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Policies and Procedures - Boards |
5.8.4 Meetings & Conferences Policies - updated 4/98 -
(formerly the International Conference Policy Board - ICPB)
#100 series policies have been adopted on a PERMANENT basis either at an ICPB meeting, by a majority vote of those present, assuming that a quorum exists (a quorum shall consist of 50% or more of the members of the ICPB) or in a mail ballot, by a majority of all members of the ICPB;
#200 series policies have been adopted on a PROVISIONAL basis by the Chairman of the International Conference Policy Board;
#300 series policies have been adopted on a TEMPORARY basis by the IEEE Communications Society staff member in charge of conferences.
#400 series policies are IN DEVELOPMENT. Comments on these policies are particularly welcome .
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100 Series: PERMANENT MEETINGS & CONFERENCES POLICIES
(formerly ICPB Policies)
101 - Introduction
101A - Application
Unless otherwise indicated the policies apply to all meetings in which ComSoc is a 50% or higher financial co-sponsor [approved by ICPB - 14 November, 1995].
101B - Adoption of policies
ICPB policies are adopted:
a) on a PERMANENT basis either at an ICPB meeting, by a majority vote of those present, assuming that a quorum exists (a quorum shall consist of 50% or more of the members of the ICPB) or in a mail ballot, by a majority of all members of the ICPB;
b) on a PROVISIONAL basis by the Chairman of the International Conference Policy Board;
c) on a TEMPORARY basis by the IEEE Communications Society staff member in charge of conferences.
101C - Amendments to Policies
a) ICPB policies may be amended, revised, or eliminated on PERMANENT basis at an ICPB meeting by a majority of those present, assuming that a quorum exists, (a quorum shall consist of 50% or more of the members of the ICPB) or in a mail ballot, by a majority of all members of the ICPB.
b) In special circumstances, ICPB policies -- including PERMANENT policies -- may be amended, revised, or eliminated on a PROVISIONAL basis by the Chair of the ICPB providing that the full ICPB is notified of this decision prior to the next meeting of the ICPB at which time it may then endorse or overrule the decision of the Chair. [Approved by ICPB, 21June 1996]
101D - General Description
The ICPB is responsible for establishing policy and setting direction for all meetings held by the Society. The combination of the volunteer-based ICPB and paid HQ staff support comprises the Department of Meetings and Conferences. Responsibility and authority for conduct in ICPB's activities come from the Society's Board of Governors.
101E - Precedence
In cases of conflict between policies, precedence shall be:
a) The applicable laws of the jurisdiction in which the conference takes place
b) IEEE Constitution, By-Laws, Policies and Procedures, and Directives of IEEE Board of Directors
c) By-Laws and Directives of IEEE Communications Society Board of Governors
d) Policies of International Conference Policy Board
e) Policies of subsidiary Governing Boards or Steering Committees of the ICPB
f) Policies of Conference Chair
[Approved by ICPB, 21June 1996]
102 - Membership of ICPB
Membership of the ICPB shall be determined by the Director of Meetings and Conferences Current voting membership is: Director of Meetings and Conferences; Vice President International Affairs; ICPB Directors of the four Geographic Conference Boards (currently North America, Latin America, Europe-Africa-Middle East, and Asian-Pacific; ICPB Chairs of Major Conference Boards or their designated representatives (currently GICB, INFOCOM, MILCOM, and NOMS; the ICPB Director of Directed Growth Conference Board; and four ICPB Directors of Sessions/Product Development Boards for Tutorials, Applications and Systems Engineering, Products and Systems Development, and Fundamental Research [approved by ICPB - 14 November, 1995; revised by ICPB 5 November, 1997].
103 - Meeting Approvals
Formal ComSoc approval by the Director of M&C is required for ALL meetings held by any ComSoc Technical Committee or other ComSoc organizing body. Such approval will be as simplified as possible to speed the decision process. Use of on-line processes will be maximized to improve speed and dissemination of requirements, approvals, and information.
One consideration for rejection of a meeting approval requirement will be its competitive nature (timing and content) with another ComSoc meeting having prior formal approval [approved by ICPB - 14 November, 1995; revised by ICPB 5 November, 1997].
104 - Logos
The prominent use of IEEE and ComSoc Logos is required on ALL publicity and publications for meetings and its use must comply with current ComSoc & IEEE standards (as shown on the ComSoc Home Page on the WWW) [approved by ICPB - 14 November, 1995].
105 - For Profit Organizations
ComSoc shall not approve any type of sponsorship of a meeting, or in any other way authorize the use of its name or its logo or its member mailing lists to be used in any meeting, where a "for-profit" organization is one of the financial owners of that meeting. The only allowable form of financial participation with "for-profit" organizations will be the acceptance of Patron Donations or joint ventures that are approved in writing by the Director of M&C in conformance with IEEE by-laws. [approved by ICPB - 14 November, 1995; revised by ICPB 5 November, 1997].
106 - Site Selection
Site selection for any ComSoc meeting shall be facilitated by and shall receive prior approval by the Director of the Geographic Conference Board for that specific area [approved by ICPB - 14 November, 1995].
107 - Registration Fees
Meeting Registration Fees shall be determined by the meeting chairperson for a specific meeting, using approved ComSoc guidelines and budget templates, and shall be approved by the Director M&C in writing prior to the event. In general all attendees must pay a registration fee to attend a ComSoc meeting. The meeting chairperson may make exceptions for their specific meeting, however, these exceptions may not be delegated and they will not be considered as precedence for any other ComSoc meeting.
Press shall be encouraged consistent with the specific meeting . The meeting Chair may elect to alter this policy for the meeting as appropriate [approved by ICPB - 14 November, 1995; revised by ICPB 5 November, 1997].
108 - Member Discounts
Non-member registration fees (excluding sleeping rooms and meal functions) must be at least 25% more than member fees, except for members of organizations covered under Sister Society Agreements where the terms of that Agreement shall prevail [approved by ICPB - 14 November, 1995].
109 - Governing Boards & Steering Committees
Continuity is essential to improve the quality, efficiency, surplus and attendance of IEEE Communications Society conferences. Accordingly, insofar as practical, each continuing conference should have its own designated Governing Board or Steering Committee.
The responsibilities of each Governing Board or Steering Committee are:
- a) to identify and recommend Chairs of future conferences. In the case of large (over $100,000 revenue) conferences this should normally be two to four years in advance of the conference date.
b) to identify and recommend locations for future conferences. In the case of large (over $100,000 revenue) conferences this should normally be two to four years in advance of the conference date.
c) to advise each Organizing Committee on its Technical Program and its management decisions;
d) to monitor the progress of an Organizing Committee and, where appropriate, to report problems or opportunities to the Director of Meetings and Conferences or to the appropriate member of the International Conference Policy Boartd.
The composition of each Governing Board or Steering Committee will be as follows:
- a) there will be a Chair who will report to the member of the ICPB designated by the Director of Meetings and Conference.
b) the Chair will have the authority to either appoint members of the Governing Board or Steering Committee or to set up written procedures for the election of members.
c) each Governing Board or Steering Committee will have at least one member who serves as liaison between the appropriate Technical Committee(s) and the Organizing Committee. This liaison may or may not also serve as Chair of the Governing Board or the Steering Committee.
d) the Chair of the each Governing Board or Steering Committee will either be: a) elected by the members of the Governing Board or Steering Committee group or b): appointed by the Chair of the appropriate Technical Committee or c): in the absence of a suitable elected or appointed Chair, selected by the Director of Meetings and Conferences. Each Chair must be approved by the Director of M&C and will serve at the pleasure of the Director of M&C or until the resignation or the end of the term of that Chair.
[Approved by ICPB, 24 June 1996]
110 - Ownership of Databases
Because of privacy business and legal reasons, attendee lists and other databases of names gathered or used by a meeting are not to be released by the meeting for use by any other organization. Any use by the meeting for other than promotion, registration, and reports relating to that meeting must be agreed to and approved in writing by the Director of M&C who represents ComSoc which is the "owner" of the lists. This approval is normally granted in the case of exhibitors and patrons (sometimes known as sponsors) and in the case of other IEEE entities. Chairs may at their discretion release lists of attendees to the meeting participants. However, these lists may only contain names of attendees, company affiliation and nationality and should not contain sufficient address, telephone, fax, or E-mail information to allow a mailing list to be created from these names. [Approved by ICPB, 19 Nov 1996; revised by ICPB 5 November, 1997]
111 - Contracts and Agreements - General (also, see #203 regarding additional considerations for conference management firms)
Unless waived by the Director of Meetings and Conferences, a meeting Chair is granted the following spending limits providing that the expenditure has been previously budgeted and the budget has been approved by the Director of Meetings and Conferences:
- all agreements with actual (or potential) exposure of less than $10,000 may be entered into with the approval of the Chair and need not be submitted to ComSoc for comment or approval;
- all agreements with actual (or potential) exposure of $10,000 to $24,999 or 6% of budgeted expenses, whichever is greater, should be submitted to ComSoc for comment but may then be entered into with the approval of the Chair;
- all agreements with actual (or potential) exposure of $25,000 or 15% or more of budgeted expenses, whichever is greater, should be submitted to ComSoc for review with the recommendation of the Chair and may only be signed by the Executive Director of ComSoc or the designee of the Executive Director.
[Approved by ICPB, 19 Nov 1996]
112 - Contracts and Agreements - Conference Management Firms
In addition to the requirements regarding contracts and agreements stated above, when selecting a conference management, exhibit sales, registration or other similar firm where the potential value of the contract is $5000 or greater, it is the responsibility of the Chair to:
- review and consider using the capabilities of IEEE Communications Society staff and its prices;
- include a written set of responsibilities in any Agreement;
- include a clause in any agreement that states that the conference management firm will not receive payment or any other consideration from any vendors or other parties associated with the conference (such as hotels, airlines, frequent flyer programs) unless authorized in writing by the Chair;
- state the estimated amount and all details of compensation including hotel and other commission dollars. Commission dollars paid for services must be included in the meeting budget as a line item in both conference revenue and conference expense;
- include a clause that the firm will not disclose proprietary information regarding this meeting to any other person or organization;
- include a clause that, unless otherwise agreed, all meeting records will be returned to the Organizing Committee within 90 days after the event.
[Approved by ICPB, 9-jun-97]
113 - Feedback on Technical Papers
To enhance quality and fairness, where practical, conference committees shall return to authors non-confidential portions of review results for submitted papers or equivalent material, so that: 1) authors of accepted papers may have an opportunity to incorporate comments in final versions, and 2) authors of rejected papers may be apprised of the reasons for non-acceptance. A conference committee may make such information available upon request or proactively distribute it to authors. [Approved by ICPB, 9-jun-97]
114 - Sale of Products in Booths at Meetings
With the exception of goods or products deemed by the Chair to be inconsistent with the professional goals of ComSoc or in competition with ComSoc, there shall be no restriction placed on the sale of products within booths provided the ComSoc meeting receives remuneration or compensation for the booth space.[Approved by ICPB, 9-jun-97]
115 - Barter and Swaps
Swaps of Booth Space for Services, or similar acts of barter, is acceptable at the discretion of the Chair. [Approved by ICPB, 9-jun-97]
116 – Globalization Goals (formerly # 204)
Though recognizing that it is necessary for some meetings (particularly smaller ones) to be held regularly in one country, the ICPB supports the goal of globalization and urges each Conference Governing Board and/or Steering Committees to establish a goal of holding one of three meetings outside of North America (US and Canada). MILCOM is excused from this goal. [Approved by ICPB, 9-jun-97]
117 - Selection and Authority of Treasurer (formerly #203)
In order to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, the Chair should appoint a Treasurer who has no close family or business relationship with the Chair. It is the responsibility of the Treasurer to be familiar with ComSoc and IEEE financial procedures. ComSoc procedures suggest two signature or E mail or Fax approvals (the Treasurer and one other) for all expenses and two signatures (the Treasurer and one other) on any check in excess of $5, 000. [Approved by ICPB 5 November 98]
200 series: PROVISIONAL ICPB POLICIES
205 - Approval of ComSoc Involvement with Meetings
There are four levels of official ComSoc approval: cooperating and technical co-sponsorship (which involve no financial participation) plus co-sponsorship and [full ] sponsorship, (which both involve ComSoc financial participation).
The definition of each type of meeting is established by IEEE (see pages 2.1 and 2.2 IEEE Meeting Organization Manual, Version 2.0)
205A - Cooperation
ComSoc assists with publicity and encourage individual members to submit papers and to attend the conference including use of the appropriate IEEE mailing list(s). There is no financial relationship between ComSoc and the meeting. The use of the IEEE and ComSoc logos is prohibited but the sponsor may state that the meeting is being held "in cooperation with IEEE Communications Society."
205B - Technical Co-Sponsorship
In addition to performing the same role as in Cooperation, there is direct and substantial involvement by ComSoc in the organization of the technical program. There is no financial relationship between ComSoc and the meeting. The use of the IEEE and ComSoc logos is encouraged but not required.
205C - Co-Sponsorship
ComSoc shares with one or more other non-profit organizations (including IEEE entities) significant involvement in the technical, administrative, marketing and financial responsibilities for the conference. A ComSoc financial interest is required. The use of the IEEE and ComSoc logos is required.
205E - Sponsorship
ComSoc assumes complete responsibility for the technical, administrative, marketing, and financial responsibilities of the conference. ComSoc has 100% of the financial interest in the meeting. The use of the IEEE and ComSoc logos is required.
The following criteria should be considered when evaluating ComSoc approval of a meeting:
- prior relationship with the meeting (the grandfather principle)
- endorsement of the technical program by a ComSoc Technical Committee **
- endorsement of key members of the Organizing Committee by a ComSoc Technical Committee **
- continuing involvement in the technical program by a ComSoc Technical Committee **
- involvement in the meeting by other IEEE entities
- involvement in the meeting by ComSoc sister societies
- involvement in the meeting by collaborative (not necessarily IEEE or sister) societies
- potential benefit of the program to ComSoc membership - even if not endorsed by a TC
- likely amount of staff time required to support the program
- absence of competing ComSoc programs
- opportunity to enter a strategic program area
- likelihood of attracting new ComSoc members
- potential of furthering ComSoc globalization goals
- compliance with IEEE and ComSoc policies and procedures
- potential contribution to financial strength of ComSoc
**Substantial weight will be given to Technical Committee recommendations in these areas, In addition if a TC can show that non-financial involvement is likely to attract new members, open up new and important areas for ComSoc technical involvement or provide future opportunities for financial growth, then the views of the TC will also be given great weight.
In evaluating a meeting the views of the appropriate Technical Committee and any interested members of the Board of Governors, the ICPB and the ComSoc staff will be taken into consideration. If the meeting has been held previously, then the results of that meeting will normally play a significant role in the evaluation.
The final decision on approval will be made by the Director of Meetings and Conferences. If a member of the IEEE Communications Society disagrees with the decision , that member should make every effort to work with the Director of M&C or with an ICPB or staff member designated by the Director of M&C to understand the reason(s) for the decision and reach a mutually satisfactory accommodation.
If, after this discussion, a disagreement still exists, the Director of M&C will be notified and review the decision.
If an agreement is still not reached, then any party has the right to put the matter on an ICPB meeting agenda providing notification is received 30 days before the meeting.
In making decisions on sponsorship categories, there are often competing principles that must be weighed. For example, a meeting endorsed by one Technical Committee might compete (in time or subject matter) with another ComSoc meeting.
One of the most difficult areas to resolve is the friction between the financial goals of the Society and its educational and globalization) goals. Generally, co-sponsorship and [full] sponsorship relationships provides the Society with direct financial benefits while technical co-sponsorship and cooperation do not provide these benefits.
Because of the importance of sustaining a positive cash flow to support ComSoc staff and ComSoc initiatives, the Director of M&C will normally apply a higher standard for Technical Co-Sponsorship approval than might be used for Co-Sponsorship. In addition, applications for Technical Co-Sponsorships will often be asked to consider Co-Sponsorship. If that is not practical, then the organizers will normally be informed that Technical Co-Sponsorship is approved on the understanding that the Organizing Committee will consider Co-Sponsorship for the next occurrence of the event. While this policy may postpone some hard decisions, it should, in the end, significantly increase the number of ComSoc co-sponsored events -- particularly off-shore -- and provide a method for ComSoc to track the financial record of a meeting before becoming a financial co-sponsor or sponsor. [Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
206 - ComSoc Meetings
Communications Society approval of all meetings conducted by ComSoc Technical Committees is required utilizing normal approval criteria. This policy is necessary because of the financial liability imposed on ComSoc when meetings are held under its name, in order to comply with government regulations concerning non-profits, and to maintain financial accountability within the Society. For these reasons a Technical Committee may not sponsor, co-sponsor, technically co-sponsor, or cooperate with a meeting without obtaining the approval of the Meetings and Conferences Department of the Communications Society . [Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
207 - Chapter Meetings
ComSoc chapters are permitted to hold meetings without ComSoc approval. However they are required to notify ComSoc before any meeting is held and provide any information about the meeting requested by ComSoc. They are permitted to use the ComSoc logo providing they meet these standards. [Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
210 - Purchase of Capital Equipment
The acquisition of Capital Equipment by any meeting shall comply with current IEEE and ComSoc procedures for purchase of capital equipment (see Board of Governors, XXXX). [Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
211 - Sister Societies
By direction of the Board of Governors, as of January 1, 1996 all members of Sister Societies are entitled to attendance at all ComSoc meetings at 15% over the IEEE member price. The implementation of this policy is as follows.
- a) To simplify record keeping the actual price charge will be the same as the IEEE member price
b) Proof of sister society membership is only required when the Conference Chair deems proof advisable.
c) No adjustments will be made for those who claim Sister Society membership after registering.
d) Conference chairs should publicize these rates on registration forms.
MEMBER RATE (available only to members of IEEE or designated "Sister Societies". To qualify for the member rate you must indicate your organization (including IEEE) and your member number enter. IEEE members should enter IEEE.
| Name (IEEE or Sister Society) |
Member Number |
e) Registrars should be instructed to establish separate categories for Sister Society members in reports. If that is not practical, then Sister Society registrants should be counted as IEEE registrants.
[Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
212 Registration Fee Guidelines (revised 1-jun-97)
A clear and consistent registration fee policy with as few exceptions and variations as possible is essential for a well run conference.
With the exceptions listed below, it is ICPB policy that all attendees, including the members of the Executive Committee (Organizing Committee) pay the appropriate full registration fee.
However in a typical conference, there are cases where exceptions should be considered.
Normally it is the responsibility of the Treasurer to administer registration fee policies subject to the approval of the Chair.
Accordingly it is the responsibility of the Treasurer to enforce overall fee policies and to propose exceptions, when needed.
In doing so, they should be familiar with the following registration fee policies.
Some policies are set by IEEE. These are required on all conferences. They are indicated by an **.
Other policies are set by ComSoc. While it is strongly recommended that these policies be followed by the conference, the Chair has the authority to adapt and revise any of these policies when deemed to be in the best interest of the conference.
Registration Required: In order to speed registration processing and to improve attendance estimates, all attendees should register even those serving as staff or conducting tutorials. In the case of panelists, plenary speakers, tutorial leaders it is the responsibility of the appropriate member of the OC to make certain that they have registered. There should be no exceptions.
** Non-Member Fees -- Ratio to Members Fees: "IEEE policy requires that a registration fee for non-members at IEEE Sponsored Conferences should be significantly more (25%-50%) than the registration fee for IEEE members." (IEEE Tab Manual 9.1.4.1).
ComSoc interprets this policy to exclude bundled social and food and beverage and housing expenses which should be estimated on a per person basis and then deducted from the full fee before calculating the non-member premium.
** Non-Members Entitled to Member Fees: "Members of the founding Societies - American Institute of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers have a reciprocal agreement entitling their members to the member registration fees at IEEE conferences." (IEEE Tab Manual 9.1.4.1):
ComSoc also encourages members of ComSoc Sister Societies to register at the member rate. A current list of sister societies is maintained by ComSoc (c.swaim@ieee.org).
These provisions can be difficult to police because of distance, credentials, and language. ComSoc encourages each conference to give applications for these discounts the benefit of the doubt and to note in its Final Report any significant difficulties that were encountered.
** Students: IEEE Policy (Policy and Procedure 10.9.L and Bylaws 10.2.1) permits reduced conference registration fees for students, unemployed IEEE members, retired, and Life members and special VIP guests at the discretion of the Conference Committee and the sponsoring entity. Unless otherwise stipulated, the registration fee for retired and Life members should be no more than the registration fee for students. These reduced registration fees may exclude meal functions, Conference proceedings, and other side activities." (IEEE Tab Manual 9.1.4.2):
For the sake of simplicity and fairness, ComSoc recommends that SURLs (Students, Life Members, Retired IEEE Members, and Unemployed IEEE Members) pay identical fees and receive identical benefits at a conference.
Keeping in mind that there is no requirement that SURLs receive a special fee, ComSoc recommends that each conference determine its overall policy towards SURLs on the following questions:
Will there be a discount and, if so, what will it be? ComSoc recommends that any discount fee cover, at a minimum, all incremental costs associated with the SURL.
Will the discounted fee be published or only available upon request?
What services will SURLs who buy the discounted fee receive? ComSoc recommend that at a minimum purchasers receive admission to all technical sessions, plenaries, and panels and a copy of the conference proceedings (either paper or disk on the same basis as a regular attendee). If a Executive committee wishes to introduce a significant discount, ComSoc recommends that social and food and beverage and housing be excluded from SURL benefits.
What about tutorial fees? ComSoc recommends against a reduction in tutorial or special panel or workshop fees for SURLs.
Keynote and Plenary Speakers: (see Plenary and Keynote Speakers)
** Unemployed IEEE Members: (see IEEE Tab Manual Policy 9.1.4.2 described under Students)
** Retired IEEE Members: (see IEEE Tab Manual Policy 9.1.4.2 described under Students)
In order to meet the ComSoc test of "retired" the attendee must not be employed.
** Life Members: (see IEEE Tab Manual Policy 9.1.4.2 described under Students)
Tutorial Fees: ComSoc recommends that tutorial fees be set in order to maximize tutorial revenue and that no discounts be offered for tutorial fees (aside from those based on multiple tutorials).
Sales of Tutorial Records: ComSoc recommends that extra copies of tutorial records be sold on site after the conference tutorials at a nominal fee. ComSoc recommends against offering tutorial records in the Advance Program or other public media. Conferences that sell tutorial records should be certain the tutorial instructor approves this policy in the letter of agreement.
Technical Session Chairs and Organizers: It is recommended that no discounts be offered.
Technical Session Authors and Presenters: It is recommended that no discounts be offered. However student presenters may qualify for ComSoc Student Travel Grants (see above).
Invited Presenter: It is recommended that invited presenters be permitted, upon their request, to attend the conference free on the day(s) of their presentation. If they attend other days of the conference they should pay the appropriate full conference fee with no discount for the day that they spoke.
Invited Panelist: It is recommended that invited presenters be permitted, upon their request, to attend the conference free on the day(s) of their presentation. If they attend other days of the conference they should pay the appropriate full conference fee with no discount for the day that they spoke.
Tutorial Speaker: It is recommended that invited presenters be permitted, upon their request, to attend the conference free on the day(s) of their presentation. If they attend other days of the conference they should pay the appropriate full conference fee with no discount for the day that they spoke (see also Tutorial Policies).
Staff - Paid Professional: It is recommend that professional staff employed by ComSoc or by the conference, be admitted free. It is recommended that they be charged for social and food, and housing.
Staff - Clerical (paid and unpaid): It is recommend that on-site clerical staff employed by ComSoc or by the conference, be admitted free. It is recommended that they be charged for social and food, and housing. A member of the Executive Committee (Organizing Committee) who works in a clerical capacity during a conference, should nevertheless b e regarded as a member of the Executive Committee (Organizing Committee).
Guest: Guests should normally be restricted to the social and food and beverage and housing component of the conference and should at a minimum, pay a fee equal to cover the costs of any of these events to which they are entitled.
Spouse: See Guest
Press: It is recommend that press be permitted all sessions (except tutorials) without charge. Press representatives should be asked to submit their credentials to the Treasurer. It is recommended that press be permitted to attend social functions and food and beverage functions without charge.
Plenary and Keynote Speakers: It is recommended that plenary speakers be permitted to attend all sessions (except tutorials) without charge. In many cases Plenary Speakers will only attend for one day in which case a one day admission may be preferable to admission for the entire conference in order to better control room blocks.
Exhibitor: Exhibitor policy is established by each conference.
Patrons: Patron policy is established by each conference with the following exception: when a potential Patron requests a preferential category of Patron that will not be made available to any other potential Patron, then the Agreement must be made submitted to the Director of M&C for approval.
Refunds: The policies for refunds and/or exchange of tickets for various events must be strictly adhered to by all personnel in the registration area. It is absolutely imperative that all attendees be treated equally and that all registration volunteers know the refund/exchange policies. Refunds are not granted except in cases of verified emergencies and then only with the approval of either the Treasurer and/or the General Chair.
The policy for refunds for non-attendance must be enforced after the conference as well. Callers after the conference will request full refunds due to not being able to attend the conference. These calls will come through the number listed on the registration form. Therefore, care should be taken to see that this number is still available for approximately two months after the conference.
Refunds should normally never be issued on site but rather after the conference. It is important the receipt of payment is verified before issuing a refund.
Student Travel Grants: These grants from ComSoc are available to paper presenters at larger ComSoc conferences. As of November, 1996 that list included: ICC, NOMS, IM, INFOCOM, ICUPC, and GLOBECOM. The Technical Chair should be familiar with the policies and procedures governing student travel grants. Current information is available from Carol Swaim (c.swaim@comsoc.org) at ComSoc.
Speaker Breakfasts: It is strongly recommended that speakers be encouraged to attend a speakers’ breakfast on the day(s) of their presentation(s) in order to meet the session chair and otherwise prepare for the session. There should be no charge for this breakfast.
Government Employee Discounts: While discounts for government and other classes of attendees are normally strongly discouraged, when a hotel offers a government employee discount, those eligible should be appropriately encouraged to obtain this favorable rate.
Expense, Travel, Lodging and Other Reimbursements: Reimbursements for travel, lodging and other expenses are strongly discouraged. However when a government employee, plenary speaker, or panelist requests reimbursement, this may be granted provided that in the opinion of the Chair: a) this was essential in order to allow the attendee to participate, and: 2) there is likely to be a net positive financial impact of this attendance.
[Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
213 - Retention of Financial Records
All ComSoc meetings must return their financial records to IEEE for storage for seven years.
If your meeting is NOT being audited by IEEE, return your financial records to: M&C Department, IEEE Communications Society, 345 East 47th Street, NY NY 10017 after it is audited. Please indicate clearly the following information on each box: conference acronym (including year), box number (as in box 2 of 3, andcomplete return address information including name of Treasurer or Chair. After checking labeling on each box, IEEE Communications Society will then indicate the retention period (seven years) on each box and arrange for storage in the ComSoc area of the warehouse.
If your meeting IS being audited by IEEE follow the same procedures except that your financial records should be shipped within six months after theclose of the conference to: Conference Audit Department, IEEE, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway NJ 08555-1331. IEEE Audit will then arrange for storage. [Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
214 - Provisional Membership Discounts
IEEE Communications Society meetings are encouraged to permit qualifying non-members to register at member rates under the ComSoc Provisional Membership plan.
Because some conferences -- particularly smaller ones -- may find the additional record keeping requirement associated with Provisional Membership burdensome, Provisional Membership is optional and should be determined by the Chair based on the recommendation of the Treasurer and/or Registration Chair. However larger ($100,000 plus revenues) conferences are strongly encouraged to follow offer Provisioned Membership.
Each meeting should determine in advance -- as part of its budgeting process -- whether or not it will offer Provisional Membership.
Provisional Membership programs should be set up as follows:
- a) a Membership Application form is completed and submitted;
b) payment is included with the Membership Application form;
c) the form is reviewed and approved (dated and initialed) by the conference Treasurer or the designee of the Treasurer;
d) a copy of the Membership Application form is attached to the registration form;
e) the payment is deposited in the conference bank account and separately accounted for in the conference financial reports (see IEEE Communications Society budgeting and financial reporting).
f) the Membership Application forms are assembled and submitted to the IEEE Communications Society within one week of the completion of the conference.
[Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
215 - Job Descriptions of ICPB Members
Group Representatives (Major Conference Board Chairs and Directed Growth Conference Board Director):
- appoint a Steering Committee chair for the series, or 2) appoint the Organizing Committee chair for each meeting in the series (e.g., NOMS 00). This should take into account recommendations of the ComSoc Technical Committee chair for those meetings for which that technical committee bears primary responsibility."
- propose new meeting topics
- propose and negotiate new co-sponsorship and other alliances
- monitor and evaluate competitive meetings
- set quality standards and review quality reports
- encourage, evaluate and, when appropriate, replicate innovations across meeting series
Geographical Representatives:
- monitor and evaluate meetings held in geographical area
- develop and maintain reviewer lists
- administer student travel grant program
- propose global initiatives to ICPB
- consult on venues for meetings with Group Representatives, Steering Committees and Organizing Committees
Session/Product Development Board Directors (Tutorials, Applications & Systems Engineering, Product & Systems Development, and Fundamental Research):
- promote product use by Group Representatives or Steering Committees or Organizing Committees
- advise Group Representatives or Steering Committees or Organizing Committees on implementation of products
- introduce product improvements
- develop new products with each product line
- set quality standards and review quality reports
- monitor competitive products
- maintain product performance data
ICPB - Exhibits and Patrons Job Description:
- promote increased use of Patrons and Exhibits for revenue and educational benefits;
- advise Group Representatives or Steering Comminutes or Organizing Committees on effective patron and exhibit sales techniques;
- set quality standards (including any commercialization issues) and review quality reports;
- monitor competitive events
Definitions
- meeting
a particular event in time (e.g., noms’98)
meeting series
a series of instances of meetings with the same name, subject area, characteristics, etc. (e.g., noms’96, noms’98, noms’00, noms’02,...)
[Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
216 - Designation of Chair
The Chair is appointed by the appropriate Conference Steering Committee or Governing Board (see #109) but is subject to the approval of the Director of Meetings and Conferences. The Chair is responsible for the quality of the program and the amount of surplus as well as managing the meeting within the guidelines specified by the IEEE, COMSOC, or any ComSoc entity which is authorized to act on behalf of ComSoc. In order to streamline administration and to strengthen accountability, only one Chair should be designated. Co-Chairs will only be approved in special circumstances and require a written definition of the respective responsibilities of the Co-Chairs. [Approved by DZ, 3/27/97]
300 series: TEMPORARY ICPB POLICIES
301 - References to Non US Countries
Because of national sensitivities, IEEE style should be followed in referencing the following countries in all conference publications
| Common Name |
IEEE Designation |
| Taiwan |
Taiwan |
| China |
China or PRC or Peoples Republic of China |
400 Series: IN DEVELOPMENT
401 - Meeting Surplus Objectives
a) The objective for a Major Conference surplus is to recover a minimum of $100 average surplus per attendee.
b) The objective for a Directed Growth Meeting surplus is to recover a minimum of $100 average surplus per attendee.
c) The objective for a tutorial surplus is to recover a minimum of $100 average surplus per attendee.
d) The objective for a symposia surplus is to recover a minimum of $75 average surplus per attendee.
e) The objective for a Technical Committee workshop surplus is to recover a minimum of $50 average surplus per attendee.
Non-member fees should be set to pay the majority of the meeting surplus. Goals higher than this amount may be set by the meeting chairperson.
The surplus for Co-Sponsored events will depend on the parties involved and Agreements in place but the proportion of surplus that flows back to ComSoc will as a minimum be in proportion to the advance loans made to the event by ComSoc calculated as a percentage of total advance loans by all parties. The loans to the Co-Sponsored events will be in the local currency of the event and shall be repaid to ComSoc in the same currency prior to any surplus calculations or repayments of surplus to the parties.
402 - ICC and Globecom Committee Meeting Blackouts
In order to increase attendance and participation at the technical sessions, effective ICC'97 there will be a full day blackout of committee meetings at each ICC and Globecom conference (during the period when the technical sessions are being held). The timing of this blackout will be determined by the meeting chairperson.
403 - No Show Speakers at ICC and Globecom
No-Show Speakers shall be charged a page charge penalty fee, calculated at the prevailing ComSoc over length page charge, and based on the speaker's total published pages in the meeting publication, in addition to registration penalty fee calculated on the base late arrival fee charged to non-members.
404 - Travel
IEEE Communications Society
Globecom-ICC Conference Board
Travel Policy
It is mandatory for a successful conference that key Executive Committee members attend one or more previous conferences to become acquainted with problems which come up during the conference and aren't covered in the conference manual. For this reason, key chairs should be selected who have their company financial support. (The General Chair must be selected who has financial support since he/she is a member of the GICB and must attend at least six conferences - those in which he/she is a member of the GICB under the Bylaws.) From a budget standpoint it is best for all attending to have corporate support for travel. This allows a larger return to the society and section by minimizing budgeted travel. The Technical Program Chair must attend the two or more conferences preceding to plan the technical program. Also, the Registration /chair should attend at least one. Encourage all who have financial support to attend so they can pass on their knowledge to others of the Executive Committee. Attendees should associate with their counterparts and attend the wrap-up session to obtain the maximum amount of information possible during their attendance at the conference.
However, there will be cases where a key person cannot obtain financial support from his/her company to attend these conferences. This will especially be true when a conference requires overseas travel. In this case judicious planning will allow attendance at an earlier, less costly conference, or a "substitute" may attend for the person involved. Early planning will circumvent the necessity for costly travel. In some cases, the chairs could (read should) be selected with an eye to corporate financial support of their IEEE activities as well as their technical qualifications. If company support is not possible for key persons, the conference may consider budgeting an amount for travel of one key person to one or two preceding conferences. This should be avoided if possible, but it is necessary that someone represent the conference and be involved in the process, especially wrap-up sessions.
In general, any budget which has been approved by the Communications Society does not require further approval. Thus IF the travel is reasonable AND has been spelled out in line item detail within the individual conference budget, travel expenses less than $1500 do not have to be individually approved external to the Executive Committee of the conference. However, expenses which exceed $1500 must be approved in advance by the Communications Society President.
GICB policy shall be that each conference may budget travel expenses for travel of one person to conferences following approval of the initial budget, city location and the Section Sponsorship Agreement (up to three conferences maximum) including the conference following theirs. Travel expenses fitting these criteria which are included in the conference budget and are spelled out as a separate line item entry shall be considered approved, requiring approval only by the Conference Chair. All expenses exceeding $1500 must be approved by the ComSoc President.
Ross C. Anderson, GICB Chairman
Sept 30, 1995
405 - Tutorials (to be developed based on previous M&C Department resolution)
406 - International Marketing Priorities (to be developed by Terry Kero for GICB)
406 - Free Sleeping Rooms
Many hotel contracts offer "free" sleeping rooms. If permitted by the hotel, a conference should normally attempt to credit these rooms to its revenue rather than assigning it to specific individuals. If rooms are, in fact, awarded, the attendee should pay for the room and then be reimbursed rather than taking the room for no charge. This is so the management of the "free" rooms can be more carefully controlled.
407 - Technical Paper Evaluations
To improve the quality of accepted papers presented at conferences and published in proceedings, and to help authors of rejected papers improve future submissions, conferences should return relevant portions of paper reviews to authors.
408 - Governance
COMSOC DIRECTOR OF M&C AND ICPB: The overall supervision of ComSoc's conferences is the responsibility of the Director of M&C. The director of M&C is on the ComSoc Board of Governors and is also Chair of the International Conference Policy Board, a group of ComSoc volunteers which establishes overall policy for the M&C Department.
CONFERENCE CHAIR AND OC: The direction of a ComSoc conference is by the Chair of that conference-- it is not by the OC. The Chair appoints an OC to assist and guide him. On matters where a Chair disagrees with the OC,ComSoc expect the Chair to make the final decision. Hopefully, in doing so, it will usually be possible to win the support of many of the members of the OC. ComSoc M&C Policy #325 which calls for one Chair (rather than co-Chairs) further emphasizes the ComSoc view that the Chair, not the OC, is the final decision maker.
STAFF: In theory staff has no "governance" role in a conference. In practice, ComSoc staff, works closely with Conference Chairs and also is in regular communication with the director of M&C. Accordingly, with the Director of M&C and, like staffs in industry or government, staff will sometimes influence policy.
There are three basic roles of staff.
First, the staff provides services, most of which have a fee attached to them. In this role, the staff is much like an outside meeting management firm, contracting to the conference to perform certain responsibilities within guidelines and prices approved by the Chair.
Second, the staff is expected to remind the OC when it is deviating from IEEE or ComSoc procedures. Within certain bounds, the Chair can choose whether or not to follow that policy. Occasionally, however, when an issue seems serious -- such as possibly endangering tax exempt status of IEEE or exposing ComSoc to legal liability, the staffer will take the matter to the Director of M&C for resolution.
Third, the staff is expect to recommend business practices that the staffer believes further the goals of ComSoc. There are two reasons for this. First, because staffers work full time in the M&C business, they are sometimes more familiar with experiences of other conferences than the Chair.
Second. as employees of ComSoc, a staffer should be aware of ComSoc's overall goals for its meetings. Is the goal to make a surplus? If so how much? Or is to educate the members? Attract new members? Enhance the technical reputation of ComSoc? In real life ComSoc conferences blend these goals but determining the appropriate weight to be given to each is not easy.
Decisions about hotel contracts, conference records, social events, marketing programs, registration fees and staffing are all topics that impact surplus. In practice, staff is expected to contribute opinions on these questions that the Chair can accept, reject, or modify.
However there can be situations where a staffer will feel that a decision requires a higher level of review. Most frequently this is when a conference e is undertaking a costly new imitative (such as developing CD-Rom, hiring an expensive boat, processing papers electronically, or undertaking a new marketing initiative) where there is less past financial history. In these cases, the staffer is expected to understand the thinking behind the decision and, depending on the dollar value and the apparent risk, review it further with the Director of M&C.
The main vehicle for this review process is the budget. Ideally, budgets will reflect all significant planned expenditures and, in the cases of initiatives, explain the logic behind the initiative. In practice, of course, many ideas arise after the budget is prepared (and approved) and it becomes a matter of judgment whether to amend the budget or to proceed with the initiative. However if a staffer feels that the change in the budget creates a substantial financial question, then the staffer is expected to review it with the Director of M&C.
409 - Joint Ventures
Some conferences identify opportunities to work directly with another conference on the theory that cooperation can increase the success of both events. Such joint ventures are encouraged provided: 1) they are approved by the Steering Committee or the Governing Board of that event and by the Director of M&C; and 2) they do not violate any of the IEEE regulations limiting joint ventures with for-profit organizations.
Once a Conference has satisfied itself on these two matters, it should then decide what form of joint venture makes the best sense. Simplified, here are the major options though hybrids of these basic structures are quite possible.
*** Mini-conference: this is an event where the Conference manages the finances, determine all major policies, provides space registration services and marketing support for both the Conference and the Mini-Conference. The Mini-Conference is responsible for developing its own program including all technical sessions and other events. In some cases, a Mini-conference will also develop its own marketing to its niche to supplement the broader marketing of the Conference.
The chief virtue of the mini-conference is its relative financial and operational simplicity. In financial areas particularly, the mini-conference tends to be the simplest form because the Major conference usually will credit the mini-conference with all of is revenues and charge the min-conference for little or none of the expenses incurred by the Conference. Thus, the Mini-Conferences best thought of as a child, which is being lunched under the sheltering protection of the Conference. The Mini-Conference works best, accordingly, when both the Conference and the Mini-Conference are part of ComSoc; if the mini-conference is a separate financial entity, hammering out agreements on finances is likely to become a major -- possibly impossible – task.
Because the finances of a Mini-Conference are merged into the finances (including the Budget and the Final Report) of a Conference, to minimize confusion in ComSoc or IEEE record keeping, a mini conference is defined as Technically Co-Sponsored by IEEE Communications Society with the Sponsor being the Conference.
*** Co-Sponsorship: this is a term that has a particular meaning within IEEE. A Conference that is Co-Sponsored is, in effect "owned" by two or more entities. Most commonly those entities are both affiliated with IEEE and the terms of the Co-Sponsorship are establish in the Conference Information Schedule (which lists the relative percentage sponsorship of each entity) and further documented in a Memorandum of Understanding which is commonly a simple document. An example is INFOCOM which is 50/50 C-Sponsored by COMSOC and the Computer Society.
However in some cases, particularly when a non-IEEE organization is involved, then a Memorandum of Understanding can be replaced by a formal Agreement that can be as long and complex as the entities choose to make it.
*** Co-location: a co-location as an agreement where two Conferences choose to meet at the same place and time with the assumption that attendees from each Conference will choose to attend the other as well. Co-locations tend to work best when the Conferences attract differing professional types within the same industry. An example is ICC and SUPERCOMM where ICC attracts a high level engineering audience and SUPERCOMM draws a broad marketing and applications audience.
In a collocation there is no merging of finances or budgets: each entity pays most or all of its costs and books all of its revenues. Any financial transaction between the two entities are defined in an Agreement where the relationship between the two entities as vendors rather than partners. In the normal co-location Agreement, costs that can best be shared are defined in advance. Often the most difficult operational decision in a co-location Agreement is the extent to which the organizations will share costs of marketing and will merge registration systems.
The main advantage of co-location is that the financial agreement between the two parties is relatively simple. Thus, co-location is often the best choice when two already established conferences each with its own strong financial history , its own parent organization wish to work together.
*** Program Management: In this model ComSoc agrees to perform a specific service for a Conference in return for an agreed upon fee. The fee could be fixed or could vary depending upon the number of attendees or some other measure. But normally there is a guaranteed fee. An example of a Project Management agreement is Interop where ComSoc developed a two day conference within guidelines set by Interop.
Program Management shares an advantage with Co-location: the relative simplicity of the financial agreement between both. Also both co-location and Project Management can be used with a for-profit organization without violating IRS or US postal regulations. The primary distinction between program Management and co-location is in the financial terms: in Program Management all the risk (and the surplus) is absorbed by one organization that pays a fee to the second. In Co-location, each organizations assumes the risks – and the rewards – of its own event.
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