Constitution

Background

  • Agreed December 1999
  • Reviewed September 2003
  • Reviewed January 2007
  • Reviewed May 2013
  • Reviewed May 2015
  • Reviewed September 2016
  • Reviewed September 2018
  • Updated December 2018
  • Update June 2022

Constitution

This constitution document provides clarity and guidance around HEIDS Group objectives, membership, functioning and responsibilities.

Objectives

HEIDS exists to promote high standards in the provision and development of academic, management and administrative information systems and technologies throughout the Scottish Higher and Tertiary Education Sectors.

HEIDS is a recognised Regional Directors group of the Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association (UCISA). As such, it furthers the overall aims and regional service provision of the Association. HEIDS operates within UCISA’s charitable objects, actively engages through the UCISA annual planning process, membership of the UCISA Leadership Council and may request funding from UCISA to fulfil its objectives.

How HEIDS intends to deliver 

In pursuance of the above, HEIDS will be involved, inter alia, in the following activities:

  1. Providing an independent and informed voice in respect of Information Services and their use in the sector in Scotland;
  2. Providing a forum for ascertaining and making known the views of its membership;
  3. Proactively engaging with key stakeholders and promoting initiatives such as shared services, resource sharing and technology enhancements in the interests of member organisations;
  4. Organising conferences, workshops and furthering the development of future leaders;
  5. Engaging and promoting members interests with influential bodies, such as SFC, APUC, Universities Scotland, Jisc and Janet UK, USET and relevant Information Governance and Security groups;
  6. Participating in relevant UCISA workstreams and Groups as well as aligning UCISA budget requests to UCISA’s annual planning process.
  7. By sponsoring and publishing articles in appropriate forums and disseminating best practice, highlight emerging trends and support innovation that will advance members core missions;
  8. Working with bodies with an interest in information provision in general and with bodies representing libraries in particular (for example, SCURL and SCONUL) to our mutual advantage;
  9. Cultivating a community through relationships, commitment and collective actions across the breadth of Information Services with Scotland's Colleges to our mutual advantage;
  10. Actively promote diversity and inclusion in the Information Services workplace

Membership and function

HEIDS will meet on a rotating basis either at members’ home institutions or online, four times a year. This may be supplemented by additional online meetings as and when required.

Full membership of the HEIDS shall be open to Higher Education Institutions funded by Scottish Funding Council. There is no additional fee required for membership of HEIDS but full members are expected to be UCISA members. Affiliate HEIDS membership shall be open to

  1. All bodies eligible for membership of UCISA whose principal address is within Scotland or Northern Ireland.
  2. Any other body agreed at a meeting of HEIDS

Full HEIDS members shall be entitled to appoint up to three representatives to attend meetings organised by the Committee: one of these shall normally be the Director of IT, or similar post holder.

Each Full member shall have two votes at the Annual General Meeting or any other meeting called by HEIDS, which may be cast by any one or two representatives of the member.

Affiliate members shall also be entitled to appoint a representative to attend meetings organised by the Committee. Affiliate members shall, however, not be entitled to vote.

HEIDS will create sub groups as required for particular purposes.

The HEIDS annual meeting shall elect a Chair, Vice-Chair and a Secretary from amongst representatives of its full members. Office bearers will normally be expected to serve for a period of two years, confirmed annually at the HEIDS Annual General Meeting. Elections to the offices of Chair and Vice-Chair will be held on a different year cycle to elections for the office of Secretary.

The chair of HEIDS will sit on the UCISA Leadership Council.

This document will be reviewed annually at the HEIDS AGM.