Fellowship Agreement
1. Becoming a Fellow
1.1. Members who can engage with the CCD and its community in a steady and structured manner for more than a six-month period each year are eligible to acquire Fellow status.
1.2. A Member can apply for Fellow status by committing to engagement that they will carry out during the year. Every year the Fellowship Agreement is renewed with new engagement commitments.
1.3. Prospective Fellows submit an Engagement File or multiple files that describe their intended engagement.
1.4. Fellows are encouraged to attend at least one fellows meetup throughout the year and watch recordings of other meetups to keep updated.
2. During Fellowship
2.1. Renewing a Fellowship
2.1.1 If a Fellow carries out their commitments according to their Engagement File, they are invited to renew their Fellowship Agreement. An existing Fellow who has carried out their commitments will not need to go through the initial application process again. However, new Engagement Files representing the Fellow’s intended future contributions must be created and approved by the CCD Community Team to ratify the new Fellowship Agreement.
2.1.2. A Fellow cannot hold the same Operational Role for more than two consecutive years if there is an available replacement.
2.2. Deactivating a Fellowship
2.2.1. If a Fellow realises during the year that they won’t be able to fulfill their commitment, they must communicate their decision to the CCD Community Team via email. Depending on the given reasons and causes, their status changes to either Inactive Fellow or reverts to Member.
2.2.2. The CCD Community Team will reach out to Fellows who have become inactive or have not met their commitments to establish a solution to the Fellow’s difficulties.
2.3. Cancellation of a Fellowship by The CCD
2.3.1. If a Fellow is seen to be in breach of the Fellowship Agreement or the Membership Agreement, The CCD maintains the right to cancel a Fellow’s status as a Fellow and/or Member.
3. Publishing
3.1. Engagement Files
3.1.1. Fellows must first have an Engagement File approved before beginning work on any content.
3.1.2. The content created must faithfully reflect the details provided in the approved Engagament File.
3.2. Guest Contributors
3.2.1. If a Fellow is publishing content that is the contribution of a Guest Contributor (not another Member or Fellow), it is their responsibility to make sure that the content follows guidelines set out in this agreement and the Membership Agreement.
3.2.2. The Fellow must have the Guest Contributor sign the Guest Contributor Agreement. The agreement is an online form, it is password protected with the password “CCDGCA” which the Fellow can share with the Guest Contributor.
3.3. Access Rights to Published Content
3.3.1. The CCD reserves the right to make content exclusive to CCD members following a one year period of it being open-access.
3.4. Intellectual Property, Copyright
3.4.1. We respect intellectual property rights. When submitting content, ensure that you have the right to do so. Properly attribute sources and adhere to any specific content-sharing guidelines. Do not plagiarise.
3.4.2. Individual, Group, and/or Community involvement in work published on the CCD website or presented at CCD or City Chapter events must always be acknowledged when being referenced.
3.4.3. Any work done as detailed in its related Engagement File is for use on the CCD website, CCD Events, City Chapter Events, CCD Social Posts or City Chapter Social Posts only.
3.4.4. Permission from the CCD must be received to replicate work done outside of the CCD website, CCD Events, City Chapter Events, CCD Social Posts or City Chapter Social Posts.
3.4.5. No Member or Fellow can use The CCD or a City Chapter as a personal brand, property or business from which he or she can exclusively benefit, leaving out the rest of the community.
3.5. Quality Assurance and Liability
3.5.2. Fellows assume liability for any content that they publish through the CCD website or on its social channels. This means that due diligence must be carried out when submitting content for publication that they are not sharing misleading or harmful content, information or images, and not infringing on copyright or intellectual property laws.
4. City Chapters
4.1. What are City Chapters?
4.1.1. A City Chapter is a collective of Fellows who are collaborating towards the following goals:
- Creating a local Conscious Design community of practice.
- Engaging with the local community to spur dialogue around the quality of the built environment.
- Engaging with local decision-makers to encourage changes in approaches
- Creating content that is either relevant to the locality, or is relevant to the locality but also to Conscious Design Principles as a whole.
4.1.2. A City Chapter cannot be or be directly and/or solely affiliated with, controlled or funded by a company, organisation, or a specific person.
4.1.3. A City Chapter cannot carry out commercial activities or provide paid services.
4.1.4. No individual owns a City Chapter. A City Chapter is an ongoing collaboration between active CCD Fellows.
4.2. Participating in a City Chapter: Activity
4.2.1. Not all Fellows affiliated with a City Chapter have to take part in every City Chapter related activity. However, all City Chapter Fellows must be notified of any significant new intended activity and given the opportunity suggest changes.
4.2.2. City Chapters must credit the Fellows involved in each activity/project on the CCD website and when posting related content on Social Media, unless asked otherwise by the involved Fellow/s.
4.3. City Chapter Communication
4.3.1. Communication within City Chapters must adhere to the standards set within The CCD Membership Agreement.
4.3.2. Any significant changes to a City Chapter’s Mission, composition or intended projects must be communicated to all affiliated Fellows.
4.4. City Chapter Representative
4.4.1. One Fellow within a City Chapter takes the role of City Chapter Representative.
4.4.2. The City Chapter Representative is not responsible for the CCD engagement of other chapter Fellows unless agreed upon in and stated in an Engagement File.
4.4.3. The City Chapter Representative is responsible for communications with the The CCD, other City Chapters, and affiliated Fellows.
4.4.4. If a new City Chapter has been formed, the Fellow that initiated the formation becomes the City Chapter Representative.
4.4.5. If no City Chapter Representative is available, the City Chapter will be considered inactive and its assets must be returned to The CCD by the last City Chapter Representative.
4.4.6. If a City Chapter Representative realises during the year that they won’t be able to fulfill their commitment, he or she must communicate their decision to the CCD. Depending on the given reasons and causes, their status may be changed to either Inactive Fellow or Member. The City Chapter in this case can nominate the stand-in Representative for the remaining period.
4.4.7. A Fellow cannot be in the role of City Chapter Representative indefinitely, a mechanism to give opportunity to other fellows to represent the chapter must be considered if there is interest. Picking a Representative can be done through a vote or collective decision-making practices.
4.4.8. To create a sustainable way to transfer information regarding any Role – including City Chapter Representative -, we request Fellows to engage with the CCD actively, complying with the Engagement File, attending the necessary meetings, and managing their role-related information in an organised manner that could be easily understood by their successors.
4.5. City Chapter Assets
4.5.1. Any content or assets created by a Member, Fellow or Guest Contributor for a City Chapter will remain a City Chapter asset, including if the Member or Fellow terminates their Membership Agreement or Fellowship Agreement and/or is no longer involved with The CCD or a City Chapter.
4.5.2. Any assets created by the City Chapter will be kept by The CCD for use by the City Chapter, and by The CCD when referring to City Chapter activity.
4.5.3. Social Media accounts created and used by Fellows for a City Chapter will remain for the exclusive use of the City Chapter. No individual can claim for themselves, rename the account or delete it. In the case that the City Chapter becomes inactive, the CCD will keep the account credentials and release it to the City Chapter if reactivated.
4.5.4. Social Media accounts of City Chapters shall use the same name and logo used by the City Chapter on the CCD website. Content shared on these accounts must follow the shared vision and mission of the CCD.
4.5.5. Event recordings or any videos created by the City Chapter will be sent to the CCD to be uploaded to the CCD Youtube channel and connected to a video page on the CCD website. Chapters will not upload videos to seperate channels.
5. Upholding the Agreement
5.1 Amendments to this Agreement
5.1.1. The CCD may from time to time make amendments to this agreement as it works to develop a healthy and thriving Conscious Design Network and Conscious Cities Movement. All Fellows will be notified of any amendment, and all amendments will be recorded in a Change Log within the agreement.
5.1.2. After January 1st 2026, any proposed amendment to this agreement must be ratified by at least 70% of active Fellows who participate in a vote. All active Fellows shall be contacted and presented with the option to vote, with a clear explanation of the proposed amendment and the reasoning behind it. The results of the vote can be counted 30 days after the vote has commenced if not all Fellows have cast their vote, or before that if all Fellows have already cast their vote.
5.2 Agreement Termination
5.2.1. A Fellow can voluntarily cancel their Fellowship and return to Member status.
5.2.2. The CCD holds the right to terminate the Fellowship if a Fellow is deemed to be acting in violation of the terms and values outlined in the Membership Agreement and/or Fellowship Agreement. In such a case, there will be no refund of the Membership Fee.
5.2.3 The consequences of violation of this agreement can have a detrimental effect on the community’s overall experience. It is in everyone’s interest to uphold these standards. In this regard, any unwelcome behaviour such as expressing hate, discrimination, harassment, or any form of harmful behaviour towards individuals or the community will be sanctioned in accordance with this document. All terms set out in the Membership agreement are also relevant to Fellows. If a violation of the agreements arises that creates a conflict between Fellows, our Terms for Conflict Resolution will be followed.
5.2.4. A Fellow can cancel their Fellowship if they are unable to or do not want to agree to a new amendment in the Fellowship Agreement.