What a member can use without the fees or the travel
An association's courses and workshops sit behind conference fees and travel, yet a member who cannot meet those costs can still use a good deal: the resources behind the member login, the conference sessions and presentations that reach the website, the people who will answer a direct question, and a hardship fund that can meet the subscription itself.
Conference fees and travel
One unemployed EMWA member, hoping to start a second career as a medical writer in agency rather than freelance work, could not fund a conference from savings alone and found it unfair that most attendees seemed to be writers supported by their employers. When EMWA's 2016 webinar programme was already largely set, the place to take an EMWA course in writing for medical communication was an EMWA conference. EMWA workshops were then held only at EMWA conferences, though a new programme of webinars was expected to be published soon.
In the run-up to EMWA's Warsaw conference of 8 to 10 November, its conferences were always held in Europe and its workshops were always run on site.
Resources behind the member login
A member who logged in to EMWA's website could use its resources centre, full of articles, text and information on almost every topic, without paying any further fee.
In 2013 the Freelance Resource Centre on the EMWA website held a growing archive of freelance resources, reached through the members-only login, then Resources, then Freelance Resource Centre. Besides its well-publicised Regulatory Medical Writing section, the centre held archives on starting up and running a business, legal, technical, personal experience, journalism and translation, conferences, and general material. Much of what interests a member might already be covered in those archives, so EMWA's freelance section advised members to check them.
In 2012 EMWA's freelance section reported the centre fast becoming the useful resource it had hoped for. That year's additions, a Regulatory Medical Writing section and a proposal and task-order points list, were open only to members logged in to the website, and had been developed at members' request with the support of four experienced freelancers and the freelance support team. The minutes of that spring's Freelance Business Forum were to be archived in the centre too. By December 2013 the centre held the minutes of the Barcelona Freelance Business Forum, and its business and medical-writing content was open to all EMWA members, not only freelances.
Ahead of the Warsaw conference, a webinar was announced for about a month later in which the leader of the Freelance Business Forum would present the online resources for freelancers and for people working in house, to help members find their way through a website that holds a great deal that may be useful to them.
Conference sessions and presentations online
For a member who cannot travel, the EMWA website held a lot of information. Some of the sessions given free of charge at the conferences had been replicated as webinars over the years, and all the presentations of the symposia had been posted online.
Free courses and social media
EMWA's social media accounts were free for everyone, and more experienced members shared a lot of information on its LinkedIn group, Twitter and Facebook. Free courses, among them statistics courses and massive open online courses, were listed in Twitter feeds, and a search of the internet turned up quite a few others free of charge.
Direct help from members
In the view of one host of an EMWA webinar, the association is run for its members and by its members, is not reserved for peers or very experienced people, and will answer any question, so a member need only ask for what they need. In that host's view many people in it are ready to help, and being in contact with others is very important. A member who had found joining a good step but had so far seen no benefits suspected that they went to those already working as writers, but one host did not think so. That host proposed a Skype meeting with the member, so that the hosts could find out what help was needed and give more targeted advice. The member was invited to get in touch by email, because so broad a range of questions was difficult to answer in detail without direct interaction. The other host was always available for such conversations, had recently talked with a new member who wanted more information, and was happy to help because different people had helped her in the past.
As of October 2023, EMWA's creative team, about ten medical writers and researchers, tried to support members with anything to do with graphics. A member who had submitted an article to Medical Writing with a figure or graphic that did not capture its essence could contact the team, whose details were on the EMWA website under the creative team.
The membership hardship fund
As of June 2022, EMWA's membership hardship fund was open to existing or past members who could not afford the subscription. The applicant was asked to contribute whatever they could and EMWA covered the rest, and it did not discriminate against an applicant who could contribute nothing. Each applicant answered three questions of up to 300 words each, on their career aspirations, their plans for future involvement with EMWA and why they needed the fee waiver. The treasurer judged each application individually with the support of the executive committee, with no limit on the number of applications, and head office kept the details of anyone who qualified confidential. A qualifying member's case was reviewed every year, and support could be considered for at most three consecutive years.
In March 2023 the fund was offered on the same terms. EMWA's policy was then to provide equal opportunities regardless of race, colour, religion, national origin, gender, sexual preference, age or disability, and as a partner organisation for the UN Sustainable Development Goals it aimed, under goal 4, to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Applications went to EMWA's general and executive committee addresses.