Eligibility
FOCUS membership is open to all persons residing in Canada or the United States who share the objective of FOCUS.

Quantum of Members
The Steering Committee of FOCUS is composed of a maximum of 15 members.

Length of Terms
Terms are normally for three years, renewable. Terms are staggered in such a way that about one third of the membership is renewed every year.

Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee is composed of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson or Past-Chairperson as the case may be, one Officer and one Member-at-large.

Process for Nominations of Members
A call for nominations is made by the Nominating Committee.

The Officers of FOCUS

• President
• Vice-President
• Secretary
• Treasurer

Description of Officers

• The President is responsible for chairing meetings, for being the official spokesperson of the organisation and for signing all official or legal documents that bind FOCUS. Any of these activities may be delegated by the Chairperson to another Officer or member of FOCUS.
• The Vice-President is responsible in assisting the Chairperson in his/her responsibilities and acts in the absence of the Chairperson.
• The Secretary is responsible for maintaining a list of the current membership, for facilitating communication between members, for producing minutes of meetings and reports of activities as requested. The Secretary may request the Chairperson to delegate any of these responsibilities to another officer or member of FOCUS.
• The Treasurer is responsible for the accounts of FOCUS. The Treasurer manages FOCUS’s funds under the direction of the Chairperson, maintains a full and accurate account of all incomes and expenses, receipts and disbursements. The Treasurer will deposit all monies and valuable effects in the name of FOCUS in such banks and/or depositories as designated. The Treasurer will be a joint signatory to the accounts of FOCUS together with the Chairperson or other member of FOCUS.

Staff from the Office for Human Research Protections and from the National Council on Ethics in Human Research provide continuity and support for this initiative.

Secretariat

Secretariat support for FOCUS is provided by the office of the National Council on Ethics in Human Research (NCEHR) based in Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA.The Secretariat is responsible for receiving and disbursing monies, as well as bookkeeping, under the responsibility of the Treasurer.The following were office holders at the time of adoption of these terms of reference, June 6, 2004:

• President: Henry Dinsdale
• Vice-President: Marjorie Speers
• Secretary: Elisabeth Clark
• Treasurer: Joan Sieber
• Members-At-Large:
  • Michael McDonald
  • Don Morrish