Sphere India Membership
1. Who can be members?
The membership to Sphere India shall be open to organisations who commit themselves to promote the principles and values as illustrated in Sphere India Charter document.
1.1 Full Members:
- Red Cross, Red Crescent and associated international, national and local organizations.
- Bonafide non-governmental organizations registered within India whose aims contribute directly or indirectly to the objective and functions of Sphere India.
- Governmental bodies, agencies and institutions those are responsible for humanitarian actions and related aspects.
- United Nation agencies with a humanitarian mandate working in India and having a representation in India
- Multilateral and bilateral agencies with a humanitarian mandate working in India and/or having a representation in India.
- International agencies having a humanitarian mandate working in India and having a bonafide representation in India
- National level Ngo Networks with mandate and interest in Humanitarian Issues.
- Inter Agency Groups functioning at state levels working with humanitarian mandate.
1.2 Associate Members:
- Universities, academic and research centers having interests on issues related to humanitarian practice
- Professional associations having technical competence and interests on issues related to humanitarian practice.
- Corporate and corporate networks with demonstrated engagement with Humanitarian sector and interest on issues related to humanitarian practice
1.3 Special Invitees:
l. Representatives of Government Institutions/Departments, Media, corporate sector/business houses as may be decided by the Chairperson in consultation with the members of the Executive body from time to time
2. Membership Norms:
All members shall fulfill following norms to join and continue to enjoy the status of their membership:
2.1 Mandatory Requirements:
- The organisation must have national presence (Working in more than one state of India either directly or through associates) and been into existence for a minimum of 3 years from date of applying for membership.(We may want to rethink this. A criteria as wide as this may not really serve the purpose of establishing the national character of an organisation. i personally feel that the minimum working area should be at least four states in the country)
- The physical address given by the institution is verifiable.
- The organisationn is registered as Trust / Society / Section 25 non profit Company or is an operational Government body /UN agency/Network of humanitarian agencies in India.
- Registration documents of the organisation are submitted along with the expression of interest for membership.
- A Statement of a shared vision / purpose /objectives of the organisation is submitted showing its commitment towards Non Negotiable principles as listed in Chapter 1 of Sphere India constitution.
- Document are submitted to show existence and functioning of Responsible Governing Body of the organisation:
- The name, age, sex, work experience, and position of Board members is available publicly
- At least 2/3 of Board members are unrelated by blood or marriage.
- Appropriate Rotation Policy for board membership is practised.
- The Board ensures the organisations compliance with laws and regulations of the country
- A Statement of commitment for consultative decision-making within the organisation is provided.
- The organisation’s Annual Report is available publicly.
- A Statement of commitment to Humanitarian Accountability principles (HAP) is submitted.
- The organisation undertakes to inform Sphere India coalition, of any change in organisations management practices in contravention to the declarations (as above) given at time of joining the coalition.
- the Organisation provides references of two existing members of Sphere India coalition.
2.2 Responsibility of Member Institutions:
- The member institution shall nominate two individuals. One of whom shall be the institutional focal point and the other as alternate to represent the organisation. It is desirable that one of the nominees is a woman.
- The member nominee shall ensure not to abstain from the coalition proceedings three times in a row. The member shall meet the minimum financial obligations of the membership fee and other non financial commitments to strengthen the coalition.
2.3 Process of becoming a Member:
The institutions mentioned above may become members of Sphere India by:
- Expressing a formal interest to be the member of Sphere India.
- Complete all the mandatory requirements as specified in para 2.1.
- The application must be received at least 45 days before the Executive body meeting.
- The application will be reviewed by a screening committee set up by the Executive Body for the purpose and will be placed before the Executive Body alongwith the recommendations of the Screening Committee.
- Approval of the Executive body
- In case the membership application is not approved, the organisation can reapply only after the completion of one year.
- Accepting and signing the Constitution.
- Accepting to pay membership fees as per existing norms for membership fee.
- The type of membership will depend on nature of organisation as explained below.
4. Types of Membership:
The organisation applying for Sphere India membership shall be granted following type of membership based on the status and nature of organisation:
- Full Members
- Associate Members
Full Members:
The organisations described under para 1.1 may become Full Members of Sphere India Coalition after the completion of the process steps explained in para 2 above. The full members enjoy full rights to be nominated for elections to all bodies and right to vote on all proceedings of the coalition
Associate Members
The organizations described under para 1.2 (from S.no: i – k) may become Associate Members of Sphere India Coalition after the completion of process explained in para 2 above. The associate members will have no rights to vote and will not be eligible for elections. They can be part of all bodies of Sphere India for advice and consultation.
Membership Fee:
The approved members of Sphere India shall pay the membership fee as below:
- Entry Fee: INR 20,000.
- Annual Membership Fee: INR 10,000.
The membership fee may however be reviewed and modified by the Executive Body from time to time
Suspension of membership:
If a member fails to meet the norms explained in para 2.1 and 2.2 or in other exceptional circumstances (to be defined by the executive body), the Executive body may under such conditions:
- Suspend the voting privileges.
- Suspend the eligibility rights.
- Suspend the provisions of non-essential services.
- Suspend the membership.
The suspended member has a right to appeal to the General Body and the General body shall have the authority to restore the rights.
Termination of membership:
The membership of any member organisation may be terminated by two thirds of the Executive Body voting in favour of the motion if the house is of the opinion that the organisation has been guilty of deliberate violation of the objectives of Sphere India and/or is not taking sustained interest in the affairs of Sphere India. This is subject to the provisio that notice of such intention has been included in the agenda of the meeting and sufficient notice and opportunity has been provided to the concerned member organisation to clarify the reservations over membership.
Resignation from Membership
Any member may resign after a written notice of three months. No reimbursement of the membership fee shall be applicable in this case.
