Forums Guidelines

Mission
Introduction
Overview
Forum Activities
Benefits to NBIA Members
Benefits to NBIA
NBIA Support for Forums
NBIA Members’ Responsibilities to Support Forums
Scope and Limits of Authority of NBIA Forums
Legal Issues
Proposing and Establishing a New Forum
Forum Governance
NBIA Forums Annual Compliance Criteria
Applying for Forum Membership

Mission of the NBIA Forums Program

The mission of the NBIA Forums Program is to advance the effectiveness of business incubation programs and their support services for entrepreneurs by facilitating the sharing of specialized information and the exchange of ideas among NBIA members. NBIA forums, as structured opportunities for sharing knowledge and experience, will be a tool to educate members who share an interest in a particular aspect of business incubation.

Introduction

NBIA advances the business incubation process to increase entrepreneurial success and individual opportunity, strengthening communities worldwide. The association utilizes multipronged strategies, including educational activities, to accomplish this goal.

The association serves its membership through several mass communication outlets, including:

• the bimonthly print newsletter NBIA Review.


• the bimonthly online newsletter NBIA UPdates.


• the biweekly online newsletter Memberabilia.


• the International Conference on Business Incubation.


• periodic mailings, faxes and e-mail messages in support of NBIA activities.

To serve niche interests of some NBIA members, the association develops newsletter articles and other publications and offers specialized workshops or sessions during its educational events. To provide further information-sharing opportunities for these informal niche groups and to help facilitate dissemination of their specialized expertise and knowledge, NBIA has developed the NBIA Forums Program.

Overview of NBIA Forums Program

The core purpose of NBIA's Forums Program is to establish and maintain an infrastructure to facilitate open, regular communication among professionals who share an interest in a particular aspect of business incubation. Forums may be proposed and focused on any relevant professional theme.

The forums program is designed to be flexible and quickly responsive to industry developments. NBIA members may create and dissolve forums as the importance of particular topics increases or decreases.

The forums program is a member service and, therefore, forum memberships are restricted to current NBIA members.

Forum Activities

The basic communication tool and activity of all forums will be a designated listserv. After a period of time—ranging from six months to a year or more—while members are getting to know one another and explore topics of interest, members may jointly choose to add additional activities to accomplish their goals. Following are some possible activities.

• Conference participation including forum meetings: Forums are encouraged to prepare materials publicizing their activities for display at Information Central (NBIA’s membership booth) during NBIA’s International Conference on Business Incubation.

  Forums’ conference participation also may encompass sessions and workshops proposed and presented by forum members. Submitted through NBIA’s session RFP process, these educational activities ideally will reflect the collaboration fostered by the forum’s activities.

  Forum meetings held during the conference likely will have two components: a business meeting (setting goals for the upcoming year, reviewing the past year’s accomplishments and, possibly, electing volunteer leaders), and a substantive, informative component (such as sharing information on new resources, hosting an address by an invited speaker or holding a conversation hour). A forum’s membership will determine meeting content, which could be publicized in NBIA’s conference program and/or other NBIA outlets.

• Telephone or Web conferences: Electronic meetings should always be based on an agenda and might include administrative tasks—such as planning meetings or conference activities, a scheduled speaker followed by a question-and-answer period, or a discussion of the forum’s subject matter. When requested, NBIA’s Forums Administrator will arrange electronic meetings and post relevant information (telephone number, access code, time of the call, etc.) to the forum’s listserv.



• Newsletters: Quarterly or semiannual newsletters, disseminated online and not exceeding the equivalent of four (4) printed pages in length, could be a forum activity. Newsletter content generally would include at least two of the following:
  1. Announcements concerning the forum's conference activities
  2. Current research or opportunities of special interest to the forum's membership
  3. News items
  4. Announcements of member employment and training opportunities
  5. Forum business announcements or calls for information
  6. Announcements of meetings of related professional organizations

Final approval of content of forum newsletters will be made by the NBIA Publications Director. This review will primarily be focused on issues related to anti-trust, libel and liability.

• Additional forum activities could include:


1. recruiting new NBIA members.


2. serving as an information clearinghouse on the forum's topic of interest.


3. sponsoring symposia for conferences.


4. maintaining regular communication with relevant professional organizations.


5. networking with non-NBIA members who are leaders in the field.
6. submitting articles for review for NBIA newsletters and Web site.


7. compiling an annotated bibliography of references.


8. preparing a cooperatively written or edited paper or article for submission to a non-NBIA publication.

Benefits to NBIA Members

A stronger, more effective and responsive NBIA indirectly benefits all members. Direct benefits to NBIA forums participants should include:

• quick, knowledgeable answers to specialized questions.


• timely notifications of the latest developments in their fields of interest.


• an established network of professional peers, including experienced practitioners, who share common interests relative to business incubation.


• expanded information exchange of ideas, opportunities and resources between and among members.


• volunteer opportunities aligned with members’ professional interests.


• opportunities for professional development.


• continuing education programs that assist lifelong learning, e.g., short courses, workshops, long-distance learning, etc.

Benefits to NBIA

The NBIA Forums Program yields numerous benefits to NBIA, including:

• heightened ability to identify member needs, including continuing education needs.


• enhanced retention and recruitment efforts.


• increased member involvement in NBIA-sanctioned activities.


• more sources for qualified input to inquiries and to external documents such as proposed legislation, grant RFPs, etc.


• suggestions for newsletter and new book topics.


• a source of potential presenters at NBIA education and training events.


• a source of potential reviewers of publications for possible inclusion in the NBIA Bookstore.

NBIA Support for Forums

Once a forum has been established, NBIA may support it by:

• providing a forum listserv.


• promoting membership in the new forum.


• listing the forum’s Statement of Intent and the names of forum leaders on NBIA’s Web site.


• providing space for forum “recruitment” materials at Information Central during NBIA’s international conferences.
• providing meeting space and time during NBIA’s international conferences.


• distributing forums’ newsletters.

The NBIA staff Forums Administrator will communicate with designated forum point persons. Communications will allow NBIA to highlight forum activities.

NBIA Members’ Responsibilities to Support Forums

Members may participate in more than one forum. However, NBIA expects that forum members will:

• be responsive in communications.


• be diligent in performing assigned or accepted tasks.


• attend meetings.


• cover their own expenses related to forum participation, including meeting attendance, time and/or secretarial support required to respond to correspondence or perform other tasks, as well as postage and document reproduction. NBIA will not reimburse any expenses for forum members. Nonreimbursed expenses may be tax deductible for members and/or their employers.

If at some point the NBIA Forums Advisory Committee (comprising NBIA's president/ CEO, director of membership, forums administrator and membership committee chairperson) deems it necessary to sustain expanding activities of any or all forums, additional financial support may be requested from the members of the forums through supplemental dues.

Scope and Limits of Authority of NBIA Forums

• Each forum will develop a Statement of Intent that defines the group’s areas of concern. Subject to the approval of the Forums Advisory Committee, it will be published on NBIA’s Web site.


• Membership in a forum is open to all current NBIA members who have an interest in the forum’s topic. Forums may not establish exclusionary criteria for membership without approval of the NBIA board of directors and legal counsel.


• Forums will not require additional dues from their members without having received approval to justify such dues by the Forums Advisory Committee.


• Forums are not standards-setting bodies. Forums may, however, draft recommended guidelines, practices, protocols, etc. Any attempt at standard-setting would require review by NBIA’s board of directors. Forums may not license, accredit or certify their members.


• Forums may not release any position or policy statements on public policy matters in the name of NBIA or the forum. Only the President/CEO or the current board chairman of NBIA can act as an official NBIA spokesperson. Forums may draft position or policy statements for approval of the NBIA board of directors and/or the President/CEO.


• Forums are permitted to use the association's logo in communicating outside the forum only if the materials have been reviewed and approved by the Forums Advisory Committee.


• Forum publications (newsletters, brochures or membership directory) should state: "Published by (name of NBIA forum), a membership activity of the National Business Incubation Association."


• Forums may not incorporate themselves independently of NBIA.


• Forums may not independently sign a contract or otherwise commit NBIA to any financial obligations.


• Forums may not publish a referral directory. However, to facilitate networking, NBIA’s online member directory may show, in addition to contact information, a member’s forum memberships.


• All forum lobbying activities must be approved by the NBIA Forums Advisory Committee.


• Any forum may terminate its relationship with NBIA by a two-thirds majority vote of its forum membership. But at no time may a forum that terminates its NBIA relationship carry with it any assets developed while affiliated with NBIA.

Legal Issues of NBIA Forums

All NBIA forums shall abide by NBIA’s guidelines regulating NBIA forums’ activities and purpose. NBIA retains the right to have legal counsel review, at any time, any activities of an NBIA forum and potential conflicts of interest.

Materials produced by a forum are copyrighted products of the National Business Incubation Association, Athens, Ohio, USA. All NBIA members serving on or for a forum shall assign worldwide copyrights to NBIA on works generated within or for an NBIA forum, unless such materials have been previously copyrighted. In this case, a license should be granted to NBIA.

Proposing and Establishing a New Forum

Any NBIA member may propose a new forum by completing a New Forum Proposal Form and sending it to: Forums Administrator, NBIA, 20 E. Circle Dr., #37198, Athens, OH 45701 or e-mailing it to info@nbia.org. The member proposing the forum will be the forum’s organizer.

NBIA’s Forums Advisory Committee will evaluate proposals. Following approval, NBIA will publish, in Memberabilia and on the NBIA Web site, an invitation to join the forum. NBIA members with a presumptive interest may also be contacted by e-mail.

When solicitation efforts have yielded a minimum of six (6) current NBIA members with an interest in joining the proposed forum, NBIA will establish a listserv to enable members, though majority agreement, to fulfill the following two criteria within three (3) months of the listserv’s establishment:
1) Develop and approve a Statement of Intent
2) Select a moderator who will also serve as the point person to work with NBIA

The establishment, operation and activities of forums will be member-driven through voluntary NBIA member enrollment. If a prospective forum does not garner enough volunteers when first proposed, NBIA will continue to promote the forum’s availability for up to six (6) months to see if sufficient numbers of NBIA members wish to join.

After the forum has been established for a period of time (ranging from six months to a year), the moderator will “poll” the forum’s membership to see whether members wish to adopt additional activities or create a different leadership structure. NBIA has developed a model forum organizational structure to aid this process, though other structures or mechanisms may be adopted. This “taking the pulse” of members shall take place annually.

Forum Governance

Forums are accountable to NBIA. The forums program is maintained as a service to the association's members, primarily through monies drawn from general NBIA membership dues. Under some circumstances, a distinct budget may be created to support a forum’s designated activities. The leadership of any such forum will work closely with the Forums Administrator to assure compliance with the budget.

The Forums Advisory Committee, which reports to the NBIA board of directors, is responsible for all forums.

Forums that have chosen to adopt a leadership structure and activities other than the initial “moderator of a listserv”, must incorporate the principle of rotating leaders. The terms of these forums’ leaders will normally be for either one or two years; a leader may not be elected for a consecutive term in the same position. In the case of a mid-term resignation, the Forums Advisory Committee, in consultation with the forum’s members, will designate a replacement member to complete the term.

A forum may be deleted from NBIA's list of forums at the initiation of either the forum or the association's board of directors. NBIA may undertake this action if a forum fails to maintain a minimal membership participation of six (6) active NBIA members for any six (6) month period.

NBIA Forums Annual Compliance Criteria

1. NBIA requires that forums engage only in activities that are compatible with the aims, purposes and practices of the association. If there is concern about the appropriateness of a forum's activities, determination will rest with the Forums Advisory Committee, subject to the final authority of the association's board of directors.


2. If a forum’s leadership and activities are limited to a moderator and a listserv, the only compliance requirement is for the moderator(1) to formally certify that he or she has raised the question of the forum’s leadership and activities with the members, and (2) state what, if any, changes to the leadership personnel or structure were made as a consequence. These statements must be submitted to the Forums Administrator annually, no later than January 31. If a forum has adopted a structure and activities other than the initial ones specified above, then the following documents must be completed and submitted to the Forums Administrator annually, no later than January 31.
   
   • A Past Activity Report detailing the forum’s activities during the preceding calendar year.
   
   
   • A forum membership roster of currently active members, including identification of the forum’s leaders.
   
   
   • A statement, signed by two members of the forum’s leadership, indicating an understanding of and agreement with NBIA forums guidelines.

Additionally, within 30 days following the election of a forum’s new leaders, each forum is required to submit a completed Election Report to the Forums Administrator. Because the leaders’ terms are either for one or for two years, this means that the Election Report must be filed either annually or biannually.

NBIA will suspend any forum that fails to comply with these requirements. Suspension means that no new members can be added to the forum and any monies budgeted for the forum’s activities will not be released. If, by the following April 1, the reporting requirements have still not been fulfilled, the Forums Advisory Committee will, through Memberabilia, alert NBIA membership of the impending cancellation of the forum, seek volunteers to replace current forum leaders, and otherwise take action to determine whether or how the forum should continue to function.

Applying for Forum Membership

The forums section of NBIA’s Web site includes brief descriptions of all established forums and, once available, a link to more information such as its leaders and activities. If a forum seems a good match for your interests, select its “I want to join” link to add your e-mail address to the forum’s listserv. By joining its listserv, you’ve joined the forum.