Membership Town Hall: PSI/RSS merger
Royal Statistical Society
12 Errol Street, London, EC1Y 8LX
5-7pm, Tuesday July 12th 2016
PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE JOINING INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION;
http://conta.cc/29TeSP4
If you are not able to join via teleconference please use the dial in details below:
Dial-in details for within the UK
Phone number: 0330 336 6002
Passcode: 476 766 1144
Royal Statistical Society, 12 Errol Street, London, EC1Y 8LX and web-conference.
At the meeting the membership will learn about the terms of the proposed merger between PSI and the RSS and have the opportunity to ask questions of PSI directors involved in merger discussions and of representatives of the RSS.
PSI members will be asked to vote on a proposed merger between RSS and PSI at an extraordinary general meeting in September.
Under the proposed terms of the merger, PSI would become the Pharmaceutical Statistics Section of the RSS. More details, including those terms and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the PSI website.
The meeting will be divided into two parts: one will be a presentation of information relevant to the merger and the second will be a formal debate of the merger. Attendees are welcome to contribute speeches to the debate. In order to allow participation from the maximum number of attendees, those making contributed speeches are asked to keep to two minutes speaking. To help the meeting run smoothly, please register your interest in speaking in advance with the meeting chair or at the PSI email address (
psi@mci-group.com). Speakers who have given notice in advance will be given first preference on the night.
Agenda
10 minute review of the agenda and rules for debate
Background to the merger
• 10 minute presentation of PSI’s state-of-the-nation and strategy (as it stood before the JAC discussions)
• 10 minutes presentation of RSS (strategy and structure)
• 10 minute presentation of proposed charter
Any materials presented will be made available in advance on the PSI website.
Debate (Chair: Katherine Hutchinson)
25 minutes of formal speeches: 4x6 minute speeches (2 x pro, 2 x anti) debating whether or not PSI should merge into the RSS
20-35 minutes of contributed speeches: up to 15x2 minute speeches taken from the floor/phone lines
10 minutes of formal rebuttal: 2x5 minute rebuttal/summary speeches from the debaters (1 x pro, 1 x anti).
Final Q&A and closeout
10 minutes of questions to JAC, PSI BoD, RSS representatives about issues raised by discussion
Summary by the chair of next steps
Standing orders for the debate Timing: 6 minute speeches for invited speakers, with 30 seconds maximum overrun strictly enforced. Two minutes for contributed speakers, with no overrun.
One bite at the cherry: with the exception of the one rebuttal speech for each side and interruptions (see below) each speaker can only speak once. If there is time left over at the end, repeat contributions will be solicited by the chair.
Interruptions:
• attendees can offer questions/comments by raising their hand.
• Speakers are not obliged to cede the floor.
• If a comment is accepted, it should be <15 seconds long.
• No interruptions can be offered during an (invited/contributed) speaker’s first and last minute (/30 seconds)
Rebuttal speeches: these should aim to answer questions raised during the debate or challenge arguments made by the opposing side. They should not bring up new material or arguments unless necessary to make a rebuttal.
