Article 1 The Health Technology Assessment Network of the Americas (RedETSA), established in June 2011, is a non-profit network comprised of ministries of health, health technology assessment agencies, regulatory authorities, collaborating centers of the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), and health education and research institutions in the Americas. RedETSA's purpose is to promote and strengthen Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to support decision-making throughout the technology lifecycle, thereby improving the quality of care, patient safety, and the rational use of technologies, and contributing to the sustainability of health systems and equitable access.

Article 2 – The Network's overall objective is to strengthen and promote the use of HTA, through the exchange of information among its members, the adoption of common methodologies, the establishment of priorities for joint work, the strengthening of capacities in HTA, and the generation and dissemination of scientific evidence.

Article 3 – The specific objectives of RedETSA.
I. Identify the situation of HTA at the national, subregional and regional levels, as well as the priorities for its use in order to facilitate cooperation between countries and institutions through networking.
II. Facilitate access to information and the exchange of knowledge in HTA through the Network.
III. Strengthen the skills of health professionals and decision-makers in the field of STIs, including the evaluation and use of emerging technologies, monitoring of the technological horizon, as well as new evaluation methodologies and mechanisms.
ETHICS: Promote good practices for HTA.
V. Promote cooperation with other HTA networks (national, subregional and global).
VI. Reduce information asymmetry, helping to improve decision-making processes.
VII. Stimulate the consolidation of existing local HTA networks and the synergy of these networks with RedETSA.

Article 4– Within the framework of the proposed objectives, the members of the Network commit to:

• a) To facilitate the exchange of their STD products and make them available through the communication platforms established for the Network.
• b) To attend RedETSA meetings and collaborate virtually and in person.
• c) To designate a regular representative and a substitute for each RedETSA member institution.
• d) To keep the virtual institutional link updated to maintain contact between members.
• e) Not to market the products extracted from RedETSA, nor to enjoy or obtain economic benefits or extraordinary privileges through their use.
• f) To respect the intellectual authorship of HTA products that are extracted from RedETSA.
• g) To clarify the source of financing for ETS products shared through RedETSA and to declare conflicts of interest.
h) To respect the confidentiality criteria for STDs established by their authors in each case.
• i) To use the results of HTA products respecting human rights and ethical and public health principles.
• j) To promote the standardization of procedures and good practices in HTA.
• k) To use internal Network information responsibly.

Article 5 – At the time of the approval of this Regulation, RedETSA is made up of the institutions mentioned in Annex I, in addition to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as its Executive Secretariat.

Single paragraph: The updating of the members that make up the Network will be carried out through the RedETSA website each time the incorporation or exclusion of institutions is approved by the members of the Network.

Article 6 – Incorporation of new members to RedETSA

• a) By nature: Ministries of Health, regulatory authorities, health technology assessment institutions, national networks of public institutions and entities involved in decision-making regarding the incorporation of technologies into health and social security systems, non-profit.
• b) Educational and research institutions, public and private non-profit, that have a minimum of two years' experience in the production of STD reports and/or research on the health decision-making process.
• c) Collaborating Centers of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization in the Region, for as long as they maintain this status. Sole paragraph: To be a member of RedETSA, institutions must commit to the provisions of these Regulations.

Article 7 – Request to join RedETSA

• a) Express your interest in joining RedETSA by submitting a letter of intent to the PAHO/WHO country office, with a copy to the RedETSA Secretariat. This letter should describe: the work carried out in the field of STIs; the number of professionals involved; and the main STI activities undertaken in the last two years. You may also attach other documents to the application that demonstrate the institution's experience and/or interest in the subject. Sole paragraph: If the application is from a Ministry of Health or equivalent entity without prior experience in STIs, the letter must state the institution's reasons for requesting membership in the Network.
• b) Formally appoint two competent focal points, a primary and an alternate, to represent the institution in the Network. The institution may also appoint other individuals who perform relevant functions in ETS, such as disseminating information about activities, participating in working groups, speaking at webinars, etc.

Article 8º – The application for incorporation into RedETSA will be made by the Executive Secretary through the circulation of the documents presented by the applicant among the members of the Network, who will have a period of 30 days to issue an affirmative or negative opinion on the inclusion or, failing that, request an extension on the information presented.

§ 1° In the event that there is no negative response or request for additional information within 30 additional days or later, the application for incorporation will be approved;

§ 2° In the event of any negative feedback, the reasons justifying it must be explained in writing, based on these regulations. The application will be resubmitted for discussion at the next Network meeting, and its admission will require approval by consensus of the members present at that meeting. If consensus is not reached, it will be authorized by a qualified majority vote of two-thirds among the members present.

It should be mentioned that in any case the result of the vote will be anonymous to the candidate or new member.

Article 9 – Exclusion of members

• • I- Request by member institution to terminate its participation in the Network, notifying in writing its decision; which will be automatic and the Executive Secretariat will communicate to the rest of the Network;
  • II- Termination of the WHO's recognition of the institution as a Collaborating Centre;
  • III- Non-participation of the institution in the meetings held by the Network for 2 years, without justification.

Section 1. Any member may request the Executive Committee to remove another member from RedETSA, justifying the request based on non-compliance with any of the criteria set forth in these regulations. The Executive Committee will evaluate this request and, if deemed appropriate, will present it to the members at the next meeting for a decision by consensus of the members present. If consensus is not reached, authorization will be granted by a two-thirds qualified majority vote of the members present. It should be noted that in all cases the result of the vote will be anonymous to the member to be removed. In the event of removal, the member institution will be notified by the Executive Secretariat.

§ 2° In the case of sections II and III of this article, the termination of participation must be confirmed by consensus of the members present. If consensus cannot be reached, it will be authorized by a qualified two-thirds vote of the members present. It should be noted that in all cases the result of the vote will be anonymous to the member to be excluded. In the event of exclusion, the member institution will be notified by the Executive Secretariat.

Article 10 The RedETSA network is organized through three entities: the Executive Secretariat, managed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); the Executive Committee (EC); and the members. The Executive Committee will consist of six member institutions of the Network plus the Executive Secretariat. Member institutions will serve two-year terms, with the 50% of these institutions being renewed annually. Members may not be re-elected consecutively.

Sole paragraph: An annual call for applications will be issued to participate in the executive committee to elect the 3 new member institutions. Institutions interested in participating must indicate their interest when the call is issued. If there are more than 3 candidate institutions, the selection will be made by simple majority vote.

RedETSA's activities will be coordinated by the Executive Committee or the Executive Secretariat.

Article 11 – The Executive Secretariat will be responsible for coordinating, monitoring and executing the activities among the members and for convening and organizing the annual meetings.

Article 12 – The Executive Committee will have the following powers:
I. To carry out the scheduling of tasks, meetings, goals, as well as the definition and review of the guidelines associated with the proper functioning of the Network.
II. Monitor the projects and other activities of RedETSA;
III. Propose agendas, planning and execution of activities for members of the Network;
IV. Prepare technical reports for members to monitor and evaluate activities related to the Network's objectives;
V. To represent the Network externally, without prejudice to the representations of the institutions themselves in the different areas;
VI. To require member institutions, whenever necessary, to provide support staff and other resources to achieve the objectives of the Network;
VII. Submit relevant matters to the decision of the members of the Network;
VIII. Adopt the necessary measures for the execution of the planned activities.

Article 13 – Working groups

Single Paragraph: The topics of the working groups will be defined by the members in virtual and/or face-to-face meetings.

Article 14 The RedETSA Executive Committee is responsible for securing budgetary and extra-budgetary funding to ensure the network's sustainability. RedETSA members may contribute to this effort according to their means. The Executive Committee will inform members about the funds used each year and estimate the funds needed for the network's activities.

Article 15 – The RedETSA network must hold a virtual meeting and a face-to-face meeting at least once a year to keep the network active in its objectives.

Article 16 – The RedETSA Executive Committee must meet virtually at least four times a year.

Article 17 – This Regulation may be reviewed by the Executive Committee and must be approved by the members of RedETSA.

Article 18 – The Executive Committee reserves the right to decide on situations not covered by these Regulations, subject to subsequent ratification by the members.

Article 19 – Proposed changes to the RedETSA Regulations may be approved at in-person or virtual meetings by an absolute majority of network members, with a minimum representation of 80% of the members at the meeting.

Article 20 – The use of the RedETSA logo in print and/or digital advertising materials must be approved in advance by the RedETSA Executive Committee, and its use and reproduction for commercial purposes is prohibited.

Article 21 – This regulation will come into force on the date of its publication.