Subcommittee and Ad Hoc Meetings Support Policy

Background

Specialty committees are highly engaged in the ongoing improvement of medical education in their discipline which is exemplified by undertaking a variety of initiatives including but not limited to improving the delivery of training across programs, exploring innovations in residency training and preparing for the Committee on Specialties’ discipline review. These initiatives may result in the creation of subcommittees/working groups as well as the scheduling of additional/ad-hoc meetings. As a result, additional support and assistance (administrative and financial) maybe requested from the Royal College.

The Royal College appreciates the time and effort specialty committees invest in these initiatives in addition to their ongoing mandated responsibilities. The Specialties Unit has a responsibility to be accountable for Royal College resources, to ensure activities are managed within the Royal College’s funding umbrella and to be transparent and consistent in the allocation of those resources. This policy outlines the parameters governing the support that the Specialties Unit provides to specialty committee initiatives (for information regarding the Specialties Unit support provided during regular specialty committee meetings, please see Information, Policies and Procedures for the relevant committee).

Subcommittees/Working Groups and Ad-hoc Meetings

Specialty committees must seek formal approval by the Specialties Unit when they wish to create a subcommittee/working group or if they wish to hold an additional ad-hoc meeting. Any subcommittees/working groups created must include a formal reporting relationship to the specialty committee. The specialty committee’s minutes as well as a Special Request Form must clearly identify the:

Purpose of the subcommittee/working group and the anticipated duration of its mandate;
Leader designated for overseeing the subcommittee/working group, who must be a member of the specialty committee;
Members of the subcommittee/working group;
Timelines for providing regular reports to the specialty committee;
Intended outcomes/deliverables and the estimated timeline for those deliverables; and
The support required from the Specialties Unit.

Available Specialties Unit Support:

Specialties Unit is able to provide the following:

Logistical arrangements. Support for no more than 10 meetings per discipline per year, including polling members for availability, sending notices of meetings which will clearly outline the purpose of the meeting, tracking attendance and preparing/updating the attendance list as attendance confirmations are received.
Notifications of meetings. Preparation and dissemination of notices of meeting. The need to hold a teleconference or web conference requires a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice; requests received in less time may not be guaranteed.
Teleconference or web conference booking as required.
Agenda preparation and dissemination. Draft agenda preparation (if required), distribution to the individual chairing the meeting and upon receipt of final agenda from the chair, circulation to members along with any other pertinent meeting material.
Annotated agenda preparation, to capture the main decisions made and action items required, and circulation to meeting participants following the meeting.
Meeting space and audio-visual requirements for face-to-face meetings held at Royal College headquarters, space permitting and during normal business hours.
Specialties Unit administrator guidance/support through attendance at the meeting, when operationally feasible.

Special Considerations:

The Specialties Unit will consider requests for the following and review/approve on a case-by-case basis:

Face to face meeting. Support for meeting space and audio visual requirements for a meeting held outside of the Royal College premises requires prior approval by the Specialties Unit and is not guaranteed.
Evening or weekend meetings. Meeting space, audiovisual support and administrator support for meetings held outside of normal business hours (evening or weekends)are not guaranteed.
Catering support. Catering will not be provided under most circumstances. If the meeting is taking place in conjunction with a specialty committee meeting for which catering is already being provided, support for additional catering may be requested but requires prior approval by the Specialties Unit and is not guaranteed.
Survey development and administration. Support to develop, and administer surveys may be provided when operationally feasible. Permissible survey length may be restricted.
Clinician educator support. Support from a clinician educator to facilitate meetings, provide presentations, and support survey or tool development may be provided when operationally feasible.

Specialties Unit Support Restrictions:

Due to limited resources, the Specialties Unit is unable to provide the following:

Detailed minutes of meetings. It is expected that specialty committees, subcommittees or working groups report back on ad hoc meeting discussions during the full specialty committee meeting; the minutes of the full specialty committee meeting will document the discussion. In addition, the annotated agenda of the ad hoc meeting can be appended to the full specialty committee meeting if desirable.
Translation of any work or material, including but not limited to letters, surveys, annotated agendas, and meeting material. Any work that ultimately becomes an official Royal College document will be translated once the documents are final and approved by the Royal College.
Travel to attend ad hoc meetings. An exception may be made for those ad hoc meetings taking place in conjunction (on the day immediately before or after) a full specialty committee meeting pending prior approval of the Specialties Unit and according to the Specialty Committee Policy on Reimbursement of Expenses.