Anyone associated with ODAK Avrupa (ADEC Europe) should endeavor to maintain the highest standards of personal and professional conduct. We have put this Code in place to ensure that our members, staff and associates (are herein referred to as the Associates) can engage with each other in a supportive and mutually-respectful manner. The Code underpins our commitment to develop a community dedicated to open exchange and the dissemination of European values.​

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"Principles, values, standards, and rules of behavior that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of ODAK Avrupa in a way that 

• contributes to the welfare of its key stakeholders,

• and respects the rights of all constituents affected by its operations."

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 The Associates of ODAK Avrupa are expected to act in accordance with the principles outlined in this document.  ODAK Avrupa: Orta ve Doğu Avrupa Kalkınma Birliği Derneği (ADEC Europe: Alliance for Development of Eastern and Central Europe),  is herein referred to as the Alliance. The Code is based on five key principles outlined below: 

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Rule 1. Independent and Sound Governance

• The Alliance has an identifiable and independent decision-making body which acts with high ethical standards and whose members are nominated in accordance with established principles and procedures. 

• The board sets out its strategic objectives and ensures that programmes, operations and finances are in line with these objectives.

• Details of the governance structure, including the duties of the board and its decision-making procedures, are clearly defined and publicly available.

• Membership of governing bodies is renewed and rotated on a regular, pre-determined basis.

• Executive and non-executive functions are clearly defined in order to create a built-in system of checks and balances.

• Clear policies exist to address conflicts of interest for staff.

• Opportunities and resources are provided for the professional development and training of staff, and periodic reviews of performance are carried out.

• Steps are taken to assess and address risk in various aspects of operations.

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Rule 2. Transparency

• The Alliance communicates the remit, goals and results of its work in a comprehensive and digestible manner, holding transparency at the core of all activities. 

• Websites and other promotional materials provide a comprehensive and fair representation of the foundation’s activities and strategies.

• Basic organisational information on the website is multi-lingual.

• CVs of board members and executive staff are publicly available.

• Communications focus not only on the foundation’s activities, but also on their outcomes. Successes, as well as failures, are shared to encourage learning. The results of evaluations, both positive and negative, are publicly available.

• Social media are used as a means to interact with the public and other stakeholders. 

• Accessible mechanisms, including the use of social media to solicit general feedback from the public, are in place. 

• Statutes, by-laws, guidelines for funding applications, as well as board and staff lists, are publicly available.

• Remuneration and/or compensation policies, as well as specific details of board remuneration, are publicly available, as are the policies to address conflicts of interest for board members. 

• The ranges of executive staff and staff salaries are publicly available.

• Information on grants programmes and application procedures and, at all level of operations are publicly-available and user-friendly.

• All stakeholders are informed of decisions within a pre-determined period of time.

• Procedures are in place which allow for good knowledge on potential partners and beneficiaries. 

• Background to the establishment of the Alliance including details of current and past relationships with government and other key stakeholders, are made public.

• Balance sheets, information on budgets, annual reports and grants lists including total amounts, investment policies, investment strategies and asset allocation, statements of independent, external audits are made publicly available, taking into account data protection and individuals’ privacy. 

• Investment expertise is present on the board, or is procured externally.  Investment policies, investment strategy and asset allocation are in place, and decisionmaking structures in all three areas are defined. Mission and programme-related investing are considered as means to support the Alliance’s purpose.

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Rule 3. Responsibility and Accountability

• The Alliance acts in a responsible and collaborative manner by accounting for its actions to stakeholders, and by being active in sharing its knowledge and experiences. 

• Members including board members and all staff including directors (here in referred to as internal associates) should be aware of the ethical, legal and professional responsibilities of the Alliance. These should avoid personal and professional misconduct that might bring the Alliance or the reputation of the profession into disrepute, recognising that, in particular, legal action that reflects on your suitability to operate in the field of European Union studies may be regarded as misconduct by us.

• A remuneration and/or compensation policy for board members exists, as well as clear policies to address conflicts of interest for board members. 

• Periodic reviews of the performance of the board and staff are carried out.

• Mechanisms exist to ensure the appropriate internal control of resources and spending.

• External reviews and audits of annual accounts, investment policy, strategy and asset allocation are undertaken.

• Stakeholders are consulted in the design-stage of projects and programmes. Online feedback mechanisms for stakeholders are available. Feedback surveys are carried out on a regular basis, including the opinions of stakeholders as well as those who was not accepted as a partner or member.

• Monitoring and evaluating its actions, involving stakeholders and beneficiaries in the process, are a key part of the Alliance's grantmaking or project cycle, and are used to shape future strategies and priorities. 

• Upon request, partnership and/or membership applicants who were not accepted are explained the reasoning behind the decision and the conditions for reconsidering the applications. 

 

Rule 4. Integrity, Respect and Representation

• Priorities take into account the needs of the Alliance’s stakeholders and European communities and, the changing external environment. 

• The Alliance is actively committed to communicating with stakeholders with the aim of engaging in dialogue, joint advocacy, etc. to push its specific agenda forward. 

• The Alliance works collaboratively with partners where possible in order to maximise resources, build synergies, boost creativity, motivate learning and increase impact. These collaborative efforts are underpinned by mutual respect and understanding. 

• Appointments to the board take due account of qualifications and experience. A policy exists to ensure diversity (addressing gender, origin, age, etc.) on the board, committees and at all levels and events.

• Members are responsible for respecting the integrity and dignity of each and every Alliance member. Members are committed to making the Alliance a more inclusive organization based on mutual respect and appreciation for the diversity of the social network.

• Active participation in members, staff, target groups, networks, fora and stakeholders at the local, regional, national and/or international levels is prioritised. 

• A member’s character and actions are a reflection of the Alliance’s reputation.

• A member shall not behave in a manner that adversely affects the reputation of the Alliance at any events.

• The associates are responsible for providing accurate and honest information.

• A member is expected to be honest and accurate in representing his/her professional affiliations and qualifications, including such matters as knowledge, skill, training, education and professional experience.

• The Associates should not discriminate against, bully or harass others on the basis of: cultural and role difference, including (but not exclusively) those involving age, disability, education, ethnicity, gender, language, national origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sexual orientation, marital or family status and socio-economic status. 

  • The following list provides examples of the types of behaviour which can amount to harassment, although the list is, by no means, exhaustive:

    • Unwelcome physical contact or physical interaction: This may range from unnecessary touching or brushing against another's body, physical assault, coercive sexual relations, physical threats, insulting or abusive behaviours or gestures. It may also encompass invading someone's "personal space" by standing very close to him/her where this is unnecessary.

    • Unwelcome verbal conduct: This may include the making of remarks and comments about appearance, lewd comments, sexual advances, innuendo and banter, the making or repetition of offensive or stereotyped comments, jokes or songs, the making of threats and the making of patronising comments.

    • Unwelcome written or visual interaction: This may include sending unwelcome emails, notes or pictures, and displaying or sending offensive material on any of the Alliance's social media/websites/blogs etc.

      • Harassment, bullying and victimisation of members, or by members by electronic methods. Given the current reliance upon electronic means of communication it should be specifically noted that harassment, bullying and victimisation by electronic means is also unacceptable. For example, this might involve:

        • Sending emails (with or without attachments) which breach the terms of this Code. 

        • Inappropriate copying of emails to parties not seen as relevant to the discussion, as a way of intimidating or inappropriately gaining leverage over other members, guests, volunteers or staff.

• The Associates should respect the knowledge, insight, experience and expertise of others and relevant third parties, and members of the general public.

• A member is expected not to use his/her the Alliance membership as a means of conveying a level of competency or professional standards, as we are not an accrediting body and there is no assessment of competency to attain/retain membership.

• The internal associates neither offer nor accept bribes or inducements either on a personal basis or on behalf of the Alliance.

• The Internal associates should not speak in the name of the Alliance, our Executive Committee or sub-committees, without the authorisation of the Executive Committee.

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Rule 5. Confidentiality

• The Associates should respect the individual and collective rights to privacy and maintain confidentiality in compliance with national and international law and regulations.

• The Associates are responsible for ensuring compliance with national and international regulations and Privacy Standards and, need to implement appropriate practices, processes, controls and training to ensure that compliance.

• We adhere to the principles relating to Processing of Personal Data. Personal Data to be:

  • processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner (Lawfulness, Fairness and Transparency);

  • collected only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes (Purpose Limitation);

  • adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is Processed (Data Minimisation);

  • accurate and where necessary kept up to date (Accuracy);

  • not kept in a form which permits identification of Data Subjects for longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data is Processed (Storage Limitation);

  • processed in a manner that ensures its security using appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful Processing

  • and against accidental loss, destruction or damage (Security, Integrity and Confidentiality);

  • not transferred to another country without appropriate safeguards being in place (Transfer Limitation); and

  • made available to Data Subjects and allow Data Subjects to exercise certain rights in relation to their Personal Data (Data Subject's Rights and Requests).

  • We are responsible for and must be able to demonstrate compliance with the data protection principles listed above (Accountability).