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Planning Document
October 10, 2010
Background
The purpose of this document is to establish the need for an International
Environmental Communication Association, suggest the goals and structure for
such an association, and identify the steps necessary to form such an association.
Its intent is not to be prescriptive, but proactive: to start the strategic planning
process by provoking discussion about the overall direction of an international
association for practitioners and scholars of environmental communication.
Table of Contents
1. Rationale
2. Aspirations
3. Mission Statement
4. Membership
5. Functions and Benefits
6. Suggested Governance Structure
7. Strategic Planning Process
● other national and international associations, such as the Association for the
Study of Literature and the Environment (www.asle.org) and Ecolinguistics in
Australia, that include environmental communication as an area of study
● a number of university graduate programs and research centers or labs in the
United States and abroad that maintain a focus on environmental
communication research (see representative list at
www.esf.edu/ecn/programs.htm)
This broad array of activities has produced some excellent scholarship and
teaching, but has had limited impact in academic and policy communities in the U.
S. and other countries over the past several years. Perhaps because of the relative
newness of the field, or its loose and fragmentary organizational approach,
environmental communication has often lacked visibility within the broader
discipline of communication, as well as other academic and non-academic
communities. This lack of visibility has created issues ranging from a dearth of
funding for environmental communication research to impediments to the growth
and cohesion of the field more generally, especially given the increasingly global
context of environmental issues.
3. Mission Statement
The International Environmental Communication Association (IECA – working name)
is an international professional forum for promoting and integrating environmental
communication practice, research, and teaching consistent with the goals of social
and ecological sustainability in diverse contexts. As such, the IECA supports and
promotes:
● Research and scholarship in EC;
● Pedagogy, teaching and curriculum development in undergraduate and
graduate EC;
● Good practices in applied EC;
● Outreach to those interested in EC including community members and non-
governmental organizations policy makers, business members;
● Connections and collaborations across state, disciplinary and organizational
“borders”
4. Membership
4.1 Open approach: Membership within IECA will be open to those who are
involved in the research, education, and practice of environmental communication
and who are willing to support the association’s mission and activities IECA seeks a
broad and diverse membership base so as to promote the fruitful exchange of
ideas across professional and disciplinary fields, and to provide the greatest benefit
to the largest audience in interested parties.
In this vein, it is critical that membership in IECA is open to all persons who
subscribe to the association’s mission, and who pay the annual dues. IECA shall not
discriminate in any way against members or potential members on the basis of
race, gender, religion, age, nationality, ethnic origin, physical disability, or sexual
orientation.
4.2 Dues: Membership dues will primarily provide financial support for IECA
functions outlined in Section 5, Additional funding sources will be sought for IECA.
Other sources of funding will be part of the next phase of organizational
development.
5.1 Conference Support: IECA will provide conference support for the
Conference on Communication and the Environment (COCE), and will seek to
develop other conference sponsorship opportunities (both brick-and-mortar &
virtual). Conference sponsorship will enable the sharing of ideas across both
academic disciplines and fields of practice, and expand the conversation on
environmental communication as an international discipline. Potential conference
support may take the form of monetary and other resource support, conference
planning expertise, and host support. Additionally, in support of the association’s
aspiration to maintain a low carbon footprint, and minimal negative environmental
impact, conference sponsorship will also include development and support of
virtual conference opportunities.
The ECN has been instrumental in the genesis of IECA, and as such, it will be a
primary function of this association to provide institutional support to the network.
Support functions will initially be developed on an as-needed basis, with the overall
goal being to institutionalize these efforts and ultimately expand on the efficacy,
longevity, and scope of the ECN.
Possibilities for governance structure of IECA are drawn from several models and
include aspects of other related organizations including the ECD, NCA and The
Western States Communication Association (WSCA), and the International
Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).
Board of Directors: This branch of IECA leadership will be the primary policy-making
body. Board members will be either elected via direct membership voting or
appointed by the executive committee of elected officers (see below). Board
membership, where possible, should demonstrate geographic diversity and mirror
the international and vocational diversity of the organization. Term limits will be
adopted as appropriate.
Elected Officers: This branch of the IECA will consist of 4 elected positions:
President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These positions are primarily
administrative and are responsible for executing policies adopted by the Board of
Directors. Term limits will be adopted as appropriate for each office.
October 2010:
● post strategic planning document on "Indications" blog; announce posting
with link on ECN LISTSERV and request feedback/comments
● European Communication Conference (ECREA): discuss strategic planning
document and recruit members for "launch team"
November 2010:
● National Communication Association (NCA): open forum to discuss mission,
scope, and roll-out of new association; recruit members for "launch team"
January 2011
● form a six-month "launch team" for the new association that will work on
IECA by-laws and nomination/election process
March 2011
● launch team posts IECA by-laws
● call for nominations for officers
May 2011
● hold electronic election for officers (one idea: all subscribers to ECN LISTSERV
eligible to vote for first slate of officers)
June 2011
● formally launch new association and install officers at COCE
● formal membership dues and benefits take effect in 2012
December 2011:
● incorporate new association
● launch new web site
● start collecting dues
7.2 Benchmarking Success: Based on these goals, IECA will measure its success
based upon progress toward the following objectives:
This is an invitation to interested individuals and organizations to join an ad hoc task force
that will develop a proposal to form a new international professional association in
Environmental Communication. We are asking for volunteers to serve on this Task Force,
with a one-year commitment requested, starting on November 1, 2009.
In addition to those mentioned above, the following individuals have agreed to serve on
the task force:
* Libby Lester, University of Tasmania (Australia)
* Laura Lindenfeld, University of Maine (USA)
* Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Uppsala, Sweden)
working on a European EC network
* Chris Russill, Carleton University, (Canada)
The goal of this initiative is to develop a specific concept and framework for the new
international professional association, which would launch in 2011. We are hoping that
colleagues from around the world will join in this effort.
If you are willing to serve on this task force, please contact Mark Meisner at
mmeisner@esf.edu by October 30.
Appendix B: Task Force Membership
* contributed directly to the writing of this document
Last Name First Current Position Association (if any)
Name
*Ahern Lee Penn State University, PA, USA Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass
Communication,
Communicating Science,
Health, Environment and
Risk Interest Group (AEJMC,
ComSHER Group)
Stanton Richard