Introduction

    The CLAS collaboration welcomes applications from groups or individuals
interested in becoming full or limited members. Each class of
membership has a set of rights and responsibilities that are
matched according to a long-term or a short-term working arrangement
with the collaboration.

    A limited member becomes a member for a specific set of experiments,
often for one specific experiment. This member class is discussed
in the CLAS Charter.

    A full member will most often join as a member of an existing CLAS
group or as part of a new CLAS group. We regard the acceptance of a
new full member as a significant commitment by both the member and
the collaboration. Both sides should be confident that the
responsibilities assumed by the new member are appropriate, i.e.,
well defined, significant, and consistent with available resources.

    A primary part of the application is the definition of a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) which outlines the activities of the new
member to conduct experiments and analyze data with CLAS.
New people joining existing CLAS groups can join existing MOU's
if they are appropriately extended.

Procedure

    Following initial contact with a member of the Coordinating Committee,
the following procedures will be used.

1. Preliminary discussions with various members of the collaboration
(including the Coordinating Committee, users, and CEBAF staff) will
help each applicant to understand the workings of the collaboration
and the views of its members. The Coordinating Committee should lead
this process. A tentative MOU will be constructed identifying specific
hardware, software, or service responsibilities. At any time in this
process, the applicant could become a limited member.

2. The tentative MOU will be submitted in writing to the CLAS Membership
Committee. The applicant will meet with the committee to modify and
complete the MOU as necessary. The Membership Committee will vote in
a secret ballot whether or not to forward the application to the full
collaboration. A 2/3 majority is required for passage. In the
interest of developing a successful relationship, the applicants should
meet with committee members prior to the meeting. Unsuccessful
applications can be reconsidered.

3. The Membership Committee will distribute the proposed application
(including MOU) to each full member of the collaboration at least
one month before the collaboration meeting at which the application
will be considered. The case will be presented at a full collaboration
meeting and voted on by confidential ballot coordinated by the
Membership Committee. A 2/3 majority is required for acceptance.