Learn More: Documentation Management for Secretaries

All IEEE Geographic Units are required to adhere to the IEEE Governance documents.  This includes the IEEE Constitution, Bylaws, Policies, and the MGA Operations Manual. 

In some situations, a Section has developed an Operations Manual which documents the current procedures used by the Section in regards to day to day operations.  Typical information includes:

• Name and territory of the Unit
• List of Section Officers
• List of Section Standing Committees
• List of Technical Chapters/Affinity Groups within the Section
• Typical calendar of events for the Section
• Process used in regards to Section elections and/or Committee appointments (if included in the document; cannot conflict with MGA rules/guidelines)
• Section Mission, Vision, Goals
• Checklist of instructions in regards to specific duties for volunteer Officers

Sections that operate under a Section Operations Manual should ensure that the document is in compliance with above stated documents.

No.  Unless local laws specify that your Section must have locally adopted Bylaws to operate within your boundaries, Sections are not required to have Bylaws. 

All Sections are required to operate in accordance with the MGA Operations Manual.  The MGA Operations Manual provides information on Section Management, Section Election procedures, use of Section funds, Reporting Requirements and information on Section probation and dissolution processes.

Those Sections maintaining an addendum or separate document which includes exceptions to the requirements of the MGA Operations Manual will submit a request for exception to the Region Director who will present the item to the MGA Board for action. 

Those Sections maintaining an addendum or separate document which includes additions or changes to the requirements of the MGA Operations Manual, and where those changes do not pose a conflict, may submit a request for approval to the Region Director.

IEEE Sections generate correspondence in conducting their day to day business operations.  For non-financial data, unless the information is considered “historically significant,” Section correspondence/records can be discarded within 3 years after creation.  Historically significant documents can include: Section Officer Roster, Section Newsletters, annual report of Section activities.

The IEEE Global History Network (GHN) was developed through the IEEE History Center and is the web site for history activities including milestones, oral and video histories, and other history programs. The GHN provides the author of a historical experience with both the ability to determine who may edit the material shared and the ability to classify their experiences for access by others, including the public. A joint-authorship feature allows members of a group, such as a Research and Development lab design team, to join together to share their experiences. This feature will also allow IEEE Organizational Units to preserve and present their heritage. To see if your Section is listed on the web site, you have 2 options: (1) type the name of the Section into the Search box or (2) under the Topics browse list, look for IEEE and the appropriate subcategory (Sections).

You are also encouraged to participate in the building of a wiki-style article about the history of a technical area of interest to you or contribute to the history of one of your Organizational Units.

The GHN provides immediate authoring access for IEEE members using their IEEE Account (username/password). There is also a registration process for non-members. Visit the IEEE Global History Network web page to share your experiences in developing our technologies.