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On this Page:
- Engaging New Members: The First Year Member Experience
- Financial Management for Section and Chapters
- Generating Income and Improving Communications Within Your Local Section—for Medium to Large Sections
- IEEE Worldwide Legal Review and Section Partnership
- Increasing Visibility of Local IEEE Activities
- Improving IEEE's Engagement with Industry
- Member Engagement Using Social Media
- MGA and TA Conference Best Practices
- Resources and Tools for Member Development
- Section Vitality
- Standards-Related Opportunities to Support Membership Growth and Industry Participation
- The Best Way and the Best Place to Publish Your Best Work
- vTools: Free Electronic Tools in Support of Section, Chapter, and Affinity Group Volunteers and Members
IEEE has over 5,000 local geographic units. All of these units serve as a key component in improving the IEEE member experience. This track provides information on obtaining support and resources which can assist the local volunteer. Sessions in this track will address how to keep your Section activities relevant to your members and how to manage activities such as finances and Affinity Groups. Sessions will provide information on effective practices for planning successful meetings, tips on volunteer recruitment, and leadership development skills. A review of the tools for supporting the volunteer administrative responsibilities will also be introduced.
Session topics, descriptions, speakers, and presentations for the Sections Congress 2011 (SC2011) Enhance Geographic Unit Vitality track are listed on this page.
Each webinar has been recorded and will be available after SC2011 on the IEEE Center for Leadership Excellence training portal.
Engaging New Members: The First Year Member Experience
Speakers: Ron Jensen and Adrienne Hahn
85% of the over 90,000 people who leave IEEE each year have 5 years or less of membership. 45,000 people drop IEEE membership after only one year of service. IEEE clearly can improve on the experience we provide our new members. In this session, participants will receive a detailed overview of the IEEE First Year Member Experience Program.
This program involves key activities, including welcome messages, dedicated web pages, welcome phone calls, first year member webinars, and numerous opportunities for Sections and Chapters to connect with their new members.
Financial Management for Section and Chapters
Speaker: Rob Anderson
Section and subunit assets are included as part of the overall IEEE Financial Summary. This interactive session will give participants an opportunity to learn how funds are maintained, reported (within the Section and to IEEE), and protected.
Additionally, individuals will be informed about the importance of following proper operational procedures. Attendees will have a chance to ask questions and get feedback on how reporting financial activities to IEEE is being made easier via process improvements.
Generating Income and Improving Communications Within Your Local Section—for Medium to Large Sections
Speaker: Paul Wesling
In the past, the San Francisco Bay Area IEEE Council (three Sections) developed a monthly printed/mailed publication, the IEEE GRID Magazine, covering local Chapter meetings, Council and Tri-Section activities, and occasional articles of local interest. Replacement of the magazine with e-mail and web site internet activity was completed in 2004, transforming the monthly printed GRID into a communication media that dramatically better serves the needs of the Bay Area technical community, its three Sections, and Society Chapters.
This Best Practices Session will provide an overview of the Council/Section communication activities and how the Bay Area Council communications have been improved. It will touch on the advertising activity, revenue and expenses, and skills needed in a Section editor or editorial team.
IEEE Worldwide Legal Review and Section Partnership
Speaker: Cheryl Sinauskas
A worldwide legal review is underway to assess and identify registration requirements in every country IEEE currently has a presence. Section Chairs should understand the importance of this project as it relates to both IEEE's status in their country and any ongoing section activities performed.
Section Chairs are a critical aspect to the success of this program. Their support and participation in the process will be discussed, including potential operational changes that could affect the Section, as well as the benefits gained. The workshop will also include case scenarios.
Increasing Visibility of Local IEEE Activities
Speakers: Marsha Longshore and Fran Tardo
Learn how to interest media in your events and increase attendance. Get tips on how to prepare for talking to reporters, including how to handle questions in advance and onsite. Understand what reporters really want and how to prepare for providing what they need. Also, suggestions for delivering consistent messaging to build recognition for IEEE will be presented for activities such as IEEE Day and more.
Improving IEEE's Engagement with Industry
Speakers: Ashutosh Dutta, Fred Mintzer, and John Day
With over 50% of IEEE members working for industry, what is IEEE’s relevance to industry, and why does it matter? This session reviews MGA’s new global strategy for industry relations, and the toolkit available to help Sections develop events, activities, and communications to better meet the needs of industry. The session will provide case study examples of successful Section and Region efforts to engage industry.
Member Engagement Using Social Media
Speakers: John Prodhosky and Abby Robinson
Conference attendees will share their SC2011 social media experience and discuss how to use social media in Sections, and if needed, the creation of a social media resource that captures lessons learned, discusses what works and doesn’t work, and fosters innovation.
The IEEE social media resource would be developed and managed by its users and advocates. Members who are passionate about social media would not only create a great resource, but those members would be its greatest advocates and resources for others in IEEE.
MGA and TA Conference Best Practices
Speakers: John Barr, Bill Bidermann, Donna Hudson, Saurabh Sinha, and Mike Siok
One thing that unites Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) and Technical Activities (TA) is the desire to hold effective, high quality conferences. However, there are a lot of different aspects that go in to organizing a successful conference.
This session will include a panel of volunteers that are experienced in running conferences organized by MGA, conferences organized by TA, and jointly organized conferences. They will describe their successes and the way that they were achieved, and will also discuss the ways in which MGA and TA can cooperate better in organizing conferences. The session is intended to be highly interactive, with the majority of the time dedicated to questions and answers.
View the presentation - Barr (PDF, 327KB)
View the presentation - Biedermann (PDF, 327KB)
View the presentation - Hudson (PDF, 91KB)
Resources and Tools for Member Development
Speakers: Alexander Szabo and Cathy Downer
Engaging members and implementing tactics to grow membership are highly interdependent, as member satisfaction drives member retention. This session reviews promotional tools and data resources available to recruit and keep new members, with special attention to IEEE’s first-year member experience strategy.
Section Vitality
Speaker: Babak Beheshti
Is your Section conducting vibrant, engaging activities for members and the public? Find out what key drivers have been identified which can help your Section improve communication with members, enhance member value, and improve member satisfaction.
Standards-Related Opportunities to Support Membership Growth and Industry Participation
Speakers: Srikanth Chandrasekaran, David Law, and Steve Mills
Globally relevant standards play a significant role in industry and academia throughout the world. The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA), looks to IEEE Sections as a partner in communicating with and reaching out to IEEE members in the different geographical areas to assess standardization needs. This session will explore how the partnership between IEEE-SA and MGA can be enhanced to encourage membership in the various IEEE Sections.
Examples will be provided, describing previous success in standards partnership with IEEE Sections and Regions and how this ties into the IEEE's overall goal of globalization. A panel session will be held to explore future partnership opportunities with the various IEEE Sections, including, but not limited to, ways to increase membership, as well as conference and industry participation.
The Best Way and the Best Place to Publish Your Best Work
Speaker: Jon Rokne
Technology professionals know that writing an article for a scholarly journal, professional magazine, or conference is a good way to share their knowledge and experience with colleagues. It also helps build the author’s credentials and reputation, which in turn can help advance their career. But many aspiring authors don’t know where to start.
This session will explain the factors involved in selecting the best outlet for presenting your work and suggest some techniques to improve your chances of getting the article accepted for publication.
vTools: Free Electronic Tools in Support of Section, Chapter, and Affinity Group Volunteers and Members
Speaker: Gene Ressler
Running an IEEE Section, Chapter, or Affinity Group can be a time consuming task. vTools portfolio simplifies administration by offering web based software, reduces time spent managing activities, and assists in member development. Find out how the vTools suite of applications can facilitate meetings with registrations and payments, L31 meeting reporting, elections, maintenance free web presence, surveys, web conferencing, and more.
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