and to speak. They do not have voting rights. This does not affect their right to vote as a member of another body of the Committee.

(1) The Executive Committee shall invite the Committee to a meeting (annual meeting) in writing at least once a year, enclosing the agenda. An extraordinary Committee meeting must be convened if more than one-third of all ordinary members request it in urgent circumstances.

(2) The invitation must be issued at least four weeks in advance.

(3) At its meetings, the Committee discusses, in particular, the research projects of its members and its departments, as well as the recommendations of the Geodesy Advisory Board and the steering group.

(4) Minutes of the meetings shall be drawn up and forwarded to the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and to the Geodesy Advisory Board.

(5) Resolutions at Committee meetings shall be adopted by a majority of the ordinary members present unless the Rules of Procedure require a different majority. The Committee meeting shall have a quorum if the invitation has been issued in the proper manner.

(6) Resolutions may also be passed by means of a written expression of intent via a circular resolution, provided that the majority of all ordinary members required under these Rules of Procedure is attained. The obligation to convene Committee meetings as set out under paragraph 1 remains unaffected.

(7) The decisions shall be communicated to the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and to the Geodesy Advisory Board.

(1) Ordinary members of the Committee are obliged to assist with all the Committee’s tasks in accordance with Section 3 and to promote the Committee’s objectives.

(2) The Committee work carried out by ordinary members is performed on a voluntary basis, in the same way as that of the other members and permanent guests, in accordance with Section 6. Members shall not receive any payment from the Committee’s funds or any other remuneration for services rendered.

(1) In order to carry out the tasks set out in Section 3, the Committee shall establish the following departments and a steering group and shall publish the research findings in an appropriate manner.

(2) Departments

To carry out its duties, the Committee is divided into departments representing the various fields of research within the Committee, as well as a department for teaching. The departments are established and dissolved by a decision of the Committee.
The departments are composed of members of the Committee and, where necessary, guests appointed by the respective departments on the basis of their specialist field.

Each department is represented by an ordinary member of its choice, who acts as its spokesperson. The spokesperson is a member of the department. The spokesperson’s term of office is five years; re-election is possible.
Reports on the departments’ activities are presented at Committee meetings.

a) Research-oriented departments
The responsibilities of the research-oriented departments are: - Fostering internal academic exchange
- Initiating and coordinating national and international research projects within the department’s field of research
- Liaising with funding bodies
- Liaising with related disciplines
- Exchanging ideas with other departments
- Reporting and discussing matters at Committee meetings
- Providing scientific advice and expert assessment within the department’s field of research

b) Department of university teaching
The teaching department is responsible for coordinating teaching between academic institutes offering courses in geodesy. The main responsibilities of the teaching department are:
- Coordinating teaching and the organisation of teaching across academic institutes
- Representing the DGK’s position at the Faculty Conference on Civil Engineering and Geodesy (FTBG)
- Developing joint positions and strategies on teaching at both national and international levels
- Representing the DGK in dealings with associations and specialist bodies
- Compiling statistical data on geodesy studies
- Promoting and representing the interests of geodesy studies vis-à-vis third parties 
- Safeguarding the interests of graduates of university geodesy programmes

(3) Steering group of the Committee
The Committee shall establish a steering group from among its ordinary members. The steering group comprises the chair and the permanent secretary of the Committee, the spokespersons for the departments, the head of the steering group and his or her deputy. The Committee may co-opt additional members.
The Committee elects the chair of the steering group and their deputy. The term of office for all members is five years; re-election is permitted.

The steering group’s responsibilities include, in particular: - The coordination and overarching management of the work carried out by the Committee’s departments
- Supporting the Committee in the planning of research projects
- Initiating new cross-departmental research projects or supporting existing ones
- Upon request, the scientific evaluation and assessment of projects undertaken by university and non-university institutes
- The coordination of geodetic research work in the Federal Republic of Germany in consultation with the institutions concerned

The steering group meets at least once a year at the invitation of the chair. The findings of the consultation and the recommendations will be presented to the Committee.

(4) Publications
To publish research findings, the Committee publishes the series “Publications of the Committee on Geodesy of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (DGK)”. The permanent secretary is responsible for the publication of these documents, in consultation with the Committee. The central office is responsible for editing and distribution. The publications are distributed to the members and permanent guests of the Committee, as well as to leading geodetic institutions in Germany and abroad as part of a free exchange of literature. The publications are also available from book sellers.

(5) Annual reports
Reports on the progress of research work and on the Committee’s meetings, as well as the decisions taken, are published in the Committee’s annual reports.

(1) Duties of the Executive Committee

(a) The chair represents the Committee in the performance of its specialist duties. In particular, he or she is responsible for issuing invitations to general meetings and Committee meetings, chairing meetings, and reporting regularly to the Geodesy Advisory Board and the spokesperson for the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology (Section III) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
b) The permanent secretary manages the affairs of the Committee and administers its budgetary resources in consultation with the chair.
c) The chair and the permanent secretary may stand in for one another in the performance of their duties under (a) and (b) in the event of their absence or by mutual agreement.

(2) Responsibilities of the central office
The central office of the Committee is based at Department 1 of the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam (GFZ). Further details are set out in an existing written agreement with the GFZ, any amendments to which require the Committee’s approval.

(3) Budget
The Committee’s budget forms part of the budget of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Applications to the Academy for the allocation of budget funds for the following year are submitted at the end of each year. Depending on the current financial situation, the Academy’s Executive Committee decides whether to allocate the funds. When drawing up the two-year budget, estimates must be made for the coming two years. Funds are requested and accounted for every six months.

(1) The Geodesy Advisory Board comprises voting members and advisory members. Academic figures from all fields of geodesy and related disciplines at universities and research institutes who are not ordinary members of the Geodesy Committee may be appointed as voting members.

(2) The voting members of the Advisory Board shall be appointed for a term of five years by the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology, upon the recommendation of at least two-thirds of all ordinary members of the Geodesy Committee. Re-election is possible. At least four voting members of the Advisory Board should be academics specialising in geodesy.

(3) Voting membership of the Geodesy Advisory Board shall cease
a) upon the expiry of five years, unless the member is re-elected;
b) upon resignation, which may be notified at any time; or
c) upon expulsion for good cause by the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology, upon the recommendation of at least a three-quarters majority of all ordinary members of the Committee.

(4) The Executive Committee of the Geodesy Committee and the head of the steering group shall serve as advisory members of the Advisory Board.

(5) The Advisory Board is chaired by a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The chair is appointed for a term of five years by the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology, upon the recommendation of at least two-thirds of all ordinary members of the Geodesy Committee. Re-election is possible.

(6) The position of deputy chair shall be held by one of the voting members of the Advisory Board. The deputy is appointed for a term of five years by the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology, upon the recommendation of at least two-thirds of all ordinary members of the Geodesy Committee. Re-election is possible.

(1) The chair of the Advisory Board shall invite the voting members and advisory members of the Geodesy Advisory Board to a meeting in writing at least once a year, enclosing the agenda (annual meeting).

(2) Voting members of the Geodesy Advisory Board are entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses for attending meetings.

(4) The provisions of Section 7 of the Rules of Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.

The Committee shall establish the Rules of Procedure and any amendments thereto by a two-thirds majority of its ordinary members. These Rules of Procedure and any amendments thereto shall be adopted following approval by the Section for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology at the plenary meeting of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

These Rules of Procedure shall come into force on 1 March 2016.