Representatives

The following text outlines the procedure through which APECS representative or ECR participant positions are filled. APECS strives to maintain transparency and fairness in nominating members for these positions. The standard process is listed below, but as the positions do vary slightly with the partner organization, the process may vary slightly as well based on the urgency of filling a position or the specifics of the request from a partner organization. Opportunities will be advertised as widely as is sensible, but that depends on the nature of the position and the best interests of APECS.

• What information do we need from the partner organization?

  We need to know the following information from the partner organization:

  • What kind of opportunity to do you offer (e.g. attending a meeting, becoming a member of a committee)?
  • Time frame of the opportunity (e.g. one-time meeting, longer term involvement in a committee)?
  • What type of role are you trying to fill (APECS representative or ECR participant)
  • How many ECRs are you looking for?
  • What career level should the ECR have (e.g Undergraduate Student, Master Student, PhD Student, Postdoc etc)
  • What scientific background should the ECR have? Discipline? Research projects in a certain research field or area?
  • For committees: how often will the meetings be and how are they organized (in-person? online?)?
  • Does the ECR have to travel to a meeting? If yes is there any funding associated with the position that the partner organization can provide?
  • By when do you need the position filled? This will help us determine how long we can advertise the position. We typically recommend a minimum 10-day application period.
  • What type of information do you need from the applicants? We usually ask for a
    • statement of interest detailing their research background, why they are interested in applying for the position, how they think they can contribute to the position if selected and how they will be able to benefit from the position should they be selected (usually not more than 1-2 pages);
    • CV (we usually ask for not more than 5 pages).
    • But we can of course also ask them to include other information.
    • For larger application processes where we expect many applications we set up a google form for the applications.
  • How should we organize the review process? There are typically 3 options that we offer to partner organizations:

  • • Option 1: APECS reviews the applications and makes the final decision on who to pick (usually only done for APECS representative positions)
    • Option 2: APECS reviews the application and provides the partner organization with a short-list of the top 3 - 10 applicants (dependant on the total number of applications received) and the partner organization selects the candidate from the short-listed applicants
    • Option 3: APECS sends all applications we received to the partner organization. The partner organization then reviews all applications and makes the decision on who to pick.

• How will APECS advertise these opportunities?

  APECS will discuss with the partner organization individually how each opportunity is advertised. The announcement text will be written together with the partner information based on the information provided by them above. After that the announcement is advertised in the following ways:

  For APECS representatives:

  • If the position is specific to a country or region (or is for an international meeting with no travel funding for the APECS representative available) (e.g, committee in a specific country, national event, international event but no travel funding is available), the National Committee (NC) leadership for the relevant area is contacted, as well as any Council or ExCom members who are local to the area.
  • Positions that are not specific to a country (e.g. international committee working online or international event where travel funding is available either through the partner or other sources) are advertised generally to APECS ExCom, Council and NC leadership
  • Exceptions:
    • For some positions, leadership experience at the international level is required. For these positions, the announcement will be shared only with the Council and / or ExCom (as appropriate).
    • For a select few APECS representative positions with key organizations and partners, APECS selects individuals with significant prior involvement in APECS leadership based on fit and expertise. APECS ExCom reserves the right to do so when deemed strategically necessary.
    • On rare occasions, specific scientific expertise or location is needed and no active leadership member can fill the role. In these cases, APECS may advertise the position to members more broadly, but the member filling the position is expected to work closely with ExCom (or a representative thereof) to ensure that they are up to date on APECS goals, activities, and priorities.

  APECS members interested in APECS representative positions are encouraged to join the APECS leadership both at the international and / or national level (e.g. ExCom, Council, NC leadership committee) to be qualified to represent APECS.

  For ECR participants:

  • These opportunities are generally advertised via the APECS mailing list, website and social media channels to reach as many ECRs as possible.
  • Occasional exceptions are made if the opportunity is very:
    • Discipline-specific focus: Then the opportunity is still added to the APECS website but only advertised to the discipline sub-list of the APECS mailing list (based on the “Research Discipline” information that members provide in their member profiles).
    • Country-focused (e.g. event in a country, or no travel funding available): Then the opportunity is added to the APECS website but advertised only to the country sub-list of the APECS mailing list (based on the country of residence information that members provide in their member profiles) and also specifically advertised via the National Committee of the country (if there is one).
    • Research area-focused: For an opportunity that is interdisciplinary in nature but specific to one polar region or the other, the announcement would be sent to one of the regional email lists (e.g. Arctic, Antarctic).

• For applicants: What information do you have to provide for these opportunities?

  This will be detailed in the announcement text. Typically we ask for a

  • statement of interest detailing their research background, why they are interested in applying for the position, how they think they can contribute to the position if selected and how they will be able to benefit from the position should they be selected (usually not more than 1-2 pages)
  • CV (we usually ask for nomore than 5 pages)

  For larger application processes where we expect many applications we set up a google form for the applications.

• How are the ECRs reviewed and selected?

  We typically offer partner organizations 3 options for the review and selection process:

  • Option 1: APECS reviews the applications and makes the final decision on who to pick (usually only done for APECS representative positions)
  • Option 2: APECS reviews the application and provides the partner organization with a short-list of the top 3 - 10 applicants (dependant on the total number of applications received) and the partner organization select the candidate from the short-listed applicants
  • Option 3: APECS sends all applications we received to the partner organization. The partner organization then reviews all applications and makes the decision on who to pick.

  If APECS reviews the applications, they are typically reviewed by members of the APECS ExCom and Council who are not applicants for the opportunities. Those reviewing applications make an effort not to review those submitted by friends and close social contacts.

  Applications are evaluated on the following broad criteria:

  • Relevance of research area to position: Does the applicant have sufficient familiarity with the field to contribute to the committee?
  • Alignment of applicant’s goals with the partner organization and the specifics of the position.
  • Strength of CV, keeping in mind career stage.
  • Geographic/gender/career stage diversity is considered. APECS strives to balance the need for effective representation with the awareness that someone who has had more opportunity will likely have a stronger CV than someone with less. Applicants who have not been named to another representative position in the last year will be given priority over those who have.

If you have been selected as an APECS representative or ECR participant, please read the information below.

• When you get the position

  APECS or our partner organization will inform you if you have been selected and get you in touch with your relevant contact people within the partner organizations (e.g. committee chair) and any information you might need for your role.

  Specifically for APECS representatives:

  • Check with the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if there are any preparations you have to do for your role.
  • Review the APECS goals and objectives
  • Review the APECS representative summary report – there is one version for representatives attending meetings/workshops and one for serving on a committee. You will need to complete this form so that we can share it with our members and our partners. The summary will be added to the APECS News and the APECS Representatives pages.
    
  • Review any documents sent to you by the meeting you will be attending or the organization / committee you will be included in (e.g. meeting documents) and the website of the organization/group who is putting the meeting on or that you will be working with on the committee. Make sure you understand acronyms associated with the group (or at least have a cheat sheet) so that you can follow the meeting without confusion. APECS has a great database of some of the most common acronyms used.

• Attending a Meeting

  If you have been selected to attend a meeting, or will attend a meeting as part of a longer-term position please read the following information:

  During the meeting:

  • We ask that you represent yourself as who you are (i.e. PhD student at Carleton University, Canada) and as an APECS representative (if you are asked to do so).
  • If you are attending a meeting that has multiple sections or groups, join the group that interests you the most. We want you to get as much out of the meeting as possible, just make sure to attend the main sessions that will allow you to summarize the main points of the meetings.
  • Network! One of the benefits of going to meetings is that you get to meet and interact with people you may not normally see.
  • Take notes. You will need to complete the report after the meeting.

  After the meeting:

  • Complete the summary report. If you have been working with any other APECS committees on the position, send the summary to them as well. Summaries should be submitted as soon as possible, but must be submitted within 3 weeks after the meeting to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • If you made some contacts, be sure to follow up with those people. Send an email touching base with people you exchanged cards with. Even if there are no obvious collaborations or connections to make, it is always nice to expand your professional network, and future projects are always in the works.

• Serving on a committee

  Some positions are on committees that meet regularly online rather than at a single in-person meeting. For these representatives, the basics are mostly the same with a couple of small differences.

  • Update reports    should be submitted once every six months (with reporting deadline being 1 March and 1 September), unless the committee meets less than four times per year, in which case annual reports will suffice. Annual report should be sent no later than 1 September of any given year to ensure the information can be included in the APECS Annual Report.
  • Before meetings, check the agenda to see if any topics require direct input from APECS. If so, check with the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if necessary to make sure you’re fully up to date on relevant APECS activities.
  • If anything comes up during a committee meeting that requires APECS involvement, follow up right away with the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Do not wait until the next report!
  • If at the end of your term a new APECS representative is replacing you on the committee, talk to them to make sure they are up to date on what has happened during your term.