Samvera Bylaws - January 2020

Approved by Partner vote - January 2020

1. The Samvera Steering Group shall consist of nine (9) voting members.  
   
   
2. The voting members of the Samvera Steering Group shall be individuals supported in their participation by a Samvera Partner institution.  No two members of the Steering Group shall be supported concurrently by the same Partner institution. Should a Steering Group member move institutions, such that this bylaw causes an ambiguity, the Steering Group will work with Partners to resolve it.
   
   
3. Members of the Samvera Steering Group are elected to serve for a term of three (3) years. They may not serve more than two contiguous three-year terms.
   
   
4. Steering Group elections shall be held each Fall for three (3) of the nine seats in rotation.  Each Partner institution shall exercise one vote in this process and at least two-thirds of the Partners must cast a ballot for the process to be valid. Candidates for Steering Group elections must have the explicit support of a Samvera Partner institution.
   
   
5. Decisions in the Steering Group shall be made by consensus; in the event that consensus cannot be reached, decisions shall be reached by majority rule.
   
   
6. Steering Group members can resign at any time with notification to the other members and the Partners.  Steering Group members can be removed following a recommendation by Steering and a vote by Partners.
   
   
7. In the event that a seat on the Steering Group becomes vacant part way through a three-year term, an election to fill the seat shall be held as soon as practicable.  The successful candidate is elected to serve the remainder of the three year term. In the event that this period is less than twelve months their tenure extends to include the next three year period and they may, at the end of it, stand for a further contiguous three-year term.
   
   
8. The Steering Group shall elect a Chair and Chair-Elect.  The Chair-Elect succeeds the position of Chair immediately following their one-year term.  The Chair, working in close collaboration with the Chair-Elect, will facilitate Steering meetings and act as the conduit for communication with any hired Samvera staff.
   
   
9. The Steering Group may include any permanent Samvera staff in its meetings and calls as non-voting, ex-officio contributors.  It may also co-opt members of the Samvera Community as non-voting participants should this be beneficial to its work.
   
   
10. The Steering Group will meet virtually each calendar month with additional calls as required.  Steering will hold at least one dedicated face-to-face meeting each year.
    
    
11. The Steering Group provides stewardship and central administration of the Community; they are responsible for helping create the structures to see that critical tasks are addressed, and backstopping the Partners' group in the event that they do not fulfil these critical tasks. 
    
    
12. The bylaws should be reviewed by Steering Group members and by the Partners each year and may be modified at any time by an absolute 2/3 majority vote of the Samvera Partners.