IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Model
Operating Procedures for IEEE Standards Sponsors
The principles contained in the
IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Model Operating Procedures
for IEEE Standards Sponsors constitute the fundamental requirements
for proper standards practice in the IEEE.
The IEEE-SA strongly recommends
that these procedures be adopted intact. Modifications for additional
unique Sponsor details may be proposed, which will be audited
for appropriateness by the IEEE-SA
Standards Board Audit Committee, once approved by the Sponsor.
1. Introduction
In today's marketplace, standards development
plays a critical role in product development and market share.
In the IEEE, the responsibility for how a standard originates
and evolves is managed by a Sponsor.
It is essential in the management of a standard's development
to avoid any actions by the Sponsor or the participants that result
of a violation of these Procedures.
Adherence to these Procedures is an essential
asset in determining the applicability of IEEE's indemnification
policy.
These Operating Procedures outline the
orderly transaction of activities of this committee. For the development
of standards, openness
and due process must apply, which means that any individual with
a direct and material interest who meets the requirements of these
P&P has a right to participate by
a)
Expressing a position and its basis,
b)
Having that position considered, and
c)
Appealing if adversely affected.
Due
process allows for equity and fair play. In addition to openness,
due process requires balance,
i.e., the standards development process should strive to have
a balance of interests and not be dominated by any single interest
category. However, for the IEEE Standards Sponsor ballot, there
shall be a balance of interests without dominance by any single
interest category.
For standards matters, the latest version
of several documents takes precedence over this document in the
following order:
Policies/Procedures
of the IEEE Society that established this Sponsor
l)
Policies/Procedures
of the Technical Committee or Standards Committee that established
this Sponsor, or Policies/Procedures of the Technical Committee
that is this Sponsor
m)
Robert's Rules of Order (Newly Revised)
1.1 IEEE Sponsor scope
(Insert Sponsor scope here.)
1.2 Organization of the Sponsor
The Sponsor committee shall consist of
officers
(see clause 3) and members.
2. Responsibilities of the Sponsor
The Sponsor
shall be responsible for the following:
There shall be a Chair and a Secretary,
and there should be a Vice-Chair. The office of Treasurer is suggested
if significant funds are involved in the operation of the working
group and/or its subcommittees. These officers
shall be appointed/elected in accordance with the procedures of
the entity that established this Sponsor. In the absence of such
procedures, the Chair and Vice-Chair shall be elected by the members
of the Sponsor, and the Secretary shall be appointed by the Chair
for a term of up to three (3) years. They may serve consecutive
terms.
If the Sponsor has no other method for
the appointment or election of officers, the following procedure
shall be used.
The Chair shall appoint an Elections
Officer, whose function is to gather nominations and conduct an
election. The Elections Officer shall not be a nominee in the
election.
The members shall nominate to the Elections
Officer one or more members for each office to be filled at the
election. Nominees shall be eligible to hold the office for which
they are elected. A member shall be nominated for no more than
one office. Upon written notification, the nominee has at least
14 calendar days to indicate acceptance or rejection of the nomination.
If no nomination is received or accepted for an office, a temporary
appointment shall be made in accordance with 3.2.
The Elections Officer shall prepare and
conduct the election by letter or electronic ballot. Voting will
conclude in a time determined by the Sponsor but no less than
14 calendar days. Each balloter may cast one approval vote for
as many nominees for an office as they choose. The nominee with
the greatest number of approval votes shall win the election,
provided ballots are returned by a majority of the eligible voters
for that election.
If an office becomes vacant due to resignation,
removal, lack of nomination at an election or for another reason,
a temporary appointment shall be made by the Sponsor Chair for
a period of up to six months. Vacancies in the office of Sponsor
Chair will be filled according to the rules of the sponsoring
body. An appointment or election for the vacated office shall
be conducted at the earliest practical time.
3.3 Removal of officers
An officer may be removed by approval
of two-thirds of the voting members of the Sponsor. Grounds for
removal shall be included in any motion to remove an officer of
the Sponsor.
Lead the participants according to
all of the relevant policies and procedures
2)
Form Study Groups,
as necessary
The Chair also shall
a)
Be objective
b)
Entertain motions,
but not make motions
c)
Not bias discussions
d)
Delegate necessary
functions
e)
Ensure that all parties have the opportunity to express
their views
f)
Set goals and deadlines and adhere to them
g)
Be knowledgeable in IEEE
standards processes and parliamentary procedures and ensure
that the processes and procedures are followed
h)
Seek consensus
of the Sponsor as a means of resolving all issues
i)
Prioritize objectives to best serve the group and the goals
3.4.2 Vice-Chair
The Vice-Chair shall carry out the Chair's
duties if the Chair is temporarily unable to do so or chooses
to recuse him- or herself (i.e., to give a technical opinion).
3.4.3 Secretary
The Secretary shall
a)
Distribute the agenda at least 14 calendar
days before meeting
b)
Record and publish minutes of each meeting
within 60 calendar days of the end of meeting
c)
Create and maintain
the voting membership roster and submit to the IEEE Standards
Department annually
d)
Schedule meetings in coordination with
Chair with at least 30 calendar days notice
e)
Be responsible
for the management and distribution of Sponsor documentation
f)
Maintain lists of unresolved issues, action items, and assignments
3.4.4 Treasurer
If needed, a Treasurer shall
a)
Maintain a budget
b)
Control all funds
into and out of the working group's bank account
c)
Follow IEEE
policies concerning standards meetings and finances
Voting membership in the Sponsor shall
be in accordance with the procedures of the entity that established
the Sponsor. In the absence of such procedures, the voting membership
of the Sponsor shall observe the following policies:
No one person can represent the interests
of more than one member of the Sponsor except for a temporary
proxy vote.
Each member is expected to attend meetings
as required by these procedures. The Secretary records attendance
for members who attend at least 50% of a meeting's duration. Attendance
at a meeting via teleconferencing and/or electronic means, e.g.,
Internet conferencing, shall count towards the attendance requirements.
Each member is expected to vote on at
least 75% of the ballots.
4.2 Review of membership
The Chair shall review the voting membership
list annually and submit it
to the IEEE Standards Department in electronic form. Voting members
are expected to fulfill the obligations of active participation.
When a voting member is found in habitual default of these obligations,
the Chair shall consider the matter for appropriate action, which
may include termination of membership.
4.3 Voting membership roster
The Secretary shall maintain a current
and accurate Sponsor roster of voting members and shall distribute
it to the members upon request. All changes to the roster shall
be forwarded to the Chair immediately. The roster shall include
the following:
a)
Title of the Sponsor and its designation
b)
Scope of the Sponsor
c)
Officers
d)
Members: for all, list
name, [email address, address, IEEE Society(ies) if available]
e)
(For each subgroup--title, chair, and names and addresses
of all members)
5. Subgroups of the Standards Sponsor
When one or more subgroups (subcommittees,
working groups, technical subcommittees, writing groups, etc.)
are formed specifically to expedite the standards development
work of the Sponsor, their formation (and later disbandment) shall
require approval by a majority vote of the eligible members of
the Sponsor. The Chair of such subgroup shall be appointed by
the Chair of the Sponsor. The scope and duties delegated to such
subgroup shall be approved at the time it is formed, and subsequent
changes in scope or duties shall also require approval by a majority
of the eligible members of the Sponsor. The scope, duties, and
membership of all standards development subgroups shall be reviewed
by the Sponsor annually.
The duties of the officers of the subgroup
are the same as that for Sponsor officers. Meetings of subgroups
may be held as decided upon by the members or chair of the subgroup.
6. Meetings
Sponsor meetings shall be held, as decided
by the Sponsor, the Chair, or by petition of [5 or more] members,
to conduct business, such as making assignments, receiving reports
of work, considering draft standards, resolving differences among
subgroups, and considering views and objections from any source.
The Sponsor may charge a meeting fee to
cover services needed for the conduct of the meeting. The fee
shall not be used to restrict participation by any interested
parties.
Please note that all IEEE Standards development
meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend.
6.1 Quorum
A quorum must be identified before the
initiation of Sponsor business at a meeting. A quorum shall be
defined as a simple majority of voting members of the Sponsor.
A Sponsor vote at a meeting requires the presence of a quorum.
If a quorum is not present, actions may be taken subject to confirmation
by letter or electronic ballot, as detailed in 7.1.
6.2 Conduct
It is expected that participants in the
Sponsor behave in a professional manner at all times. Participants
shall demonstrate respect and courtesy towards officers and each
other, while allowing participants a fair and equal opportunity
to contribute to the meeting, in accordance with the IEEE
Code of Ethics.
7. Vote
Approval of an action requires an approval
vote from a majority of those votes cast from those entitled to
vote at the time of a vote (either at a meeting or by electronic
ballot), provided a quorum is present. Notification of the potential
for action shall be included on any distributed agendas for meetings.
These actions include
1)
Adoption of new or revised Sponsor
procedures, interest categories, or revisions thereof
2)
Formation
of a subgroup, including its scope and duties
The Sponsor shall be allowed to conduct Sponsor business between
meetings at the discretion of the Chair by use of a letter or
electronic ballot. If such actions are to be taken, they shall
follow the rules of IEEE
Bylaw I-300.4(4).
The Sponsor may elect to allow proxy voting.
If the Sponsor body elects to allow proxy voting, the following
procedures shall apply.
Members of the Sponsor may employ proxy
voting only when other methods of participation have been exhausted.
The Sponsor Chair must be informed of all proxies prior to the
start of the meeting in which the proxies are to be in effect.
Each appointment of a proxy shall be sent to the Sponsor Chair
and the member serving as the proxy via fax or written communication
that contains the signature of the member appointing the proxy.
A proxy shall not be valid without written acknowledgment from
the Sponsor Chair and the member serving as proxy of receipt of
the appointment.
Any one member of the Sponsor may hold
no more than two proxy votes in addition to his or her vote. Proxy
voting shall be allowed only for those members who cannot attend
the entire meeting; proxies may not be appointed for parts of
meetings. A member may appoint a proxy for no more than two meetings
of the Sponsor within an established six-meeting period. Proxy
voting shall not count towards maintenance of membership by the
member who appoints a proxy. The chair shall announce all proxy
voting to the Sponsor members at the start of the meeting in which
the proxies are to be in effect.
Members serving as proxies may only vote
on agenda items announced through the distributed agenda prior
to the meeting. If announced agenda items are amended or otherwise
developed through the meeting process whereby the action being
proposed is significantly different in meaning from the original
motion, the chair may determine that proxy votes shall no longer
be allowed for that agenda item. The proxy voter himself or herself
may also choose to abstain prior to any formal decision of the
chair.
A person appointed as proxy may not appoint
another person to act in his or her stead.
All Sponsor officers should use Sponsor
letterhead, if available, when corresponding on behalf of Sponsor
activities.
9.1 Formal internal communication
If correspondence between subgroups involves
issues or decisions (that is, non-routine matters) affecting other
subgroups, copies shall be sent to all affected subgroup chairs,
the Secretary, and the Sponsor officers.
9.2 External communication
Inquiries relating to the Sponsor should
be directed to the Chair, and members should so inform individuals
who raise such questions. All replies to inquiries shall be made
through the Chair.
Subgroup public statements shall not be
released without prior approval by a majority vote of the subgroup.
Such public statements also require approval of the Sponsor.
Subgroup public statements shall be identified
in the first paragraph of the public statement as being specifically
the position of the subgroup. These statements shall be issued
by the Subgroup Chair and shall include the Sponsor Chair in the
distribution. Such statements shall not bear the IEEE, the IEEE-SA,
or the IEEE Sponsor logos.
9.4 Informal communications
Informal communications shall not imply
that they are a formal position of the IEEE, the IEEE-SA, or the
Sponsor.
The Sponsor recognizes the right of appeal.
Technical and procedural appeals are acceptable for the Sponsor.
Every effort should be made to ensure that impartial handling
of complaints regarding any action or inaction on the part of
the Committee is performed in an identifiable manner. If the Sponsor
must conduct an appeal, it shall model its appeals process on
the appeals
processes of the IEEE-SA Standards Board.
