BAM Fellows Criteria and Process

Criteria and Process

Download the Fellowship Nominations Form

Fellowship nominations are judged on a set of official criteria that can be found in section E1 of the Fellows Constitution.

For informal enquiries about the nomination process and selection criteria, please contact Lewis Johnson in the first instance at [email protected]

Fellows Nominations Criteria Explained (revised for 2021)

A General

The British Academy of Management’s (‘The Academy’s’) College of Fellows embraces diversity amongst its membership.

Fellowship nominations are judged on two criteria. These are set out in section E1 of the Fellows Constitution.

For informal enquiries about the nomination process and selection criteria, please contact the Academy’s CEO.

B Criteria for Fellowship

For the sake of clarity and transparency, an explanation of these criteria is set out below. The sections in quotation marks show extracts from the Academy’s Constitution.

Fellowship candidates qualify for nomination by virtue of their accomplishments under both criteria 1 and 2 below. They must also have been members of the Academy for at least three years.

Note: Since 2017 the Academy has awarded Companionships (CBAM) to other outstanding figures whose contribution to the Business and Management academic community it wishes to recognise, but who might not qualify for Fellowship. These can include leaders in the private, public, and third sector who have had a significant impact on management practices and thinking in their own organizations and/or beyond, Leaders of professional institutions and bodies, trade and business associations, and trades unions who have influenced management thinking and the conduct and activity of management in the UK and beyond; People who have played a significant institutional role in the leadership and development of scholarly associations advancing management knowledge – in related fields, in sibling management academies and equivalent beyond the UK, and within BAM itself; thought leaders on management outside academia, including journalists, politicians and other public intellectuals.

i) Fellowship Criterion 1

Candidates must have exhibited “a substantial and original contribution to the intellectual pursuit of the field of management by developing new insights, new methods or substantial empirical achievements which have been recognised internationally”. This contribution should reflect sound theory, scientific method and relevance. Examples[1] of this contribution include, but are not limited to, the following:

• High-quality publications from a variety of business and management outlets e.g. books, peer-reviewed articles, major reports
• Practice-based research, exhibiting strong interaction with practitioners and a demonstrable impact on their activities
• Outstanding thought leadership, theory development or the discovery and development of new field of enquiry
• Outstanding translational work that communicates business and management scholarship to a non-academic audience
• Outstanding scholarship of teaching and learning in the field of management
• Pedagogical research that has led to a demonstrable impact on the practice of management educator.

ii) Fellowship Criterion 2

Normally[2] nominees must have had demonstrable success in both (a) and (b) below, although the balance between the two aspects may vary.

a) A significant role within the British Academy of Management

This contribution should be, or have been, active and sustained. It can be evidenced by, for example:

• Membership of the Academy’s Executive Committee or Council
• Support for, or leading the development of, a BAM SIG or other BAM network
• Contribution to the Academy’s training programmes
• Engagement with the Academy’s publications e.g. journals, books
• Contribution to the Academy’s Doctoral workshops
• Engagement with policy advice and advocacy on behalf of the business and management community

b) A broader citizenship contribution to the well-being of UK business and management education (B&M)

This role should be, or have been, active and sustained. It can be evidenced by, for example:

• Active involvement in research councils
• Active involvement in journal editorship
• Senior management within UK business schools
• Active involvement in subject specific academic societies other than the British Academy of Management (e.g. Chartered Institute of Marketing, Chartered Association of Business Schools, AACSB, EFMD, Advance HE)
• Active involvement in TEF as a panel member or assessor
• Active board level contributions that have informed practice
• Active political contributions that have benefited B&M education.

C Nomination Process for Fellowship

The nomination process follows four stages: nomination - screening – voting – decision.

i) Nomination

1. Normally, nominations open in January and the process finishes in time for the Academy’s Annual Conference in September. Each application must have a nominator, as there are no self-nominations.
2. The nominator must secure the prior agreement of the nominee before nomination.
3. Nominators can be either existing BAM Fellows or key role holders in the Academy, including SIG Chairs and Council Members.
4. Nominators should obtain the official nomination form from the Academy office and follow the instructions attached.
5. Nominations must be accompanied by three references that meet the following criteria:
   1. All referees must be of a high international academic standing
   2. At least one referee must normally be "from a country other than the nominee's normal country of employment”
   3. At least one referee should be able to verify and comment on the nominee’s match to Criterion 1. It is expected that this referee would normally be from a country other than the UK
   4. At least one of the two others should be able to verify and comment on the nominee’s match to Criterion 2.
6. Nominators should inform referees that: a) their assistance in presenting evidence is highly valued; and b) as this is a highly selective process, not all nominees are successful at the first attempt.

ii) Screening

7. The Dean of the Fellows College and the Academy CEO will carry out an initial screening of the nominations with a view to securing completeness of the nomination. The Dean and CEO may request additional information or clarity of the case from the nominator prior to consideration by the Dean’s Group so that all cases are given the best chance of success.
8. Once complete, all nominations will be considered by the Dean’s Group with a view to confirming the prima facie case for Fellowship. If the case is not confirmed, then further information will be sought, and detailed feedback and advice provided.
9. All prima facie cases will progress to the voting stage. If there is any significant disagreement within the Group, then the Dean shall rule whether the nomination shall be included in the vote.

iii) Voting

10. The College of Fellows will receive the cases for voting from the Dean’s Group. Fellows vote to either a) approve the nomination; or b) object to the nomination (citing reasons).

iv) Decision

11. If the case is approved, the nominee shall be offered a BAM Fellowship. If accepted by the nominee, this will be conferred at the next BAM annual conference.
12. If the case is objected to, the reasons for the objection will be considered by the Dean’s Group. Its members will either approve or reject the nomination on the grounds of the objection. The objection must be of a serious nature to prevent progression to Fellowship e.g., evidence of professional misconduct or of a serious risk to the Academy’s reputation. Any rejection at this stage can be subject to appeal.
13.  An appeal of the decision must be made by the nominator on behalf of the nominee within 3 months of the date of the original nomination. This appeal must contain the detailed grounds for the appeal e.g., process and/or content. The appeal will be considered by a separate group of five established Fellows in a timely manner. Appellants should expect to receive a detailed explanation of the decision made by this group. The results of this appeal will be final.