BAP Values and Code of Conduct

Here you can read and download the BAP Values and Code of Conduct document that all Fellows are asked to share and observe throughout their BAP Fellowship.

British American Project (BAP) Values – May 2022

Values

– Transatlantic Social Capital

Social capital is defined as “the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively” and “transactions are marked by trust, reciprocity, and cooperation.” BAP was founded with the mandate that we develop transatlantic relationships in order to build, increase, and foster the social capital between the United States and the United Kingdom. This purpose is based in a core belief in the positive value of the transatlantic alliance — past, present and future.

– Intellectual Challenge

In the spirit of friendship, BAP strives to challenge and engage the respective narratives of each society by introducing members to cultural, geographic, economic, social, and political opportunities to learn, investigate, grow, rethink, and understand each country’s respective contributions locally and globally, in the past, present, and future. As a transatlantic leadership network, BAP engages its members in exploring the differences, similarities, and best practices of our respective nations. We aim to inform, to question, and even to shift our views of our countries’ contributions past, present, and (especially) future in our own lives and communities, and around the world.

– Respectful Discourse

BAP values the kaleidoscope of our members’ thoughts, experiences, and perspectives. Under the ‘Chatham House Rule’ of non-attribution, Fellows are free to express divergent views without fear of being quoted or misquoted in external and social media. We believe in, and facilitate, respectful debate and discourse as a gateway for personal and professional growth. And that further, within that space of discourse is the opportunity for enduring friendship, empathy, compassion, grace, and social change.

– Diversity and contrasts

BAP strives to develop a membership that is diverse and multi-faceted, knowing that our contrasts serve to enlighten discourse and facilitate learning from each other. BAP opposes discrimination. We select members through a lens of diversity. Our selections process values candidates who engage in intellectual curiosity, fellowship within their community both locally and globally, a love of learning and leading, and a spirit imbued with innovation and accomplishment.

– Inclusion and acceptance

With the privilege of BAP membership comes the responsibility to create and foster a climate in which all members feel included and accepted with respect and dignity. We gather with open hearts and open minds.

– Community: Family and Friendship

The BAP experience is unique. It bonds members in the shared memories, cultivated and curated by the conferences, social media connections, as well as formal and informal gatherings. These friendships are cemented by provocative discussions, debates, plenaries, the laughter in late night storytelling, the fun of music and dancing, and the sombreness of shared grief. BAP is a family; each conference is a reunion. The BAP community empowers and supports each other through life’s journeys, buoying through travails and celebrating the triumphs and joys. Conferences and BAP gatherings bring the promise of stimulation, dialogue, intellection, ideation, laughter, and levity and with each new interaction, the opportunity for fresh ideas, perspectives, and growth.

Code of Conduct

AKA ‘Don’t be an idiot’

Fellows and Delegates of the British-American Project have the right to:

  • Feel welcome and valued
  • Be respected and treated fairly
  • Be listened to, be kept informed, and have equal opportunity to speak
  • Be involved and contribute towards decisions within BAP

BAP expects all Fellows and Delegates to conduct themselves in a way that is in line with the core values of the organisation for which we are all ambassadors.

Fellows and Delegates must treat each other with respect and understanding, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, as we would expect in everyday life. Discriminatory or aggressive language or behaviour, or a lack of respect for others and their views, have no place in BAP. 

Inappropriate and/or unwelcome contact and attention — sexual or otherwise — constitute harassment and will not be tolerated. 

During Conference and at other events, BAP expects all Fellows and Delegates to follow the prevailing laws of the country and area in which they find themselves, and familiarise themselves with the culture of our host city, behaving accordingly.

Fellows should not engage in conduct, whether within or outside BAP, which is likely to bring BAP into disrepute, directly or by association.

Breaches of the Values or Code of Conduct

Being part of the BAP community is a privilege. Conference, other events, and our official communications channels provide a safe space in which we can share thoughts, exchange robust views, and learn from others. Therefore, we guard membership of our Fellowship fiercely and will not tolerate any behaviour that breaches our Values or this Code of Conduct.

Fellows or Delegates who have a concern or complaint about behaviour that they witness, even if they are not personally affected should speak in the first instance to the UK or US Project Director, who will treat all issues brought to their attention in confidence and with discretion.

If the issue cannot be resolved by the Project Director, or the complainant wishes to raise the concern with someone else, the designated Well-Being Member(s) of each country’s Executive Committee is the alternative point of contact. Those EC committee member(s) will be identified on the BAP website, in pre-Conference joining information, and again at Conference. A Fellow or Delegate may also bring a complaint to any member of either Executive Committee, who will treat it with discretion and assist in moving the issue to the investigation process.

Investigations

If a matter relating to the conduct of a Delegate or Fellow requires investigation, the process is as follows:

  1. An investigation may be triggered either:
    1. By a complaint made to the UK or US Project Director, to a Well-Being Member of either national Executive Committee, or to any other member of either Executive Committee; or
    2. On the request of at least two members of either national Executive Committee.
  2. An investigation will not take place or may be suspended if a matter is in the hands of, or should be referred to, law-enforcement authorities.
  3. The investigation will be conducted by two Fellows appointed to the task by the EC chairs (these Fellows may, but need not, be members of the EC). Each national Executive Committee shall ensure that it maintains a list of at least three Fellows able to undertake any investigations that may be required. Investigators will be selected from the standing lists, unless those Fellows are unable to act or have an actual or potential conflict, in which case the EC chairs will promptly designate other Fellows to conduct the investigation.
  4. All investigations shall:
    1. Be fair and objective and without bias or pre-judgement
    2. Be done thoroughly, promptly, and confidentially, to the extent possible
    3. Give all concerned parties a full opportunity to present their accounts
    4. Reach a clear conclusion based on the evidence, including where necessary weighing the credibility of conflicting accounts.

      Any EC member aware of a complaint or investigation shall refrain from discussing the matter with anyone, including other members of the EC, unless they are directly contacted by the investigators.

  5. The investigators shall make a determination either that there is no case to answer, or that a Fellow or Delegate has conducted themselves in a manner in breach of BAPs Values or the BAP Code of Conduct. The investigators will summarise their findings and decision in a report provided to the chairs of the two ECs.
  6. If a finding is made that a Fellow or Delegate acted in violation of the BAP Values or this Code of Conduct, the investigators shall recommend an appropriate sanction to the chairs of the two ECs. Options include:
    1. A written warning as to future conduct;
    2. A requirement for a written apology to be made to the full Fellowship or to specified individuals;
    3. In the case of a Delegate, a prohibition from joining the Fellowship;
    4. Suspension from the Fellowship for a specified period, during which period a Fellow cannot take part in any BAP events or processes; and
    5. Permanent expulsion from BAP.
  7. If the investigators conclude that there is no case to answer, the case is concluded, unless a directly concerned party wishes to appeal (see below).
  8. Upon reviewing the report of the investigators, if the two EC chairs agree, they shall impose the recommended sanction. If a) one or both of the chairs disagree with the recommendation, or b) the recommended sanction is suspension or permanent exclusion from BAP, the recommendation will go to a broader decision-making body. Each EC will maintain a list of three of its members to consider such cases, to include the chair, one Well-Being Member, and one other member selected by the EC. When the investigators’ recommendation needs to be reviewed further, the decision will be made by a panel that includes all three of these members from the home country of the person proposed to be sanctioned, plus the chair and Well-Being Member from the other country.
  9. The relevant EC chair shall then implement the decision unless the complainant or the person proposed to be sanctioned submits an appeal, in writing, to the Chair of their national Executive Committee. An appeal must set out the grounds for objection to the outcome of the investigation. The appeal will be heard by a panel consisting of two members of the Advisory Board from the country of the party initiating the appeal and one Advisory Board member from the other country, all selected by the co-chairs of the Advisory Board. The appeal process will be fair and, to the extent possible, prompt and confidential, giving all parties an opportunity to be heard. The appeal panel shall have discretion to accept, or not to accept, new evidence presented to it by one or both of the parties. The decision of the appeal panel may be to affirm, modify, or reverse the decision under review, and it is final and binding.