National Membership
The criteria for national membership are:
Institution members
* The institution, usually a department of a university, museum
or industry, must actively be engaged in research concerning the
European information society generally, with specific attention
to new technologies and culture.
* The institution offers M.A. and Ph.D. courses, or has close
connections to other degree granting institutions. (Professional,
governmental and non-governmental institutions in the field of cultural
heritage, which offer apprenticeship or study programmes for students
also qualify).
* The institution has a commitment to share information and technologies
in the context of education and e-learning.
* The institution has a clear proposal of how it fits into the
network: e.g. research, training, content, creativity,
* The institution is, or will in the near future be, connected
to a high-speed network.
* (The institutes will start to disseminate subsets of their results
along narrower available bandwidths.)
Industry members
Industry members of E-culture Net should have the following characteristics:
* consistent commitment to the conduct of RTD in ICT over a number
of years
* a record of developing innovative products, services and processes;
* substantial experience of ICT applications in the cultural economy
* preferably, previous experience in participating in European
Research projects
Commercial partners can use the high quality digital materials
available on the Intranet freely for research but not for commercial
purposes unless they make the appropriate agreements.
SME members
SMEs will have the same characteristics as industry members. In
addition, they will have conformity with the criteria in the EU
definition of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, in terms of number
of employees, turnover, balance sheet value and independence.
For further information please contact the provisional national
representatives (cf.2.1 above).
Members in Related European Networks
Any specialized network relating to the cultural sphere is welcome
to apply. New networks must demonstrate that they cover an activity
of the research framework that is not yet covered by existing members.
Members of Networks outside of Europe
Cultural networks outside of Europe are welcome to apply. Normally,
an important criterion is that the network is willing to share high
quality materials on a reciprocal basis for purposes of research
and education.
Conflict Resolution
As the NoE evolves there will inevitably be new problems to which
the administrative and management teams can respond and adapt as
they they arise. If a problem cannot be solved by regular discussion,
the individual or group will write a letter stating their problem
to the chairperson of the NoE. The chairperson will then discuss
the matter with the members of the executive. If no simple resolution,
the matter will be put to a vote. In rare cases where the matter
is deemed to have large scale consequences for the NoE the individual/group
can explicitly request that the matter be discussed and voted on
by the entire board of management.
Removal from the Network
It is assumed that claims about methods and products are in good
faith, and this assumption holds until there is tangible proof to
the contrary. In cases where members or others draw attention to
an absence of honesty, the institution or individual can be removed
form the network, just as persons who commit plagiarism or extreme
acts can be expelled from university.
(Illegal acts are subject to the regular laws of the country in
which they occur and do not further concern the NoE as such).
If excellence is truly to bring a whole that is greater than its
parts then every part must make positive contributions. Decisions
for removal are typically addressed at the level of national membership.
Difficult cases are referred to the board of management.
