Policies & Procedures – IEEE Communications Society Information Infrastructure and Networking Technical Committee

CHARTER

The Technical Committee on Information Infrastructure and Networking (TC IIN) sponsors scientific activities consisting of interrelated set of technical, policy, and social issues implicit in the development of information infrastructures and supportive technologies to enable global networking. It sponsors papers, discussions, and standards and provides a forum for members to exchange ideas, techniques, and applications, and share experience among researchers.
Working in concert with other ComSoc Technical Committees, the objective of IIN is to facilitate the cohesive advancement of information infrastructures and supportive technologies to enable global networking to guarantee distribution and accessibility of any kind of data in any format, to anywhere, at anytime, on any media, and with any access tool. Social responsibility, including green operations and the narrowing of the ‘digital divide’ are key precepts of the TC.

MEMBERSHIP

Any IEEE Communication Society (ComSoc) member can be a Member of the Technical Committee on Information Infrastructure and Networks (TC IIN). TC IIN distinguishes two levels of memberships:

Active Member:   According to the TAC rules P&Ps (Section 7.01), to become an Active Member it is necessary to be the Ordinary Member and also to satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

- Has attended (physically present or by teleconference or via electronic means for virtual TC meetings) at least two of the regularly scheduled Technical Committee on Information Infrastructure and Networking (TC IIN) meetings in the last five TC meetings during Globecom and ICC before election;
- Has contributed substantially to the TC activities. For instance served in last three years as an Organizing Committee Member, Advisory Board (or equivalent) representing TC IIN for the major conferences and workshops sponsored by the Technical Committee on Information Infrastructure and Networking (TC IIN), namely, IEEE Globecom Symposia, IEEE ICC Symposia, and GIIS.

Ordinary Member: To become the Ordinary Member it is necessary to subscribe to the Technical Committee on Information Infrastructure and Networking (TC IIN) mailing list as it is specified on the TC IIN web page.

The Technical Committee on Information Infrastructure and Networking (TC IIN) Secretary is responsible for maintaining an attendance list for each meeting and to define the Active and Ordinary members. The list of Active Members should be maintained based on attendance lists and information about activities provided by Members. All meetings of the Technical Committee on Information Infrastructure and Networking (TC IIN) are open.

OFFICERS

The committee has three elected officers: Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary. Each position is for a term of two years.

The Chair of the committee reports directly to the Vice President Technical Activities within the guidelines of ComSoc and represents the committee to TAC and to any other ComSoc committee or board meeting, which requires representation. The Chair’s responsibilities include the support to ComSoc activities, the dissemination of relevant information as well as the promotion of ComSoc activities among its membership. The chair is responsible for planning the committee activities, including committee meetings, and is also responsible for managing the committee finances. The Chair shall propose changes to the committee policies and procedures to adapt the committee legislation to the dynamics of ComSoc. The chair shall actively promote membership programs.

The Vice-Chair supports the Chair in conducting the committee’s business and assumes the Chair’s responsibilities in case of his/her absence. The Vice-Chair is responsible for soliciting ComSoc Vice President of Technical Activities replacement of the Chair in case of unjustified or unacceptable prolonged absence.

The Secretary keeps a record of the committee meetings and minutes of the meetings, helps the chair to conduct his responsibilities and is responsible for maintaining the committee webpage and repositories. The secretary shall keep the membership list. Secretary of the committee will maintain an updated list of the committee membership. He/she will also maintain an attendance list for the members who participate in the committee meetings. This list will be considered as a part of the minutes of the committee meetings. The secretary is responsible for soliciting ComSoc Vice President of Technical Activities replacement of the Chair and of the Vice-Chair in case of unjustified or unacceptable prolonged absence of both officers.

If position of an officer becomes vacant prior to the normal conclusion of his/her term, the position will be filled for the remaining term through a special election by the committee membership. However, if the position is not filled, for whatever reason, prior to or at the next regularly scheduled committee meeting, the Vice President Technical Activities, in consultation with the current committee officers, shall appoint someone to serve for the remainder of the interrupted term.
The committee, at its discretion, may add additional elected and/or appointed (non-officer) positions for efficient operation of the committee.

NOMINATION AND ELECTION POLICIES

The term for the committee officers will be two years. Elections will be held every two years to elect officers for another term of two years. Nominations and election will be held for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. An external committee nominated by the current Chair and Vice Chair will manage the election by sending on the TC mailing list an advertisement of the available position and will conduct the elections during the TC meeting. In case of no show of the external committee the Chair with the assistance of Vice Chair will conduct the election.

Nomination Process

An ad hoc nomination committee will be appointed by the committee officers to seek nominations for the vacant committee position(s). The nomination committee will be established at the committee meeting prior to the one at which elections are to be conducted. The committee will consist of at least 3 and no more than 5 members. The nomination committee must include as many past committee chairs as available to serve. Additional members to the nomination committee may be added from the committee membership. The nomination committee will be given a task of identifying candidates for the vacant officer position(s). The names of potential candidates must be circulated among the committee membership and officers at least 10 days prior to the committee meeting at which elections are to be conducted. All candidates must consent to their nominations and must show willingness to serve the committee, if elected. Eligible candidates for nominations for the committee officer position(s) are those who have been active members. Members of the nomination committee are not eligible to become a candidate for this election and next election. The nomination committee will be automatically dissolved after the election and installation of new committee officers.

Election Process

Elections for the committee officer positions will be administered by the committee’s Chair. In the case of Chair’s absence, Chair’s designee will conduct the elections. In the case of two candidates for the same position, election will be by a simple majority. In case there are more than two candidates, election will consist of a series of elections. At each stage of voting, the candidate gathering the fewest votes will be eliminated. This process will continue until only two candidates remain.
The voting process will normally be open. However, upon the request of any member, the election can be conducted by a secret ballot. Votes will be counted by at least two members of the nomination committee. The committee’s secretary will maintain a record of the election results.

Voting

TC voting members must be IEEE ComSoc or Affiliate member or student member or a sister society member. Only active member (defined in Membership section) of the technical committee has the right of voting for officers as well as on other issues that need to be decided by a voting process. Normally, active members in attendance at a meeting will be allowed to vote in elections. Electronic voting process is possible, registration for electronic vote is necessary and two-thirds of those registered must vote.

TC IIN MEETINGS

Committee meetings will be scheduled twice a year at ICC and GLOBECOM conferences. Meeting announcements and agenda for the meeting will be distributed to the committee membership via email prior to the meeting. The meeting times will also be posted on the committee website. Minutes of the meetings should be posted on the web site as well as distributed via the committee mailing list. The committee always encourages conference participants to attend the committee meetings and join the committee membership.

FINANCES

The Chair is responsible for elaborating the budget and soliciting financial support for the committee activities. If approved, the funds will be used in accordance with the ComSoc procedures and the Chair shall provide to members a report of the committee finances at a committee meeting. The Secretary of the technical committee will maintain a record for the expenses.

SPONSORSHIP AND ENDORSEMENT

The committee will provide technical sponsorship or endorsement to scientific initiatives in the specific areas of the committee charter. Initiatives considered for sponsorship or endorsement includes: symposia, workshops, conferences, proceedings, special issues, book and book chapters, etc. in the specific areas reported in the committee charter. Approval of sponsorship or endorsement of initiatives is performed during a committee meeting. The list of sponsored and endorsed initiatives should be published on the committee website.

CERTIFICATES

The chair of the TC IIN can issue certificates of appreciation to members who have contributed to committee activities.

ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

The committee shall have an electronic newsletter aimed at disseminating information of interest of the committee membership. It shall be distributed on the mailing list as well as posted on the web page. Electronic Newsletter Editors are announced through the committee mailing list and published on the committee website.