NZRA - New Zealand Reading Association (Incorporated)

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NZRA Administration

  

NEW ZEALAND READING ASSOCIATION

CITATIONS OF MERIT

Rationale:

The NZRA Citation of merit is the highest award we offer, and exists to acknowledge and honour those members who provide outstanding service to the association. The Citation of Merit is the most prestigious national award conferred by NZRA.

Purposes:

  1. To identify and acknowledge members who have provided outstanding service to NZRA.
  2. To ensure that the prestigious nature of the citation is valued by implementing procedures which facilitate consistent standards.
  3. To publicly acknowledge the value of the members and the citation by presenting the award at an NZRA conference and publishing citation detail in Reading Forum New Zealand, and on the website

Guidelines:

  1. The president will seek nominations and ensure that local councils are aware of these guidelines.
  2. Nominees will be individual NZRA members and will have demonstrated outstanding service in each of the following areas:
    • Local council
    • NZRA
    • National or international involvement in literacy promotion
  3. Local councils should forward detailed supporting information, including the full name of the nominee(s) to the President of NZRA prior to annual meeting in June. The nominating council will maintain confidentiality until the executive decision is announced.
  4. The executive will consider nominations.
  5. The executive is not obliged to award citations.
  6. Delegates will be informed of decisions in confidence at the next Annual Meeting.
  7. The president will inform the successful nominee(s) of the intention to present the citation as part of the opening of the next NZRA conference.  This should be in sufficient time for the person or people to accept and be prepared to reply.
  8. The secretary will prepare the citation and arrange for it to be signed and dated by the president before it is framed.
  9. A copy of the citation, and a photograph of the recipient/presentation if available will be published in Reading Forum New Zealand.
  10. The name(s) of the recipient(s) will be included in the history of NZRA document.

Some possible indicators – not a definitive list:

Local Council

NZRA

National and International Involvement in Literacy Promotion


Reviewed June 2009

NEW ZEALAND READING ASSOCIATION  

HONOUR COUNCIL

Rationale

The honour council system enables the New Zealand Reading Association to acknowledge and affirm the special achievements of local councils.  In doing so, the progressive, professional and inclusive nature of the NZRA councils is enhanced.

Purposes

Guidelines

Reviewed June 2011

NEW ZEALAND READING ASSOCIATION

POLICY ON ANNUAL MEETINGS

Rationale:

The Annual Meeting of the New Zealand Reading Association should be cost effective and resources used effectively.

Purposes:

Guidelines:

  1. The date of the Annual Meeting is
    • Fixed for the weekend following Queen's Birthday, unless otherwise negotiated.
    • Established as an agenda item at each annual meeting.
  2. The venue for the Annual Meeting will alternate between Christchurch and Wellington unless another venue is negotiated.
  3. Each local council may be represented by one official delegate and up to two observers.
  4. National delegates have voting rights.  Observers have speaking but no voting rights.
  5. In the case of financial hardship local councils may apply for funding assistance for a delegate only to attend the annual meetings.  A request must be put in writing to the treasurer at least eight weeks before the meeting for consideration.
  6. Local councils are responsible for covering expenses for their delegate and observer in regard to
    • Booking and paying for Accommodation (1 or 2 nights)
    • Booking and paying for Travel. Then send a copy to National Secretary for equilisation
    • Breakfast/s
    • Dinner/s
  7. The executive will fund costs for executive members and Forum Editor. These cover accommodation, travel, continental breakfast and dinner.
  8. The national secretary should seek items for the agenda from all delegates, organise refreshments, prepare an agenda and circulate this along with copies of other relevant documents prior to the meeting. Secretary will book and confirm rooms for executive members and forum editor.
  9. The national executive will fund lunch on the first day of the annual meeting and morning and afternoon teas and a light lunch on Sunday.
  10. Delegates and forum editor should send a copy of their council report to the secretary at least one month before the annual meeting for circulation to all delegates.
  11. The secretary will circulate minutes as soon as possible after the annual meeting.

Reviewed June 2009

NEW ZEALAND READING ASSOCIATION  

FINANCIAL PROCEDURES

Rationale:

To ensure that the NZRA meets its statutory financial obligations as an Incorporated Society.

Purposes:

To ensure that procedures are clarified with regard to:

Guidelines:

Books of Account

Budget: The treasurer will propose an annual budget and present this to annual meeting.

Financial Statement:

GST Returns

Retention of Financial Records

Income Tax Returns

Annual Returns

Reference Publications

Reviewed June 2010

                 NEW ZEALAND READING ASSOCIATION

                      DOCUMENTATION

Rationale:

The NZRA executive needs to establish and maintain standard documentation procedures to:

Purpose:

To define procedures at both national and local levels for the presentation and storage of official documents which are relevant to the structure and administration of NZRA.

Guidelines:

  1. Immediately after the Annual Meeting the NZRA treasurer needs to send a copy of the financial report and relevant payment to the Department of Justice to maintain current status. This is required in order to maintain registration as an Incorporated Society. Should a lapse occur NZRA has to provide copies of financial statements going back several years and pay re-registration fee.
  2. A copy of the NZRA constitution needs to be readily available as this may be required by Government Departments, Inland Revenue, or a bank, for tax exemption or sponsorship purposes.
  3. The NZRA secretary will hold a hard copy of current documentation:

    4.  The NZRA treasurer will hold hard copies of financial records for the past seven years.

  1. Following a national conference two copies of the conference programme book will be forwarded to the National Library if required and one copy will be held by the NZRA secretary.

Reviewed June 2011

NEW ZEALAND READING ASSOCIATION  

TRAVEL FUNDING POLICY 

Rationale:

The nature of the association and the geographical layout of New Zealand mean that travel is a major expense for NZRA.

Purpose:

Guidelines:

  1. Local councils are responsible for organising and paying travel and accommodation to the annual meeting. Councils are expected to be fiscally responsible when arranging travel.
  2. Equalization – Total travel costs for delegates to annual meeting will be equalized across ALL attending councils.
  3. The executive members will be funded by the national body to attend the annual meeting, New Zealand Reading Association conference and any executive meetings held throughout the year.
  4. The president, or designee, in consultation with the executive, will be funded (travel, registration and accommodation) to attend the annual ALEA conference.
  5. Forum Editor will be funded by NZRA to attend annual meeting.
  6. The national executive will fund travel for delegates where the local council can show they are not in a financial position to do this for themselves.  Councils would have to make approaches to the national executive before the annual meeting.
  7. Where an NZRA member serves on an International Reading Association (IRA) committee, consideration will be given to providing some assistance towards travel costs.

Reviewed June 2010

 

NEW ZEALAND READING ASSOCIATION

NZRA SERVICE AWARD

 PROCESS FOR NOMINATION AND SELECTION 

  1. Councils may nominate potential recipients at any time based on the following:
    The criteria include:
    • The length and nature of membership and service to the council
    • Details of conference/workshop presentations at NZRA (which should be on at least three occasions);
    • Evidence of leadership role in organizing council events or literacy related events including conference/seminars endorsed by the Council;
    • Specific literacy promotion or leadership role in literacy development for the region.
  2. The nominee should be considered in reference to the above criteria.  To be eligible for the award the nominee should meet the first and at least two of the other criteria.
  3. The nomination, with full supporting details, should be forwarded to the National Executive of NZRA.
  4. The selection sub-committee will consist of the president (or his/her nominee), one executive and two delegates selected by the president. A decision will be made within three months of receipt of nomination.
  5. If the sub-committee accepts the nomination, the president will inform the nominee and the president of the relevant council immediately and a suitable date requested for presentation.
  6. If the sub-committee deems that the nominee does not meet the criteria, the president of NZRA will write to the president of the nominating council detailing in what way the nomination was not successful.  If appropriate, this information may suggest that the submission did not include enough information on which to make a judgement and that it may be resubmitted.
  7. For a successful nominee, the national executive will prepare a certificate to be signed by the president of NZRA, and framed by the national executive.
  8. Either the president of NZRA or a member of the national executive, who is the closest geographically, will present the award at a Council event.
  9. The National Executive will ensure that the recipient's name is included in the NZRA history on the website. 
  10. Recipients of the NZRA Service Award will be announced at the annual meeting following the award.
  11. A copy of the award's citation will be forwarded to the editor of the NZ Reading Forum NZ for publication.  The council of which the recipient/s is a member will be asked to forward a photograph to the editor of Reading Forum NZ to accompany the article.  All recipients who have received awards during the 12 months preceding a national conference will be acknowledged at the conference opening.

Reviewed June 2010

NEW ZEALAND READING ASSOCIATION

RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP FOR NZRA MEMBERS

The NZRA is delighted to offer its members the opportunity to apply for the NZRA RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP.

PURPOSE: to provide financial support to a current financial member of NZRA in order to undertake research in the field of literacy.

The total value of the grant will be determined by the actual costs of the research proposal to a maximum of $5000.00.

These costs may include:

Applicants will need to present a budget of their expected costs when applying.

Each scholarship holder will submit a written report to Reading Forum NZ and present at the next national conference, upon completion of the research.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The proposal

APPLICATIONS

Applications must include:

TIMELINE

Applications close 31 October annually

Applicants advised by 31 November annually

Reviewed June 2010