We are the national scholarly academy of Wales, founded in 2010. We have a Fellowship of over 700 outstanding individuals, representing expertise across all academic fields and beyond. We use this collective knowledge to promote research, inspire learning, and provide independent policy advice.

The Society is a Royal Charter Charity, registered charity number 1168622. You can find out more about us here: www.learnedsociety.wales

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The Learned Society of Wales has a strong commitment to equity and diversity. We strive for a more diverse Fellowship, with increased membership from all under-represented groups. At present, we have a particular focus on increasing nominations of women. We want to ensure the Society is welcoming, inclusive, and free of discrimination.

We encourage nominations from academia, business, the professions, the public and third sectors.

We recognise that excellence can be demonstrated within a range of career lengths or portfolio careers, and we do not have a set expectation of tenure or age. What is important is that Nominees meet our Criteria of Excellence. By focusing on Nominees’ achievements, professional standing and wider contributions, we aim to ensure that our Fellows are authoritative examples of the very best of Wales across all areas of learning.

Nominations are welcomed in Welsh and/or English.

Fee Reduction or Waiver Policy

Society fees provide an important source of income for the Society and its work.  However, we want to ensure that fees are not a barrier to Fellowship. Both Fellows and Nominees for Fellowship may therefore apply for a fee waiver or reduction at any time.

 As a Nominee, you can make a pre-emptive application and we will let you know prior to nomination whether fee relief will be granted. The policy is available here. You may speak to our EDI Policy lead, the Strategic Engagement Manager, at any time to discuss further if you have any questions.

Back to top

What Does Fellowship Mean?

Election to Fellowship is a public recognition of excellence. All our Fellows are elected because they have made an outstanding contribution to the world of learning and have a demonstrable connection to Wales.

Because of the status of Fellowship, all Nominees (except for Honorary Fellows) must go through a rigorous process of assessment. The process is extremely thorough and around 50 new Fellows are admitted each year. In the Nominee role description, you can find out more about our criteria for Fellowship.

Once elected, Fellows are lifelong members, provided that they remain in good financial standing and abide by the Fellows’ Code of Conduct. Fellows are asked to contribute to the Society’s work; this may include contributing to our events, policy work, public engagement activities, governance or future election processes.

A list of our current Fellows is available here: www.learnedsociety.wales/fellowship/fellows

Who Is This Document For?                              

This document is intended for the following people involved in a nomination for Fellowship to be submitted to a Scrutiny Committee covering STEMM and Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS). See Appendix 2 for an overview and description of the tasks associated with each of these roles:

• Nominee
• Proposer (the main nominator)
• Informed Supporter
• Independent Assessors
• Members of the Scrutiny Committees who assess nominations

Election Process

Overview

1	Nominations submitted	1 June to 31 October 2024
2	Independent assessments sought for each nomination	November – December 2024
3	Nominations assessed by Scrutiny Committees	January – February 2025
4	Vice-Presidents propose shortlist to the Society’s Council	March 2025
5	Council finalises list of Nominees	March 2025
6	Fellowship votes on the Nominees	April 2025

Back to top

What Is Needed for a Valid Nomination?

A nomination is made by a Proposer, supported by a Seconder. They must both be Fellows of the Society.

The Proposer must submit all of the following documents, fully completed, before the deadline (see www.learnedsociety.wales/fellowship/becoming-a-fellow/nomination-forms):

• Nomination Form – completed by the Proposer and signed by the Seconder
• Nominee Evidence Form – completed by the Nominee
• Nominee’s CV – provided by the Nominee; no more than 10 pages
• Informed Supporter Report – completed by the Informed Supporter, in response to the information on the Nominee Evidence Form

Please note:

• The nomination must be kept strictly confidential between the Nominee, Proposer, Seconder and the Society.
• The Proposer should take responsibility for completion of the Nomination Form and for obtaining the supporting signatures.
• The Society will liaise with the proposer and will not enter into any communication with the Nominee about the nomination once submitted.

It is vital that the forms are completed fully and abide by any stated word limits. We will not consider any unsolicited additional materials, references or letters of support.

We recognise that individual circumstances may impact on a career. To promote equitable review we have introduced the Individual Circumstances question in the Nominee Evidence Form and encourage all nominees to use this as a way to highlight anything that may have had an impact on their career and contributions to the world of learning and research.  We recognise this is unique to everyone and we encourage nominees  to share anything that they would  like to be taken into consideration. 

If the nominee prefers to keep this information confidential, they have the option to complete a confidential Individual Circumstances Form, detailing any circumstances that may have affected their career. They should submit this directly to the Society. Please be assured that this form is treated sensitively and confidentially. This form is seen only by relevant staff in the Society and by the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee. The Chair of the Scrutiny Committee assesses the impact of the circumstances on the Nominee’s career, and that view – never the details – will be shared with the Scrutiny Committee during the meeting held to assess nominations submitted to that Scrutiny Committee.

Deadline for Nominations

All forms must be emailed to nominations@lsw.wales.ac.uk before 12.00 noon on Tuesday 31 October. Forms received after this date, or sent to another address, will not be accepted.

We will acknowledge every nomination we receive. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 3 days, please contact  nominations@lsw.wales.ac.uk. We cannot be held responsible for nominations that do not reach us, or that arrive after the deadline.

What Happens After the Society Receives Your Nomination?

We will pass Nominations  – excluding any confidential Individual Circumstances Forms – to the Scrutiny Committee selected by the Proposer. (See Appendix 3 for more information.)

Please note that a Nomination can only be considered by the Scrutiny Committee to which is submitted and cannot be passed to another Committee in this election cycle. If a nomination is submitted to the wrong committee it will be rejected by that committee. To avoid disappointment, Proposers are encouraged to seek advice before submitting a nomination as there are 10 Scrutiny Committees with specific remits.

The Scrutiny Committee (comprised of Fellows who were elected via the same discipline) will seek at least two independent assessment reports on each Nominee. These will be obtained on the Committee’s behalf by the Society’s staff. These assessments play an important role in helping Scrutiny Committees assess each nomination.

The Scrutiny Committee members read all nominations submitted to the Committee, including Independent Assessments, in advance of the Scrutiny meeting. Each Committee Member will be assigned 1 or more nominations for which they will act as “Introducing Member”. They will undertake any additional research into the Nominee that may be needed to supplement the information on the forms and reports and introduce the Nominee to the rest of the committee when it holds its formal meeting.

Where a confidential Individual Circumstances Form has been sent to the Society, the impact of this information will be assessed by the Committee’s Chair. The details supplied are never revealed to the Committee.

The Committee meets online to consider in turn all the nominations it has received, taking account of all information supplied, including independent assessments. Where appropriate, the Committee Chair shares their view of the impact of confidential Individual Circumstances (never the details). The Committee members reach a consensus on the evidence supplied, in particular assessing the personal impact of the Nominee as demonstrated by the evidence against the selected benchmarks. The Committee’s recommendation, and the reasons for coming to that decision will be recorded for each nomination.

The Scrutiny Committee will make its recommendations to the Vice-Presidents responsible for their disciplines. These recommendations are reviewed at calibration meetings chaired by the appropriate Vice-President, with separate meetings held for HASS and STEMM.

The Council then meets in March to receive the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Committees and to make the final decision on which nominations will be put forward to a ballot of all our Fellows.

Back to top

Next Steps After the Fellows’ Ballot

For Nominees Elected as Fellows

We will contact you by email to congratulate you on your election as a Fellow. We will invite you to be admitted formally at our AGM in May, and to attend our Annual Dinner.

Please note that new Fellows are required to pay an admission fee of £90. There is also an annual subscription fee of £180 (£90 for those aged over 70 on 21 May 2025. Those aged over 85 are exempt from admission and subscription fees. Invoices for your first year’s fee (including the admission fee) will be sent by 30 June 2025.

As noted above, we operate a Fee Relief Policy for Fellows whose would find fees a barrier to their participation.

For Unsuccessful Nominees

We will contact you and your Proposer by email to advise you that your nomination was not successful. You will be given the opportunity to receive feedback from the relevant Vice-President. We strongly encourage you to take this opportunity as it will assist you in submitting a nomination in the future.

You may be nominated in subsequent years, as long as your Proposer submits an updated nomination using paperwork for that year’s election cycle. There is no limit on the number of times you can be nominated.

Back to top

Contact Us

Learned Society of Wales, University Registry, King Edward VII Avenue, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NS, Wales or by email

Back to top

Appendix 1 – Guidance Notes for Completing the Forms

Nomination Form

Except where stated, all sections of the nomination form should be completed by the Proposer.

Questions 1-3   To be completed by the Proposer.

Questions 4-6    To be completed by the Seconder.

You may insert scanned signatures into the Signature boxes.

Question 7          Name the Informed Supporter and provide a rationale for choosing them. Note that the Informed Supporter is required to complete a separate form – see Informed Supporter role description.

Question 8          Please suggest up to four Independent Assessors for the Scrutiny Committee to consider. As noted, you should not contact the suggested Assessors. See also the – see Independent Assessor role description

Question 9          Select the most appropriate Scrutiny Committee to assess the nomination. See Appendix 3 for more detailed guidance.  Proposers are encouraged to seek advice before submitting a nomination as there are 10 Scrutiny Committees with specific remits.

Note that a nomination can only be considered by one committee, and it cannot be passed from one committee to another.

Question 10          Again, please refer to Appendix 3 to answer this question. Note the discipline or field within the Scrutiny Committee’s remit which best describes the Nominee. You may note more than one if appropriate. If none of them apply, please state “Other” and describe the discipline/field in a few words.

Question 11       This should be written in response to the Nominee’s own statement on their Evidence Form. You should make specific reference to the benchmarks against which the nomination will be evaluated – see Appendix 4 for further information.

Back to top

Nominee Evidence Form

The Proposer and Nominee should work together on the Evidence Form. This provides vital information in support of the nomination. It should provide the necessary evidence:

1. To support the case for election made by the Proposer and Seconder
2. To provide the Informed Supporter, Independent Assessors and Scrutiny Committee with the evidence to make informed judgments about claims made in the nomination

It is particularly important that the Evidence Form demonstrates how the Nominee satisfies our overarching Criteria of Excellence by meeting their chosen benchmarks.

Further guidance on the benchmarks and indicative achievements is available in Appendix 4.

Question 1          Enter your personal details. The declaration on the last page of the form details how we will use this information. We will not pass on your personal information (contact details or date of birth) to Independent Assessors. Please note: if your nomination is successful, we will reproduce the following information exactly as provided in Question 1 in our register of Fellows and in public announcements:

• Your title, name and any post-nominal letters (therefore, please only give middle names if you use these publicly)
• Your job/role and institution/organisation (however, if you prefer a different affiliation to be listed, please provide it in the box below)

Question 2          Tick ‘Yes’ if you wish the Scrutiny Committee to take into account individual circumstances which have impacted on your career. This may include gaps in work, reductions in output or changes in personal circumstances.

The nature of the excellence we are looking for will always be closely related to the Nominee’s lived life and experience. When assessing your nomination, the Scrutiny Committee is able to take into account contractual arrangements (e.g. full-time, part-time, job-share, clinical responsibilities) and any personal, family or non-academic circumstances that may have impacted your career profile or quantity of work. The standards of excellence expected will remain the same.

Factors that may be considered include, but are not limited to:

• Flexible working arrangements (e.g. career breaks, part-time working, semester/ term time working, job-sharing)
• Pregnancy, maternity, paternity, shared parental leave, adoption and surrogacy, special guardianship
• Concerns arising from equity and inclusion issues
• Caring responsibilities
• Disability, ill health (including mental health) or injury
• Circumstances related to gender identity
• Personal, family, or other non-academic circumstances that have restricted or delayed the Nominee’s professional career

If the circumstances are non-confidential, please note them in the text box under Question 2. If the issues or their impact are more confidential in nature, please submit a separate Individual Circumstances Form (see Individual Circumstances Form). This will only be shared with the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee who will assess the impact. The details will not be shared with the wider Scrutiny Committee.

Question 3          Please note our definition of a ‘connection with Wales’:

Persons resident in Wales, persons of Welsh birth who are resident elsewhere and others with a particular connection with Wales

‘Other’ connections may include – but are not limited to – contributions to the study of Wales, to Welsh public life, or to education systems in Wales.

Question 4          In a maximum of 5 words, describe your field of activity. For example, you may list “Public Health”, “International Law”, Biochemistry”, “European Literature and Culture”, “Higher Education Leadership and Management” or “Computer Science”. This description will be used as a tag on our website and database, in order to identify Fellows with expertise in a particular field.

Questions 5        Please provide a short biography suitable for public-facing use. It will be used for the announcement of Fellows elected in 2025, including on the Society’s website.

Questions 6-9    You should answer these questions in the same way as in a standard CV.

Question 10       Please list up to 20 of your major outputs in date order, starting with the most recent.

The outputs may include:

• Significant publications or scholarly contributions (e.g. books, refereed journal articles, chapters in books, research reports)
• Artistic outputs (e.g. performances, literary works, musical compositions)
• Reports or other contributions to government, funding bodies, international agencies, major charitable bodies or business
• Contributions to policy or pedagogy
• Other outputs such as software, designs, artefacts, start-up companies or patents

Question 11       Please select 5-8 benchmarks as instructed on the form. Normally you will pick 5, selecting up to an additional 3 benchmarks in exceptional circumstances. You are advised to select benchmarks carefully based on where your evidence is strongest. Appendix 4 provides more information about how we use the benchmarks to assess nominations.

Nominees may demonstrate that they meet our three criteria of excellence against any of the benchmarks. No benchmark carries any greater value in itself than any other.

Question 12       For each benchmark selected in Question 11, please provide evidence of your achievements. Please note that this section of the nomination is crucial. Only nominations that demonstrate excellent achievements satisfying our overarching criteria are likely to be recommended for election to the Fellowship. Ensure you give precise detail, making clear your personal impact.

Question 13       Please indicate how you would contribute to the life of the Society.

Question 14       This question provides an opportunity for you to give any additional information that may be helpful for the Scrutiny Committee.

Please remember that this form is the Nominee’s only opportunity to provide such information – we will not consider any other documentation sent separately to us.

Question 15        Please complete the declarations.

Question 16        Please sign the form. An e-signature is acceptable, as is a scanned signature.

Back to top

Informed Supporter Report

This report will gather feedback from an individual known to have knowledge of the Nominee and their work.  

Question 1          Please provide the requested personal details and detail your relationship with, or knowledge of, the Nominee. Please refer to the Informed Supporter role description to ensure that you fulfil the criteria to be an Informed Supporter.

Question 2          To complete this section, we ask you to refer to the Nominee Evidence Form. On this form, the Nominee will choose the benchmarks against which they wish their nomination to be assessed. Please refer specifically to these benchmarks, giving your view on whether the Nominee fulfils them.

Back to top

Independent Assessor Report

The purpose of this report is to provide an additional and independent opinion from an individual known to have significant experience in the Nominee’s field to assist the Scrutiny Committee members in assessing the quality of the evidence supplied in the Nomination.

Question 1          Please provide the requested personal details and detail your relationship with, or knowledge of, the Nominee. Please refer to the Independent Assessor role description to ensure that you fulfil the criteria to be an Independent Assessor.

Question 2          Tick the box that, in your view, most appropriately describes the Nominee in relation to our election criteria. Our Scrutiny Committee will consider this alongside your answer to Question 3.

Question 3          Please provide a rationale for the assessment given in Question 2. To complete this section, we ask you to refer to the Nominee Evidence Form. On this form, the Nominee will choose the benchmarks against which they wish their nomination to be assessed. Please refer specifically to these benchmarks, giving your view on whether the Nominee fulfils them.

Back to top

Individual Circumstances Form (optional)

We recognise that individual circumstances may impact on a career. To promote equitable review we have introduced the Individual Circumstances question in the Nominee Evidence Form and encourage all nominees to use this as a way to highlight to the scrutiny committee, anything that may have had an impact on their career and contributions to the world of learning and research.  We recognise this is unique to everyone and we encourage nominees  to share anything that they would  like to be taken into consideration. 

If the information is confidential, Nominees can choose to complete a confidential Individual Circumstances Form, detailing any circumstances that may have impacted their career. They should submit this directly to the Society. Please be assured that this form is treated sensitively and confidentially. This form is seen only by relevant staff in the Society and by the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee. The Chair of the Scrutiny Committee assesses the impact of the circumstances on the Nominee’s career, and the impact – never the details – will be shared with the Scrutiny Committee during the meeting held to assess nominations submitted to that Scrutiny Committee.

There is no word count limit applied to this form.

Please submit this form directly to the Society at nominations@lsw.wales.ac.uk. We will acknowledge receipt of this form.

Back to top

Appendix 2: Glossary

Nominee

The Nominee is the individual seeking to be elected as a Fellow. We define a Fellow as follows:

Fellows must be persons resident in Wales, persons of Welsh birth who are resident elsewhere and others with a particular connection with Wales; in each case, having a demonstrable record of excellence and achievement in one of the academic disciplines or, being members of the professions, the arts, industry, commerce or public service, having made a distinguished contribution to the world of learning.

Criteria and measures of distinction will, of course, vary between different disciplines and areas of achievement. We measure each Nominee’s achievements relative to the opportunities they have had in their career. However, in all cases we define excellence in terms of the following overarching criteria:

• Outstanding achievement (the quality of your achievements and contributions to learning)
• Professional standing (the strength of your reputation among your peers)
• Wider contributions (the impact you have made on people, institutions or wider society)

Further information about these criteria is provided in Appendix 4.

Back to top

Proposer

The Proposer is responsible for completing the nomination form and submitting all the documents noted under What Is Needed for a Valid Nomination?. They are the Society’s main point of contact regarding the nomination and will be (along with the Nominee) informed of the result at the end of the election process.

The Proposer must be a Fellow of the Society. In each election cycle, a Fellow may act as Proposer for three Nominees only. However, female Nominees and Nominees from other under-represented groups are exempt from this restriction.

To avoid conflicts of interest, a Proposer must not be:

1. A chair of any of our Scrutiny Committees
2. A member of the Scrutiny Committee to which the nomination is being submitted
3. Related by family to the Nominee

Back to top

Seconder

The Seconder supports the nomination and completes questions 4-6 on the nomination form.

Like the Proposer, they must be a Fellow. To avoid conflicts of interest, they may not be related by family to the Nominee. (The other restrictions on Proposers do not apply.)

Back to top

Informed Supporter

The Informed Supporter uses their knowledge of the Nominee to support the nomination. They are asked to complete a separate report form and send this to the Proposer before the deadline for nominations.

They do not need to be a Fellow, but should be:

• Someone who knows the work of the Nominee (they may have worked with them – e.g. as a co-grant holder, co-author, supervisor or collaborator – but this is not a requirement)
• A distinguished scholar with international standing in their field

The Informed Supporter must not be:

• A member of the Society’s Council or of the Scrutiny Committee to which the nomination will be submitted
• Employed by or based at the Nominee’s institution/organisation

The Proposer, Seconder and Nominee may discuss appropriate people for this role, but only the Proposer should contact the Informed Supporter and obtain their report.

Back to top

Independent Assessors

Each nomination will be assessed by at least two Independent Assessors.

They do not need to complete any paperwork before the nomination is submitted. Instead, we ask them to complete an independent report at a later stage. In the report, they assess the Nominee against our election criteria and against the relevant benchmarks.

An Independent Assessor does not need to be a Fellow, but should be:

• A distinguished scholar with international standing in their field
• Familiar with the field, work or standing of the Nominee

They may be based outside the UK in order to aid assessment of the Nominee’s international reputation.

Independent Assessors must not be:

• Members of the Society’s Council or any of its Scrutiny Committees
• Employed by or based at the Nominee’s institution/organisation
• Directly associated with the Nominee’s work (e.g. a co-author, former supervisor or Co-Principal Investigator)
• A close personal friend or related by family to the Nominee

The Proposer should suggest up to four Independent Assessors on the nomination form. They may discuss the names with the Seconder and Nominee but must not contact the suggested individuals.

Once we have passed on a nomination to the relevant Scrutiny Committee, it will select two or more appropriate Assessors that may include some of those suggested on the nomination form. The Society will then contact the proposed Assessors.

Back to top

Appendix 3 – Scrutiny Committees

Please use this list to determine which Scrutiny Committee is appropriate for a nomination. We recognise that some Nominees can claim excellence in more than one discipline or field of activity. In these cases, please select the primary discipline/field and submit the nomination to this Committee. For a list of current Scrutiny Committee members, go to Scrutiny Committees

STEMM 1 Committee – Medicine and Medical Sciences

Anaesthetics

Dentistry

Human Genetics

Imaging

Medical Specialties

Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Paediatrics

Pathology

Pharmacology and Toxicology

Primary Care

Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience

Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics

Surgical Specialities

Veterinary Medicine

STEMM 2 Committee – Biology: Molecular Sciences to Ecosystems

Agricultural Science

Biochemistry

Cell Biology

Ecosystems

Genetics

Natural Environment

STEMM 3 Committee – Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy and Earth Sciences
Physics and Astronomy	Earth Sciences and Chemistry
Applied Physics	Analytical Chemistry
Astronomy and Cosmology	Catalysis
Atomic and Molecular Physics and Nanotechnology	Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry
Biophysics	Climate and Atmosphere
Computational Physics	Earth Materials
Condensed Matter Physics	Earth Observation
Medical Physics	Earth Resources and Geo-engineering
Optics and Lasers	Earth Surface Processes
Particle and Nuclear Physics	Environmental and Soil Chemistry
Physics and the Life Sciences Interfaces	Environmental Geoscience including Archaeological Science
Plasma Physics	Inorganic Chemistry
Medical Physics	Materials Chemistry
Solar System Science	Molecular Nanoscience
Other disciplines	Oceanography and Hydrology
	Organic Chemistry
	Physical Chemistry
	Solid Earth and Planetary Science
	Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
	Other disciplines

STEMM 4 Committee – Computing, Mathematics and Statistics

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Actuarial and Financial Mathematics

Algebra and Logic

Applied Mathematics

Computer Graphics, Computer Vision and Virtual Systems

Computer Networks and Mobile/Pervasive Computing

Computer Systems and Computer Engineering

Continuum Mechanics

Discrete Mathematics

Geometry and Topology

Human Computer Interaction

Information Systems and Information Retrieval

Mathematical Analysis

Mathematical and Computational Biology

Mathematical Physics

Numerical Analysis

Operational Research

Probability Theory and Applied Probability

Software Engineering

Statistics

Theoretical Computer Science and Computational Mathematics

Other disciplines

STEMM 5 Committee – Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Bioengineering and healthcare technologies

Chemical, Process & Petroleum Engineering

Civil, Structural & Mining Engineering

Communications, Signal and Image Processing

Control, Robotics and autonomous systems

Design and Systems Engineering

Electronic Materials, Devices and Systems

Energy Systems, Renewables & Electrical Power

Engineering Leadership

Environmental Engineering

Fluid Dynamics, Ship and Marine Engineering

Industrial Engineering

Materials & Nanotechnology

Mechanical, Manufacturing, and Production Engineering

Microwave and Millimetre Wave Techniques

Other disciplines

Back to top

 Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Committees

HASS 1 Committee – Language, Literature and the History, Theory and Practice of the Performing Arts
Language and Literature	History, Theory and Practice of the Creative and Performing Arts
Applied Linguistics	Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Celtic Studies	Creative Design
Classical Languages and Ancient History	Creative Writing
Cultural Studies	Cultural Policy and Contributions to Cultural Life
Literature in English	Dance, Theatre and Performance
Modern and Medieval European Languages and Literatures	Film, TV, Radio and Digital Media
Non-European Languages and Literatures	History of the Arts and Design
Theoretical Linguistics and Phonetics	Journalism
Wales Studies	Media Studies
Other disciplines	Music
	Planning and Urban Design
	Visual and Applied Arts
	Other disciplines

HASS 2 Committee – History, Archaeology, Philosophy and Theology
History	Philosophy and Theology
British History	Aesthetics, Ethics and Moral Philosophy
Ecclesiastical History	Biblical Studies
Economic and Social History	Epistemology and Philosophy of Science
European History	History of Philosophy and Ideas
Historic Archaeology	History of Religion
Historiography	Logic and Metaphysics
History of other Continents	Political Philosophy
History of Religion	Religious Studies
History of Science and Medicine	Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Prehistoric Archaeology	Other disciplines
Other disciplines

HASS 3 Committee – Economic and Social Sciences, Education and Law
Economics and Social Sciences and Education	Law
Anthropology, Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work	Commercial Law
Accountancy studies	Comparative Law
Business Studies & Management Studies	Criminal Law
Economic, Human and Social Geography	European Law
Economics and Econometrics	Human Rights
Education Research and Policy	Information Technology: Law and Practice
Political Science and International Relations	International Law
Other disciplines	Jurisprudence
	Legal History
	Legal Practice and Administration of Justice
	Private Law
	Public Law
	Socio-legal Studies & Criminology
	Other disciplines

Back to top

Appendix 4 – How We Assess the Excellence of Nominations

Criteria of Excellence

All nominations must meet our three Criteria of Excellence:

• Outstanding achievement (the quality of your achievements and contributions to understanding)
• Professional standing (the strength of your reputation among your peers)
• Wider contributions (the impact you have made on people, institutions or wider society)

Benchmarks

Nominations to the HASS and STEMM Scrutiny Committees are assessed against benchmarks. These are standards or reference point against which:

1. Proposers and Nominees may construct the statements made on the Nomination Form and the Evidence Form; and
2. Scrutiny Committees may evaluate Nominees’ claims and contributions

The benchmarks are designed to add to the consistency and transparency of the election process across all Scrutiny Committees.

Selection of Benchmarks

The Proposer and Nominee should identify the benchmarks against which they are claiming excellence and wish to be evaluated.

Nominees should select  5-8 benchmarks as instructed on the form. Normally you will pick 5, selecting up to an additional 3 benchmarks in exceptional circumstances. You are advised to select benchmarks carefully based on where your evidence is strongest.

There is no requirement for Nominees to meet all the benchmarks in any area or to demonstrate excellence and impact in relation to all of them. Nominees may demonstrate that they meet our three criteria of excellence against any of the benchmarks.

No benchmark carries any greater value in itself than any other.

Providing Benchmark Evidence

On the Nominee Evidence Form, Nominees are encouraged to use precise detail and clearly state their personal impact against any evidence they give in support of benchmarks.

The evidence provided for meeting these benchmarks should also be used to demonstrate that they meet the three Criteria of Excellence.

All of the following benchmarks may be demonstrated at Wales and/or international level.

Benchmark Categories

The benchmarks are divided into three categories:

• Research
• Scholarship and Education
• Academic Engagement, Innovation and Leadership

Research Benchmarks

1. Discipline-based and interdisciplinary research, whether theoretical or empirical, that makes an original contribution to knowledge
2. Record of nationally/internationally significant outputs, e.g. publications in peer-reviewed journals, books by major publishers, artistic works, patents
3. Contributing to the development or renewal of the discipline/field and/or making a major contribution to the next generation of scholars by securing funding, supervising or leading researchers/research teams/research students
4. Promoting knowledge transfer of research, e.g. through intellectual property, consultancy, spin-out or start-up companies, creating networks to bring researchers together with industry

Scholarship and Education Benchmarks

• Significant contributions to the pedagogy of the subject area/professional practice, and/or significant scholarship/research/funding related to learning and teaching
• Knowledge exchange: communicating and developing teaching and learning, scholarship and research for the benefit of educational sectors, professional bodies and society
• Widening participation, engaging with learners, or supporting the development of educational strategy or operational standards of education

Academic Engagement, Innovation and Leadership Benchmarks

• Significant academic leadership, senior level management or coordination in the tertiary sector
• Contribution to the professional development of senior colleagues within the academic community, including mentoring, leading on training and development initiatives
• Significant involvement in widening participation, capacity building and/or supporting/developing education in Wales and more widely
• External engagement using academic expertise or support of social responsibility goals and activities; translating research or teaching expertise into beneficial activity or positive change in the wider community
• Application of knowledge to improve public sector performance and quality of life by informing public policy and government or by significantly influencing the cultural, heritage or other sectors
• Evidence of activities that promote/enhance the understanding and reputation/profile of academic work, and professional activity

Back to top

Appendix 5 – Additional Guidance for Scrutiny Committees

The following additional guidance is for members of our ten Scrutiny Committees. It is provided here in order to make the election process, and the decisions surrounding it, transparent to everyone.

Confidentiality

Information and documentation on nominations for election are provided to members of Scrutiny Committees on a strictly confidential basis and must under no circumstances be discussed with or disclosed to anyone other than:

• Fellow members of the Scrutiny Committee
• Independent Assessors
• The responsible Vice-President
• Relevant staff of the Learned Society of Wales

Composition of Committees

1. Each of the HASS and STEMM Scrutiny Committees has a core membership normally comprising the Chair, Vice-Chair, and between 3 and 7 other Fellows who are active or experienced in relevant fields. Where a Committee identifies a need for further specialist input, it may additionally co-opt one or more Fellows previously elected by that Committee.
2. To aid the scrutiny process, contact emails for each member of the Scrutiny Committee will be circulated to other committee members, and contact emails for each Chair will be circulated to the other Chairs.

Overall Length of Service

1. Ordinarily, a Fellow should not exceed six years’ continuous service on any committee – whether accumulated as a Chair, Vice-Chair or a member.
2. Once a Fellow reaches the limit, a period of two years should elapse before they are eligible to serve on that committee again.

Appointment of Chairs and Vice-Chairs

1. Appointment of Chairs:
   • Committee Chairs may serve a term of 3 years, plus, at the relevant Vice-President’s discretion, up to 3 additional years thereafter.
   • When a committee requires a new Chair, the staff team will seek expressions of interest from all Fellows previously elected by that committee. A role description will be provided. Candidates will be expected to have prior experience of serving on that committee.
   • If one Fellow makes an expression of interest, they will be appointed subject to the Vice-President’s approval.
   • If more than one Fellow makes an expression of interest, they may be asked to provide further information to support their candidature. The Fellowship Committee will be responsible for considering the information provided, interviewing the candidates if required, and agreeing which candidate to appoint.
2. Appointment of Vice-Chairs:
   • Vice-Chairs may serve a term of 3 years plus, at the Chair’s discretion, up to 3 additional years thereafter.
   • When a committee requires a new Vice-Chair, the staff team will seek expressions of interest from all current members of that committee. A role description will be provided.
   • If one member makes an expression of interest, they will be appointed to the role subject to the Chair’s approval.
   • If more than one member makes an expression of interest, they may be asked to provide further information to support their candidature. Based on the information provided and on discussion with the candidates if required, the Chair will appoint the Vice-Chair.

Appointment of Members

1. Appointment of Members:
   • Members may serve a term of 3 years plus, at the Chair’s discretion, up to 3 additional years thereafter.
   • When a committee requires new core members, the staff team will seek expressions of interest from all Fellows previously elected by that committee. If the committee needs expertise in certain subject areas, or lacks diversity in line with the Society’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, this will be noted when the call goes out. By agreement with the Chair, this general approach may be supplemented by targeted communication with specific Fellows.
   • Based on the committee’s needs, Chairs will appoint core members from those who express an interest, referring to the Vice-President throughout.
   • If a committee still requires additional expertise to fulfil its responsibilities during that year’s election cycle, Chairs may co-opt one or more Fellows previously elected by that committee.
   • Each committee will give consideration to an appropriate turnover of its members each year, to ensure a balance between continuity and new perspectives.

Conflicts of Interest

1. The Society is committed to ensuring that its decisions and decision-making processes are, and are seen to be, free from personal bias and do not unfairly favour or disfavour any individual connected with the Society. 
2. We have a duty to ensure that every committee member understands what constitutes a ‘conflict of interest’, and that they have a responsibility to recognise and declare any conflicts that might arise for them.
3. Conflicts of interest can be defined as:
4. “a set of circumstances that creates a risk that an individual’s ability to apply judgement or act in one role is, or could be, impaired or influenced by a secondary interest”
5. A conflict of interest may be something that affects a committee member directly, or indirectly, through a family member, a friend or a business partner.
6. Committees have the following responsibilities:
7. To include conflicts of interest in their agenda each time they meet.
8. At the beginning of each meeting, through the Chair, to ask members to declare any private interests in the items to be discussed at the meeting.
9. To reduce the risk of conflicts of interest in the nomination process:
   • A Scrutiny Committee member may not be Proposer of a nomination for the committee on which they serve.
   • A Scrutiny Committee Chair may not be Proposer for nominations to any committee.
   • A Scrutiny Committee member may not be a member of the Society’s Council.
10. To reduce the risk of conflicts of interest within Scrutiny Committee meetings:
    • A committee member who is a Seconder or Independent Assessor for a nomination to their committee, or who has a family connection to a Nominee, will be required to leave the room while that nomination is considered.
    • A committee member who knows a Nominee must not add any personal knowledge about that individual that is not declared on the nomination forms but may comment on what is on the form if invited to do so by the Chair.
    • At each committee meeting, the Chair will call for declarations of interest before members begin to review nominations. Members must declare any interests of the type covered above, or any other relevant interest in a nomination.
    • If the Chair has a conflict of interest with a nomination, the Deputy Chair will lead the evaluation of that nomination.
    • In all cases, conflicted member(s) may not participate in, or influence, the decision or any vote on the relevant nomination; they must also withdraw from the meeting during such votes.

Allocation of Nominees to Scrutiny Committees

1. The staff team will allocate each nomination to the Scrutiny Committee selected by the Proposer on the Nomination Form.
2. Nominations are not cross-referred and may be rejected by a Scrutiny Committee if not submitted to an appropriate committee.
3. If a Proposer wishes an unsuccessful nomination to be considered again, they must resubmit it using the correct forms for that year’s election cycle, before the normal deadline; only then will it be allocated to a Scrutiny Committee.

Independent Assessors

1. An assessment of each nomination will be carried out by at least two Independent Assessors. See Independent Assessor role description.
2. The Society may contact Assessors named on the Nomination Form but may also contact others.
3. Those invited to be Assessors are asked to respond to the invitation within a short period, to confirm whether they are willing and able to provide a report by the required date. In the case of a negative response or no response by the due date, another potential Assessor should be invited to provide a report.
4. Using the Assessor’s Report form, each Assessor will:
   • Place each nomination in one of the two categories:
     • Meets criteria for being elected
     • Does not meet criteria for being elected
   • Provide a thorough rationale for their decisions, explicitly referring to the Nominee Evidence Form and making specific reference to the benchmarks against which the nomination is to be evaluated.
5. If a Scrutiny Committee cannot secure a report from an Assessor, the Chair will consider (in consultation with the relevant Vice-President) whether the committee can evaluate the Nominee without one.

Assignment of Nominees to Scrutiny Committee Members

The Chair of each Scrutiny Committee will assign each nomination it receives to a committee member for initial review. This member will:

1. Undertake any additional research into the Nominee that may be needed to supplement the information on the forms and reports.
2. Introduce the Nominee to the rest of the committee when it holds its formal meeting (see below).

Scrutiny Committee Decision-Making

1. Prior to considering nominations:
   1. The Scrutiny Committee Chairs, and the Vice-Presidents will meet for a detailed briefing on the scrutiny procedures, including any changes made to that year’s election process.
   2. All committee members will be offered training/advice on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within the scrutiny process.
2. During January and February, each Scrutiny Committee will meet (in person or via Zoom) to consider the nominations allocated to it and to agree an unranked list of Nominees.
3. The quorum for all committees is two-thirds of the membership (rounded up to the next integer). This includes members joining the meeting electronically.
4. During the meeting, committee members will consider nominations in the context of related Assessors’ reports and assess the nominations against the criteria for excellence and benchmarks (Appendix 4).
5. Committees are asked to compile up to two lists during their meeting:
   1. A list of nominees meeting all criteria of excellence and therefore recommended for election
   2. A list of those who do not meet the criteria for election
6. After the meeting, the following process applies:
   1. The Chair will submit the committee’s categorised lists of Nominees to the staff team, together with any feedback noted, for onward transmission to all members of the committee, confirming the outcome of the meeting.
   2. Chairs of Scrutiny Committees will meet with the Vice-Presidents (in two separate meetings) to discuss the committees’ categorised lists of Nominees and to compile an unranked list of Nominees for submission to Council. No person who cannot commit to attending this meeting will be eligible to serve as a Scrutiny Committee Chair.
   3. During the meeting with the Scrutiny Committee Chairs, each Vice-President will compile two lists:
      • A list of nominees meeting all criteria of excellence and therefore recommended for election
      • A list of those who do not meet the criteria for election
7.  The Society’s Council will consider the Scrutiny Committees’ recommendations at its Special Meeting in March. The approved list of Nominees will then be submitted to a formal ballot of the Fellowship.
8. The presumption is that all Nominees recommended for election will normally be approved by Council for inclusion on its list.
9. There is no absolute limit on the number of new Fellows elected each year.
10. The lists produced by the Scrutiny Committees and the Vice-Presidents must be treated as strictly confidential. While unsuccessful Nominees are entitled to receive feedback on their nomination (see below), they are not entitled to see the lists or their classification amongst other Nominees.

Feedback to Nominees

1. At each Scrutiny Committee meeting, feedback should be collected for all Nominees classified as ‘Does not meet Criteria of Excellence’. Feedback does not need to be collected for those classified ‘Meets all Criteria of Excellence’, as the assumption is that such Nominees will go forward for election automatically.
2. To ensure feedback is collected in a consistent and evidence-based manner, the committee Chair will complete a short feedback form, referring to the benchmarks (Appendix 4). This will then be submitted to the Vice-Presidents.
3. Only the Vice-Presidents may give feedback to unsuccessful Nominees. Feedback will be provided directly to Nominees, to avoid second-hand messages and inconsistency in the transmission of often sensitive and sometimes confidential issues.

Back to top