IEEE Policies

Adopted by the IEEE Board of Directors and incorporating revisions
through 13 September 2009 

IEEE Incorporation. IEEE is incorporated under the New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation Law. The text of that law changes from time to time; the IEEE Executive Director should be consulted prior to taking any action which relates to that law.

IEEE Government. The policies, procedures and regulations by which IEEE is governed are embodied in three documents. The IEEE Constitution, which can be approved and amended only by the voting members of the IEEE, contains IEEE's fundamental objectives, organization and procedures. Implementation of the Constitutional provisions, in specific organizational structures and procedures, is entrusted to the IEEE Bylaws, which are approved and amended by the IEEE Board of Directors. The third document, the IEEE Policies, is published herewith; its purpose is to provide more detailed statements of specific policies, objectives and procedures than are appropriate for inclusion in the Constitution and Bylaws. The IEEE Policies are approved and amended by the IEEE Board of Directors.

The precedence of these three documents should be remembered by all those engaged in IEEE management duties. The Bylaws may not be in conflict with the Constitution, and the IEEE Policies must conform to the provisions of both the Constitution and the Bylaws. If, after having consulted these documents, questions of procedure or interpretation remain, inquiries addressed to the IEEE Secretary, the IEEE Executive Director, or to members of his/her staff, will receive prompt attention.

Format of the IEEE Policies. The policies and procedures published here have been arranged in sections, each dealing with a different facet of IEEE's operations. The first eight sections cover the activities of the Major Boards and Committees of IEEE. The remaining eight sections cover activities common to several of the IEEE Boards and their organizational units. These include conferences, finances, nominations and elections, legal and tax matters, mailing lists and rosters, and membership.

Those consulting these IEEE Policies for the first time are urged to carefully review the Table of Contents to acquaint themselves with all policies relating to their particular activities within the IEEE.

Section 1 - Regional Activities.   Regional activities, conducted under the aegis of the Member and Geographic Activities Board, are concerned primarily with the interests of the individual member in the locale of his home or place of employment, and with the activities of local groups of members such as Sections, Subsections, Chapters and Student Branches. The activities are coordinated within each of the ten IEEE Regions by the respective Regional Directors.

Section 2 - Technical Activities.   The technical activities of the IEEE, conducted by the Technical Activities Board, embrace the work of the IEEE Societies as well as IEEE-wide technical programs. These activities are intended to serve the specialized technical interests of individual members and groups of members, and to bring the resources of the IEEE to bear on technical questions of local, national and transnational interest.

Section 3 - Educational Activities.   The Educational Activities Board prepares and conducts educational programs designed to support the individual member during his professional career, with particular emphasis on continuing education and career development. It also assists the profession at large in such areas as pre-university guidance, accreditation of engineering curricula, professional registration and certification.

Section 4 - Awards Activities.   The awards programs of the Institute are managed and monitored by the Awards Board. Nominations for recipients of IEEE-wide awards are made by the Awards Board to the Board of Directors. Specialized awards within the scopes of the IEEE Societies, Regions, Sections or Councils are established and financed by the respective organizational units, subject to rules set by the Awards Board.

Section 5 - Intersociety Activities.   IEEE maintains relations with societies and other organizations throughout the world, and co-sponsors or assists in the operation of national and international conferences. This section specifies policies and procedures in dealing with other organizations.

Section 6 - Published Products and Services.   The publications of the IEEE are under the jurisdiction of the Publications, Services and Products Board (in the case of Society publications this responsibility is shared with the Technical Activities Board). Since IEEE is responsible for a major share of the world's refereed technical information in electrical and electronics engineering, these duties consume a major share of the IEEE's personnel and other resources. Also included are procedures for protecting IEEE copyrights.

Section 7 - Professional Activities.  The professional (as distinguished from technical) activities of IEEE are based on amendments to the Constitution passed in 1972.

Part A: IEEE Policies.   The first part of section 7 deals with various overriding policies related to professional activities.  The IEEE Code of Ethics and other policies as they relate to ethical conduct are contained in Part A.

Part B: IEEE-USA Policies.   Responsibility for such activities in the United States has been delegated by the Board of Directors to the IEEE-USA Board. The policies in this section indicate the procedures to be followed in dealing with government bodies and other organizations on matters of professional concern to the membership.

Section 8 - Standards Activities.   The IEEE Standards Association is responsible for conducting and coordinating the IEEE’s involvement in all standards activities, including on all relations on standard matters with outside organizations, both private and governmental. It also is responsible for appointing IEEE representatives to participate in standard development efforts of other organizations. The overriding objectives of Standards Activities are contained in this section.

Section 9 - Activities of IEEE Organizational Units.   This section deals with activities that are common to or shared jointly by several types of IEEE organizational units. It also addresses the usage of standard notations within the IEEE as well as e-mail policy and guidelines and the information disclosure policy.

Section 10 - Meetings, Conferences, Symposia and Expositions.   The IEEE as a whole, as well as such units as its Sections, Regions, and Societies, serves as sponsor or co-sponsor of major meetings each year. Since the planning and management of these meetings are largely decentralized, this section serves an important purpose in apprising local officials of applicable policies and procedures.

Section 11 - Financial Matters.   This section deals with policies related to volunteer and staff responsibilities regarding the functions and administration of the financial aspects of the IEEE and the organizational units of the IEEE.

Section 12 - Legal and Tax Matters.   This section derives from the requirements of United States laws and regulations, particularly those governing the tax status of not-for-profit organizations, to which IEEE must adhere in operations conducted within the United States. These procedures are derived from statutes applying to all similar organizations, and hence are not based on the IEEE Constitution and Bylaws. Since the penalties for failure to comply with these regulations are substantial, all those engaged in IEEE management should be familiar with this section and follow the procedures exactly.

Section 13 - Nominations and Elections. IEEE is at all levels governed directly or indirectly by members elected to their posts by fellow members. To provide for fully representative elections, a number of detailed provisions, outlined in this section, must be observed.

Section 14 - Mailing Lists and Rosters.   Since the distribution of publications and other communications to IEEE members involves the use of mailing lists which would be useful to many other organizations, specific procedures  should be in place to protect the lists against unauthorized use. Conversely, authorized use of these lists by appropriate organizations can render an important service to members. The policies in this section deal with procedures to preserve the distinction between desirable and undesirable use of lists by other organizations.

Section 15 - IEEE Position Papers, Entity Position Statements and Testimony before Government Bodies.   This section provides guidelines for the preparation and issuance of IEEE Position Papers and Position Statements of organizational units of the IEEE, and for developing and presenting testimony before government bodies on subjects of interest to IEEE.

Section 16 - Applications for Membership, Billing and Renewals.   This section contains information relevant to the membership renewal process, terminations, billing, categories of membership and related dues reductions, and payment schedule.