IEEE COMMUNICATIONS SOCIETY. OpCom2 Vancouver, Canada 27 September Minutes

Transcription

1 Attendees at the meeting were: IEEE COMMUNICATIONS SOCIETY OpCom2 Vancouver, Canada 27 September 2013 Minutes Officers (voting) Members-at-Large (voting) Directors (non-voting) Bhargava, Vijay Ansari, Nirwan Michelson, Dave Benedetto, Sergio Xiao, Chengshan Wilson, Sarah Kate Chan, Vincent (via conf) Cimini, Len (via conf) IEEE Div. III (voting) Absent Officers Gelman, Alex Freeman, Harvey Fettweis, Gerhard Jamalipour, Abbas Fonseca, Nelson Invited Guests Letaief, Khaled Officers (non-voting) Bregni, Stefano (as VPMR-Elect) Cimini, Len (via conf) Milizzo, Joseph (via conf) Recording Secretary Howell, Jack Pape, John (via conf) Swaim, Carole (via conf) Ting, Rulei Cronin, Carol (via conf) Worthman, Bruce 1. Opening Remarks Vijay Bhargava (Agenda) Vijay called OpCom2 to order at 8 a.m. Meeting agenda was approved with modifications. President s report, agenda (and all reports) are posted on the Community Site (CS). 2. Revenue Potential from Conferences Abbas Jamalipour (Report at CS) Abbas identified that Portfolio events are budgeted to return a 20% net, however, we plan to look at the possibility of changing toward a direct overhead fee charge to be in line with other Society conference financial reporting/management. Abbas noted that the proceeds from IEL for technically co-sponsored (TCS) conferences are shared by only co-sponsoring IEEE entities (non-ieee entities do not share) in analyzing whether ComSoc could achieve a larger piece of these package proceeds. There was considerable discussion as to the reasons ComSoc conference registration fees are so high compared to the Signal Processing and Information Theory Societies. Abbas reported on a project analyzing ComSoc Conference's registration fee vs. other conferences; when completed, the conclusions will be reported to the BoG." Abbas reported on a project analyzing ComSoc conference s registration fees vs. other conferences; when completed, we will then offer an opinion as to whether ComSoc s prices are over-priced, underpriced, or right-priced. Abbas identified several options for revenue generation which include: simplifying the TCS process to entice more conferences to ask ComSoc for TCS consideration; multiconference patronage packages; increasing registration fees; and graduating conferences from TCS to financially sponsored. Bruce highlighted his visit to the New Jersey Coast chapter to conduct a focus group on getting more ComSoc members to conferences.

2 3. Comparison of Income from IEEEXplore: ComSoc, CS, PES, SPS Bruce Worthman The publications income of Communications, Computer, Power & Engineering, and Signal Processing societies over four years was compared in the following tables; note that ComSoc share slipped as compared to the other societies. Income From IEEEXplore (Last four years) (Periodicals, 100% Financially Sponsored Only) ComSoc 2130K 2139K 2034K 2235K CS 2706K 2819K 2834K 3178K PES 1414K 1550K 1783K 1972K SP 2072K 2122K 2241K 2532K Income From IEEEXplore (Last four years) (Proceedings) ComSoc 1297K 1627K 1881K 1802K CS 2990K 4395K 5355K 6077K PES 359K 471K 610K 848K SP 1133K 1052K 1014K 830K Bruce provided further detail (downloads, article counts, number of wholly-owned publications) to determine where ComSoc trails in respect to "revenue" growth. 4. Revenue Potential from Publications Katie Wilson (Report at CS) Two new journals have passed Phase I proposal--ieee Transactions on Cognitive Communications & Networking and the IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological & Multi-Scale Communications. An informal steering group has been formed to investigate a Journal on Green Communications. All IEEE ComSoc journals are hybrid open access authors pay $1750 for open access. If ComSoc starts a purely open access journal, what it should be called? Open access will not diminish regular contributions; note, IEEE collected $1M in open access. Because ComSoc has hybrids, our Society collected only $8K; with open access journals, however, ComSoc would have a potential to generate larger income. New journals should evolve in consultation with Technical Activities. An informal steering committee should draft the proposals rather than individuals. Working with other societies is essential as more and more research is interdisciplinary; early discussion would avoid conflicts in proposing new publications. Many ComSoc members are unaware of what is available to them; e.g., Best Readings, Technology News, e-news. Our web site must be rejuvenated and ways found so more people read it. E-News offers good content but lacks an appealing format/presentation. 5. Inhouse Publication of ComSoc Journals Sergio Benedetto, Jack Howell (Report at CS) Information Theory Society asked ComSoc to produce their transaction in an effort to reduce costs. Current IEEE policy allows Societies to produce their own publications, but agreeing to this request would not in the best interest of ComSoc and IEEE. Sergio moved that 2

3 OpCom decline the request from Information Theory Society for ComSoc to produce their transaction. (motion 13:20) Approved. Sergio made a presentation regarding a potential transfer of ComSoc journal production to IEEE publications; Jack presented the in-house publication of ComSoc journals. Conclusions: IEEE journal production offers services to authors and editors via the Author Gateway. If ComSoc continues using an in-house journal production process, it may be difficult to keep up with the 2-3 enhancement releases planned yearly by IEEE Publications. ComSoc is the only medium-large Society still producing journals in house; ComSoc should not be in a catch-up mode. Choosing the IEEE solution will benefit all operating units because of economies of scale. Action: Jack will provide BoG2 with an accurate comparison of ComSoc and IEEE production costs (working with Fran Zappula in IEEE Publications Production). (action 13:05 new) 6. WCET/Education Rulei Ting, David Michelson (Report at CS) Discussion focused on revenue potential from WCET and Education and Training. The WCET process for recertification has begun (5 years after initial exam). WCET is expanding globally (Japan, Taiwan, India, China) with franchises renewed, initiated, investigated. IEEE Sales sells seats for the courses. IEEE Legal helps shut down unauthorized WCET web sites. In collaboration with IEEE-USA, the Certification Committee is investigating translations of Introduction to Professional Wireless Communications Course as a potential part of the professional engineering exam. The budget growth from combined WCET/training is improving, but less than originally anticipated Budget Update since BoG1 Bruce Worthman (Report at CS) Bruce updated the OpCom the status of the 2013 forecast which is currently projected to be a deficit of $680K. Updates since what was present at the June BoG meeting are: ASPP Proceeds down $120K IEL/Conf. Proceedings Package Proceeds up $170K Certification/Training Revenue down $100K Publications Expenses down $80K Surpluses/Proceeds from Conferences down $190K Bruce updated the 2014 budget which is currently projecting a surplus of $49K: Added $40K for Publications Full Text XML conversions Added $40K for an in-person OpCom 2 meeting A. Marketing John Pape (VPMR Report at CS) Ten revenue ideas were presented. The consensus of OpCom was to investigate crowd funding as a revenue source; Jack will consult first with IEEE Legal Department. 8. Governance Len Cimini (Report at CS) Len reported on the Remove from Office and/or Suspension clause proposed for our Bylaws which is to go to BoG2 for discussion and vote. Background: Among the IEEE must haves in Society bylaws is a procedure for the removal or suspension of an elected official. TAB deemed the wording for the Signal Processing Society procedure most relevant for ComSoc. 3

4 A ComSoc version was adapted and OpCom s consensus was that the with or without clause was unacceptable. Jack will consult with IEEE Legal. An ad hoc committee was assigned--len (chair), Jack, Alex, Harvey-- to draft alternate wording and bring to BoG2. (action: 13:06, new) 9.1. IT Unification Status Alex Gelman (Report at CS) Alex reported on the 8 August meeting when representatives from IEEE Technical Societies and Standards Activities met to present their IT situations and views on IT unification. Volunteers were basically in agreement regarding their desire to maintain control and oversight of their individual IT departments. All expressed the view that an autonomous IT gives Societies the ability to support volunteer innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity. IEEE CIO did not present a proposal for IT unification, only suggesting that a new appropriate management structure was required to save cost and ensure security. The consensus of the representatives was to create an IEEE-wide committee of CIO representatives from IEEE Operating Units to support coordination among OUs in IT and interaction with IEEE IT Conference Proceedings Harvey Freeman The format and production of conference proceedings was discussed; namely requiring conferences to distribute proceedings electronically only. Harvey will bring this issue to the Conference Boards at GLOBECOM in Atlanta Operations & Facilities Jack Howell Jack presented the Online Revenue and 3 Park Avenue Renovations update. The 2014 Executive Director Operating Plan was discussed; specifics on how were requested in addition to what. Jack will provide BoG2 with details on items requested below. Provide detailed breakdown of advertising revenues for print; Provide the square footage and rent for ComSoc Office prior to the renovation of 3 Park Avenue, and the same information for post renovation. In addition, Jack will provide the amount of ComSoc s share of renovation expenses and how we plan to pay for them; Provide an estimate of ICT support provided by ComSoc staff to IEEE Spectrum and IEEE Legal staff, and how much reimbursement we can expect. (action 13:07, new) 10. CIC and China Communications Publication Vijay Bhargava Concerns centered on the MOU for China Communications Magazine requiring that the China Institute of Communications (CIC) appoint the EIC and on ComSoc s potential financial exposure. (Due to ASPP revenue for financially co-sponsored publications, there will be a net surplus for the three years covered by the MOU.) 11. Closing Remarks Vijay Bhargava Vijay thanked officers/staff; meeting adjourned 4:00 p.m. 12. Future Meetings for 2013/2014 Vijay Bhargava BoG2: Atlanta, Georgia, December 11 (afternoon) - 12 December (morning) 4

5 Management Retreat, Las Vegas, 12 (all day) -13 January (half day) 2014 (CCNC) OpCom #1 TBD (2014) BoG #1: Sydney, Australia (2014) Respectfully submitted, Carole Swaim ATTACHMENTS See Agenda Tool and BoG 2013 Community Site MOTIONS PASSED THIS MEETING Information Theory Journal 13:20 that OpCom decline the request from the Information Theory Society for ComSoc to produce their transaction. ACTION ITEMS 13:05 new: Jack will provide BoG2 with an accurate comparison of ComSoc and IEEE production costs (working with Fran Zappula in IEEE Publications Production). 13:06 new: Jack will consult with IEEE Legal regarding the clause with or without. An ad hoc committee Len, Jack, Alex, Harvey-- will draft alternate wording for BoG2. 13:07 new: Jack will provide more details on items requested in Section 9.3 to BoG2. 13:02 continuing: Governance Committee is to establish policies to prevent future unresolved differences among volunteers. 13:03 continuing: Byeong and Merrily (NEC) will work with Governance to correct policy conflicts from BoG and submit recommendations on each issue to BoG2 for approval. Ballot Vote Counts motion - 09:08 the BoG approve that vote counts should be published on the ComSoc website for President-Elect and Vice Presidents, but not for the Members-at-Large. Ballot - Petition Candidates motion - 09:09 the BoG approves that petition candidates should not be identified as such on the ballot. President-Elect motion - 09:11 that the BoG approve in principle the process described in this meeting for BoG involvement in the selection of a President-Elect candidate (namely having the BoG reduce the short list to 2-3 names for the final ballot less any petition candidates) 13:04 continuing: Jack, Vincent, Alex, Doug, Harvey, Vijay will work together to develop a strategy on IT consolidation to approach/socialize with IEEE and will report back to the BoG. 13:01 continuing: Steve Weinstein requested that ComSoc restart a former initiative to create a Chinese interface on our Web site--having front pages in Chinese and back pages in English. 12:04 continuing: Sergio and the VPs will work with Governance Committee to review/update their individual council/boards policies/procedures as well as those for committees reporting to them. 5