The Policies are guidelines and can be adjusted to meet special circumstances.

Version 9 – March 2026

1. Introduction

The Association for Social Development was founded in 1987. The Members of the Association consult professionally to organisations in a worldwide context. We have different approaches and different inspirations, but what we share are inspirations out of the spiritual scientific work of Rudolf Steiner, and an intention to link ourselves to the social development impulse initiated by Bernard Lievegoed. The emphasis of our work lies in consultancy, training and research relating to all aspects of organisation development, leadership development, group development, and individual development ^[1].

We work with, in and between organisations and communities, groups and individuals, primarily within working life. Our attempt is always to stimulate healing forces in people and organisations, so that both can develop further. We strive towards a healthy interrelationship between the spiritual, human and material aspects of social organisms.

Members of the Association are individuals who as developmentally orientated professionals commit themselves to work towards its aims, recognize each other as professionally competent, and strive to develop this competence further. Where possible, Members connect themselves with a group of colleagues who are committed to further each other’s development. To work with a group of colleagues working out of the same spiritual background is an important aspect of our social impulse. The Members of the group also support each other in their development as human beings.

1.1 Aims of the Association

• To promote the exchange of research findings and experiences, towards the further development of our profession.
• To allow Members to support and co-operate with each other in working with clients.
• To strengthen the spiritual and ethical bases of our work.
• To connect the regional orientation of Members based in different parts of the world, with a global consciousness.

2.  Conference Venues

We only organise conferences in countries where:

• A Member who has a carrying group around him/her, and willing and able to host the conference invites us. It is possible that a Member invites us to a country other than his/her own place of residence.
• We are confident that the transport, security and other facilities present no undue risks to members.

3.  Language

We have used two languages over the years: English and German. Based on present circumstances arising from the current development of the membership we have the following practice:

4.  No Logo

Members are encouraged to mention or display their membership as individuals, for example on a CV or personal business card, but there is no institutional membership, nor is there a logo to use as a seal or sign of members. Institutions shall not claim membership.

5.  Finances

It is not the aim of the Association for Social Development to make a profit. The financial resources are needed to cover costs.

The Association covers its costs by sharing them between members. Therefore an annual budget in Euros has to be estimated. It will be discussed and agreed by the Members at our annual conference. This is the basis for the annual subscription fees for Members and Applicants and the conference fees for Guests who have been invited by Members to join our conference. Within our annual conference, Members who are present receive a report of the actual expenditure of the former year.

5.1 Governance

The Facilitating Group is responsible for all ASD’s financial affairs.

• The Facilitating Group has outsourced the management of the cash flow through a bank account to the ASD Trustee Foundation (Trustee). This foundation under Dutch law is managed by a board of directors consisting of one member of the Facilitating Group and two mandated members of ASD.
• The annual Member and Applicant subscription fees are to be paid to the account stipulated by the Trustee.
• The Trustee shall pay ASD conference costs, etc. from this account.
• Operating costs consisting of administration, Facilitating Group meetings and operational aspects of conferences are to be shared equally by all members. Members of the Facilitating Group and the financial administrator will be refunded for their travel expenses to the FG meetings and to our annual conference. The board and lodging costs of the FG during the annual conference will be carried by the ASD.
• The remuneration of the financial administrator will be in accordance with the time required. The rate is agreed upon annually with the FG.
• Applicants are treated as being part of the Association, and shall pay the current annual subscription fees accordingly. The same applies to guests during their participation in the conference.
• If a Member does not pay the annual subscription fees after receiving reasonable reminders, then the Facilitating Group will be entitled to consider that he/she has withdrawn from the Association and confirm this decision in writing.
• Fees from Members, Applicants or Guests will be used only for the purposes for which they were intended:
  • To finance our conference
  • To finance the meetings of the Facilitating Group
  • To cover administration, communication and website costs.

The implication of these purposes is that the Facilitating Group will ensure that the Trustee only holds sufficient cash at the bank to cover the ASD’s working capital requirements, i.e. to set the annual subscription fee at the level sufficient to cover our annual cycle of costs and to avoid building up a surplus over time.

5.2 Members and Applicants annual subscription fees and costs

Members and Applicants should pay their annual subscription fees by 15 November and definitely before 31 January each year. To encourage prompt payment, after 31 January a late payment fee will be applied. This amount is set by the Facilitating Group each year and applied by the financial administrator.

Each individual Member and Applicant should in principle meet his or her accommodation, travel and subsistence costs when attending our conference. In the case where there is no freedom of choice of accommodation, e.g. hotel has different prices; the costs will be shared in a manner determined by the Facilitating Group.

For the financial records of Members and Applicants, individual invoices for fees shall be made available.

5.2.1 Green Conferences

The members of the ASD are committed to working step by step towards making our conferences greener each year, including offsetting our carbon footprint through a small additional sum of money added to each member and applicant’s annual invoice.

5.3 Travel Fund

The travel fund is financed by Members on a voluntary basis, and is exclusively for the use of other full Members who are in need of travel assistance.

We allocate travel assistance from the existing funds in the travel fund and, at the discretion of the Facilitating Group, fees generated by Members and Applicants paying late. We appeal to Members to contribute to the fund before 31 January. Members in need must apply no later than 28 February, after which the Facilitating Group will decide how to allocate available funds.

5.4 Guest conference fees and costs

Members hosting Guests are responsible for paying their Guests’ conference fees before the conference and Guests pay their own accommodation and travel costs. The host Member will receive an invoice for their Guest and the Member will make the payment prior to the conference. Hosts can then reclaim their costs from their Guests. We do not have a travel fund for Guests.

5.5 Dissolution of the Association

In the event of the ASD being dissolved contribution surpluses from ASD Trustee shall be used for charitable purposes preferably in the sector of social development. The same shall apply to its assets from ASD Trustee, which are also to be used for charitable purposes in the event of the ASD Trustee being liquidated.

6.  Facilitating Group

The Facilitating Group, consisting of four Members, is responsible for:

• Carrying the continuity of the Association’s activities.
• Fulfilling an organisational and administrative function as Director Board of Stichting ASD Trustee.
• Taking initiatives in harmony with the aims of the Association.
• Taking decisions.

Members serve on the Facilitating Group for four years, after which a new Member replaces them. In practice, a Facilitating Group Member resigns and a new Member joins each year.

The existing Facilitating Group Members decide each year who to invite as a Member for the following year. When making their choice they will explicitly ask Members to suggest names of potential new Facilitating Group Members and take these suggestions into account when making their decision. The Facilitating Group will propose a new Facilitating Group Member using the following criteria:

• Is the person willing to serve on the Facilitating Group?
• What contribution can the person make?
• Does the person have time and energy to devote to the Association?
• Is the person able to work constructively and harmoniously with existing Facilitating Group members?
• Do we have the right balance in the group, representative of the broad membership of the Association, taking into account geographic, work and soul characteristics amongst others?
• That the person has shown that he/she carries responsibility to the being of the Association and has an inner commitment to the ASD.
• Someone who is active in our work and has a focus on the Impulse.

In their November Report each year the Facilitating Group will propose their new member for the following year and ask for feedback from the Members.  At their March Meeting they then will take an appropriate decision about the candidate and communicate this in their March/April Report.   At the next Association conference, the proposed new Member is presented to the Members and welcomed into the Facilitating Group in the ASD Matters session, usually at the end of the conference.

7.  Decision Making

The Facilitating Group is the decision-making body of the Association, making decisions that represent these policies, the will and strivings of the members, and the spirit of the Association, as a whole.

7.1 Policy decision making process

The Facilitating Group will consult carefully and widely with Members and may delegate preparation research and proposal formation and/or development of a consultation process before finalising the policy. Policy changes shall from time to time be included in an updated, revised policy document.

7.2 Conference Planning

The Facilitating Group will prepare and design the process of the annual conference. Members will be invited to the “process owners” of the various activities and to take responsibility for decisions within their mandate.

7.3 Practical / organisational decisions

The Facilitating Group will decide on budgets, financial issues, procedures and organisational issues as and when they arise, except that where such issues have policy implications, the procedure for making policy decisions, outlined above, will be used.

7.4 Website

An ASD Member website will support sharing and communication between Members and Applicants. Non-members will not have access to the Member website and by default information will not be available to them.

8. Admission to Conferences and Membership

8.1 Guests

A Guest is a person who meets the following criteria:

• Professionally connected with the ASD’s field of work
• Is open to explore whether he/she is connected with the social/spiritual foundations of the Association and its aims.
• Shows an interest in joining the Association.

A Guest is invited by a Member to attend our annual conference. The Member as host abides by the following conditions:

• Members always host their Guests and are present at each of the conferences that their guests attend.
• Hosts are responsible for ensuring that Guests receive information about the Association.
• Registrations of Guests are only accepted if their conference fees have been paid.

In the event of cancellation less than six weeks before the conference starts the Guests’ conference fees will not be refunded.

A person may attend an Association conference twice as a Guest before either becoming an Applicant or withdrawing. Whilst a Guest can choose to become an applicant at the end of their first conference it is recommended, in order to get to know the members and the qualities and nature of the Association that, should a Guest decide to become an applicant, they do this at the end of their second conference.      

8.2 Applicants and the process of becoming a Member 

Applicants are Guests who have decided to become a Member and have begun the formal process of doing so. 

The maximum term that someone can remain an Applicant is five years. If the Applicant has not become a Member within this period, then their Applicant status ends. 

Applicants are expected to pay the annual subscription fees for Members and Applicants during the time they are Applicants, even if they do not partake in the annual conference. It is the responsibility of the sponsors to see that Applicants pay their fees. 

The membership criteria are: 

• Recognised as professionally competent and active in the ASD’s field of work 
• Connected with the social and spiritual foundations of the Association and its aims 

The intentions behind the membership process are that: 

The Applicant gets the opportunity to confirm if the ASD impulse represents the stream to which they are connected. Their conviction that she/he is connected to the ASD is one of the two criteria of membership. 

The membership accepts the Applicant becoming a Member through the recommendation of the Applicant’s sponsors who get to know him/her professionally in order to be able to make a responsible decision on behalf of the Association. 

Members have the opportunity to develop a connection with the Applicant prior to them becoming a Member. 

How the application process works: 

To become an Applicant, a Guest must find three Members to sponsor him/her to become a Member and inform the Members at a conference. The total duration of membership of the three sponsors combined must be at least seven years. Each sponsor should preferably be from a different consulting group. 

The Sponsors and Applicant together decide on an appropriate process by which the Applicant can fully confirm his/her intention and the three sponsors, having dealt with any questions or objections raised by members, can confirm the decision, which must be unanimous, on the Applicant’s suitability for admission. 

If a person is not approved, then sponsors may choose to advise applicant and FG of the possibility of a later application.

Sponsor guidelines for this process: 

Before accepting a request to sponsor a prospective Applicant, the Member should: 

• Familiarise himself/herself with the membership criteria 
• Establish to his or her own satisfaction that the prospective Applicant is likely to meet the membership criteria by the conclusion of his/her membership process. 
• When making this assessment to become a Sponsor or to approve the Applicant, consider the working context of the prospective Applicant. The identity of the ASD is defined by the experience in common of Members standing independently in the economic world deriving their income from offering professional development services to clients. However, the specific circumstances of a prospective Applicant may vary from this situation, at least in part, and the inner attitude and striving of the prospective Applicant matters too. 
• When the applicant has formed a suitable sponsor group and announced his or her intention to become a member, the membership process begins. 
• Applicants may not replace a sponsor during this process except when one or more sponsors become unavailable to continue for reasons having nothing to do with the applicant. On proposing a new sponsor, the remaining sponsors must be consulted and agree to continue or Applicant status ends.

The following outlines the responsibilities of the sponsors in this process: 

• Ensure that the Applicant’s CV is circulated to Members as soon as possible after the start of the membership process. 
• Ensure the sponsors have reasonable first-hand experience between them of the Applicant’s professional work with clients and have worked with him/her personally on themes related to the ASD. 
• The sponsors shall decide together who will be the lead sponsor. It is the lead sponsor’s responsibility to be the point of contact for the Facilitating Group. 
• As the membership process progresses, the sponsors for each Applicant submit a short report to the Facilitating Group preferably by the end of January each year. Where the sponsors are recommending that the Applicant becomes a Member at our next conference they will answer the question: What has convinced the sponsors that this person can become a member? The Facilitating Group will always accept the sponsors’ recommendation; however, the Facilitating Group will invite the Applicant to become a Member only if the sponsors’ Applicant report is provided before the conference. 
• The principle is that the three sponsors must support membership unanimously. Until then, the process should continue, unless the five-year term is reached.
• If one or more sponsors after consultation with sponsor colleagues decide to withdraw their support for the Applicant to become a member, then the application process is terminated and the Applicant status ends; no replacement is possible; the sponsors must sensitively report to the FG and members the basis for the decision.

Conference attendance as an Applicant: 

Following their announcement to become an Applicant, the individual must attend a whole conference as an Applicant in order for members to get to know him/her, and proceed to become a Member at a later conference. 

Similarly, if a Guest agrees with Sponsors to become an Applicant between conferences, then the same policies apply.

8.3 Suspending membership

Special circumstances may make it temporarily impossible for Members to attend our annual conference and be active in the professional field, e.g. childbirth/parenting, long period of illness, care for a family member. In this case, Members can apply for suspended membership. However, a lack of work/money is not a reason to apply for suspended membership.

The procedure is as follows:

• A Member applies for suspended membership directly to the Facilitating Group, stating the special circumstances and the period of membership he/she wants to be suspended.
• The Facilitating Group will take each case on merit and exercise discretion on behalf of the Association.
• This period should not be longer than five years and should be uninterrupted.
• During this period the Member will pay 25% of the yearly contribution.
• When the period of Suspended Membership ends, it is his/her responsibility to inform the Facilitating Group and clarify the status of his/her membership.
• If he/she does not return to paying the full 100% membership contribution, it will be taken that he/she has resigned his/her membership of the Association.

8.4 Young people

We wish to encourage young people to attend our conference because they can help us to prepare better for the future and it gives young people a taste for our work.

We define a young person as someone who is twenty-eight or younger and who does not yet meet the criteria to join the Association.

Members may find active young people, who they think would be interested in participating in a conference once as a Guest. The young person will not be asked to pay the Guest conference fee. However, they need to be hosted by a Member and pay their own accommodation, travel and subsistence costs.

Other conditions:

• To keep the attendance of young people in balance at our conference, we have set a guideline that young people attending a conference will make up no more than 5% of the ASD membership.
• Members will contact one of the Facilitating Group Members for confirmation before making the invitation, so that we can regulate the numbers attending at a conference.
• The Facilitating Group will ask each of them to produce a report, telling us of their experience at the conference.

8.4.1 Youth Fund

To assist the attendance of young people at our conferences, we encourage voluntary donations from Members to the ASD’s Youth Fund. We allocate assistance from the Youth Fund not exceeding the funds available and at the discretion of the Facilitating Group. We encourage particularly Elders to make donations to this fund in lieu of, or at least part of, the annual subscription fees they are no longer paying.

8.5 Elder Members

From the age of 70 onwards, members have the possibility to request Elder status. We define an Elder member as someone who has substantially reduced their professional commitments, leading to a drop in income of two thirds of their last year of full-time work. 

As a community we wish to facilitate their continued membership without them having to pay the annual subscription fee. Our aim is to make it more affordable for Elders to attend a conference, so that they will only need to pay for their own accommodation, travel and subsistence costs. 

A member requesting Elder status needs to have been a Member for a period of seven years or more and to have paid their fees due in previous years in full.

Members who leave the ASD for reasons other than retirement or who have not been a Member for seven years can join future conferences as a Guest.

To request Elder status a Member should contact the Facilitating Group.

8.6 Partners/spouses

Partners/spouses may participate in all social, cultural and artistic activities, and lectures, but not in the professional group work, nor in the Association matters. If a partner/spouse wants to participate in the professional activities out of professional interest, he/she can come as a paying Guest.

8.7 Conflicts Between Members

It is not appropriate for members to bring their personal relationship or professional collaboration conflicts to the Conference, seek to gain support and sympathy for their position or involve members present to seek a resolution during our conference.

The Facilitating Group does not have a role in resolving conflicts between members arising from their personal relationships or professional collaborations.

8.8 Leaving the Association

If for any reason, a Member no longer adheres to the aims of the Association, or no longer fulfils the basic conditions of membership, we appeal to the integrity of that Member to withdraw by notifying the Facilitating Group. If they leave before 31 December, they can do so without paying the Member subscription fee for the following year.

If a Member has not paid their annual subscription fees for three years without informing the Facilitating Group of their circumstances, then their membership will be ended.

If an applicant has not paid their annual subscription fees for one year without informing the Facilitating Group of their circumstances, then their process to become a Member will be ended.

Should either Members or Applicants wish to re-enter the Association he/she can attend our conference as a Guest and apply for membership again.

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[1] This constitutes the field of work of ASD Members.