Approved with more than 67% majority vote at the CAA2024 AGM in Auckland, New Zealand, on 10 April 2024.
The Constitution of Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology
1. The full title of the organisation shall be “Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology.” This may be abbreviated to “CAA”.
2. The aims of the organization shall be:
i) to bring together archaeologists, mathematicians, computer scientists and other researchers, professionals, and students interested in computer applications and quantitative methods in archaeology;
ii) to encourage communication and collaboration between these disciplines and practitioners;
iii) to provide an arena for the presentation and discussions of current and future developments in computer applications and quantitative methods for archaeology.
3. Individual Membership of CAA shall be open to anyone on payment of a nominal annual fee. Membership shall run for a calendar year.
i) Individual Members are entitled to the following:
- to attend the annual conference;
- to keep their name and address on the mailing list held by the CAA Steering Committee for 3 years;
- to call themselves ‘A member of CAA International’;
- to receive a copy of all membership mailings;
- to participate in CAA policy by attending and voting at the Annual General Meeting (AGM);
- to take part in postal and e-mail votes, as and when necessary;
- to become a member of the Steering Committee, either elected or co-opted;
- to benefit from any current discounts and promotions from selected publishers and other providers
ii) All personal details collected through these individual memberships are processed under the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018, with the retention, storing and sharing of these details set out within our Data Protection Policy.
iii) The annual membership can be paid when registering to the annual conference (each conference fee is separate from the membership fee) or by payment of a membership fee to the organization. Details of membership payment, including the amount of the annual fee which is decided by the Steering Committee, can be found on the CAA website.
iv) At an AGM any member deemed to have given outstanding service to CAA can be elected to an Honorary Life Membership thereof. Honorary Life Members are exempt from membership fees, although they still have to pay conference fees.
v) Membership of CAA and participation in CAA community activities is a privilege reserved to those complying with the CAA constitution and ethics policy. The CAA Executive Steering Committee (ESC) reserves the right to take decisions regarding membership in the organization and participation in its activities, and to enforce its decisions.
4. CAA shall be administered by the Executive Steering Committee (ESC) and be advised by a wider Steering Committee (SC).
i) The Executive Steering Committee shall consist of six officers elected for terms of 3 years, namely the Chair, the Secretary, the Membership Secretary, the Treasurer, the Conference Officer, and the Bursary and Student/Low Income Officer. The Secretary shall act as Chair in case the Chair of CAA cannot attend a meeting of the ESC or the AGM. Each member of the ESC may only hold its post for up to 2 terms (maximum 6 years). It is however possible to then be elected for a different post in the ESC after the maximum number of years.
ii) The Chair has input into and oversees all CAA business and when appropriate has the final say in decision making. The Chair presides over the AGM, ESC and SC meetings and represents the organisation to the outside world when appropriate.
iii) The secretary prepares and minutes AGM, ESC and SC meetings, is the primary contact for CAA related business, and manages the legal status of CAA.
iv) The Membership Secretary is responsible for communication with the membership and organizing the information on current and past members of CAA.
v) The Treasurer deals with all financial activities of CAA. S/he also is a member of the bursary committee (see below) which is responsible for deciding which applicants will receive bursaries to attend the conference.
S/he will organise an annual audit, and will present the annual financial report at the annual AGM, detailing income and expenses of the past financial year.
vi) The Bursary and Student/Low Income Officer is responsible for coordinating the student/low-income and Nick Ryan bursaries, will chair the bursary committee, and coordinate the student/low-income representation. The bursary committee consists of the Bursary and Student/Low Income Officer, the Treasurer of CAA, one representative of the current CAA conference organizing team, a second member of the ESC (chosen by the ESC), plus one ex-officio SC member for low income/ students.
Any incoming bursary application is decided by this committee on the basis of a set of rules which will be published on the CAA internet page.
vii) The Conference Officer, serving as the ESC liaison to the local conference organising team, provides guidance on bidding for and running the annual meeting. S/he will also manage CAA conference systems, such as the abstract submission platform, as well as being responsible for ensuring and organizing the publication of the annual conference proceedings. S/he will be supported by an Editorial Board, consisting of other members of the SC, including co-opted ex officio members and the CAA Review College. Any member of CAA can be co-opted as an Editorial Board member by the ESC upon request from the Conference Officer.
viii) The Conference organisers for the three years, past present and future, shall be ex officio members of the SC.
ix) A National Chapter may nominate one ex officio member of the SC.
x) The scientific quality of work presented at CAA conferences will be overseen by a Scientific Committee (ScC) consisting of 11 individuals, as well as the conference organiser and the ScC chair. The ScC chair is an ex officio member of the SC. The ScC will work with the local conference organisers and has the final word on accepting or rejecting scientific contributions to the conference. ScC members can remain in office for three year terms, which can be renewed upon request and acceptance of the ESC and the ScC chair.
xi) Any other member of CAA may be co-opted by the SC onto the Committee for one or more meetings.
xii) Ex-officio members sit on the SC as advisory members only and do not have full voting rights.
xiii) CAA is legally an association under Dutch law (‘stichting’). The ESC will appoint a trustee living in the Netherlands to act as its representative for Dutch law.
xiv) Under Dutch Law, a Data Protection officer will be appointed by the ESC for a period of three years. This Data Protection officer role is outlined in our Data Protection Policy. Any CAA member may be appointed, and they may have dual roles within the organisation.
xv) The remit of the Executive Steering Committee is as follows:
- To ensure, to the best of its ability, that an annual international conference does take place and to support local organizers of the conference. If for any reason this does not happen, then it is the duty of the ESC to call an AGM at which suitable measures shall be taken for the continuation of CAA and the organisation of future conferences.
- To arrange the publication of the Conference Proceedings.
- The ESC shall discuss bids from CAA National Chapters, individuals and groups wishing to organise future Conferences. Bids can be submitted up to three years before the conference date to be proposed. They shall assess these, and make proposals to the AGM for the appointment of future organisers. In recommending acceptance of any bid to hold the annual conference, the ESC will normally give preference to proposals from prospective organisers who have a track record of attending CAA and/or are active within a National Chapter. These proposals shall be circulated to all members in advance of the AGM and a final decision shall be taken at the AGM.
- In assessing offers from future organisers, the ESC shall consider two main areas, firstly the extent to which the proposed arrangements support the aims of the annual conference and secondly the viability of the proposed arrangements. The proposed location will also be considered to establish a fair geographical coverage for CAA conferences and to encourage new areas of membership and activity. Once appointed, the organisers shall be provided with CAA conference guidelines but within those guidelines will be given as much freedom as possible to experiment with new ideas so that successive conferences do not stagnate into a traditional format but continue to change and grow with changing times.
xvi) In normal circumstances, the ESC shall meet at least three times a year and the SC at least once
- One meeting of the ESC shall be held 2 to 4 months before the conference. The meeting may be at the venue of the annual conference or online. If the ESC meeting will be virtual, the Conference Officer and one other ESC member will try to meet with the local organising team at the venue to assess the progress. At least one representative of the local organisers of the annual conference shall attend this meeting.
- Another meeting shall be held at the beginning of the annual conference at the conference venue, specifically to finalise the plan for the Annual General Meeting and to identify priorities for the upcoming year.
- A joint ESC-SC meeting may be held after the AGM to discuss the results of the AGM, to plan the publication of the proceedings and to discuss the planning of the next conferences.
- Additional ESC or joint ESC-SC meetings may be convened online by the chair or secretary, as necessary.
5. Annual General Meeting
i) Notice of an Annual General Meeting, together with the formal proposals for discussion and, in particular, changes to the Constitution, must be circulated to all members at least 21 days before the date of the meeting.
ii) Normally the Annual General Meeting shall be held at the annual CAA conference. The Call for Nominations of Officers shall be circulated with the notice for this meeting. Attendance at the AGM shall be open to all CAA members, whether or not they are attending the conference.
iii) The election of Officers shall take place at the AGM, normally by show of hands. If at least 10 members of CAA wish the election to be held by paper ballot, the SC has to organise such an election. The request for a paper ballot has to be submitted to the CAA Secretary at least 24 hours before the AGM.
iv) Every candidate has to demonstrate her/his willingness to stand.
v) If it is not possible to hold the AGM during the annual conference, then the ESC shall call an AGM as quickly as is compatible with the required period of notice to members at a place considered to be appropriate by the ESC. The interval between successive AGMs shall not exceed eighteen months.
6. National Chapters of CAA
i) National Chapters of CAA may be established in any country by a group of three or more current members of CAA. There shall be no more than one National Chapter per country. It is possible that a National Chapter represents more than one country if there is a close relationship between those countries (e.g. USA and Canada forming CAA North America) or at least between parts of these countries (e.g. The Netherlands and the Flemish part of Belgium).
ii) The purpose of a National Chapter is to advance the aims and interests of CAA International in their country. National Chapters are encouraged to hold local meetings and to submit bids to hold the Annual International CAA Conference.
iii) A National Chapter shall have a Steering Committee consisting of three or more persons. The membership of this committee shall be reported to the Annual General Meeting of CAA. A model constitution will be supplied by CAA International and guidance will be given in establishing the aims, objectives and structure of a local chapter. At least one member of this steering committee must be a member of CAA, and all future steering committees will require this association to remain an active National Chapter.
iv) The Constitution of a National Chapter shall be drafted by the members of its Steering Committee and be subject to ratification by the Annual General Meeting of CAA. The purpose of such ratification shall be solely to ensure that the Constitution of a National Chapter does not conflict with the rules, aims and interests of CAA.
v) The name of any National Chapter shall include “CAA (country_name)”, where ‘country_name’ is the name of the country in which the Chapter is established. The name of a National Chapter must not contain the initials CAA unqualified by a country name and should never represent itself as being the international body.
vi) A National Chapter shall be self-financing.
vii) A National Chapter shall not act in any way that may hinder the running of the international organisation of CAA or bring the name of CAA into disrepute. The Steering Committee, under authorization of a vote at an AGM, may dissolve a National Chapter if it has been found to do so.
viii) National Chapters shall report the number of their members, the date, venue and general results of their national meetings, including the number of attendees and presentations at the Annual General Meeting of the annual conference of the international CAA.
ix) National Chapters shall use a brand image that is compatible with that of CAA, especially regarding to CAA logo and web site image. CAA will provide the necessary resources to National Chapters to facilitate this.
x) A National Chapter must enforce all CAA polices within their constitutions, with variations allowed based on local law.
7. Any changes to this Constitution must be approved by a 67% majority of votes of all members at the AGM. Such changes shall take immediate effect.