The Task Forces of EFPA work towards the aims of the Federation as set out in the Statutes (article 3). They may be established either by the General Assembly (article 11.10) or by the Executive Council (article 14.5) in areas and aspects of interest and relevance to psychology and psychologists in Europe and hence to the Federation and its Member Associations.

Procedure for setting up a Task Force

The responsibility for establishing a Task Force lies with the General Assembly and the Executive Council. A proposal for a Task Force should be submitted in writing to the General Assembly or in exceptional cases, by the Executive Council, outlining the rationale and goals for the proposed Task Force. The proposal must be submitted in writing at least 6 weeks before a General Assembly.

The proposal put to the General Assembly must contain the following:

• a description of the area or aspect of psychology of the proposed Task Force and its relevance to EFPA

• a clear statement of the aims and goals of the Task Force and the benefits for EFPA and its member associations to be derived from the work

• a full outline of the tasks and work to be carried out by the Task Force

• a detailed time schedule that is proposed for the work of the Task Force (see below: timing)

• a description of the products of the Task Force and the potential interest and relevance of these to member associations of EFPA and to the wider community

• where appropriate, a suggestion for the convenor of the Task Force

Convenorship : 

After the Task Force has been agreed by the General Assembly, the Executive Council has the responsibility to confirm the convenor of the Task Force suggested in the proposal, or to identify a convenor if one has not already been suggested in the proposal.

Nominations :

Following the agreement for a Task Force at the General Assembly, the Executive Council (Secretary General) writes to all member associations asking them if they wish to send a member to the specific Task Forces and, if so, to nominate a representative by a particular date.

This is the only way to nominate members to a Task Force and all members should be identified by Member Associations in this manner. The names of Task Force members nominated by Member Associations are collected by the Secretary General of EFPA who will then send them to the convenor, together with these Task Force guidelines.

A complete list of all Task Force members with convenors will then be circulated to all EC and member associations. It is important to the work of the Task Force and its continuity over the short time span of two years that representatives remain the same, other than in exceptional circumstances, over the two year period of a Task Force; change in representation in a Task Force may make it difficult to carry out the work.

Size of Task Force

The Task Force will consist of those representatives sent by member associations to the Task Force. These will represent the views and policy of the member association. Each member association may normally send only one representative to a Task Force. In very exceptional circumstances it may be possible to send two; application to do this has to be made with good reason and granted by the EC prior to participation in the Task Force. Member Associations which are not able to send a representative to attend a Task Force may nominate a contact person who will participate in the Task Force by mail, fax, electronic communication in order to maximise involvement of EFPA member Associations.

Accountability

Task Forces are accountable to the General Assembly. Between meetings of the General Assembly, this accountability is held by the Executive Council (EC) which maintains regular contact with the Task Forces. This accountability is supported by one member of the EC who functions as the liaison person to each Task Force. This EC member (liaison person) has the responsibility to report regularly to the EC on the progress of the Task Force, to receive all minutes and documents from the Task Force, and to help to ensure that the Task Force is able to carry out its work. Each Task Force should, in addition, submit a full written report to the EC once a year and to the General Assembly.

Finance of Task Forces

The annual budget is currently up to Euro 1240 per Task Force each year and is agreed by the General Assembly. The costs of participation in the Task Forces are borne by the member associations who decide to send a representative to the Task Force. The Task Force budget from EFPA is intended to facilitate the administration and work of the Task Force; it is not normally used to cover the costs of any one member or convenor.

At the beginning of a Task Force, the convenor is required to consult with the whole Task Force and present a budget proposal for expenditure for each of the two years to the Executive Council for approval. This budget may not exceed the amount allocated to the Task Force in the budget (currently Euro 1240). Reimbursement of expenditure is made by the Treasurer on receipt of claims and as agreed in the budget. Budgets should be proposed and accounts submitted for each (calendar) year.

In order to maximise participation by member associations of EFPA, consideration should be given to the use of telephone, fax, electronic mail and other means of communication, so that meeting costs are kept to a minimum. Some countries may wish to nominate non-attending members of a Task Force, who will not travel to meetings, but who will nevertheless take part in the work and receive all the documents of a Task Force and contribute to the work. This may be an economical way to maximise the involvement of as many associations as possible. It is up to the Task Force as a whole to decide how they wish to use their budget allocation. A Task Force, for example, might wish to pay some contribution towards participation by members from smaller or less developed organisations, or it might wish to cover administrative and office costs, or other costs. The budget is not intended to cover the costs of any individual members of a Task Force.

Claims for expenditure should be sent to the Treasurer of EFPA and will be paid by the Treasurer on receipt of claims on EFPA claim forms in accordance with the budget proposal. The convenor has the responsibility to submit an annual financial report on Task Force expenditure to the EC and thus to the General Assembly.

Timing of Task Forces

A Task Force is agreed by the General Assembly for the next period, i.e. for two years. At the beginning of a Task Force, the convenor should include in the statement of goals and terms of reference the intended time period for the work. This will normally be two years. If a Task Force requires a further period of one or two years in order to complete its work, a formal proposal should be submitted in writing for approval to the General Assembly.

Tasks of a Task Force

Depending on the field of work, a Task Force may decide first to produce a 'state of the art' description of the field in the different European countries, for example a description of education and training, or practice. This may be obtained by questionnaire, and the Task Force should endeavour to use every method to maximise information obtained in this way. In many fields there may also be issues of policy and professional practice including political influence and strategy. In this case the Task Force should work in conjunction with the EC and should involve the EC in any work of this nature. The Task Force should also seek to develop links and contacts with other organisations which are working in the same field, including other European and international psychology organisations.

During the first year of the work, the following can be expected:

• state of the art guidelines

• progress report

• contribution to News from EFPA.

By the end of the second year, EFPA can expect the following:

• contribution to News from EFPA through thematic issue

• recommendations for promotion of Task Force work and EFPA policy

• final report (suitable for publication as EFPA booklet) for GA.

It is essential that Task Forces are able to inform EFPA member Associations of the work and its outcomes (e.g. through publications, reports, News from EFPA, symposia and other).

Products of Task Forces

All Task Forces should include in their statement of goals and terms of reference an indication of the product of the Task Force. This will normally include at least a full written report suitable for publication. Following approval of the report by the General Assembly, it may be published as an EFPA booklet or in another form. At the end of the Task Force, the EFPA Executive Council will take over the final report and disseminate this to Member Associations and others. This will be used to develop policy within EFPA. Some Task Forces may in addition and where appropriate produce guidelines or principles for EFPA. In addition, it is expected that all Task Forces will organise symposia, workshops or presentations as appropriate, both at the biennial European Congress of Psychology, and at other international and national congresses and forums.

Relationship between Task Forces (TF), Member Associations (MA) and EFPA Executive Council (EC)

Member Associations and EFPA

• propose the establishment of the Task Force.

• vote at GA for or against establishing the TF.

• nominate members of TF and inform Secretary General of EC.

• decide at GA whether to accept progress report or final report of TF.

EFPA EC (and Member Association) at GA

• present report and proposition for/against accepting the work of TF.

Member Association in relation to TF and TF members

• nominates member who is interested in the work of the TF.

• pays costs of its delegates in the TF.

• responds to enquiries from TF.

TF member to his/her association

• reports regularly about meetings to its MA.

• sends claims for meetings costs etc., to own MA.

TF to EFPA EC

• sends budget at the beginning of the year.

• sends terms of reference to EC and plan of activities.

• sends minutes of meetings and progress reports to EC.

• has no direct representation function for EFPA and avoids public statements and activities without EFPA EC.

EFPA EC to Task Force

• is responsible for budget and payment of claims .

• gives support to TF when needed.

• has responsibility for guidance and direction of work.

EFPA Task Forces

In the period 1995-2003 EFPA had Task Forces in the following areas in psychology:

• Clinical Psychology

• Disaster and Crisis Psychology

• Traffic Psychology

• Educational System

In the period 2003-2005 EFPA has Task Forces in the following areas in psychology:

• Traffic Psychology

• Crisis and Disaster

• Psychologists in the Educational System

• Early Learning

• Psychology of Ageing

In the period 2005-2007 EFPA has Task Forces in the following areas in psychology :

• Traffic Psychology
• Geropsychology