Section/Chapter Rejuvenation Strategies - some suggestions | 
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SAMIEEE: SAMIEEE (Section Access to Membership Information) can be a useful resource to volunteers and for recruiting volunteers. The data includes the name, address, telephone and email address of all members, as well as identifying their Society membership. In addition, volunteers who have held office, including students, are also identified with a "flag" on the member record. By utilizing the "filter" capability on the database, one can identify those individuals who have been involved with Section or Chapter activities in the past, and might be willing to do so again. SAMIEEE can also be used to identify any member new to your unit. Reach out to that new Section or Chapter member to invite them to be involved, and follow up with a phone call. For more information about SAMIEEE, contact the Member and Geographic Activities Department at samieee@ieee.org or +1 732 562 5517, or check the web site at www.ieee.org/samieee. Executive Committee : The make-up of an Executive Committee is important. Does it reflect the membership of the Section or Chapter? Does it consist of individuals from academia, industry, government, consulting enterprises? Recruiting Executive Committee volunteers from a variety of backgrounds will add strength and broaden the scope of the committee’s work. In addition, consider what type of offices should be created for the unit. Will the usual positions of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer suffice? Or would "special officers" such as a Vice Chair for Chapter Operations, and a Vice Chair of Section Operations provide more depth? This is an effective tool for better managing the diverse activities of a Section. Section Executive Committee Meetings : Section ExCom meetings are an excellent opportunity to share ideas and information. If there are a number of Chapters, it can be difficult to get all the necessary reporting done in one evening meeting. In order to take full advantage of the assembled individuals, consider a "best practice" from the UK & Republic of Ireland Section: periodically schedule a full-day meeting of the ExCom, and allow the morning for the exclusive purpose of Chapter Chairs sharing their experiences, expressing concerns, etc. Written reports can be required to supplement the informal sharing that takes place. To minimize the cost of face-to-face meetings, electronic meetings can be an inexpensive alternative. Planning the Succession of Officers : Most Sections and Chapters have at least four officers: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. For many units, this allows for built-in succession. Each year, one new officer is identified and becomes (for example) the Secretary. Each of the remaining officers move up, the Vice Chair becomes the Chair, the Treasurer becomes the Vice Chair, and the Secretary becomes the Treasurer. This enables sharing of the responsibility, and bringing in new volunteers. It should be noted that while this is an effective mechanism for managing the unit, it should always be accomplished within the structure of the officer election process. Joint Activities : Low attendance at meetings can be discouraging. Consider joint activities with other IEEE Chapters and Sections, and other organizations of similar interest in the same geographic area. For more information on adjacent IEEE Sections and Chapters, contact sec-chap-support@ieee.org. GOLD: The Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Program is designed to assist in the retention of membership following graduation. SAMIEEE can be utilized to identify GOLD potential, and to set up a GOLD program in the Section. In addition, GOLD members can make ideal Section ExCom members. Consider requiring that at least one member of your Section ExCom be a GOLD member. For more information, contact gold@ieee.org or go the the GOLD web site at www.ieee.org/web/membership/gold/index.html. Region Committee : A Region Committee is a major source of support and assistance. It is very likely that members of the committee will take the initiative to contact the local volunteers and other individuals in the unit to offer their assistance. Part of the job of the Region Committee is to provide support, information and any other additional assistance needed by the units within the Region. For Region officer contact information, e-mail sec-chap-support@ieee.org. Site Visit : As a part of the intervention stage of the rejuvenation process, a visit of the Region Director or a designated representative would determine:
At a meeting between the Region officer and concerned members of the Chapter or Section, a summary of possible steps should be reviewed and a process formulated which addresses these questions. SSVR (Section Support Via Regions) Funds : Funds are set aside annually by the Member and Geographic Activities Board for the support of Sections through requests submitted by the Region Directors. An inactive Section may be inactive due to the lack of funds to communicate with their membership (for printing, labels, mailing, etc.). This is just one of many areas that SSVR funds could be requested to assist in rejuvenating a Section. For more information about SSVR funds, contact your Unit's Region Director. Volunteer Candidates : Utilize SAMIEEE data to identify recently elevated Senior Members, and members who have recently moved into the area. A phone call or a short note reaching out to those individuals can sometimes bring an energetic and enthusiastic worker into the fold. It is also possible to check to see if there are any IEEE Award recipients, or recipients of awards from the IEEE major boards (MGA, TAB, EAB, IEEE-USA, etc.), by contacting those entities. Another resource is to check for authors from the Section or Chapter in recent publications, including transactions, as well as conference contacts. For more information, check the Organizations web site www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/organizations.html. Volunteer Recruitment : Your Section needs volunteers to help with tasks such as planning meetings, creating newsletters and web pages, managing finances, etc. But finding, recruiting and retaining volunteers can be difficult. Every IEEE Member is a potential volunteer. It is important to match an individual's skills and interests with the right job. Recruiting volunteers starts with engaging members in Section activities and getting to know them on a personal level. For tips and information on recruiting volunteers, see www.ieee.org/vol-recruit.html MGA/T AB Visits : Every year, key members of the Technical Activities Board undertake a visit to one of the non-US Regions to meet with local volunteers and members to discuss their unique problems and needs. If the TAB Colloquia is coming to the Region, perhaps the Section or Chapter's members could participate, and provide input. The exchange of ideas might stimulate interest by the membership in re-activating the unit. For more information, see www.ieee.org/web/volunteers/tab/visits.html. Technical Conferences : Keeping in touch with the Society, Region, or Section, as appropriate, can often provide valuable information about Technical Conferences coming to the area. Participating in a Technical Conference, or jointly sponsoring such a conference, can be a boost to a unit activity, and may help recruit volunteers. For more information about Conferences, check the web site at www.ieee.org/web/conferences/home/index.html. Newsletter : Don’t have a newsletter right now to communicate with members and to seek volunteers? There are several possible options for volunteers. Utilize the services of the geographic unit responsible for activities. If the intent is to communicate with Chapter members and solicit input for activities, and assistance with organization and planning, have the Section put information in the newsletter. If a Section volunteer is seeking a mechanism for recruiting volunteers to work on Section activities, consider approaching the Region Committee for assistance in putting together a one-time newsletter, or placing a call for help in the Region newsletter. For more information on Region and Section contacts, check the web site at www.ieee.org/web/geo_activities/units/Newsletters/index.html or email sec-chap-support@ieee.org. Meeting Organization : If possible, find a good location for the meetings, where the gathering will always be welcome. It is tough enough for people to find a meeting, much less look for it in a new location every month. In addition, find a location with adequate parking and easy access. Next, try to have a regular schedule for meetings (the second Tuesday of every month, for example). It may be ambitious to consider, but if possible, schedule meetings for the entire year to come, and post that information on the web site (if there is one), or in newsletters, or e-mails. See more about planning successful meetings. Meeting Content : Who is the audience? Are there Society members in the Section who have not yet been organized into a Chapter? Contact some of those Society members about having a technical meeting. If it’s feasible to do so, put this together with a brief professional activities session (i.e., an informal announcement by the Chair, "who’s hiring EMC engineers right now/is there an EMC engineer looking for a position?"). Take advantage of the Distinguished Lecturers Program or contact a nearby Chapter or Section to see if they have invited someone for an upcoming meeting – maybe the unit can meet on the following night, and use the same speaker. If a general Section meeting is being organized, consider something geared more toward professional activities, i.e., ethics, or benefit programs, or something that would appeal to a broad range of people (and possibly bring in some guests or new members). See more about planning successful meetings. Councils/Areas : Many of the Regions utilize an organizational structure that includes "Councils" or "Areas" which are made up of the Sections of a particular area of the Region (for example: Los Angeles Council, Mexico Council, Central Area). This enables the Region Committee to maintain a closer working relationship with the individual unit, and to meet the communication needs and management/administrative missions of the Region. For assistance with the administration of the units in a particular area, check the web site for the appropriate contact in the Region: www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/whatis/bylaws/i-402.html and click on "Regions." Back to Top
Joint Chapters : If forming a Chapter is impossible because there isn't enough membership from one Society to sustain a Chapter, it is possible to form a joint Chapter, made up of either the members of two or more Societies, or of two contiguous Sections. For information on how to form a Chapter visit http://www.ieee.org/chapters and click on "Create a New Chapter." Merging with Another Unit : If numerous attempts have been made to rejuvenate a Section or Chapter, all is not lost! Section leaders might consider merging with a contiguous, more active Section. Section volunteers should contact the Region Director in order to bring this about. Chapter members have several options available. Chapters can be joint across two Sections, joint with two or more Societies represented, or both joint across Sections and Societies. Chapter volunteers will want to discuss this option with the Section Executive Committee(s), and their Society Chapter Coordinator(s). Advisory Committee : An Advisory Committee can be an important resource in rejuvenating the Section or Chapter. Key contacts in the area, both IEEE and non-IEEE volunteers, representing industry, government academia, and consulting, can provide insights into the strategies that might work best for the Section or Chapter’s unique needs. Contact the local Chamber of Commerce, Business & Industry Association, universities, and major corporations Public Relations or Human Resources departments to identify the key volunteers outside of the IEEE. Society Support for Chapters : Many Societies provide financial support to their Chapters; others provide that and more. Some Societies endeavor to bring their many Chapter Chairs together periodically to discuss common problems and solutions, and to share ideas and experiences. A "Chapters Congress" is a very worthwhile activity. The Power and Energy Society Chapters Congress's are quite successful, and future ones are planned. Contact PES for more information about how to organize a Chapters Congress, or contact the appropriate Society about how they can better support the local Chapter.
Society/Region
Chapter Coordinators
: The Society and Region Chapter Coordinators
are specifically charged with the assistance and
support of Technical Chapters. Contact the
Coordinator for more information. To get the name
of a particular Society or Region Chapter
Coordinator contact: tad-chap-dev@ieee.org. Cooperation Between Pairs of Sections There are situations where two Sections may find it helpful to cooperate, and the following situations are suggested as typical examples:
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