Conference Set-up & Approval

What's Involved:

• Determine the Topic, Scope and Dates of Your Conference
• Obtain Sponsorship (Technical and Financial)
• Determine the Organizing Structure for the Conference
• Create Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) / Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
• Determine Preliminary Budgets
• Use IEEE, Society and Conference Branding/Logos Properly
• Setup Conference Publications
• Submit your Information Schedule to IEEE Conference Services

Determine the Topic, Scope and Dates of Your Conference

The topic may be an existing field of interest or a new technology. The scope of the conference will depend on a variety of factors, such as:

• historical structure of the conference
• breadth of the field of interest
  • will the conference cover just one part of a topic or a larger part of the technical field
  • are there geographical considerations with regard to the scope
  • how mature is the technology?
  • how many individuals are involved (this will link to both maturity of the field and breadth of coverage)
  • will there be exhibits
  • will there be tutorials
  • will there be publications
• the dates and length of conference will depend on:
  • is there a certain time of the year this conference should be held
  • how many days
  • how much startup funding is available

Tools & Resources:

• Planning Calendar
• IEEE ConferenceSearch

Obtain Sponsorship (Technical and Financial)

Types of Sponsorships Offered by IEEE OU's:

Sponsorship relates to the responsibilities and accountabilities of an IEEE Organizational Unit, (OU) with respect to financial, technical, publicity, and administrative aspects of a conference. IEEE OU's can provide sponsorship to conferences that includes either financial involvement or non-financial involvement, ( IEEE P&P 10.1.2).

Financial Involvement:

• Sole Sponsor ( IEEE P&P 10.1.2)
  • indicates full & sole OU involvement.
• Co-Sponsorship ( IEEE P&P 10.1.2)
  • indicates a shared involvement among several entities, one which is an IEEE OU.
  • Co-Sponsorships are between
    • multiple IEEE OU's
    • one or more IEEE OU and an outside not-for-profit organization.

No Financial Involvement:

• Technical Co-Sponsorship ( IEEE P&P 10.1.2)
  • indicates direct & substantial involvement by the OU solely in the organization of the technical program.
• Cooperation ( IEEE P&P 10.1.2)
  • indicates limited involvement.

Who at the IEEE Sponsors Conferences?

• Society/Council
• Region/Section/Chapters
• Other organizations

Tools & Resources:

• Types of IEEE Involvement, Responsibility & Services Available
• A listing of the IEEE Society/Councils and the IEEE Region, Section/Chapters contacts are available for sponsorship approvals, ( IEEE P&P 10.1.4).
• Typical Planning Schedule for IEEE Conference - a tool that lists deadlines for other forms (Publication, Insurance, Budget, etc.) and actions which lead to such a successful conference.
• IEEE Policies - Section 10

Determine the Organizing Structure for the Conference

Conference Committee

Conference Committee through its General Chair is responsible for the organization and coordination of all other committees necessary to plan and administer the conference. Such committees listed and described in the IEEE Conferences Organization Manual consist of:

• Sections 1 - 4: General Chair
• Section 5 - (Site Selection) Local Arrangements Committee
• Section 6 - Program Committee
• Section 7 - Publications Committee
• Section 8 - Publicity & Public Relations Committee
• Section 9 - Finance Committee
• Section 10 - Audit Committee
• Section 11 - Exhibits Committee
• Section 12 - Local Arrangements Committee
• Section 13 - Registration Committee
• Section 14 - Transnational Committee
• Section 15 - (Post Conference Responsibilities) General Chair & Conference Committee

Some of these responsibilities may be combined, depending on the size and scope of the conference.

Tools & Resources:

• Conference Organization Chart

Create Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) / Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)

The relationship between sponsoring organizations must be explicitly defined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), (IEEE P&P 10.1.5). For joint activities among 2 or more IEEE OUs, an MOU is recommended. MOU Negotiations are required for Co-Sponsored Conferences (partnerships/sponsorship). We have provided useful information covering Contracts & Legal Documents to assist you in planning your event. While many feel that a formal MOU is not needed, there are many instances when having a record of what is agree to has proven extremely useful.

PLEASE NOTE: Contracts Valued over $25K must be forwarded to IEEE for review & execution. Conferences staff will review your hotel/convention center contracts to ensure that your conference is receiving the best possible services and rates.

Tools & Resources:

• Contracts & Legal Documents

Determine Preliminary Budgets

Conference budgets should be set to generally a minimum surplus of 20% over projected expenses.

PLEASE NOTE: Contracts Valued over $25K must be forwarded to IEEE for review & execution. Conferences staff will review your hotel/convention center contracts to ensure that your conference is receiving the best possible services and rates.

Tools & Resources:

• Financial Reporting Workbook: includes Budgeting Tool
• IEEE Information Schedule    

Use IEEE, Society and Conference Branding/Logos Properly

Tools & Resources:

• Authorized Use of IEEE Branding for Sponsored Conferences
• IEEE Identity Standards
• Electronic Images of the IEEE Master Brand

Setup Conference Publications

There are many resources available to you to assist with your Conference Publication development, preparation and production.

If you plan to have a publication, and hope to have it included in IEEE Xplore, arrangements must be made with IEEE Conference Publication Products Management.

Tools & Resources:

• Online Resource Center for Conference Publication Organizers
• Instructions for Preparing of Compatible Conference Publication PDF submissions
• Conference Proceedings Production me
  • IEEE Conference & Custom Publishing
  • IEEE Computer Society Press
  • Other vendors
• IEEE Conference Publications Product Management
• U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

Submit your Information Schedule to IEEE Conference Services

Submission of an IEEE Information Schedule is required to initiate the setup of budgets, conference insurance and conference publishing. Submission of the IEEE Information Schedule also ensures that your conference will be listed in the IEEE ConferenceSearch and IEEE's Call for Papers listing.

Tools & Resources:

• IEEE Information Schedule  

Questions/Concerns - Assistance

Conference Services supports all IEEE Organizational Units (OU) and their conference organizers. We are your "Primary" contact in all matters relating to conferences. Contact us anytime whenever in doubt, if you have questions or problems.