INTERNATIONAL BIOMETRIC SOCIETY

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL BIOMETRIC SOCIETY EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING: 19 MARCH :00 17:30 EASTERN US VIA WEB CONFERENCE / TELEPHONE Approved Minutes In attendance Apologies : Call to Order and Welcome, Louise Ryan Louise Ryan (President), Elizabeth Thompson (Outgoing President), Biggerstaff (Secretary-Treasurer), Karen Bandeen-Roche, Elizabeth Brown, Brian Cullis, Krista Fischer, Freedom Gumedze, Joel Greenhouse, Tae Rim Lee, José Pinheiro, Luzia Trinca, Andreas Ziegler, Iris Pigeot (Representative Council Chair), Peter Doherty (Executive Director) Frank Bretz, Mark Brewer The meeting was called to order by the President, Louise Ryan, at 16:10 Eastern U.S. time. A quorum was confirmed by Executive Director Peter Doherty. Louise welcomed the group, acknowledging the difficulty for some in attending this meeting due to time zone challenges. She also welcomed Iris Pigeot, Representative Council Chair, to her first Executive Board meeting and wished her well in her new position : Minutes of the 24 October 2017 Executive Board Meeting: Paper A The minutes were reviewed by the group. The minutes of the meeting from 24 October, 2017 were approved via electronic vote by the Executive Board prior to this meeting : Matters Arising (not otherwise on the agenda): : on officer actions: a. President s Report 1

2 b. Memberships by Regions i. 2017: Paper B1 ii. 2018: Paper B2 c. IBS Finances and FY2018 Budget Brad Biggerstaff i. FY2018 Budget: Paper C1 ii. January 2018 Financial Statement: Paper C2 iii. FY2019 Membership Fee Discussion: Paper C3 (revised) d. IBC2018 Planning Update Elizabeth Thompson: Paper D e. IBC2020 Planning Update: Paper E f. MCI Update, and Revisions to IBC Manual and Annex A: Paper F g. For Approval: Policies & Procedures Manual Revisions i. Statements on Diversity: Paper G ii. New Appendix on Details of Representative Council Inter- Region/Network Program Procedures: Paper H iii. Revisions to Appendix A re Funding of Executive Board Travel and Accommodations: Paper I 4a: Louise shared a brief update, including information on the two current editor searches now underway (Biometrics Co-Editor and JABES Editor), the circulation of a joint proposal (ENAR, WNAR, IBS) to COPSS to include lectures as part of several awards focused on women in statistics, the launching of the election for President-Elect of the IBS, the upcoming Executive Board election process, and the continuing dialogue between statistical societies as they attempt to address instances of poor professional conduct within the community. 4b: Louise reviewed the membership tracking reports for both 2017 and The 2017 report is considered nearly final, while 2018 membership reporting by Regions is still in its early stages. Peter added that new Region reporting will only be shown on the tracking report once payment has been received. Louise then provided a brief explanation of the columns and their specific uses, shared some thoughts on membership trends overall and by Region, and reminded the group of the rather manual process for reporting and collecting information on Region memberships, noting that delays are sometimes inevitable due to the dues collection structure. 4c: Brad Biggerstaff presented his report, starting with the new budget which was approved in late January. A very small surplus is expected for this year. The month of January financial statement noted total net assets of $2,200, USD. When compared to the same period in 2016, current assets are up approximately 10% due primarily to increases in investment and royalty income during the two-year period. Approximately $30, in travel award funds have been secured for use by the Awards Fund Committee. And expenses to date for 2018 are largely connected to the IBC conference coming up in July, with a significant payment already being made to cover convention center rental fees (much more than in 2016). Brad s final report was related to a possible future membership fee increase. He shared details, noting several scenarios through which increased dues revenue might be expected. He added that the Budget & Finance Committee was reviewing the proposal now. Brad indicated that it was necessary to raise this topic now in order to satisfy the requirement in the Bylaws to share and consider any proposal for an increase in membership fees at least nine months prior to the start of the new fiscal year. 4d: Elizabeth Thompson shared the latest news from the IBC2018 Organizers, noting a variety of actions and updates in her written report. In particular, Elizabeth recognized IPC Chair Charmaine Dean and LOC co-chairs Pere Puig and Lupe Gomez for their superb work. Louise added that Elizabeth has done a wonderful job to date in working with the local organizers and the IPC Chair. 2

3 Elizabeth also indicated that the Young Statisticians lunchtime meeting is still in need of volunteers to develop programming for this event. In response to a question, Elizabeth noted that there were over 800 contributed abstract submissions, so that review has been a huge job, but that results should be public very soon. 4e: Louise and Tae rim Lee (IBC2020 Co-Chair) commented on early planning for the IBC in Seoul, South Korea. Discussions with the preferred venue are now ongoing. Fundraising discussions have already begun. 4f: Louise reported that the group has already engaged our new conference manager, MCI, in early venue and budget discussions. The new multi-conference partnership with MCI should result in, among other things, more timely delegation of duties and more reliable pricing for services, as well as some helpful advice being available to those Regions selected as semi-finalists to host IBC2022. A review of proposed changes to the IBC Manual followed. Many of the adjustments were made to address the new IBS/MCI partnership, so that those involved in future IBCs will understand the assumed role and responsibilities expected of IBS s preferred conference manager. 4g: Louise presented for approval and reviewed several revisions to the Policies & Procedures Manual. They included the inclusion of a Statement on Diversity, a new Appendix that explains the process for reviewing and approving Representative Council Inter-Region/Network Program funding, and revisions to Appendix A, dealing with the funding of Executive Board travel and accommodations. 4b: Andreas Ziegler noted some discrepancies between actual and expected membership figures, which Louise addressed as part of her review of the reports. Elizabeth then raised the issue of Ethiopia and Romania Regions, noting that neither Region had reported members during the preceding two years. Peter had reported recent progress in reconnecting with Ethiopia, while, work still continues to identify a primary contact in Romania. 4c: There was discussion by the group regarding the possible dues increase. It was noted that a revised proposal with specific increases by category was circulated just prior to this meeting, and will be posted online in the Board Room as soon as possible. And though Brad indicated that the proposal for an increase is largely budget driven at this time, several Executive Board members requested any background available on the current thinking for why an increase in membership fees might be needed at this time. 4d: Peter shared that the mobile app for IBC2018 has been launched, and is being populated with new content. However, he also noted that the best source of information at present is the IBC2018 website. 4e: Louise noted the expected expense associated with the convention center rental in Seoul, which is somewhat higher than Barcelona. 4f: Louise noted that the IBC Manual was out of date, due to the approval of a new partnership with MCI. Noting that new language related to MCI would have to be inserted, the Officers took the opportunity to consider some additional changes to the IBC Manual. These suggested changes have been reviewed by the Conference Advisory Committee and considered appropriate. 4g: Elizabeth noted that, due to insertions that are a part of the new diversity language, the last sentence related to Board liaisons in Paper I no longer makes sense in this place. It needs to be replaced by brief information regarding the designation of Board liaisons Elizabeth also stated that adjustments had recently been made to the IBS website in order to allow members to more easily find information on the Representative Council Inter-Region/Network funding program, and shared why addition of an Appendix providing details of the funding process will be useful. Apart from abbreviating background motivation, the language contained in Paper H is identical to the 2015 document from the Representative Council 3

4 which details their program procedures. RC chair Iris Pigeot agreed that addition of the Appendix will be useful, and that when/if Council revises procedures for this program, Council can also provide an amended Appendix. A series of changes to Appendix A of the current P&P were then discussed (Paper I). Louise noted that the principles followed in recent years to provide support for Board members to travel to IBS Executive Board meetings during IBC years does not exactly match the language currently contained in Appendix A. There are concerns about the IBS s ability to fund all travel for Board members. To address this, the new language suggested states that IBS s expectation is that members of the Executive Board (including the officers) will make every reasonable effort to fund at least part if not all of their travel and hotel accommodation for Executive Board meetings through other sources. However, in cases where funding does not appear to be available from any other source, IBS funding will be available for either i) up to 7 nights accommodation or ii) travel to and from the IBC plus up to two nights accommodations. 4b: It was suggested that IBO staff work with ENAR to audit the 2017 membership numbers. It was also noted that Both Romania and Ethiopia will be reviewed once more in July, 2018 to determine if they are now in good standing with the Society. It was also suggested that the Executive communicate with regions whose numbers have changed quite a lot, perhaps through their Representative Council members. 4c: Executive Board members were encouraged to review the financial reports in more detail following this meeting. It was also requested that Brad Biggerstaff work with Peter Doherty to post a bullet point summary of January financial statement findings 2018 to date in the online Board Room as soon as possible. Finally, Brad will report back to the Executive Board regarding the findings of the Budget & Finance Committee, their consensus on whether the IBS should move forward with a membership fee increase at this time, and the potential rationale/justification for an increase (whether to widen the gap between income and expenses, increase training / travel opportunities, or for other reasons). And if an increase is recommended, by how much. Feedback is expected from the committee by 25 March. 4d: Joel Greenhouse noted that he could work with Peter Doherty to help promote the conference at the ENAR event taking place next week. Andreas Ziegler volunteered to assist with the Young Statisticians Lunch meeting. 4f: Upon a MOTION, the Executive Board approved the changes to the IBC Manual as presented. Staff are to post the new version of the IBC Manual to the web as soon as possible. 4g: Upon a MOTION, the inclusion of new language to the Policies & Procedures Manual, to address diversity, was approved as presented, with one abstention. Per a request from a Board member, Staff will adjust the Policies & Procedures Manual, incorporating these new changes, and send a new copy of the P&P with changes incorporated and tracked to the Executive Board for their reference. A clean copy will also be placed on the web. Upon a MOTION, the inclusion of a new Appendix to the Policies & Procedures Manual that provides details of the Representative Council procedures for the Inter-Region/Network funding program was approved. Upon a MOTION, the proposed changes to Appendix A of the Policies & Procedures Manual, to address the language related to IBS funding available to Executive Board members for travel, were approved as presented. Staff will update the P&P Manual and send a revised copy to the Board that includes these and the other changes already approved (Paper G, H and I) in redlined format. The document should also include the new paragraph related to the selection of Board liaisons, which is not yet approved. 4

5 : Standing Committee Reports: a. Awards Fund Committee b. Budget & Finance Committee c. Committee on Communications Social Media Strategy: Paper J d. Conference Advisory Committee e. Editorial Advisory Committee f. Education Committee 5a-f: Louise provided a brief written update (Paper J) on the activities of the IBS standing committees, noting that most committee Chairs were retained for c: Louise then presented a brief summary of the Social Media Strategy document (Paper J). One of the primary requests at this Executive Board meeting is that the Board appoint an IBS member to a new position, currently named IBS Social Media Coordinator (SMC). It is proposed that Kathy Ruggiero, recent Communications Committee Chair, be appointed to this role with a term ending December 31st 2019, while the Communications Committee develops a longer-term plan for management of social media and involving IBS Regions in the effort. 5c: Board members commented on the wisdom of incorporating assistance from Regions in enhancing IBS social media. Elizabeth added that outreach to young statisticians is currently ongoing, in connection with IBC2018 activities. 5c: Upon a MOTION, the language contained in the proposed Social Media Strategy document was approved, as presented, and Kathy Ruggiero was approved as the IBS s first Social Media Coordinator : on Representative Council Actions and Regions: a. Report Iris Pigeot 6a: Iris Pigeot presented her report, stating that she and Andrea Berghold recently reviewed and approved the funding of a request for $5, to cover activities related to the East Asian Network s recent biennial meeting in Puducherry, India. She also mentioned that six nominations for Honorary Life Membership, and one nomination for the Rob Kempton Award were submitted. 6a: Peter will assist Iris with administrative issues in the RC Awards elections : Items for Decision a. Bylaws Adjustment, Sections 9.2 and 9.3 (Eligibility for Standing Committee Chairs), for vote at Barcelona General Members Meeting: Paper K 7a: Louise and Elizabeth noted that the change in language related to the eligibility of committee members to be considered for future Standing Committee Chair positions (approved in October, 2017) has necessitated a change to the IBS Bylaws. Peter provided the new, correctly-phrased wording in the online presentation during the meeting. 5

6 ACTIONS 7a: Upon a MOTION, the Executive Board approved the recommendation of proposed new Bylaws language to edit section 9.2 of the Bylaws, as follows: Each committee shall consist of 10 members including the chair. The Chairs of all committees shall be members of the Representative Council when appointed, except where a Representative Council member has served on a Committee for the preceding two or four years. They shall also be eligible to be appointed Chair of the Committee on which they served even if their Council term ended in the July prior to their appointment as Chair. No more than three of the other members of each committee shall be current members of the Representative Council when appointed. Peter is to prepare documentation on this recommended change for presentation to IBS members. The change will be formally voted on at the IBS General Membership Meeting in Barcelona or, if a quorum is not present, by electronic vote immediately following the meeting. Peter was also asked to clarify what is required in order to have a quorum present at the meeting. NOTE: Following this meeting it was noted, per Section 3.6 of the Bylaws: At any meeting of the Society's membership, a quorum shall consist of the presence of members having not less than two percent (2%) of the votes entitled to be cast. The Officers agreed it would be appropriate to base the existence of a quorum on the day of the membership meeting on the final membership figures from : Any Other Business Adjourned: 1729 The meeting adjourned at 17:29 Eastern U.S. time by the President, Louise Ryan. 6