Guidelines for Activities & Events
Guidelines for Activities & Events
See also:
- IFIP Event Approval Guidelines
- Organizing an event: phases and check lists (both documents above provided by IFIP)
Activities and Events
All IFIP TC and WG events, to which non-member registrants are expected, should be approved by the Activities Management Board (AMB). Events to be organized by a WG will also require the recommendation of the TC12 Chairperson.
To obtain approval, an IFIP Event Request Form (available from the TC12 Chairperson or from the IFIP Secretariat) should be completed and submitted to the TC12 Chairperson who will seek the necessary approval.
Activities should be planned well ahead; up to six years for major events. AMB approval must be obtained, in writing, at least two years prior to the event.
Upon approval, activities are entered on the IFIP Event Plan with an identification number which should be used for all future reference to avoid confusion. The activity organizing chairperson must monitor each event and ensure that all updated and missing information reaches the TC12 Chairperson in due time.
IFIP sponsored events are listed in the IFIP Event Calendar and published in the IFIP Newsletter.
Organization
It is a requirement that all IFIP events use the IFIP name and logo on any call for papers, conference invitations publications, etc.
Approved events should preferably be announced using IFIP terminology as ‘sponsored by .., organized by …,’ and if so desired, followed by ‘hosted by …, supported by …’. When more than one organization is involved in a role, the organizations should be listed by mentioning the principal one first, followed by either ‘jointly with …’ and/or ‘in cooperation with …’. If an organization has more than one role, combinations or omissions may apply.
The technical programme of any event must conform to the statutory aims of IFIP and involve IFIP directly. This implies that the sponsors must include one or more of IFIP’s own subordinate bodies (TC12 or one of its WGs); if more than one IFIP body is included, one (which may be a WG) must be identified as representing IFIP.
It also implies that any conference programme must be designed for an international audience, controlled by an international programme committee of recognized professionals and composed of international contributions of high quality. At least three countries must be represented on the international programme committee.
The official language must be ENGLISH. This implies that all announcements and printed material must be in that language. Translation may be provided, but the incurred expenses must not be included in the event budget. Conference organizers who wish to provide translation facilities should seek additional sponsorship or ‘hide’ the expenses under other headings. Conference proceedings must also be in ENGLISH.
All submitted papers should be reviewed by the international programme committee members. In the case of larger conferences, additional paper referees may be necessary and should be sought from as wide an international base as possible. TC12 members are an obvious source of paper referees.
A local organizing committee should be established to deal with all practical aspects. The international programme committee chairperson should be a member of the organizing committee.
If proceedings are to be published, an editor should be appointed. It may also be appropriate to appoint a co-editor for the sake of a language check.
The role of the editor is to edit papers and discussions (if such are to be included) and handle any contracts with the IFI publisher. THE EDITOR MUST SIGN A PUBLISHING CONTRACT. All papers should be prepared according to the instructions given to each author by the IFIP publisher (camera ready form, ASCII files, etc.).
The same originals should be used for the printing of proceedings for conference attendees. The final proceedings should be available for publishing as soon as possible after the conference.
The IFIP Secretariat should receive copies of the call for papers, the conference invitation, final programme, etc. in order to be in a position to respond to requests for information in respect to the particular activity.
Financial Considerations
The principal rule is that all participants in an IFIP event should cover all their own expenses. IFIP assumes no financial or other legal liabilities for sponsored events unless IFIP has explicitly agreed to do so by separate agreement with other organizers.
IFIP financial support implies limited funding, normally as a loan but occasionally as a grant, for certain IFIP sponsored events, depending on the event category and the event organization. Apart from a loan, IFIP does not normally share any financial loss, unless IFIP has substantial financial control of the event and has explicitly agreed with other organizers to carry a specified share of such loss.
IFIP expects some financial proceeds in return for its involvement, even when no financial support from IFIP is provided. Such proceeds are normally specified either as a share of any potential surplus, often with a guaranteed minimum amount, or as a share of all registration and exhibit income for the event.
The financial implications of the event for IFIP must be defined with regard to support from IFIP as well as proceeds to IFIP. Final approval of any financial support from IFIP cannot normally be confirmed until the IFIP budget for the year in which support needs to be provided has been approved. Any such support is normally not expected to be provided more than one year prior to the event.
If organizers include non-IFIP bodies, the financial implications must be agreed between IFIP and the other organizers of the event. This must be in some form of written and signed agreement of statement of understanding.
If the principal organizer is a non-IFIP body, this implies the acceptance on behalf of all non-IFIP organizers involved in the event of full financial and other legal liabilities for the event, apart from any financial support approved by IFIP.
If the principal organizer is an IFIP body, each non-IFIP co-organizer must agree to cover a specified financial and legal commitment, usually expressed as a loss share.
Proceedings
IFIP publishes proceedings of its events. IFIP has negotiated contracts with publishers for various types of publications. Unless otherwise specifically agreed, it is required that the IFIP publishers be used and that a contract be signed by IFIP and the editor(s) of each publication; standard contracts exist. All contracts are checked and monitored by the IFIP Contracts Officer.
Royalties from the sale of proceedings go to IFIP, although a proportion (25%) is specifically tagged for the use of the TC concerned.
All copyrights rest with IFIP.