IEEE Technical Activities Board Operations Manual

8.0

TAB NOMINATIONS & APPOINTMENTS PROCESS

In accordance with IEEE objectives, TAB has established an equitable nominations and appointments process. The process had been developed to choose a slate of the best-qualified persons for the various positions throughout the TAB organization. It was also developed to involve a wide range of members in the selection process. It is essential that all candidates nominated for office are highly qualified, and it is therefore essential that all members show great diligence and exercise judgment in making nominations.
Unless otherwise indicated in this operations manual, IEEE Bylaws and IEEE Policies with respect to elections shall apply.

8.1

TAB NOMINATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE (N&A)

The TAB N&A Committee helps to identify nominees to stand for election to certain organizational units. The Committee will also review the qualifications of those nominated for, or appointed to, membership on certain TAB entities. The Committee shall operate in accordance to its charter.

IEEE Bylaw I-308.1 Nominations and Appointments Committees. The following requirements shall govern the Nominations and Appointments (N&A) Committees of the six Major Boards and the IEEE Awards Board N&A Committee:
a. The Chair of each of these N&A Committees shall be either the past past chair or the immediate past chair of the governing body of that organizational unit as specified in the governing documents of that organizational unit. In the event of the incapacity or conflict of interest of the Chair, the most recent Past Chair of the organizational unit’s N&A Committee available shall be the Chair of that respective N&A Committee. With extenuating circumstances, an organizational unit may appoint a different individual to this position.
b. Chairs shall not be eligible to be elected to the Board of Directors during their term of service.
c. At least two-thirds of the voting members of each N&A Committee shall be elected or appointed by the governing body of their respective organizational unit.
d. A member of an N&A Committee may be nominated and run for a position for which such member’s respective N&A Committee is responsible for making nominations only on the following conditions: (i) the nomination is not made by a member of the same N&A Committee and (ii) the member resigns from the N&A Committee prior to its first meeting in which the nomination shall be made.

8.2

TAB NOMINATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS GUIDELINES

Soliciting Nominations. The TAB N&A Committee shall solicit nominations from the constituent Societies and Councils of TAB for elective and appointed positions and shall invite appropriate organizational units to submit suitable names to be considered by TAB N&A, requiring that a brief biography and a statement by the candidate be provided. The solicitation shall be done in a timely manner in order that the Societies and Councils have an opportunity to put their best choices forward.

Candidate Information. Any candidate for election or appointment to any position under the purview of the TAB N&A Committee, must disclose: (a) any other offices he/she holds within IEEE, (b) any role he/she has outside the IEEE that places him/her in a position of doing business with IEEE, and (c) any other possible source of conflict of interest.
For Committee Chair positions, no candidate shall be considered who holds a similar responsibility in a subordinate organizational unit. For example, a Society Treasurer cannot be Finance Committee Chair; an Editor of transactions cannot be Periodicals Committee Chair, etc.

Number of Candidates. The TAB N&A Committee shall submit to the Technical Activities Board, the names of at least two candidates for each elected TAB position.

Representation. No individual Society should be over-represented in the TAB structure. The N&A Committee shall make every effort to offer a balanced slate of nominees that represents as many Societies and Divisions as possible.

Vacancies. For those positions within its purview, the TAB N&A Committee shall solicit nominations and recommend names of candidates to fill vacancies. Recommendations shall be made for election by the TAB Management Committee. TAB shall ratify the election at its next scheduled meeting.

Notification to TAB Members. The TAB N&A Committee shall transmit its list of proposed nominees to all TAB voting members in time to permit the Technical Activities Board to fulfill its election requirements.

8.3

TAB APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES

Vice President-Elect, Technical Activities (TAB Vice Chair):

1. TAB VP-Elect Slate. Every year, there shall be an election by all the eligible voting members of the IEEE, who are also members of at least one Society, to fill the position of Vice President-Elect of Technical Activities. The Vice President-Elect shall serve a one-year term and succeed, without further election, to the position of Vice President of Technical Activities. The Vice President-Elect shall serve as the Vice Chair of TAB.

2. TAB Approval of Candidates. At the second regular TAB meeting of the year, the TAB Nominations and Appointments Committee (N&A) shall submit, for discussion, a slate of at least two candidates for the position of Vice President-Elect, Technical Activities. All candidates shall fulfill the requirements for election as a Division Director as specified in Bylaw I-201). At the last regular TAB meeting of the year, the TAB N&A Chair shall submit the slate of candidates to TAB. Nominations are not accepted from the floor. A petition, signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting members of TAB, may add a name to those on the N&A slate. Petition candidates shall notify the Managing Director of Technical Activities of their intentions at least 30 days prior to the scheduled TAB meeting. Petitions shall be received by the Managing Director generally no later than one week prior to the TAB meeting to allow for verification of the signatures, TAB shall approve at least two names to appear on the IEEE ballot as "TAB approved nominees." The final slate is approved at the last meeting of the year and forwarded to the election staff in IEEE Corporate Activities to be included on the IEEE ballot.

3. Number of Candidates. TAB will determine the number of candidates to be selected after the slate of TAB N&A approved candidates as well as any petition candidates have been presented.

4. Candidate Statements. Each candidate may speak for up to five minutes. An advocate may speak for up to five minutes in support of the nomination of a candidate who is unable to participate. .A period of up to five minutes will be allowed in order for each candidate or advocate to answer questions. Presentations by each candidate or advocate shall be done individually with others candidates or advocates absent from the room.
Written position statements will be collected at least 4 weeks prior to the TAB meeting. All statements from candidates shall be written in standard English and must not exceed the maximum word length requirement of 200 words. To determine the number of words:

Precede IEEE by an article and count both as one word;
Count an acronym as one word;
Count a discrete alphanumeric as one word – for example, 21st in 21st Century counts as one word;
Titles and other properly hyphenated words shall be counted as one word.

5. Voting. Once all candidates have left the room, TAB shall discuss the candidates, limiting the discussion time to equal five minutes times the number of candidates. The candidate's may return to the room once the discussion is ended. TAB shall vote the next day by secret ballot. Approval voting is used, with highest vote totals being selected. However, selection requires receiving a number of votes at least equal to a majority of the number of TAB members present and voting. If the slate is not filled on the first round, a subsequent election round is held for the unfilled slots between the unselected candidates with the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes dropped (unless this would result in an uncontested election). This process is repeated until the slate is filled.

TAB Committee Chairs (appointed by TAB):

The following TAB Committee Chairs shall be appointed by TAB:

Chair, TAB Periodicals Committee
Chair, TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee (appointment is joint with PSPB)
Slate for Chair, IEEE Conferences Committee (The IEEE BoD makes final appointment):

1. Nominations. Once the TAB N&A approved slate is shown, nominations for appointed TAB Committee Chairs may come from the floor, except for the position of TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee Chair. The TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee Chair is a joint election between TAB and PSPB. Once the deadline dates arrive and TAB N&A announces its approved slates, petition candidates will be accepted for the position of TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee Chair until the identified date.

2. Candidate Statements. Each candidate speaks for five minutes (with the other candidates out of the room). If a candidate is not present or available by telephone, an advocate will speak for five minutes in support of the nomination. Additional time is allowed for Q&A (five minutes to each candidate or advocate.
Written position statements will be collected at least 4 weeks prior to the TAB. All statements from candidates shall be written in standard English and must not exceed the maximum word length requirement of 200 words. To determine the number of words:

Precede IEEE by an article and count both as one word;
Count an acronym as one word;
Count a discrete alphanumeric as one word – for example, 21st in 21st Century counts as one word;
Titles and other properly hyphenated words shall be counted as one word.

3. Voting. All candidates leave the room. TAB discusses candidates. Time allowed is five minutes times the number of candidates. The candidate's return, and TAB votes the next day by secret ballot. Approval voting is used, with highest vote total winning with a majority of the TAB members present and voting required. If no majority is achieved on first round, top two vote recipients participate in run-off; majority wins.

TAB Committee Members (appointed by TAB):

The following TAB Committee Members shall be appointed by TAB/Presidents’ Forum:

Members, TAB Finance Committee
Members-at-large, TAB Management Committee
Members, TAB Nominations and Appointments Committee

1. Nominations. Once the TAB N&A approved slate is shown, nominations for all appointed TAB Committee Members may come from the floor.

2. Voting. All candidates leave the room. TAB discusses candidates. Time allowed is five minutes times the number of candidates. TAB votes by secret ballot. Approval voting is used, with highest vote total winning with a majority of the TAB members present and voting required. If no majority is achieved on first round, top two vote recipients participate in run-off; majority wins.

8.4

TIMELINE FOR TAB APPOINTMENTS

February OU Series:

Approve a recommendation(s) for the IEEE Conferences Committee Chair during the February TAB Meeting. Recommendations shall be forwarded to the IEEE N&A Committee for consideration and possible recommendation to the IEEE Board of Directors for appointment.

June OU Series:

Slate (to date) for VP-Elect, Technical Activities is shown to TAB for "Information Only". Final deadline is in September. After the final deadline passes, the petition process needs to be followed.
TAB appoints the following:
- TAB Periodicals Committee Chair (in alternate years)
- TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee Chair (in alternate years)
The VP-Elect, Technical Activities will make the following Chair Appointments for the following year, to serve during his/her term as TAB-VP:
      - TAB Awards and Recognition Committee Chair (one-year term)
      - TAB New Technology Directions Committee (NTDC) Chair (two-year term, appointed in alternate years).
      - TAB Society Review Committee Chair (two-year term, appointed in alternate years).
      - TAB/MGAB Visits Program Chair (yearly – based on location
      - TAB Treasurer (two-year term, appointed in alternate years).
      - TAB Ethics and Conflict Resolution Committee Chair (yearly)

November OU Series:

Final slate of candidates for the VP-Elect, Technical Activities is voted on during TAB Meeting. Once final, the slate is forwarded to IEEE Corporate for inclusion on the IEEE ballot.Appointments are conducted for members to the TAB Finance Committee, TAB N&A and TAB Management Committee.
Appointments are made by Division Directors for members of TAB Periodicals Committee, TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee and IEEE Conferences Committee.
VP makes remaining TAB committee appointments
Transnational Committee Chair (one-year term)

8.5

ELECTED/APPOINTED TAB POSITIONS

Vice President-Elect, Technical Activities (elected by S/C members).
TAB Periodicals Committee Chair (appointed by TAB in alternate years).
TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee Chair (TAB and PSPB appointed in alternate years).
TAB Management Committee Members (appointed in Presidents' Forum).
TAB Finance Committee Members (appointed in Presidents' Forum).
TAB Nominations and Appointments Committee Members (appointed in TAB meeting).

8.6

APPOINTED POSITIONS

The following appointments are made by the Vice President-Elect - Technical Activities to serve concurrent with his /her service as Vice President - Technical Activities:

IEEE Marketing and Sales Committee Chair (yearly) (jointly appointed with VP-PSPB)
TAB Awards and Recognition Committee Chair (yearly)
TAB New Technology Directions Committee Chair (in alternate years)
TAB Society Review Committee Chair (in alternate years)
TAB Strategic Planning Committee Members (yearly based on term)
TAB Treasurer (in alternate years)
TAB/MGAB Visits Program Chair (yearly, based on visit location)
Transnational Committee Members (yearly)
and the TAB Representatives to the following OU's and Committees (yearly)

- IEEE Awards Board
- IEEE Educational Activities Board (in concurrence with VP EAB)
- IEEE Finance Committee
- IEEE Graduates of the Last Decade Committee
- IEEE Information Technology Strategy Committee
- IEEE Infrastructure Oversight Committee
- IEEE Investment Committee
- IEEE Marketing and Sales Committee
- IEEE Membership Development Committee
- IEEE New Initiatives Committee
- IEEE Publications Services and Products Board
- IEEE Member Geographic Activities Board
- IEEE Standards Association
- IEEE Strategic Planning Committee
- IEEE Student Activities Committee
- IEEE-USA Awards and Recognition Committee
- IEEE-USA Board of Directors (in concurrence with USA President)
- IEEE Washington Internships for Students of Engineering Committee
- IEEE Women in Engineering Committee

The following appointments are made by the Division Directors during the November Division Directors' Forum:

Members to TAB Periodicals Committee
Members to TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee
Members to IEEE Conferences Committee

8.7

RECALL PROVISION

Refer to IEEE Bylaw I-111 - Removal or Suspension of Delegates, Director and Officers.

8.8

DIVISION/DELEGATE DIRECTORS

The Division Delegate/Directors shall be elected by the voting members as provided in the IEEE Bylaws and shall be members at large of the Technical Activities Board. Division Delegate/Directors shall serve on the IEEE Board of Directors and as Delegates to the IEEE Assembly. Each shall serve as a coordinator for the technical interests of the members in the Society(ies) within that Division.

8.9

DIVISION NOMINATING COMMITTEES

The functions of a Division Nominating Committee are 1) to develop a slate of candidates for election of the Division Director or Division Director-Elect in a year in which such an election will be held, and 2) to propose potential candidates to be considered by the TAB Nominations and Appointments committee for service on TAB committees.
By 1 January of each year, each Division Director shall establish a Division Nominating Committee, in consultation with the presidents of the constituent Societies and Councils. This process will vary for each Division, depending on whether or not a Division Director election will be held that year. IEEE Corporate Activities will remind the Division Director if an election for Division Director will take place in the current year. Each Division Director shall by 5 February notify the TAB N&A Committee of its composition and the process it will use to meet its responsibilities, as noted below.

Committee Membership.

The Division Nominating Committee, in the case of a Division comprising two (2) or more Societies, shall consist of a Chair, who shall be the current Division Director as a non-voting member, and a representative appointed by each Society and Council in the Division; or in the case of a Division comprising a single Society, shall be a Nominations (and Appointments) Committee of that Society, acting as the Division Nominating Committee, with the current Division Director as non-voting chair.

Division Director Nominations.

A. In accordance with IEEE Bylaws, Division Nominating Committees shall, by 15 March of the appropriate year, submit a slate of candidates for the office of Division Director or Division Director-Elect, if applicable, to the IEEE Board of Directors. At the same time a copy of the slate shall be submitted to the TAB Nominations and Appointments Committee for information. The slate shall not normally include fewer than two (2) candidates; conditions for a single candidate slate are discussed in Paragraph 2. B below. The slate shall not include more than three (3) candidates.
B. IEEE Bylaw I-308.7 does permit a Division Nominating Committee to submit a single candidate for Division Director, under special circumstances (including, relevant statements in the bylaws of the Division's Societies). However, such an action is to be discouraged, in order to give the voters a true choice..

Other Committee Responsibilities.

The Division Nominating Committee shall also solicit annually from the Societies within the Division names of potential candidates to be considered by the TAB Nominations and Appointments Committee for service on TAB Committees. TAB N&A will provide each Division Nominating Committee with information about the openings on TAB committees and the respective criteria for membership on those committees.