Revisions to IEEE Governing Documents

• IEEE voting members approve changes to the IEEE Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated in New York State) and the IEEE Constitution.
• IEEE Board of Directors approves changes to the IEEE Bylaws, IEEE Policies, Finance Operations Manual, Investment Operations Manual, Standing Committee Charters, and Operations Manuals and sections of the Major Board Operations Manuals that have been identified by the IEEE Board of Directors. 

View the list of sections of the Major Board Operations Manual requiring IEEE Board approval (PDF, 52 KB)

Learn more about the 30-day review process

• IEEE Major Boards approve revisions to the sections of their respective Operations Manuals that have been delegated by the IEEE Board of Directors. A member of the IEEE staff, designated by the IEEE Executive Director, who shall normally be the Governance Committee staff Secretary, shall review the amendments to the Operations Manuals not requiring IEEE Board approval. When appropriate, the Governance Committee and/or IEEE's legal counsel shall be consulted.

The following points are considered during review:

• Consistency with higher-level governing documents
• Clarity that the revision reflects the desired change
• Legal concerns or risks to IEEE
• Conflicts with other OU documents and activities
• Flexibility within procedures
• Assure all necessary information is included on submissions so that the approving body can make an informed decision.

All submissions shall use the governing document template (DOC, 45 KB) and vetting process when appropriate.  Submissions should include the following:

Process

Every item submitted to the IEEE Board of Directors containing changes to IEEE governing documents is required to be circulated to organizational units that are affected by the change prior to submission for review by the IEEE Governance Committee. This is known as the vetting process.

1. When considering the submission of changes to a governing document, individuals should determine if another organizational unit is affected and therefore needs to be vetted. The section identifying the affected OUs is filled in and circulated to the appropriate groups as well as the requested date for response. If no OUs are affected, this should be noted in the Executive Summary, and the Routing Form may be removed.
   
   In the case of Major Boards, it is suggested that the Chair and the Managing Director be the individuals signing off; in the case of committees, it should be the Chair and appropriate Management Council representative or Committee Admin staff.
   
   If a response is not received from an organizational unit by the requested date, it will be assumed the OU concurs with the proposal.
   

In order to accommodate the Major Boards meeting schedule and allow for a thorough review by the IEEE Governance Committee, items requiring IEEE Board approval should be submitted no later than the submission dates for the IEEE Board items as provided on the IEEE Board of Directors Resources web page. 

Items that do not require IEEE Board approval may be submitted at any time. A response on the outcome of the review from the staff designee will be provided normally within two weeks. If a longer period for the review is needed, the submitter(s) shall be notified and a new date for completion will be set.

The Governance staff is available to answer questions and assist in the development and review of new documents or amendments at any time prior to submission. 

Email Governance staff at c.poko@ieee.org and m.g.hill@ieee.org