Clause 5: IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual

5. Standards development

5.1 Sponsor

Sponsors are defined in subclause 5.2.2 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws.

5.1.1 Responsibilities of the Sponsor

The Sponsor shall be responsible for the development and coordination of the standards project, and for supervising the standards project from inception to completion. The Sponsor also shall be responsible for the maintenance of the standards after their approval by the IEEE-SA Standards Board. As part of this responsibility, each Sponsor shall operate in accordance with a written set of policies and procedures (P & P). Such P & P shall not be in conflict with the IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual. Sponsors should note that there are model operating procedures available for adoption by the Sponsor.

There are also operating procedures available for Sponsors developing a standard using the entity method of participation, and Sponsors shall utilize these procedures as the basis for entity standardization.

In the case of a Sponsor that is a committee of an IEEE Society, the Society may develop a common set of P & P for standards development that is applicable to all Sponsors in that Society. Individual Sponsors within the Society may have specific P & Ps in addition, but these shall not be in conflict with the Society P & P. The P & P for the Sponsor shall define the process by which the Sponsor handles appeals (see subclause 5.4 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws and 5.8).

5.1.1.1 AudCom review of Sponsor P & P

--: Accepted
--: Not accepted
--: Visibly under development

A Sponsor's P & P shall be determined by AudCom to be visibly under development or accepted by AudCom before performance of any standards work (including but not limited to: PAR actions, Sponsor ballot actions, interpretations, etc.) by that Sponsor is authorized by the IEEE-SA Standards Board to commence.

After a Sponsor's P & P have been submitted to AudCom and an AudCom member is assigned as mentor to review the document, the P & P may be determined by AudCom to be visibly under development. The P & P will remain in such a state until AudCom is either satisfied that they are complete and acceptable or that the Sponsor is no longer responsive to AudCom and that the P&P are not acceptable.

AudCom will ensure that each Sponsor has based its P & P on the appropriate Sponsor procedures (e.g., individual, entity, SCC Type 1, or SCC Type 2) available from the IEEE-SA.

Sponsor P & P shall be subject to review by AudCom every five years to ensure currency. However, if a Sponsor revises its P & P prior to its next scheduled AudCom review, the Sponsor shall immediately submit its revised P & P to AudCom for review and acceptance.

The IEEE Standards Sponsor P & P document accepted by AudCom shall be the official policies of that Sponsor and shall reside online on the IEEE-SA Standards Board AudCom website. No other copy shall be designated as the official copy. Links to the IEEE-SA Standards Board AudCom website are encouraged.

5.1.2 Duties of the Sponsor

Supervision of a standards project by the Sponsor includes the following mandatory requirements:

a): Submit a properly completed Project Authorization Request (PAR) for IEEE-SA Standards Board approval within six months of the first decision to initiate the project. Forms and information may be obtained from the NesCom Administrator (see 5.2).
b): After approval of the project, work with the IEEE Standards Department Staff to give notice of the project in appropriate publications and to appropriate entities, for the purpose of soliciting an expression of interest in the work of the sponsoring committee.
c): Ensure that mandatory coordination requirements are accomplished (see 4.2.3.2 and 5.4.4).
d): Organize the technical development work on the standard.
e): Notify persons who have expressed interest in the time and the place of meetings as specified in the P&P of the Sponsor (see 5.1.1).
f): Ensure that all meetings involving standards are open to all interested parties.
g): Conduct the standards ballot in accordance with these procedures.
h): Submit the proposed standard together with the submittal form to the IEEE-SA Standards Board.
i): Submit annually to the IEEE Standards Department an electronic roster of individuals participating on standards projects.
j): Without exception, the Sponsor shall ensure the submission of an annual financial report(s) for the operation of the Sponsor and all of its standards development committees (e.g., working groups, task groups). Those groups operating without treasury are required to submit an annual declaration thereof via the report (see 5.3.6).
k): Monitor standards developing committees for signs of dominance by any single interest category, individual, or organization. If dominance is suspected, the Sponsor shall promptly notify the IEEE-SA Standards Board and shall immediately address the concern with the standards developing committee leadership.

5.1.3 Statements to external bodies

Each IEEE Standards Sponsor shall have policies and procedures in place concerning the creation and handling of public statements prior to sending any such statements in any format to any body other than the IEEE Standards Association. These procedures should state a means for developing and approving the Sponsor statement and a methodology for presentation of those statements. These procedures shall also conform both to the IEEE-SA procedures as administered by the IEEE-SA Board of Governors (BOG) and set forth in subclause 6.5 of the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual and to the rules in Section 15 of the IEEE Policies.

Each statement shall clearly identify the group creating this statement in its opening paragraph, and shall include in that paragraph, or a footnote thereto, the exact sentence that "this document solely represents the views of name of group and does not necessarily represent a position of either the IEEE or the IEEE Standards Association." If the public statement addresses safety, that statement shall be reviewed and approved in writing by IEEE legal counsel prior to issuance.

Upon issuance of all such public statements, electronic copies shall be sent to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board and to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA BOG.

If the Sponsor wants to issue an entity position statement on standards that represents the viewpoint of the IEEE Standards Association, the rules in the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual shall be followed. Approval from the IEEE-SA BOG shall be obtained prior to a Sponsor requesting another IEEE entity (as defined in Section 15 of the IEEE Policies) to offer a position statement on a standards matter.

5.1.4 Standards publicity

5.1.4.1 Press releases

Sponsors are encouraged to prepare press releases to promote their activities. IEEE Standards staff is available to assist in the preparation of press releases.

Copies of all press releases developed by IEEE Standards Sponsors shall be submitted to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Copies may be supplied electronically. If the press release has been made available on a public website, the URL shall be supplied as well. Press releases may be made available on the IEEE Standards website, or links to existing websites may be provided to aid users in locating appropriate standards press releases.

5.1.4.2 Other forms of publicity

Sponsors are encouraged to use all means possible to promote their standards and standards activity. IEEE Standards staff is available to assist in standards promotion.

Copies of any articles from Sponsors concerning an IEEE standards activity submitted to publications shall be submitted to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Copies may be supplied electronically. If the article has been made available on a public website, the URL shall be supplied as well. Articles may be made available on the IEEE Standards website, or links to existing websites may be provided to aid users in locating appropriate standards promotional material.

5.2 Project authorization

No formal activity shall take place after six months from the day of the first meeting of the working group without formal submittal of a PAR to the IEEE-SA Standards Board and assignment of a project number (see 5.1.2). Only the NesCom Administrator has the authority to assign project numbers (see the IEEE-SA Project Numbering Policy).

The Sponsor shall submit the original signed copy of the PAR to the NesCom Administrator. This original PAR shall be submitted prior to the submittal deadline specified. For the first three quarterly meetings of the year, the submittal deadline shall be at least 40 days before the meeting of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. For the last quarterly meeting of the year, the submittal deadline shall be at least 50 days before the meeting of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. The individual signing the PAR shall be an IEEE-SA member.

At the time of PAR submission, the Sponsor shall state the type of balloting group that will be formed to approve or disapprove the standard (see 5.4.1).

Any PAR that includes a change in sponsorship shall be submitted to the NesCom Administrator, accompanied by letters of agreement from both the Sponsor ceding sponsorship and the Sponsor accepting sponsorship.

After the PAR has been approved by the IEEE-SA Standards Board, the PAR form becomes an important part of the project file for the standard and is referred to at the time that a standard is submitted for IEEE-SA Standards Board approval. It is important for standards-writing committees to examine the approved PAR periodically in order to make certain that its information is current as shown on the form. This will minimize delays in obtaining approval of final submittals.

For standards and their amendments that may be submitted to international standards-developing organizations, the project chair should supply a coordination plan to the IEEE-SA Standards Board during the draft development of the standard that will illustrate the plan they will follow to coordinate the necessary multiple approvals.

If a standards project has not been completed by the four-year deadline authorized in the PAR and the Sponsor determines that the project should remain active, the Sponsor shall complete the IEEE-SA Standards Board Extension Request Form and submit it to the NesCom Administrator. NesCom will make a recommendation to the IEEE-SA Standards Board whether or not to approve the extension to the PAR. A PAR extension may be granted for one or more years.

If the Sponsor does not submit an IEEE-SA Standards Board Extension Request Form and the standards project has reached the deadline authorized in the PAR approval letter or a previous extension approval letter, the standards project shall be subject to administrative withdrawal.

5.3 Standards development meetings

5.3.1 Objective

The objective of IEEE standards development meetings is to develop and produce IEEE standards documents. All IEEE Standards meeting participants are encouraged to produce standards that address the technical needs of their industry and that are feasible, timely, and of high quality.

5.3.2 Standards Sponsors

Sponsors are responsible for managing and hosting meetings whose purpose is to facilitate development of IEEE Standards. These series of meetings operate on a break-even basis and are not operated to generate a profit in the long term. The following subclauses specifically address this additional role of managing and hosting standards development meetings.

5.3.3 Standards development meetings

Standards development meetings are to be conducted consistent with the principle of openness. Working group participants may include members and non-members when the requirements to gain membership are specified in Sponsor or working group P & P. A 'meeting' includes any convening for which notice was required to be given or for which membership-credits or other participation rights are either earned or exercised. Meetings may be in-person or may be via electronic means, as appropriate.

5.3.3.1 Disclosure of affiliation

Each participant's affiliation shall be disclosed at any working group or project meeting. The chair or the chair's delegate shall inform the meeting of the requirement for disclosure of affiliation (see 5.2.1.5 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws). This shall be via a sign-in (e.g., sign-in sheet, electronic sign-in, verbal disclosure, or electronic communication) that provides for disclosure of employer and any other affiliation, a reminder of the definition of affiliation, and possible penalties for non-compliance.

Whenever an individual is aware that the ownership of his or her employer or other affiliation may be material to the process, or when the Sponsor or the IEEE-SA Standards Board requests, that individual shall also declare the "ultimate parent entity" of their affiliation. The ultimate parent entity is an entity that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls the entity identified as the individual's affiliation. For the purposes of this definition, the term "control" and its derivatives, with respect to for-profit entities, means the legal, beneficial or equitable ownership, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) of the capital stock (or other ownership interest, if not a corporation) of an entity ordinarily having voting rights. "Control" and its derivatives, with respect to nonprofit entities, means the power to elect or appoint more than fifty percent (50%) of the Board of Directors of an entity.

The minutes of each working group or project meeting shall record a list of attendees and the disclosed affiliation of each attendee.

5.3.3.2 False or misleading disclosure

A meeting attendee who fails to disclose affiliation shall not accrue any membership rights, including rights of or towards voting membership, until such disclosures have been made. The chair shall review the adequacy of disclosures. Failure to disclose affiliation, or materially false or misleading disclosure of affiliation, shall result in loss of membership privileges and may also result in loss of other participation privileges within the IEEE-SA for such participants and any affiliated entities.

The Sponsor of the project shall, when appropriate, review the adequacy of disclosures and, if deemed inadequate, may direct corrective action(s). In the absence of effective corrective action(s) by the Sponsor, the IEEE-SA Standards Board may impose further corrective action(s).

5.3.3.3 Job recruiting

Job recruiting at IEEE Standards meetings is inappropriate and is actively discouraged. However, posting of notices of job opportunities by employers and of notices of jobs sought may be permitted at IEEE Standards meetings only if approved by the IEEE Standards Sponsor.

5.3.3.4 Audio recording, video recording, and photography

IEEE Standards Sponsor committees may apply restrictions on the use of audio recording, video recording, or photography equipment where they may impede free discussion, where they compromise commercial value, or where they are disruptive. Such restrictions should be clearly identified, in advance, to attendees.

5.3.3.5 Press attendance

Normally, individuals from the press are not encouraged to attend standards meetings. If the press is in attendance, the chair should announce press attendance. Normal meeting fees are not expected to be waived for the press.

5.3.3.6 Commercial activities

Exhibits of vendor products, distribution of literature, sales presentations, and similar activities are discouraged at standards meetings as they detract from and compete with the normal standards development process.

5.3.4 General approvals, endorsements, and notifications

All Sponsors of IEEE standards development meetings with per-meeting budgets or expenses for the IEEE of US $25,000 or greater shall submit forecasts of their meetings [including the location (if known), approximate date, and anticipated subject matter] to the IEEE-SA BOG at least one year in advance on an annual basis. Such forecasts shall be kept current.

Because of its unique membership categories (e.g., entities), the IEEE-SA may enter into hosting arrangements with for-profit enterprises for its meetings, provided these arrangements do not violate the not-for-profit status of the IEEE.

5.3.5 Meeting budgets

The IEEE-SA BOG and the IEEE Society, where applicable, shall receive the budgets for all IEEE standards development meetings for which the budgeted meeting income or expenses for the IEEE exceeds US $25,000 per meeting.

For these meetings, the following actions shall be taken:

--: The budget should provide all needed financial information and be consistent with analysis of the attendance and financial results of any preceding meeting on the same subject. Income, expenses, and reserve funds shall be reported to the IEEE-SA BOG annually, but no later than six months after the close of the fiscal year. All budgets shall be based on non-deficit expectations. However, if a series of meetings are organized, the series should be on a self-sustaining basis. The Sponsor committee, for sufficient reasons, may elect to budget a particular meeting on a deficit basis.
--: Such a deficit budget will be approved if properly related to the total fiscal picture of the Sponsor committee.
--: The Sponsor committee assumes the entire risk of deficit; i.e., if a deficit is incurred in the operation of a meeting, that deficit is chargeable against the Sponsor committee. Conversely, if a surplus results from the operation, the surplus will be credited to the Sponsor committee.
--: If substantial financial changes are made to previously approved budgets, a revised budget should be submitted.

For IEEE Standards meeting budgets where the budget or expenses for the IEEE are greater than US $25,000, failure to submit a budget may result in action from the IEEE-SA BOG.

For IEEE Standards meetings operating without a budget or with a minimal budget, the operating procedures of the committee shall apply.

An IEEE Standards Sponsor may choose to set a meeting fee as a means of offsetting the costs of meeting administration, logistics, and other similar costs of standards development.

5.3.6 Annual financial report

All Sponsors are required to submit an annual report (IEEE Form L50-S) detailing financial activity for the previous fiscal year. The report will be due within four months of the completion of the previous fiscal year. Failure to submit this report shall result in action from the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Actions shall include, but not be limited to, suspension of all activities until the report is filed and accepted as complete.

5.3.7 Bank accounts

All IEEE standards development committees that have or intend to have bank accounts shall use the IEEE Concentration Banking Program as their only bank account. It is the policy of the IEEE that all bank accounts provide for the signatures of at least two volunteers (who shall be IEEE Member grade or higher in good standing).

Bank accounts shall be closed six months after the standards development activity has ceased and if further projects are not planned. Closing bank statement(s) shall be submitted to the IEEE-SA BOG and the relevant IEEE Society with the final budget report.

5.3.8 Auditing of finances

All IEEE Standards Sponsor committees with actual or budgeted income or expenses of US $100,000 or more per year shall be audited by a professional independent source, outside the sponsoring organizational unit. The IEEE-SA BOG may select an outside accounting firm, another fully qualified resource, or the IEEE Operations Audit Department to arrange for and perform the audit. The selection of such auditors should avoid any conflict of interest with members of the relevant IEEE Standards Sponsor committees.

IEEE Standards Sponsor committees with more than US $25,000 but less than US $100,000 in income or expenses per year will be audited on a rotational basis. The IEEE Operations Audit Department will schedule and arrange for the audits of these Standards activities. For those committees not scheduled for an Operations Audit review in a given year, an informal review should be conducted by a committee composed of individuals who have no direct or indirect responsibility for the financial transactions of the committee.

IEEE Standards meetings with a non-IEEE organizational unit, when the IEEE share of annual revenues or expenses is expected to exceed US $100,000 per year, are required to participate in the audit process. If the cooperating organizational units agree to the audit but refuse to share in the audit fee, the IEEE Sponsor will be assessed an audit fee of no more than 50% of the standard fee rate.

All audit fees, as determined by the IEEE Operations Audit Department, shall be incorporated in the budgets of IEEE Standards Sponsor committees and displayed as a separate line on budget reports.

The IEEE Operations Audit staff will assure that committee financials are audited in accordance with the guidelines developed for this purpose.

5.3.9 Closings

All IEEE standards development committees with meeting income or expenses of US $25,000 or greater per meeting shall complete the following tasks within six months of cessation of the IEEE standards development activities:

--: Close bank accounts;
--: Distribute any surplus as directed by the IEEE-SA BOG;
--: Complete final financial reports;
--: Complete the audit, if required.

Many of these tasks are required by United States Internal Revenue Service regulations and by the audit process. Documentation concerning these tasks shall be reviewed by the IEEE-SA BOG and the relevant IEEE Society, where applicable.

5.3.10 Legal compliance and other issues

5.3.10.1 Compliance with laws

All IEEE-SA standards meetings shall be conducted in compliance with all applicable laws, including antitrust and competition laws. In the course of IEEE standards development, participants shall not engage in fixing product prices, allocating customers, dividing sales markets, or other conduct that violates antitrust or competition laws.

5.3.10.2 Discussion of litigation, patents, and licensing

No discussions or other communications regarding the following topics shall occur during IEEE-SA working group standards-development meetings or other duly authorized IEEE-SA standards-development technical activities:

--: The status or substance of ongoing or threatened litigation
--: The essentiality, interpretation, or validity of patent claims
--: Specific patent license terms or other intellectual property rights, other than distribution of Accepted Letters of Assurance as permitted under the IEEE-SA patent policy (see 6.2 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws)

5.3.10.3 Discussion of relative cost/benefit analyses

When comparing different technical approaches in IEEE-SA standards development technical activities, participants may discuss the relative costs (in terms, for example, of percentage increases or decreases) of different proposed technical approaches in comparison with the relative technical performance increases or decreases of those proposals. The relative costs may include any potentially Essential Patent Claims, but not the price at which compliant products may or will be sold. Technical considerations should be the main focus of discussions in IEEE-SA standards development technical activities.

5.3.11 Naming meetings and use of IEEE logo

This policy applies to naming all IEEE Standards Sponsor activities.

--: The meeting title shall include "IEEE" for identification purposes.
--: The name of a meeting shall be used in all publicity and all related material pertaining to the meeting, including electronic mail.

IEEE Standards Sponsor activities shall have the IEEE logo on all promotional material and publications.

5.3.12 Contracting

IEEE Standards meetings may require contracts for various services. These services include but are not limited to hotel services and meeting management services.

The IEEE Standards Sponsor committee or designee shall review all contracts connected with running a meeting. Contracts are subject to limitations as defined in IEEE Policy 12.6 and subclause 5.1.3 of the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual.

All meeting contracts shall be maintained in a readily accessible file at the IEEE Standards Department for audit purposes. It is the responsibility of the IEEE Standards Sponsor chair or working group chair to send a copy of the contract, when executed, to the IEEE Standards Department promptly for retention within the IEEE.

In signing a contract, competitive bidding procedures shall be used whenever practical. If competitive bidding is not practiced, the IEEE Standards Sponsor committee or working group chair shall be prepared to provide justification.

5.3.13 Insurance

All Sponsor committees of IEEE Standards meetings with annual meeting budgets or expenses for the IEEE of US $25,000 or greater are responsible for obtaining necessary insurance coverage for their meetings if this is not covered in established contracts with meeting facilities. The IEEE can provide such coverage as stipulated in the IEEE Finance Operations Manual.

5.3.14 Tax liability

The IEEE is a non-profit organization, incorporated in New York State, USA. IEEE holds standards meetings throughout the world, and the legal and tax requirements can vary greatly for each site. In the United States, the IEEE is exempt from paying income taxes and is also exempt from paying sales taxes on purchases in some states. Some states require sales taxes to be collected on-site for sales of books and other items. Order taking can be done without consideration of sales taxes.

Outside of the USA, there are other sales taxes that may be required to be collected at IEEE Standards meetings for on-site sales, such as Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Goods & Services Tax (GST) in Canada. It may be required to collect such taxes on meeting fees. There are also exemptions from paying VAT and GST and the rules are unique by country. In most countries, but not all, the IEEE is exempt from paying income taxes.

Because the laws and requirements of each country, state and province vary, it is very important that each IEEE Standards Sponsor committee contact the IEEE Tax Compliance Office (tax-staff@ieee.org) to find out the specific legal and tax requirements to operate at their site. This must be done very early in the planning stages of the conference; if planned properly, large savings may result.

Financial support by industry of IEEE-SA Standards meetings and events is acceptable. All such support shall not violate the not-for-profit status of the IEEE.

5.4 Standards ballot by the Sponsor

A balloting group shall be one of the following:

--: Individuals with voting privileges
--: Persons with voting privileges who are of any category other than individual

As of 1 June 2003, all IEEE Standards Association Sponsor ballots shall be conducted by the IEEE Standards Balloting Center.

As of 1 January 2005, all IEEE Standards Association Sponsor ballots shall be conducted by electronic means.

5.4.1 Balloting group

The balloting group shall meet the criteria in subclause 5.2.2.3 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws. Balloting group members vote on the acceptability of a new, revised, or stabilized standard based on their interest in and commitment to reviewing and voting on a specific proposed standard. The balloting group shall provide for the development of consensus by all interests significantly affected by the scope of the standard. This is achieved through a balance of such interests in the balloting group membership. Balance is defined as the avoidance of dominance by any single interest category.

No balloter shall have more than one vote.

The IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws allow for the participation of invited individual experts in ballots of specific standards projects upon approval of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. An invited individual expert is a non-IEEE-SA member who has been invited by a Sponsor to ballot on a specific standards project for the purpose of providing his or her technical expertise to improve the quality of that document. The Sponsor shall provide the following information to the IEEE-SA Standards Board when requesting the participation of an invited individual expert in a particular balloting group:

a): A rationale as to why the invited individual expert is needed
b): Brief background information on each invited individual expert, including qualifications
c): A statement explaining the detrimental impact if the invited individual expert does not participate
d): The total number of individual experts invited to participate in this balloting group
e): The contact information for the individual

Balloters are required to classify their relationship to the balloting group relative to the scope of standards activity (for example, producer, user, and general interest). Where appropriate, additional classifications, such as "testing laboratory" or "academic," may be added by the Sponsor. This decision should be based on the effect the standard may have on participants not already recognized by the primary classifications. Individuals classify themselves based on their technical background, which may be related to their employment, job functions, or experience. IEEE-SA entity balloters are classified based on their entity interest as it relates to the scope of the standards project (for example, producer, consumer, general interest). No group (classification) is permitted to constitute 50% or more of the balloting group membership. Care shall be taken to ensure that all classes of interest are represented to the extent possible.

It is desirable to have representation of the materially interested and affected parties when reviewing the balance of the balloting group. Sponsors shall ensure balance prior to conducting a Sponsor ballot. Balloting groups should have at least 10 members to ensure adequate balance.

Interested or affected persons who pay the appropriate fees associated with voting privileges may join the balloting group for a specific standards project. Once the ballot has begun, the balloting group is closed to additional participants. Even if IEEE-SA membership status changes during the balloting period or recirculation period, there shall be no change to the voting status of the balloter with respect to that ballot.

Persons may also purchase the ballot draft for information only. Such persons may submit comments on the draft within the balloting period. However, they may not vote to approve, disapprove, or abstain on the proposed standard, nor are they entitled to receive any material other than the revised draft and responses to their comments.

Comments from persons who are not members of the balloting group shall be given due consideration and an appropriate response.

5.4.1.1 Balloting group made of entities

Several distinct rules apply to Sponsor ballots by entities. For each balloting group, each such entity shall name one primary voting representative and, at the entity's option, one alternate voting representative to the Sponsor. Only a ballot from one of these representatives shall be accepted. If ballots are received from other parties, they shall not be counted; if ballots are received from both the primary voting representative and the alternate voting representative, only the vote from the primary voting representative shall be counted.

Each primary and alternate voting representative can ballot for only one entity; no one representative can represent the interests of more than one entity. Each representative shall declare what entity he or she represents and that their voting shall be independent of any other entity.

It is desirable to have representation of the materially interested and affected parties when reviewing the balance of the balloting group. Sponsors shall ensure balance prior to conducting a Sponsor ballot. Balloting groups shall have at least five members to ensure adequate balance.

The following qualify as entities for balloting purposes:

--: Corporation: An entity that has a controlling body, such as a Board of Directors, that does not report to another controlling body. Except for purposes of casting an instructed vote for a consortium, vendor-specific user group, professional society, or another standards-developing organization, in order to be a voting member in a particular Sponsor ballot, each corporation's representative shall declare that the interests of that corporation are not knowingly represented by another member of the ballot body in that Sponsor ballot and that the corporation is not knowingly funding directly or indirectly the participation of another person in that Sponsor ballot for the purposes of influencing the outcome of the vote.
--: Government agency or subdivision: An entity that reports to its parent or executive, legislative, or judicial branch of a government. Except for purposes of casting an instructed vote for a consortium, vendor-specific user group, professional society, or another standards-developing organization, in order to be a voting member in a particular Sponsor ballot, each agency's representative shall declare that the interests of that agency are not knowingly represented by another member of the ballot body in that Sponsor ballot and that the agency is not knowingly funding directly or indirectly the participation of another person in that Sponsor ballot for the purposes of influencing the outcome of the vote.
--: Partnership or association: An entity comprised of two or more principal members. Except for purposes of casting an instructed vote for a consortium, vendor-specific user group, professional society, or another standards-developing organization, in order to be a voting member in a particular Sponsor ballot, each partnership or association shall declare that it does not represent the interests of another person of any type participating in that Sponsor ballot for the purposes of influencing the outcome of the vote. Any partnership or association that cannot make such a declaration shall not be able to be a voting member in that particular Sponsor ballot.
--: Consultant: An entity whose principal source of revenue is derived from providing consulting services for other institutions. Except for purposes of casting an instructed vote for a consortium, vendor-specific user group, professional society, or another standards-developing organization, in order to be a voting member in a particular Sponsor ballot, each consultant shall declare that it does not represent the interests of another person of any type participating in that Sponsor ballot or that its participation is not funded directly or indirectly by any person that is already participating in that Sponsor ballot for the purposes of influencing the outcome of the vote. Any consultant that cannot make such a declaration shall not be able to be a voting member in that particular Sponsor ballot.
--: Academic institution: An educational entity that has a controlling body, such as a Board of Regents or a Board of Governors. Except for purposes of casting an instructed vote for a consortium, vendor-specific user group, professional society, or another standards-developing organization, in order to be a voting member in a particular Sponsor ballot, each institution's representative shall declare that the interests of that institution are not knowingly represented by another member of the ballot body in that Sponsor ballot and that the institution is not knowingly funding directly or indirectly the participation of another person in that Sponsor ballot for the purposes of influencing the outcome of the vote.

In the event that, through merger or acquisition or other similar event, an entity member of IEEE-SA has its assets totally or substantially transferred to another entity, membership in the Sponsor ballot body may be transferred to the new entity, provided that the new entity is not already a member of the Sponsor ballot body.

5.4.2 Ballot invitations

IEEE Standards balloting groups shall be formed by means of ballot invitations conducted by the IEEE Standards Balloting Center. A ballot invitation is sent to all parties known by the Sponsor to be interested in the subject matter of the proposed standard. Information about IEEE Standards Sponsor ballot invitations shall also be made available at the IEEE Standards website to allow additional interested parties the opportunity to participate.

Ballot invitations shall remain open for a period of no less than 15 days. Those who respond affirmatively to the invitation during the period in which the ballot invitation is open and who otherwise fulfill the criteria in both subclause 5.2.2.3 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws and 5.4.1 shall become members of the balloting group for that proposed standard. If a ballot does not open within 6 months of the invitation close date, the ballot group will be considered invalid and the Sponsor shall conduct a new invitation. Once the ballot has begun, no changes shall be made to the membership of the balloting group.

5.4.3 Conduct of ballot

A standards ballot shall be conducted by the Sponsor or Sponsor designee via the IEEE Standards Balloting Center when a proposed standard is ready for Sponsor balloting. Ballot group participants shall submit votes and comments in a manner and in a format compatible with approved IEEE Standards Balloting Center balloting tools. Sponsors shall provide evidence of the consideration of each comment via approved IEEE Standards Balloting Center tools.

5.4.3.1 Initial ballot

The ballot shall provide the following choices:

a): Approve (Affirmative). This vote may be accompanied by comments suggesting corrections and improvements. Action on such comments is left to the discretion of the Sponsor.
b): Do Not Approve (Negative with comment). This vote must be accompanied by one or more specific objections with proposed resolution in sufficient detail in a legible form so that the specific wording of the changes that will cause the negative voter to change his or her vote to "approve" can readily be determined. The Sponsor shall encourage the submission of comments with all negative ballots. If a negative vote unaccompanied by comments, or a negative vote accompanied by comments not related to the proposal under consideration, is received despite these instructions, the vote shall be counted in the total tally of votes as a "negative without comment." The Sponsor is not required to conduct a recirculation ballot of "negative without comment" votes.
Balloters who vote Do Not Approve (Negative with comment) shall be permitted to differentiate those comments that caused their negative vote from other comments that they may wish to submit. Any comments that are explicitly identified not to be part of the negative vote shall be treated as Approve (Affirmative) comments, and action on such comments is left to the discretion of the Sponsor.
c): Abstain. This category is provided to allow for ballot returns from members who do not wish to review the document because of conflict of interest, lack of expertise, or other reasons.

For a standards ballot to be effective, at least 75% of the ballots shall be returned. In the event that the 75% return from the balloting group cannot be obtained, the balloting process is considered to have failed. Further disposition of the document shall be the responsibility of the Sponsor. A minimum of 75% of those voting affirmative or negative with comment must approve the draft in order to submit the ballot result to the IEEE-SA Standards Board. In the event that 30% or more of the returned ballots are abstentions, the ballot shall be considered invalid.

In the event that the IEEE Standards Department receives documentation of the death or incapacity of a member of a balloting group by the closing date for the initial ballot, that person shall be administratively removed from the balloting group. In the event that such documentation is received following the closing date for the initial ballot, the member shall be deemed unavailable for balloting purposes and shall not be sent any further balloting material. Negative comments received before the voter became unavailable will be treated normally; note that confirmation of resolution is not expected. However, no tally shall be recalculated as a result of such a determination of unavailability, including ballots, abstention rate, return, or approval rate.

The Sponsor is only obligated to consider comments that are received with ballots and other comments that are received by the close of the ballot. The ballot shall close at the end of business on the date specified on the ballot. If the ballot has not achieved a 75% return by the specified closing date, the ballot may be extended to close when a 75% return of the balloting group is received. This extension for receipt of a 75% return shall not be longer than 60 days.

Comments received after the close of balloting will be provided to the Sponsor. The Sponsor shall acknowledge the receipt of these comments to the initiator and take such action as the Sponsor deems appropriate.

5.4.3.2 Resolution of comments, objections, and negative votes

The Sponsor shall consider all comments and objections received before the close of ballot; and make a reasonable attempt to resolve all negative votes that are accompanied by comments. Comments that advocate changes in the document, whether technical or editorial, may be accepted, revised, or rejected.

Comments addressing grammar, punctuation, and style, whether attached to an affirmative or a negative vote, may be referred to the publications editor for consideration during preparation for publication. It should be borne in mind that documents are professionally edited prior to publication.

Comments received before the close of ballot from persons who are not in the balloting group, including from the mandatory coordination entities, require acknowledgement sent to the commenter and shall be presented to the comment resolution group for consideration. The Sponsor shall send an explanation of the disposition of the mandatory coordination comments to the commenter.

Comments received after the close of ballot will be forwarded to the Sponsor for consideration at the next update of the standard. If a comment is received as a result of a public review process, that comment will be addressed by the Sponsor and a disposition returned to the commenter, along with information concerning their right of appeal.

Negative voters may indicate acceptance of the response to any or all comments associated with their negative vote. If the negative vote is not satisfied, either entirely or in part, the negative voter shall be given an opportunity to review comment responses and either to change his or her vote to "approve" or to retain his or her negative vote during a recirculation ballot.

Changes may be made in the document to resolve negative votes that are accompanied by comments or for other reasons. All substantive changes made since the last balloted draft shall be identified and recirculated to the Sponsor balloting group. All unresolved negative votes with comments shall be recirculated to the Sponsor balloting group. The verbatim text of each comment, the name of the negative voter, and a rebuttal by the members conducting the resolution of comments shall be included in the recirculation ballot package. Responses to comments should include sufficient detail for ballot group members to understand the rationale for rejection of the comment or revision of the change proposed by the commenter.

During a recirculation ballot, balloting group members shall have an opportunity to change their previously cast ballots. A change to "do not approve," which is submitted with comments, shall be based only on the changed portions of the balloted document, clauses affected by the changes, or portions of the balloted document that are the subject of the unresolved negative votes. If a change to "do not approve" is based solely on comments concerning previously approved portions of the balloted document, the balloter shall be informed that the comments are not based on the changed portion of the balloted document. Such comments need not be addressed in the current ballot and may be considered for a future revision of the standard. If the balloter does not change the negative ballot, the ballot may be submitted to RevCom as an unresolved negative without comment.

Further resolution efforts, including additional recirculation ballots, shall be required if negative votes with new comments within the scope of the recirculation result. Once all required recirculations have been completed and 75% approval has been achieved, the IEEE requirements for consensus have been met. Efforts to resolve negative votes may continue for a brief period; however, should such resolution not be possible in a timely manner, the Sponsor should forward the submittal to RevCom because the IEEE has an obligation to the majority to review and publish the standard quickly.

Copies of all unresolved negative votes, together with the reasons given by the negative voters and the rebuttals by the Sponsor, shall be included with the ballot results submitted to RevCom. Copies of the written confirmations from voters that indicate concurrence with the change of their votes from negative to affirmative shall be included in the submittal to RevCom.

The Sponsor shall, if not included in a recirculation package, provide to the negative voter and to RevCom an explanation why any comments associated with a negative vote were not required to be recirculated. In order for a negative vote to be changed to an affirmative vote, the Sponsor shall obtain and provide to RevCom written confirmation from each voter (by letter, fax, or electronic mail) that indicates concurrence with any change of his or her vote. Any negative vote with comment that RevCom is to consider as a negative without comment shall be explained to RevCom.

Proposed standards receiving a significant number of unresolved negative votes should be considered by the Sponsor for trial-use (see 5.7).

5.4.4 Mandatory coordination

The Sponsor shall coordinate via circulations of drafts with the following entities:

--: SCC10 (Standards Coordinating Committee on Terms and Definitions)
--: SCC14 (Standards Coordinating Committee on Quantities, Units, and Letter Symbols)
--: IEEE Standards Editorial Staff

The Sponsor shall indicate the IEEE Registration Authority Committee (RAC) as a mandatory coordination entity when the draft is submitted for Sponsor ballot if

--: The PAR indicates the possible registration of objects or numbers to be included in or used by the project;
--: It becomes apparent through development of the draft that registration of objects or numbers will be included in or is used by the project;
--: Requested by the RAC.

Comments from these entities shall be given appropriate consideration and response. At the time of project submittal to the IEEE-SA Standards Board for consideration for approval, the Sponsor shall supply the most recent coordination comments and indicate either acceptance or a request for a waiver (see 4.2.3.2).

5.4.5 IEEE 100

IEEE 100, The Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms, is a compendium of terms from both approved IEEE standards and non-IEEE sources. Terms given in the definitions clauses of approved IEEE standards shall be added to IEEE 100.

5.5 Submission of proposed standards to the IEEE-SA Standards Board

The Sponsor shall submit all required documentation, including a complete copy of the last balloted draft, in accordance with the most current version of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Working Guide for Submittal of Proposed Standards to the RevCom Administrator. This submittal shall be made prior to the submittal deadline specified. For the first three quarterly meetings of the year, the submittal deadline shall be at least 40 days before the meeting of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. For the last quarterly meeting of the year, the submittal deadline shall be at least 50 days before the meeting of the IEEE-SA Standards Board.

When the proposed standard is considered at a meeting of RevCom, it may be necessary for the Sponsor to be represented at that meeting, particularly if there were unresolved negative votes during the balloting (see 4.2.3.3 and 5.4.3.2) and/or if RevCom members submit negative comments prior to the RevCom meeting (see 4.2.3.4).

Approved IEEE standards may be submitted for adoption by other organizations (see also 5.6). As part of the adoption process, the adopting organization may receive comments on the technical content of the standard. These comments should be sent to the IEEE Standards Department. The comments will then be referred to the Sponsor for a response. Responses shall be directed to the commenter, with a copy sent to the IEEE Standards Department. If, in the opinion of the Sponsor, such comments warrant an amendment or revision to the approved IEEE standard, the Sponsor shall submit a PAR.

5.6 Adoption

The IEEE is a focal point for various technologies and is willing to share its expertise with standards developers worldwide. One method for doing this is through adoption.

Adoption of IEEE standards by national, regional, and international standards organizations is encouraged. This adoption shall be a formal process that may include a reciprocal agreement between the IEEE and the organization adopting the IEEE standard. The following subclauses discuss the methods for processing adoption requests.

5.6.1 Process for adoption of IEEE Standards

Arrangements for non-IEEE organizations to adopt IEEE standards are established in binding memoranda of understanding. These memoranda of understanding shall be executed by the Managing Director, Standards, and the responsible person in the other organization. IEEE staff shall have responsibility for negotiating the terms and conditions of these agreements. Requests for adoption of IEEE standards shall be forwarded to the Senior Administrator-Business Development, IEEE Standards Department.

Adopting organizations are encouraged to participate in future updates of the originating IEEE standard.

5.6.2 Process for adoption of non-IEEE Standards

5.6.2.1 Sponsor identification

A Sponsor, as defined by subclause 5.2.2 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws, shall assume responsibility for coordinating the adoption of a non-IEEE standard by the IEEE. The Sponsor shall be responsible for the standard upon adoption and until withdrawal in accordance with all IEEE Standards policies and procedures.

5.6.2.2 Project initiation

A Sponsor shall submit a PAR for the adoption of a non-IEEE standard to the IEEE-SA Standards Board to initiate an adoption. At the same time, the Sponsor shall contact the Senior Administrator-Business Development, IEEE Standards Department, to initiate copyright negotiations.

5.6.2.3 Draft development

The adoption of a non-IEEE standard shall not include any revisions or changes to the actual document being adopted. However, IEEE exceptions addressing any differences between the IEEE adoption and the non-IEEE standard may be added to either the front matter of the document or in an annex.

5.6.2.4 Sponsor ballot

The ballot shall include a cover letter explaining the reasons for the adoption, the options available to the balloters when casting their votes, and the provisions for consideration of comments by the developer of the non-IEEE standard. The Sponsor ballot shall meet the requirements outlined in 5.4.

Ballot comments and any Sponsor responses shall be forwarded to the developer of the non-IEEE standard for consideration.

5.7 Trial-Use standards

Trial-Use standards are effective for not more than two years from the date of publication. In the absence of comments received in the trial period, the document is subject to adoption as a full-status standard by the IEEE-SA Standards Board upon recommendation of the Sponsor. Trial-Use standards shall contain a published scheduled cutoff date for receipt of comments and for further revision and approval action. This cutoff date shall be at least six months before the end of the trial-use period for the standard.

The approval period for a trial-use standard that is adopted as a full-status standard without change shall be for a total of five years from the start of the trial-use period. If the trial-use period demonstrates that a trial-use standard has to undergo changes to become a full-status standard, a PAR for revision of an existing standard shall be prepared.

Trial-Use standards may result from one of the following:

a): At the Standards Development Level. When a draft has been generated that generally satisfies the standards-developing group (i.e., subcommittee or working group) but needs input from a very broad constituency, such a draft may be processed as an IEEE Trial-Use Standard. For approval, such a draft requires a letter ballot of the Sponsor and approval by the IEEE-SA Standards Board as a trial-use standard.
b): At the Sponsor Level. When a Sponsor is unable to resolve negative ballots to a satisfactory level, or uncertain aspects of the document justify preliminary distribution, it may consider submission of the draft to the IEEE-SA Standards Board as a trial-use standard.
c): At the IEEE-SA Standards Board Level. When the IEEE-SA Standards Board cannot attain a suitable level of approval for a draft submitted for adoption as an IEEE Standard, it may decide to approve it as a trial-use standard.

5.8 Appeals

5.8.1 Appeals pool

At the first IEEE-SA Standards Board meeting of the year, the chair of the IEEE-SA Standards Board shall select, subject to ratification by the IEEE-SA Standards Board, six to nine members of the IEEE-SA Standards Board to serve as the appeals pool. The Past Chair of the IEEE-SA Standards Board shall serve as the SASB Vice Chair for Appeals.

If the SASB Vice Chair for Appeals has a conflict regarding the subject matter of an appeal, the IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall appoint another member of the IEEE-SA Standards Board to serve as the SASB Vice Chair for Appeals for that particular appeal.

5.8.2 Appeal brief

The appellant shall file a written appeal brief with the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board within 30 days after the date of notification of action of the IEEE-SA Standards Board or at any time with respect to inaction or following an appeal panel final decision for a subordinate committee. The appellant shall first have exhausted the appeals procedures of any relevant subordinate committees prior to filing an appeal with the IEEE-SA Standards Board. The appeal brief shall state the nature of the objection(s) including any adverse effects, the clause(s) of the procedures or the standard(s) that are at issue, actions or inaction that are at issue, and the specific remedial action(s) that would satisfy the appellant's concerns. Previous efforts, including all subordinate appeals, to resolve the objection(s) and the statement of outcome/decision of each, including a sequence of events of these efforts, shall be provided. The appellant shall include documentation supporting all statements in the appeal brief.

All issues regarding the action or inaction of the SASB shall be filed together in one appeal.

The Secretary shall send the appellant a written acknowledgment of receipt of the appeal brief within five working days of such receipt. The IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair and the SASB Vice Chair for Appeals ("SASB Appeal Officers") shall review the appeal brief and determine within ten days of receipt of the appeal brief whether the appeal should be heard by the IEEE-SA Standards Board or should be referred to the IEEE-SA BOG or should be returned to the appellant with instructions to file the appeal as follows: (i) if the appeal deals with ethical issues, with the IEEE Ethics and Member Conduct Committee or IEEE-SA Standards Conduct Committee, as appropriate; (ii) if the appeal deals with technical issues, with the Sponsor of the body that made the decision; or (iii) if the appellant has not exhausted the appeals procedures of a relevant subordinate committee, then with such subordinate committee. If the IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair has a conflict regarding the subject matter of the appeal, the SASB Chair shall appoint a non-conflicted member of AdCom to serve as the second Appeal Officer.

If the SASB Appeal Officers determine that the IEEE-SA BOG should hear the appeal, the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board shall notify the appellant and the appellee (the chair of the committee at issue) of that fact within five days of receipt of the notice from the SASB Appeal Officers that the IEEE-SA BOG will be hearing the appeal. The appeal shall be referred to the IEEE-SA BOG and adjudicated according to IEEE-SA BOG processes (see subclause 4.4 of the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual). If the IEEE-SA BOG hears an appeal that originated from a referral from the IEEE-SA Standards Board, the results of that appeal shall be reported to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board.

If the SASB Appeal Officers determine that the IEEE-SA Standards Board should hear the appeal, the Secretary shall, within 20 days of receipt of the appeal brief, send the appellee a copy of the appeal brief and acknowledgment, and shall send the appellant and the appellee a written notice of the time and location of the hearing ("hearing notice") with the Appeal Panel.

The hearing with the Appeal Panel shall be scheduled at the location set for, and during the period of, the first IEEE-SA Standards Board meeting series that is at least 60 days after mailing of the hearing notice by the Secretary. New evidence meeting the requirements of 5.8.5 shall be provided at least two weeks before the date of the Appeal Panel hearing.

5.8.3 Reply brief

Within 45 days of receipt of the hearing notice, the appellee may send the appellant and Secretary a written reply brief, which specifically and explicitly addresses each allegation of fact in the appeal brief to the extent of the appellee's knowledge. If the appellee furnishes a reply brief, the brief shall include documentation supporting all statements contained in the reply brief.

5.8.4 Appeals panel

The IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall appoint from the appeals pool an Appeal Panel consisting of a chair and two other members who have not been directly involved in the matter in dispute, and who will not be materially or directly affected by any decisions made concerning the dispute ("Appeal Panel"). At least two members shall be acceptable to the appellant and at least two shall be acceptable to the appellee. If the parties to the appeal cannot agree on an Appeal Panel within a reasonable amount of time, the matter shall be referred to the IEEE-SA Standards Board, which shall appoint the members of the Appeal Panel. If an Appeal Panel member resigns or is removed from the Appeal Panel at any time before the appeal hearing, then the IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall appoint a replacement from the appeals pool. The replacement shall be subject to the acceptability criteria described above.

5.8.5 Conduct of the hearing

The number of participating (i.e., speaking) representatives for each of the parties to the appeal is limited to a maximum of three (3). Other individuals may attend the hearing, but will not be permitted to address, or be addressed by, the Appeal Panel or either of the parties to the appeal at any time (including during the question and answer period). No recordings or verbatim transcriptions of the hearing are allowed, except by the IEEE-SA at its sole discretion.

The Appeal Panel may call an Executive Session before, during the course of, or following an appeal hearing to consider its action on a specific appeal.

No party to an appeal may communicate with any member of the Appeal Panel regarding the appeal while the matter is pending (i.e., from the time of filing of the appeal brief to finalization of the Appeal Panel decision).

The appellant has the burden of demonstrating adverse effects, improper action(s) or inaction, and the efficacy of the requested remedial action. Each party may adduce other pertinent arguments, and members of the Appeal Panel may address questions to individuals. The Appeal Panel shall only consider documentation included in the appeal brief and reply brief, unless

a): Significant new evidence has come to light; and
b): Such evidence reasonably was not available to the appellant or appellee, as appropriate, at the time of filing; and
c): Such evidence was provided by the appellant or appellee, as appropriate, to the other parties as soon as it became available.

Prior to the hearing, the members of the Appeal Panel may convene to review the ground rules before the participants appear.

5.8.6 Appeals panel decision

The Appeal Panel shall not consider technical or make findings with respect to ethical rules, but shall limit its consideration to procedural matters. The Appeal Panel shall render its decision, based upon majority vote of the Appeal Panel (Appeal Panel members shall vote to find in favor of the appellant or the appellee and shall not abstain), in writing within 30 days of the hearing, stating findings of fact and conclusions, with reasons therefore, based on a preponderance of the evidence. Consideration may be given to the following positions, among others, in formulating the decision:

a): Finding for the appellant, remanding the action to the appellee, with a specific statement of the issues and facts in regard to which fair and equitable action was not taken;
b): Finding against the appellant, with a specific statement of the facts that demonstrate that appellant failed to meet its burden to demonstrate that fair and equitable treatment of the appellant was not taken;
c): Finding that new, substantive evidence has been introduced, and remanding the entire action to the appropriate committee for reconsideration.

The Appeal Panel Chair, through the Secretary, shall notify the appellant, the appellee, and members of the IEEE-SA Standards Board in writing of the decision of the Appeal Panel.

If an Appeal Panel member resigns or is removed after a hearing, then the remaining two members of the Appeal Panel may issue a decision if their decision is unanimous. If it is not unanimous, then the IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall appoint a replacement from the appeals pool and a re-hearing shall be conducted during the next IEEE-SA Standards Board meeting series.

5.8.7 Request for re-hearing of the Appeal Panel decision

The decision of the Appeal Panel shall become final 30 days after it is issued, unless one of the parties files a written notice of request for re-hearing prior to that date with the Secretary, based on new evidence, provided such new evidence existed at the time of the hearing, but was not reasonably available to either the appellant or appellee, as appropriate, at the time of the hearing. In such case, the decision of the Appeal Panel shall be stayed pending review by the SASB Appeal Officers within 20 days of receipt of the written request. The review shall decide

a): To adopt the report of the Appeal Panel, and thereby deny the request for re-hearing; or
b): To direct the Appeal Panel to conduct a re-hearing; or
c): At its discretion, to ask the IEEE-SA Standards Board to consider the matter.

Only one re-hearing can be conducted per appeal.

If the appeal was delegated to the IEEE-SA Standards Board by the IEEE-SA BOG, the decision shall also be sent to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA BOG. Appeals from a decision of the SASB Appeal Officers to deny the request for a re-hearing or from the decision of the Appeal Panel after a re-hearing shall be referred to the IEEE-SA BOG.

5.8.8 BOG appeal

The SASB Appeal Panel's final decision can be appealed to the IEEE-SA BOG in writing to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA BOG within 30 days after the Appeal Panel decision becomes final on the basis of a perceived error in the Appeal Panel process or of a perceived error in the Appeal Panel decision. Such appeal shall proceed in accordance with the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual.

5.8.9 Informal settlement

The IEEE-SA encourages settlement of disputes at any time if the settlement is consistent with the objectives of the IEEE-SA Policies and Procedures. Any settlement (to which the parties agree in writing) that is consistent with these P & P, or an agreement to withdraw the appeal, will terminate the appeal process.

5.9 Interpretations and explanations

Requests for interpretations shall be submitted or confirmed in writing to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board, who shall forward the request to the appropriate Sponsor.

Upon receipt, the Sponsor shall screen all such requests to separate those that require formal interpretation from those requesting an explanation. An interpretation provides meaning to a clause, phrase, or sentence when it is open to more than one reading or is ambiguous. An explanation does not attempt to resolve ambiguities, but tries to elucidate the reasons for a particular concept or approach. The Sponsor shall notify the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board in writing, including electronic mail, preferably within 10 working days but no more than 30 days from the date of receipt of the request, of which classification has been assigned to the request.

The Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board shall notify the requestor within 10 working days of the Sponsor's written notification of the classification of the request and the anticipated response date.

5.9.1 Explanations process

The Sponsor shall prepare explanations in the manner it deems practical and send them to the party initiating the request and to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. The correspondence shall clearly note that the request was considered to be an explanation only. The explanation shall be developed in a timely manner. A copy of the explanation shall be kept in the Sponsor's records for consideration in developing any revisions or amendments to the standard.

The Sponsor shall not be required to develop a response that in its estimation constitutes engineering application information that would normally be within the area of consultant services. The explanation will be made available to any other party who makes a request to review the explanation. A charge may be incurred for providing such a copy and is the responsibility of the review requestor.

5.9.2 Interpretations process

The Sponsor may forward requests for interpretation to a designated interpretations group.

The proposed response prepared by the designated interpretations group shall be approved by a majority of that group prior to submittal to the Sponsor.

Once accepted by the interpretations group, a vote on the proposed response shall be taken in accordance with Sponsor rules. As a courtesy, the preliminary response may be sent to the requestor. If the requestor submits comments on the preliminary response within 15 days of the date that the proposed interpretation is sent to the requestor, the Sponsor shall consider the comments and respond to the requestor. The proposed interpretation response shall be concluded within nine months of notification of classification of the interpretations request as an interpretation by the Sponsor.

The final interpretation shall be transmitted to the party initiating the request. A copy shall be forwarded to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board, together with a list of the members of the designated interpretations group for IEEE records. IEEE Standards interpretations shall be posted at the IEEE Standards website until the next amendment or revision of the standard.

If the Sponsor is unable to reach consensus on an interpretation, the Sponsor can respond to the requestor that an interpretation will not be forthcoming on this matter. It should be noted that, if the Sponsor cannot issue an interpretation for a request, this area of the standard should be considered for revision.

Interpretations shall be developed in a timely fashion. If the Sponsor classifies the request as an interpretation, the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board shall provide a status report to the requestor no more than 90 days from the Sponsor's classification of the interpretation request as an interpretation. The Sponsor shall keep a log of all interpretations requested and completed. The Sponsor shall consider interpretations either as corrigenda, when developing an amendment to the standard, or for inclusion in the next revision of the standard.

5.9.3 Disclaimer

Wording to this effect is included in each IEEE standard published:

"At lectures, symposia, seminars, or educational courses, an individual presenting information on IEEE standards shall make it clear that his or her views should be considered the personal views of that individual rather than the formal position, explanation, or interpretation of the IEEE."

When a proposed interpretation is sent to a requestor and a Sponsor, the following wording shall be attached:

"WARNING: This proposed interpretation is not an official IEEE Sponsor interpretation, as it has not yet been balloted and, as such, is subject to change. This proposed interpretation is for informative purposes only. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK."

Back to table of contents Go to next clause