Membership & Affiliation

The Institute is built around researchers, reviewers, and readers who want science evaluated on its merits — not on where it was produced, who funded it, or whether the author holds the right credentials. Two ways in: merit-based roles earned by contribution, and a paid Affiliation open to any researcher with an ORCID iD. All credentials publicly verifiable.

Verify a credential → Apply for membership →

Merit-based roles

Earned by contribution. No fee. Granted by the Institute on the basis of demonstrated work.

Founding Member (FM): Charter affiliate of the Institute. Closed at 50 total admissions. Term: indefinite.
Curation Advisor (CA): Advisory role in the Institute's curation direction, rubric evolution, and journal policy. Term: one year, renewable.
Research Fellow (RF): Affiliated researcher pursuing original work under the Institute's program areas. May author under ICSAC affiliation. Term: one year, renewable.
Reviewer (RV): Human reviewer in the curation process. Adjudicates cases surfaced by the institute's advanced AI panel and provides domain-specific scrutiny on request. Term: one year, renewable.
Other (OT): Honorary or case-specific admission. By invitation of the curation desk. Term: case-by-case.

Affiliation

Open to any researcher with an ORCID iD who wishes to demonstrate alignment with ICSAC. Recurring annual fee.

Affiliated Researcher (AR): Coming soon — Stripe checkout launches Q3 2026

Use of ICSAC affiliation on academic works (within accuracy)

Personal ICSAC ID# (ICSAC-NNNNN) for verifiable affiliation

Digital PDF certificate with QR linking to public verify page

Listing in the public directory (opt-out at checkout, switchable later)

Member-only Persistence digest (opt-in at checkout)

Eligibility for promotion to Research Fellow based on demonstrated participation

Term: one year, renewable.

Affiliation → Research Fellow

Affiliated Researcher is the on-ramp: any ORCID holder can affiliate and start participating. Research Fellow is earned — through sustained, demonstrated participation in the Institute's work (commenting on cases, attending review sessions, adjudicating borderline decisions, contributing to rubric refinement). Promotion is the Institute's decision; payment does not buy advancement. AR buys affiliation and a clear path to demonstrate fit. RF is granted on merit.

Apply for a merit-based role

The form below is for the merit tiers: FM, CA, RF, RV, OT. The Institute reviews applications on a rolling cadence; credentialed applicants receive a verifiable membership ID and are added to the public registry. For Affiliated Researcher (AR), wait for the Stripe checkout to open (Q3 2026) — AR does not use this form. If the embedded form does not load, use the direct form link.