ERS governance and transparency

The European Respiratory Society (ERS) is a non-profit organisation. Its governance and management are laid down in its statutes comprising:

• ERS Constitution
• ERS By-Laws
• ERS Rules on Conflicts of Interest
• ERS Diversity and Inclusion policy

Notable amendments to the ERS Constitution and By-Laws 2020–2021

ERS members who virtually attended the 2020 ERS General Assembly voted on notable amendments to the ERS Constitution and By-Laws, which were presented by the Secretary General, Prof. Joanna Chorostowska-Wynimko. Notable amendments, which are now ratified in the constitution following approval by the ERS membership, include:

• ERS’s commitment to gender equality and diversity has been formally added to the constitution.
• Details regarding the processes for entering or leaving the ERS membership are to be simplified.
• The ERS Ethics and Integrity Committee must also include a patient representative and the ERS staff representative is not permitted to be a head of department or member of the executive staff.
• The declaration of interests statement has been farther specified to prohibit the publication of work/papers that is associated with funding from the tobacco industry as well as the industries behind alternative nicotine delivery products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
• Several changes to the ERS Assemblies and Groups.

Access the General Assembly 2020 meeting minutes.

ERS is committed to being transparent in all its activities. All ERS officers and members of the Society’s committees, working parties and sub – committees complete an annual Declaration of Interest (DoI), which is published on our website or can be requested for consultation.

Visit the leadership page to view conflict of interest forms for the current executive officers.

Codes of conduct

ERS also operates within a number of established codes of conduct

• ERS framework for collaboration and interaction with industry partners
• The Alliance for Biomedical Research in Europe – Code of Conduct for Healthcare professionals and Scientific organisations
• The European Medicines Agency Code of Conduct
• EU Transparency Register

Annual report

The ERS annual report provides an overview of our achievements and a financial report each year.

• Annual report 2018-2019
• Annual report 2017-2018
• Annual report 2016-2017
• Annual report 2015-2016
• Annual report 2014-2015
• Annual report 2013-2014

Additional information: Funding sources

Financial sponsors

A number of companies sponsor ERS or ERS activities throughout the year:

• 2020
• 2017
• 2016

Translation of ERS resources

ERS resources may be translated with permission from the Society. Our members and/or contacts can complete our online request form specifying the item(s) they which to translate and for what purpose. The form will then be reviewed and providing those details meet our criteria, translation can proceed. Following that, and for the purpose of quality control, we review the translation and give approval for use. The individual/organisation requesting translation is responsible for full cost of translation of their required items.

• Request translation of ERS journals and publications
• Request translation of any other ERS content