Membership

Membership will be open to anyone who supports the aims of the association — researchers, practitioners, and students across all regions and disciplines. International participation is intended by design.

Who can join

Any individual who supports the association’s aims (Statutes §4). Membership is for individuals — there is no corporate or institutional membership.

Membership types

• Voting members — the default. Full rights: take part in the General Assembly, vote, stand for election, and receive all member benefits.
• Students & early-career researchers — a reduced rate (see fees). They are voting members with the same rights.
• Non-voting members — admitted by the Executive Board for advisory or supporting roles, without taking part in formal governance.

Fees

Draft structure — to be confirmed by the General Assembly once the association is registered.

• All members are full voting members.
• Your membership runs from the day you join, not the calendar year.
• Regular members paying 2 or 5 years upfront get a discount — the 5-year rate is four years’ fee, with one year free. Paying upfront also helps build the reserves that let IACD support the conferences directly.
• Students and early-career members can pay for 1 or 3 years; 3 years covers a typical PhD.

Benefits of membership

Draft — to be discussed with the members before membership opens.

Membership is, above all, a way to belong to and support the community. Being a member is intended to offer the following.

From the start

• Awards. Best paper and best poster awards at each PED and TGF, open to members. A winner who is not yet a member receives a complimentary 3-year membership.
• PhD workshops and training. Reduced fees and priority registration for members at PhD workshops and training courses held alongside PED and TGF, such as the PED25 PhD workshop.
• Discounts on future conferences. We aim to secure a member discount on PED/TGF registration — none at PED27 (its budget is already fixed), but a discount of up to ~5% from TGF28 onward, agreed with each conference’s organizers and announced per event.
• A voice in the community. Members vote in the General Assembly, can nominate and be elected to the Steering Committee, and get priority for roles such as reviewing and programme committees.
• Online seminars. A regular seminar series where members — especially PhD students — present their work to the community.
• Jobs and calls. Members can share PhD, postdoc, and industry positions, datasets, and calls through the association’s channels.
• A wider network. Membership connects you with researchers and practitioners across regions and disciplines working on pedestrian and traffic dynamics.

Planned as the association grows

• Best PhD thesis award.
• IACD Fellows. Recognition of members with outstanding contributions to the field.
• Mentoring. Senior members paired with PhD members, for example around the PhD workshops.
• Special interest groups, e.g. experiments and data, modelling and software, traffic and granular flow, and crowd safety practice, organising sessions at PED and TGF.
• Regional groups (e.g. China, Japan, Europe) for members who cannot easily travel to the conferences.
• Travel grants for PhD members, especially from lower-income countries.
• Support for colleagues in need. In urgent situations, the association may help members who cannot afford conference or membership fees. This is discretionary and exceptional — the board may reduce or waive fees on justified request (Statutes §4a) — not a guaranteed entitlement.
• A closer link with the community’s journal, the open-access Collective Dynamics, e.g. through member reviewers and editors.

How it will work

Membership is not a conference fee — it is a way to support the community, with the benefits above as secondary.

Once membership opens, you will be able to sign up and pay online by card, choosing a 1-, 2-, or 5-year term (students and early-career: 1 or 3 years). Fees are collected once the association is registered and its bank account is set up.

For now, if you’d like to join when membership opens, register your interest by writing to board [at] collectivedynamics.org with your name and affiliation, and we’ll get in touch.

Questions?

See the FAQ for details on voting rights, the Steering Committee, and how the association is run — or email info [at] collectivedynamics.org.