Special Interest Groups (SIGS)
ANZAM welcomes the establishment of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) which advance the interests of ANZAM and provide a focus for scholarly activity that extends or complements that of current ANZAM Conference Streams* and/or doctoral activities.
* Please note that the establishment of a SIG does not necessarily result in the creation of a new Conference Stream. The number, balance and sponsorship of Conference Streams is reviewed by the Board on a periodic basis.
Eligibility
Applications for the establishment of a new SIG may be submitted by any member of ANZAM who has been a full member of ANZAM for a minimum of 2 years prior to application. The person submitting the application will be the initial SIG Convenor for the proposed SIG. Convenors of SIGs should at all times be financial members of ANZAM.
The application must be supported by a minimum of 15 potential members (who must be current ANZAM members drawn from at least five different institutions) that include academics who span the regional community of scholars in the field. While members may be associated with any number of SIGs, they may only support a maximum of 3 SIGs as establishing member.
SIG Establishment
Members interested in forming a SIG are encouraged to correspond with the ANZAM SIG Advisor prior to the submission of their application. If a group wants to be considered for SIG status within ANZAM it will need first to establish that there is no substantial overlap between the proposed SIG and any SIGs already established within ANZAM, and further demonstrate evidence of sufficient existing interest among potential membership for the Group (e.g., through evidence of attendance at past ANZAM pre-Conference workshops, other workshops/events, active email lists or blogs; etc.) The SIG Advisor will communicate with the Convenors of existing SIGs to ensure the distinctiveness of the proposed SIG.
Once the application is received the SIG Advisor will forward their recommendation to the ANZAM Board via its Education & Outreach Committee. The ANZAM Board will assess the application for establishment of a SIG in terms of completeness of the proposal, viability of objectives and membership base, distinctiveness from any existing SIGs, and potential contribution to ANZAM’s aims and research policy.
The SIG Convener will be advised of the outcome of the assessment process within two weeks of the relevant Board meeting. Unsuccessful applicants are welcome to submit an updated application after a minimum of six months from receipt of this advice.
As soon as formal approval is received, successful applicants should produce a short description of the SIG’s objectives and scope, any forthcoming activities, affiliations and contact details for the Convenor or another officer, for inclusion on the ANZAM web site and in the next ANZAM Newsletter. Information on the web site should be kept up to date on a regular basis.
For more information and the Application document, click here: ANZAM Policy document – Formation of a SIG
ANZAM existing SIGS include: