IEEE Technical Activities Board Operations Manual

1.0 INTRODUCTION - IEEE TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES

1.1 IEEE INCORPORATION
IEEE is incorporated under the New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation Law. The text of that law changes from time to time; the IEEE Executive Director should be consulted prior to taking any action, which relates to that law.

1.2 IEEE GOVERNMENT

IEEE Bylaw I-300
The policies, procedures, rules and regulations by which the IEEE and its organizational units are governed are embodied in the following documents. The IEEE Certificate of Incorporation legally establishes the IEEE. The IEEE Constitution, which can be approved and amended only by the voting members of the IEEE, contains IEEE's fundamental objectives and organization. Implementation of the constitutional provisions by specific organizational units and their policies, is contained in the IEEE Bylaws, which are approved and amended by the IEEE Board of Directors. The IEEE Policies contains more detailed statements of specific policies, objectives and procedures, which may be approved only by the IEEE Board of Directors.
The precedence of these documents should be remembered by all those engaged in IEEE management duties. The IEEE Bylaws shall not be in conflict with the New York Not-For-Profit Corporation Law, the IEEE Certificate of Incorporation, or the IEEE Constitution. The IEEE Policies must conform to the provisions of all these documents. Accordingly, additional documents governing organizational units such as this operations manual, policy statements and organizational unit bylaws shall conform to and not conflict with the provisions of the IEEE governing documents cited above.

1.3 TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES OBJECTIVES

IEEE Bylaw I-304.7
The IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) shall be responsible to the Board of Directors for directing the advancement of the theory and practice, of electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering, as well as computer science, and the allied branches of engineering and the related arts and sciences and technologies, and their application for the benefit of IEEE members worldwide and for the general public. TAB shall encourage and support its Societies, Councils, and Committees to develop and deliver to their global customers appropriate and timely intellectual property products, in either printed or electronic form, or through meetings on current or emerging technologies.

These objectives embrace the spectrum of engineering from research and development, design and production, to test, installation, operation, and service. To accomplish these objectives, the IEEE shall:

Have technical Societies, Councils and Divisions in the various industries and disciplines of electrical and electronics engineering and the related arts and sciences, which provide a forum for the exchange of technical information among members in the respective disciplines and industries. Some Societies or Divisions represent an identifiable segment of the electrical and electronics industries. Some Societies and Divisions, organized on a disciplinary basis, encourage the development and use of specialized knowledge and expertise having applicability in different industries and functions.
Have geographical Chapters of the Societies in conjunction with the Sections and Regional organizational units of IEEE. These shall provide for the local day-to-day exchange of technical information and the development of local technical meetings and other activities of an educational nature for members living in a geographical area with common interests in a specialized discipline.
Hold general meetings, conferences and tutorials for the presentation and discussion of technical papers. These meetings may concentrate on one or more disciplines. Meetings may be international, national, or regional in geographical coverage.
Publish Transactions of technical papers and records of general meetings and conferences. These publications shall be distributed to the interested membership and provided for permanent library retention.
Provide a means for the appropriate Societies to be involved in the development of standards. The IEEE shall offer electrical standards for adoption by other national and international standardizing bodies.
Recognize excellence among its members in the advancement of the theory and practice of electrical and electronics engineering. Awards in the specialized disciplines are established and administered by the various Societies.
Keep current with emerging technical activities throughout the fields of interest, encourage appropriate changes in the technical activities of the IEEE in recognizing new and emerging fields, as well as areas of declining technical importance.

Revisions to the Technical Activities Objectives, as contained in this manual, require the review and approval of the IEEE Board of Directors, using the process in accordance with IEEE Bylaw I-300.4(5).

1.4 TAB MISSION

The TAB Mission Statement is to foster technological innovation and progress by advancing the technical activities of the IEEE for the benefit of the profession and humanity worldwide, and to represent the interests of Societies and Technical Councils within the IEEE.

1.5 TAB VISION

The Technical Activities Board stimulates, promotes, facilitates and supports a global volunteer organization of innovative and agile technical communities. Uses the best technologies to attract, access, and disseminate technical information, which leads to...IEEE Technical Activities, which provides the first place people go for the highest quality technical information in the areas of interest to the IEEE, acceleration and nurturing of innovation and the technical professional's lifelong network of choice.

1.6 FORMAT OF THE IEEE TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES BOARD (TAB) OPERATIONS MANUAL

The IEEE Technical Activities Board Operations Manual, published here, has been arranged in eight sections, each covering a different facet of IEEE technical activities. Those consulting this Manual for the first time are urged to carefully review the Table of Contents to acquaint themselves with all procedures relating to their particular activities.

1.7 REVISIONS TO THE IEEE TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES BOARD (TAB) OPERATIONS MANUAL

Proposed changes to the IEEE Technical Activities Board Operations Manual and the reasons therefore shall be distributed to all voting members of the Technical Activities Board at least four weeks before the stipulated TAB meeting at which the vote shall be taken. A simple majority of the votes cast at the meeting shall be required to approve any revisions to the TAB Operations Manual. Any amendment or repeal of the IEEE Technical Activities Board Operations Manual is subject to review by the IEEE Corporate Activities Operations Manual Review team, and final approval by the IEEE Technical Activities Board.
Additionally, the Board of Directors has identified that changes related to specific responsibilities directed to the Major Organizational Units shall be reviewed and approved by the Board using the process in accordance with IEEE Bylaw I-300.4(5).

The following chart indicates the sections of this manual for which TAB is responsible which shall follow that process and for which review and consent shall be obtained by additional Major Boards or Committees, as indicated, prior to submission to the IEEE Board of Directors.
TAB MANUAL SECTION/ACTIVITY		INVOLVED OU(S) REVIEW/CONSENT
Society Affiliates	Qualifications, rights, privileges Note: This section needs to be created	Deliberation: TAB, MGA Review/Consent: TAB, MGA Approval: TAB
1.3 Objectives	TAB Objectives	Deliberation: TAB Review/Consent: TAB Approval: TAB
2.2 Technical Activities Board	TAB Membership	Deliberation: TAB Review/Consent: TAB Approval: TAB
4.0 Divisions	Composition of divisions;	Deliberation: TAB Review/Consent: TAB Approval: TAB
4.2.B.Society Operation	Rules and procedures; elevation of Councils to Societies	Deliberation: TAB Review/Consent: TAB Approval: TAB
4.4 Society Formation		Deliberation: TAB Review/Consent: TAB Approval: TAB
4.5 Technical Council Operations		Deliberation: TAB Review/Consent: TAB Approval: TAB
4.7 Technical Council Formation		Deliberation: TAB Review/Consent: TAB Approval: TAB