• 1. PURPOSE
  

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• Galvanized by the development of the ICCPR Charter in 2011, which was published in 2013, and with full reflection on the previous World Council of Cardiac Rehabilitation, the ICCPR was formalized as an Associate International member of the World Heart Federation (WHF) in April, 2013. The main purpose of the ICCPR centers on advocacy and evidence.

• a. To bring together national/regional CR-related associations (see 2a) from around the world, to harmonize efforts in promoting cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation;

• b. To work towards on-going consensus among CR-related associations globally, regarding the internationally-common core elements and standards of cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation;
  

• c. To promote cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation as an essential, not optional service to ensure broader access to these proven services;

• d. To support low and middle-income countries to establish and augment programs of cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation (e.g., technical support, sharing tools), adapted to local needs and conditions, and
  
  e. To consider and communicate the emerging evidence base for cardiac rehabilitation, and support research in this field.
  

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  2. MEMBERSHIP

  
  

  
  

  a. Every organization/association globally with a mission relevant to preventing and managing cardiovascular disease through Cardiac Rehabilitation is invited to apply to become a member of the ICCPR.  When approved, each member Association will nominate one representative member to the ICCPR Council. The nominated representative must be agreed, via a proforma document sent out by the ICCPR Secretary and completed and signed by the Head (e.g. Chair or President) of each member Association.

  b. Nominated ICCPR council members should preferably be members of the Board of their member Association and demonstrate a good level of expertise in cardiovascular health and rehabilitation, either in practice, policy and/or research. Nominees may be asked to provide a paragraph-length biography for consideration. This biography may be posted to the ICCPR website if the nominee is appointed to Council.

  c. Leaders or champions in the field of cardiovascular disease prevention and cardiac rehabilitation who reside in jurisdictions without a relevant national or regional association, or residing where the formal association does not wish to join ICCPR, may join as “friends” of ICCPR.

  It is hoped the “friends” will engage and encourage their national cardiology or heart foundation to formally join ICCPR where possible

  • Otherwise it is hoped being part of ICCPR will promote development of more formal cardiac rehab societies in their region (e.g. the ICCPR has an established record of providing helpful guidance in assisting national associations/foundations to set up specialist subgroups interested in the prevention and rehabilitation of circulatory diseases)
  • The term will be 12 months, and then this will be re-visited in light of ICCPR’s relationship with the most applicable national/regional association
  • There is a limit to one “friend” per country

  d. Any Council having concerns about another member’s ability to fulfill his/her role should direct his/her concerns to the Chair who shall discuss with the Executive members of Council. If for any reason the Executive believe that an individual may not be an appropriate representative (e.g. conflict of interest with the ICCPR), the Council will be required to vote to uphold or decline the Executive’s proposal to request an alternate representative from the member Association.

  e. All current member associations and “friends” will be listed on the ICCPR website www.globalcardiacrehab.com.

   

  2.1 Membership Fee*

  a. An annual membership fee payable by each member is required to cover the following costs needed to run the ICCPR:
  

  • The WHF membership fee ($1250 swiss francs annual fee as of 2017)

  • Maintenance of the ICCPR official website (globalcardiacrehab.com)
  • Production of communications materials
  • Support of Council activities (e.g., consensus statements and publications)
  • Other development activities that arise following agreement of the Council*

  b. As of 1st January 2015, each Full member association shall contribute an annual membership fee of $250 CDN to the ICCPR which from time-to-time but at no less than a two year-interval, can be altered through agreement by the whole of Council.

  c. Member associations and friends who can provide a clear rationale that such a fee is prohibitive, can apply to the Executive Officers for a waiver of a proportion of this fee, down to a minimum of $10 CDN. 

  d. Associations which do not pay their annual dues will be considered “Associate Members” only with no voting privileges.

  e. The major CR associations are invited to be “foundation level” members at $750 in dues per year. They will be recognized as such prominently on the ICCPR website, and may advertise for free on the ICCPR website (see policy).

  f. The fee for champion members / “friends” shall be $50CDN. This will be put towards your association annual fee if the “friend” is able to secure formal membership of their national association.    
  

  * Additional cost items may be added to this list in the future but only with full agreement of the Council

   

  3. MEMBER ROLES

  a. Preferably the Council is to be made up of experienced CR practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers with diverse expertise and skills.  

  b. The Council will be led by an Executive Council, composed of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Past-chair (sections 3.1 - 3.3). These will be elected positions from within the current members of Council.

  c.  Nominations for members of the Executive Council will be invited from within current ICCPR Council members. The positions will be appointed following review of nominations and eVote by the Council. Appointments for terms should be made in conjunction with the World Congress of Cardiology biennially where possible.

  d. A meeting of the Executive Officers shall normally be held to precede the full biennial Council meeting which is to be held as part of the World Congress of Cardiology.  Webmeetings are held as needed, but generally at least ahead of each Council call.

  e.  At the invitation for ICCPR to be represented at a meeting, conference or congress of one of its Charter-endorsing associations or any other affiliated organization from around the world (e.g. WHO, WHF, ESC, AHA), the Executive Officers will meet and agree who is best to represent. The preference will always be for one or more of the Executive Officers to attend but in the event they are unable, they will agree to appoint an appropriate member from Council to attend.

  f.  The Executive may appoint from time to time an “special advisor(s)” to the Executive, when certain expertise or representation is needed. Appointment of such an advisor requires completion of a proforma which outlines the reason for this appointment (Appendix A). This would need to pass a vote by full Council, and must be reviewed and agreed on an annual basis. They do not have voting rights.

   

  3.1 Chairperson

  The Chairperson’s responsibilities include:

  i. Maintain contact with and coordinate activities of the Council members and ICCPR’s relationship with these associations; 

  ii. Review and approve the draft Council and Exec meeting agendas and minutes before distribution; Invite specialists to attend meetings when needed;

  iii. Chair meetings; Ensure all discussion items end with a decision, action or definite outcome;

  iv. If possible, attend (in-person or virtual) the ICCPR Board Meeting held at the World Congress of Cardiology (as well as their General Assembly), as well as any meetings to which s/he is invited or appointed by member or affiliated associations; 

  v. As past-chair, provide advisory support to the Council as needed for at least a two-year period, but not to exceed 4 years. This also includes remaining as their member association representative on the ICCPR council;

  vi. Present a report to council annually with timing in conjunction with the WHF’s World Congress of Cardiology;

• vii. Re-visit ICCPR’s mission from the Charter regularly and ensure ICCPR is acting in accordance with the mission;

• viii. Liaise with the WHF as needed, inviting one other applicable member of Executive to support;

• ix. Liaise with the WHF to promote CR sessions at the World Congress of Cardiology, including submission of a specific ICCPR symposium, with support of Exec member responsible for scientific communications; and, 

• x.  Liaising with other Societies to put forward ICCPR symposia in response to requests or open Conference calls, with support of Exec member responsible for scientific communications.
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  3.2 Vice-Chair

  
  

  
  

  The Vice-Chair is responsible for:

  i. Chairing Council and Executive meetings where the Chair is absent;
  

  ii. Coordinating activities of the Executive Council and any new initiatives of the Council;
  

  iii. Liaison for ICCPR’s Cardiac Rehab Foundations Certification (CRFC) for providers and Program Certification; and,
  

  iv. Coordinating other ICCPR communications (e.g., WhatsApp).
  

   

  3.3 Secretary

  The Secretary is responsible for:

  i. Maintaining the ICCPR website (www.globalcardiacrehab.com), including ensuring the list of member associations is current (e.g., logos, websites);
  
  ii. Polling members for webconference meeting availability, and scheduling quarterly Council and Executive (which may be held on a more frequent basis) meetings;
  
  iii. Prepare and circulate the agenda for each meeting at least 10 working days in advance, along with supporting documents;
  
  iv. Prepare and circulate the minutes within 10 working days of the meeting;
  
  v. Maintaining Council documentation on a shared site (e.g., Dropbox). This includes a list of members and friends, terms and their contact information;
  

  vi. Identify outgoing Council members and corresponding with the Head of member Association to ascertain replacement member annually;

  vii. Vetting nominations for Executive Council roles prior to biennial meeting held in conjunction with WCC to present a slate of candidates to the Council for voting. Succession planning shall begin a minimum of one year prior to WCC.  In the event the Secretary is a nominee, this responsibility will be delegated to another Executive Officer who is not in conflict;

  viii. Respond to requests of new associations and friends for membership. Notify the member Associations of the Council membership at least annually. This shall be stored in a spreadsheet;

  ix. Schedule and arrange the ICCPR biennial Executive and Council meetings held in conjunction with the World Congress of Cardiology and prepare the related documentation, where planned;

  x. Ensure and coordinate a biennial review of all policies and procedures. Consult key stakeholders for input and review relevant ICCPR by-laws, standard practices of like organizations, related literature, and legislation as applicable, and/or other industry experts in the development of new policies or procedures as proposed by the Council;

  xi. Maintain ICCPR email distribution list, including googlegroup; 

  xii. Monitor globalcardiacrehab@gmail.com account; 

  xiii. Maintain ICCPR social media presence, in collaboration with Vice-Chair and CRFC Secretary;

  xiv. Arranging informal get togethers amongst ICCPR members at major cardiology conferences via email, where in-person; and,

  xv. Arranging regular webinars to ICCPR members, at the direction of Chair and Exec member leading Scientific Communications.

  
  

  3.4 Treasurer

  As the ICCPR is incorporated in Canada, the Treasurer shall normally be the nominated member from the CACPR. In the event that the CACPR representative has been elected to another Executive position of ICCPR s/he shall co-opt and appropriate individual from the CACPR to fulfill the role of Treasurer, but this individual will have no voting rights. In the event that the CACPR representative is elected as Secretary of ICCPR, s/he will have the option to either perform a dual role or apply the same principle above.

  The Treasurer’s role involves:

  i. Invoice the list of member associations and friends the appropriate dues amount annually for the collection of annual dues, facilitating distribution and including follow-up with delinquent associations. Annual dues shall be collected based on the calendar year. The Treasurer shall work with the Secretary to keep a list of members (and the contact information for the corresponding administrator for dues payment in their organization) and their dues amount;

  ii. Financial overview (e.g., bank service fees, bookkeeping fees);

  iii. Ensuring annual WHF dues for membership are paid annually;

  iv. Paying fees (where applicable) to support meetings in conjunction with the WCC (e.g., meeting room, catering, audio-visuals);

  v. Work with Council to identify alternative revenue streams (e.g., $100USD endorsement fee; $200CDN fee for education training programs on ICCPR website; certification);

  vi. Provide an annual financial report for the Council of the preceding year’s activities and work with the Chair on producing a larger biennial Chair’s report in conjunction with the ICCPR face-to-face meeting at WCC, as appropriate;

  vii. Reviewing annual audited statements; appointing public accountant (or waiving);

  viii. Invoicing those that have had an ICCPR endorsement approved, as well as annually invoicing education training program contacts who wish to advertise on our website;

  ix. Financial support for special projects (e.g., issues with CRFC payments, receipts, paying for development and marketing costs); and,

  x. Support for annual corporation filing with the Canada Revenue Agency, and associated requirements with Secretariat Central. 

  Note there are 2 signatories to the ICCPR bank account (generally the Treasurer and one other member of Exec). Transactions are agreed upon in writing by at least two ICCPR executive members before any 1 signatory can proceed with outgoing ICCPR transactions (the bank also requires this documentation).

  
  

  3.5 Ad-Hoc Task Forces / Working Groups

  i. Task forces may be struck to support initiatives spearheaded by Council. (e.g., Consensus Statements, Advocacy activities). Current working groups reporting in to ICCPR Exec are: CRFC, ICRR and Program Certification
  

  
  

  ii. These task forces shall have their own terms of reference and specific term ends (i.e., limited term). Task forces will have a Chair, and specified membership

  
  

  iii. Task force chairs may be appointed as “special advisor(s)” and shall be invited to provide an update to Executive Council at each Executive Council meeting.

  
  

  iv. Task force are required to undertake annual reviews led by the Task Force Chair and report the outcome of these reviews to Executive Council using the proforma in Appendix B.

  
  

  v. Council is eager to receive expressions of interest from members to develop and lead task forces, particularly in the areas of professional education and research. Interested parties are required to submit a proforma (Appendix B) for a task or working group.

   

  3.6 Other Members and Friends

  All other members of the Board are responsible for:

  i. Confirming their attendance at the meetings (or arranging an alternate).

  ii. Putting forward any agenda items for the meeting.

  iii. Review of minutes of previous meeting.

  iv. Active participation in the meeting, including voting as required.

  v. Identify the need for a policy and/or procedure to be developed and/or modified.

  vi. Communication of ICCPR initiatives to their own member Association Boards following each Council meeting.

  vii. Informing the ICCPR Secretary when their terms within leadership roles of the member association is expired, and identifying and ensuring continuity of information with a successor as agreed by that member association’s Board.  

  Ad-hoc committees may be formed to support Council’s activities. Terms of Reference for these committees must be drafted with the Secretary, with first approval by the Executive Officers and final approval by the full Council, including transparent mechanisms for nomination and international representation.

  
  

  4. TERMS OF OFFICE

  The Executive Council members (Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer) will serve for a minimum of two years but with the expectation of a maximum 4 years. Initial appointments will be staggered, so that only a maximum of 2 Executive members will rotate out of these position every 2 years.  Executive Officers can either have been previous serving members of Council and can remain on Council after their Executive term is completed but can only serve a maximum of a total of 6 years on Council. Term dates shall be made in reference to the biennial World Congress of Cardiology.

  The Chair will serve for a minimum of two years. It is hoped that the Vice-Chair will be the incoming Chairperson (intention must be made known one year before WCC). To support smooth succession, the Secretary shall strive to identify incoming Executive Council members one year before the WCC. These incoming Executive Council members shall serve in a “shadow / training” capacity for the year to facilitate on-boarding and role transition.

  
  

  5. AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

  The ICCPR Council Terms of Reference will be reviewed as needed and no less frequently than every two years and updates circulated to members.

  Voting:

  1. A quorum of members (10%) must be present before voting at a meeting can proceed.
  2. The Council will make decisions by a simple majority+1 if consensus is not achievable. If a decision is required and a quorum is not present, the decision will be voted on by alternate means (e.g., eVote). 
  3. Additional non-Board members or technical experts may be invited to attend part or all of a meeting(s) as a guest at the request of the Chairperson on behalf of the Council to provide advice and assistance where necessary. They will have no voting rights.

   

  6. FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS

  Meetings shall be held as needed via webconference to complete the work of the Council, at a minimum of 3 / year.  Meetings may be held at any time or place provided that 7 days notification of such meeting is given to each member.   

  The Executive Council shall generally meet in advance of each Council meeting to conduct its business.

  Biennial meetings will be held in person in accordance with the World Congress of Cardiology where possible. At every biennial Meeting, in addition to any other business that may be transacted, a report of the Executive shall be presented.

  
  

• Appendix A: Proforma for the Appointment of Special Advisor to the ICCPR Executive Council

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• Appendix B: Proforma for the Creation and review of ICCPR Task/Working Groups (TWG)

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