- approved 03/1999, updated 05/2010 -
Purpose
The Member Relations Council addresses all Society activities and programs related to members, chapters, membership development, marketing, industry relations, sister and related societies, and Society regions. Members of this Council include the President-Elect and the Past President, in addition to all Directors reporting to the Vice President - Member Relations, and a few members appointed by the VP- Member Relations with special tasks.
Organizational Structure
The Members Relations Council is composed of a Chair (the Vice President for Member Relations) and the following members ex-officio: the President-Elect, the Past President, the Director for Marketing and Industry Relations, the Director for Membership Programs Development, the Director for Sister and Related Societies, the four Directors of North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Middle-East, and Asia/Pacific regions, and up to four more members appointed for special tasks by the Vice-President Member Relations. The Vice President Member Relations is elected to the position by Society members. Directors are appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Vice President for Member Relations. All Directors shall serve a nominal two-year term, concurrent with that of the Vice President. Though normally not the practice, it is permissible by the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) Bylaws for a Director to be appointed for a subsequent term. In the event that a Director position is vacated before the full two-year term is completed, the Vice President shall appoint a successor to complete that partial term. Early termination of Director terms may occur in accordance with the bylaws or mutually agreed on policies set by the President and Vice Presidents. Each Director has a respective Board. Policies and procedures for the Boards within the Publications Council are covered in the corresponding sections for these Boards.
Activities
The Member Relations Council is chartered with 1) formulating strategic directions, and 2) establishing policies which:
- affect ComSoc member activities and benefits programs, for individuals, chapters, and sections
- assure cost-effective marketing programs for the Society services, products, initiatives and activities
- initiate, stimulate and coordinate the activities of ComSoc members and chapters throughout the four regions of North America, Latin America. Europe, Africa and Middle East, and Asia/Pacific.
- foster the provisioning of ComSoc’s technical, professional development and information services to the ComSoc members in the abovementioned regions
- promote the active participation of members throughout the world in ComSoc’s activities.
- oversight the relations with professional societies internationally, including the signing of agreements with professional societies as well as promoting and coordinating Society/professional-society activities.
To make it happen
Areas of concern, issues, or proposals for new initiatives can be ‘generated’ anywhere - from members of the Board of Governors, the Operating Committee, Society Councils or members of their boards, Society members, the New York Staff, and professionals outside the Society. To facilitate follow-through, the Vice President shall ask a Director or, in conjunction with a Director, a member of that Director’s Board, to assume leadership for specific projects. It is expected that whenever possible, target completion dates will be set, and that the responsible individual will prepare periodic ‘update reports’ to the Vice President and (where appropriate) the Director. As needed, progress will be reported to the Operating Committee (OpCom) or Board of Governors (BoG) when they meet. Such reports will be presented by the Vice President or, at his discretion and in consultation with the President, the responsible Director. In any case, the Vice President shall receive Director’s reports no less than four weeks prior to OpCom and BoG meetings, so the Vice President can, in turn, prepare his/her own report in conformance with a three-week lead time. Additionally, the Vice President shall ask members of the Member Relations Council to provide informal inputs to the annual Management Retreat.
In the event the Vice President cannot attend a Management Retreat, OpCom or BoG meeting, s/he will consult with the President to designate a Director to fill that role on a per-meeting basis.
To successfully fulfill its charter, the Member Relations Council must keep the New York ComSoc Staff informed of its activities and work closely with them whenever possible. In particular, the Executive Director and the appropriate Department Heads must be kept informed of Council activities.