Excerpt
Sections Relevant to IEEE ITS Society Korea Council Chapter Chairs
This document excerpts sections from the MGA Operations Manual (reflecting changes approved
by MGA Board on November 22, 2025) that are most relevant to IEEE ITS Society Korea Council Chapter Chairs.
Sections included:
9.4 Geographic Councils — pp.95-99
9.7 Chapters — pp.108-114
9.13 Geographic Unit Elections — pp.130-134
10.0 Conferences — pp.135-141 (summary)
Key changes from the February 2025 edition:
A Council, which may include more than one country, may be formed by agreement of contiguous Sections and exists at the pleasure of those Sections. A Council functions as a subcommittee of the Sections, and the Sections have authority to direct its activities. A Council is organized to perform only those delegated tasks that can be more effectively accomplished together than by each Section individually. Sections retain their status as the fundamental operating, executive, and administrative units of IEEE. The Region Director and MGA Board must approve the establishment of a Council.
a. The petition shall include signatures of the Chairs of contiguous Sections forming the Council.
b. The petition shall be submitted to the Managing Director – MGA for validation.
a. After validation, the petition must be approved by the Region Committee before submission to MGA Board.
b. The Region Director shall submit the recommendation for Council establishment approval to the MGA Board.
There shall be bylaws governing the operation and administration of the Council. The bylaws shall state the purpose of the Council.
Council bylaws and their amendments shall be submitted to the MGA staff for review of conformity with the IEEE Constitution and IEEE Policies. The Council shall obtain approval of the Council bylaws, the constituent Section composition, and the Region Committee. The Region Director shall submit the recommendation for Council bylaws approval to the MGA Board.
Each Council shall have a Council Committee consisting of at least the Council Chair, Council Vice Chair, Council Secretary, Council Treasurer, Chair of the Student Activities Committee (if such a committee exists), and one representative from each Section appointed by each Section ExCom.
The Council Committee shall hold at least one meeting per year within the geographic boundaries of the Council.
a. A quorum for Council Committee meetings shall be a majority of the committee members, including representatives from at least half of the Sections belonging to the Council.
b. The Council Chair, or in their absence the Council Vice Chair, shall be responsible for calling the necessary number of Council Committee meetings.
Council officers are the Council Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. However, if the Secretary and Treasurer positions are combined, only three officers are required. All officers shall be elected annually as prescribed in the Council bylaws.
Each member of the Council Committee shall be an IEEE member in good standing at the Graduate Student Member, Member, Senior Member, or Fellow grade.
Term of Office: The term of office for all officers is normally one year, and officers may serve until their successors are duly elected and assume office. Terms normally run from January 1 through December 31. Consecutive service in the same position normally shall not exceed two years. No officer shall serve more than a total of six years in any position(s) within a single organizational unit. Exceptions require approval from the Region Director, who shall report such exceptions to the MGA Board annually.
The names of newly elected/appointed Council officers shall be reported by the Council Secretary to the IEEE MGA staff within 20 days of election/appointment.
Each Council Committee shall conduct its activities within the scope of the IEEE Constitution, IEEE Bylaws, IEEE Policies, MGA Operations Manual, and other externally imposed rules that are legally binding. The Council is entitled to use its funds for all purposes necessary to achieve its objectives. However, neither the Council nor its officers or agents have authority to contract debts, extend credit, or in any way bind IEEE in the name of the Council for activities prohibited to individual Sections. Funds within a geographic unit are the property of IEEE regardless of source and may not be used for purposes other than the general operations of the geographic unit as defined in the IEEE Bylaws or posted Policy interpretations, except with prior approval of the MGA Board and/or the IEEE Board of Directors.
A contiguous Section wishing to join an existing Council must obtain approval from its own ExCom, the Council ExCom, the Region ExCom, and the MGA Board. The Region Director shall submit the recommendation for Section joining approval to the MGA Board.
After a Section has belonged to a Council for two years, the Section ExCom may conduct a vote of Section members to withdraw from the Council. The results of the Section vote shall be reported to the Region Director. If the Section members vote to withdraw, the Region Director shall submit the recommendation for approval to the MGA Board. A Council is dissolved when only one Section remains.
A Council shall submit a financial activity report for the preceding year to IEEE MGA staff by the third week of February each year. Failure to comply shall be reported to the Chairs of the participating Sections and the Region Director.
Where a Council is the sponsoring unit for Society Chapters or Affinity Groups, the activity/officer reports of those units must also be submitted on an annual basis to receive the rebates permitted for Society Chapters or Affinity Groups.
A Council exists at the pleasure of its constituent Sections. A Section or Sections may petition the Region Director to intervene in Council operations in the event of irreconcilable disputes.
A Council that fails to submit required financial reports and, where applicable, Society Chapter or Affinity Group activity/officer reports for two years shall be placed on probation. The Council, its constituent Sections, the Region Director, and the MGA Board shall be notified by the Managing Director – MGA.
A Council that has been on probation for one year and still fails to submit required financial reports may be dissolved by the MGA Board upon the recommendation of the Region Director.
The MGA Board may dissolve any Council when it determines sufficient cause exists, and any remaining funds and assets held by the dissolved Council shall revert to IEEE. The Region Director may request the MGA Board to distribute the funds of a dissolved Council equally among the Sections that belonged to it.
A Chapter is a Society subdivision belonging to a Region, one or more Sections, or a Geographic Council. There are single Society Chapters, joint Society Chapters, and Technical Council Chapters. A Chapter is composed of a minimum of twelve voting IEEE Society members (multiple Societies in the case of a joint Chapter), petitioning the relevant parent geographic organizational unit and technical organizational unit for formation, to carry out the mission of IEEE. For Technical Council Chapters, a minimum of twelve voting IEEE members of the Societies belonging to the Technical Council in the parent geographic unit must petition the geographic unit and the Technical Council.
An IEEE member at the Graduate Student Member, Member, Senior Member, or Fellow grade who is a member of an IEEE Society and who belongs to the geographic unit in which the Society has a Technical Chapter is considered a member of the Chapter.
References to "Chapter" in Section 9.7 apply to both Chapters and joint Chapters.
A petition for Chapter formation shall include:
a. Name of the Section(s)
b. Name of the sponsoring Society
c. Name of the organizing chair (who becomes interim Chair until a regular Chair is elected at a regular meeting). The organizing chair must be an IEEE Graduate Student Member or above and in good standing.
d. Signatures of at least twelve IEEE members at the Graduate Student Member, Member, Senior Member, or Fellow grade who are members of the relevant Society and Section. For Technical Council Chapter petitions, at least twelve voting IEEE members of the Societies belonging to the Technical Council must sign. In lieu of petition signatures, email messages from IEEE members expressing their agreement to the formation may be substituted. Such emails must include the member's name, IEEE membership number, and a brief statement of support for the petition.
e. The Chapter petition shall be submitted to the Section/Council Executive Committee (ExCom) for written approval, and forwarded with this written approval to the Managing Director – MGA. The Managing Director – MGA shall forward a copy of the petition to the Society President requesting information verification from the Managing Director – Technical Activities.
f. A business plan including a long-term mission, specific objectives, and a plan of events and activities for the first six months. MGA staff shall forward the information received to the Region Director (or designee) for review and comment, and shall provide such review comments to the organizing chair.
g. Joint Chapters may be formed following this procedure to cover the interests of two or more Societies or the territory of two or more contiguous Sections or Councils, provided the necessary approvals of all relevant parties are obtained. The petition shall identify the organizational unit that will have Chapter management responsibility.
a. A Chapter is considered formed after MGA staff confirms that the Region Director and Society President have not objected to the formation. The list of formed Chapters shall be transmitted to the MGA Board and Technical Activities Board (TAB).
b. The Managing Director – MGA shall notify the Society President and Section/Council Chair.
Chapter management responsibility rests with the Section/Council, which administers all finances and other assets of the Chapter in carrying out Chapter activities.
Chapter officers shall include at minimum a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Chapter may combine the Secretary and Treasurer positions.
a. All officers shall be elected by vote of Chapter members at the Graduate Student Member, Member, Senior Member, and Fellow grades. All officer elections shall be held annually or biennially according to the term (one or two years) defined by the parent geographic unit with Chapter management responsibility.
b. The term of office for all officers is one or two years. The parent geographic unit with Chapter management responsibility shall define the officer term as one or two years and record this in its geographic operating procedures document. If the officer term is not recorded in the geographic operating procedures document, the default term is two years.
c. Terms normally run from January 1 through December 31.
d. Consecutive service in the same position normally shall not exceed four years. No officer shall serve more than a total of six years in any position(s) within a single organizational unit. Exceptions to this rule require approval from the Chair of the parent geographic unit with Chapter management responsibility, who shall report such exceptions to the Region Director annually.
6. The names of newly elected/appointed Chapter officers (voting and non-voting) shall be reported through the Section or Council Secretary to the IEEE MGA staff within 20 days of election/appointment.
Sections/Councils are responsible for allocating funds to Chapters according to a set of purposes and a distribution plan as stated under the missions of IEEE, MGA, and Technical Activities. Technical Council Chapters are funded in the same manner as Society Chapters. Chapters may receive funds generated by their own activities (including dues rebate amounts accrued in the prior year in accordance with the dues rebate formula). Such funds are maintained as designated assets of the Chapter. Funds generated by more than one geographic unit shall be shared according to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
a. Accounts opened in the name of IEEE shall be used for the established purpose without commingling other funds.
b. Chapters may establish a reserve fund of at least half their total budgeted annual expenditures.
c. All geographic unit bank accounts shall have administrative access granted to at least two volunteers. Administrative access must also be granted to the IEEE Senior Director – Financial Services (IEEE Policies, Section 11.3.A.3).
d. Chapters should use the IEEE Concentration Banking program where available.
e. All unit fund management must adhere to the fiscal year of January 1 through December 31.
Joint Chapters composed of members of two or more Societies or contiguous Sections may be formed following the procedures defined herein, provided that a joint Chapter petition contains at least 12 signatures with each relevant Society or Section represented by at least 3 signatories.
A Chapter's status may be changed from single to joint, or vice versa, without filing a petition. The status change becomes effective after approval from the Region Director, Society President, Section ExCom, and other relevant organizational units.
A Chapter shall maintain a minimum of 10 members at the Graduate Student Member, Member, Senior Member, or Fellow grade and shall hold a minimum of two technical events per year, or maintain a level of activity acceptable to the Region Director and Society President.
a. Chapters may schedule technical events in coordination with the ExCom of the parent geographic unit within whose boundaries the event is held, if deemed necessary.
b. All members of the parent geographic unit shall receive information about all events held within the geographic unit through electronic communication means provided by MGA.
c. Chapters shall submit timely annual reports of events held during the past year and changes in officer lists using electronic reporting tools provided by MGA.
d. The parent geographic unit with Chapter management responsibility receives meeting credits for Chapter activities and shall disburse Chapter rebates and activity bonuses (where applicable) to the Chapter based on reported Chapter activities.
Year-end membership statistics for a Technical Council Chapter shall include all IEEE members belonging to all Societies that are member Societies of the Technical Council.
In IEEE volunteer activities, it is routine that officers be replaced in an orderly and regular fashion, ensuring a healthy flow of new ideas and the vitality of geographic units. This section of the Operations Manual defines the processes and procedures that IEEE geographic units (Councils, Sections, Chapters, Affinity Groups) shall follow for elections.
All elections shall be conducted with the highest degree of integrity. The responsibility for maintaining fair and transparent election practices rests with the candidates, the organizational unit conducting the election, officers, staff, volunteers, and all committees managing/overseeing the election process.
The MGA Nominations Tool within vTools is available for use by Sections and Chapters and shall be utilized for conducting elections except where prohibited by local law. Access: https://nominations.vtools.ieee.org/home
All individuals participating in the election process must familiarize themselves with the following IEEE Policy sections: Section 13.3 Elections and Electioneering, Section 13.3.A.2 Election Code of Conduct, and Section 7.8 IEEE Code of Ethics.
a. All geographic units are encouraged to begin elections as early as possible. All elections must begin by August 1 and be completed by December 15 of each year.
b. To be eligible to run for office or vote in an election, a member must:
i. Be at the Graduate Student Member, Member, Senior Member, or Fellow grade.
ii. Be active as of June 30 and maintain continuous membership through the close of the election.
c. The election date is the first day the ballot is open for voting, and the close of the election is the day the ballot closes.
Each geographic unit shall appoint an annual Nominations and Elections Committee composed of members of the geographic unit. The committee must be approved by the geographic unit ExCom.
The Nominations and Elections Committee shall consist of at least three Voting Members, of whom no more than one may be a current officer of the geographic unit. A current officer of the geographic unit shall not serve as Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee.
The Teller receives the voting results after the ballot closes in vTools.
The Nominations and Elections Committee is responsible for ensuring a fair and transparent election in accordance with all policies and procedures specified in this Operations Manual and IEEE Policies. The committee's duties include preparing a slate of candidates for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer (or Secretary-Treasurer), and other members elected at large by the geographic unit, and submitting this slate for approval by the geographic unit ExCom.
A Nominations and Elections Committee member who has not resigned from the committee before the Call for Nominations begins shall not be included on the slate for this election. For the Conflict of Interest policy, see Section 2.11.B of this Operations Manual.
Meetings of the Nominations and Elections Committee shall be convened as Executive Sessions when dealing with confidential matters including candidate discussion or selection. Executive Sessions shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order (latest edition).
The Call for Nominations shall be distributed to all voting members of the geographic unit and shall remain open for a minimum of 30 days.
The Call for Nominations shall include all relevant election information, including at minimum:
All candidate materials shall be submitted confidentially upon application and shall not be edited once submitted. All candidates shall submit a biography, position statement, photograph, and confirm their willingness to serve if elected.
The Nominations and Elections Committee is responsible for verifying the qualifications and eligibility of all candidates. Except as specified in the IEEE Bylaws, the committee shall select a minimum of two and no more than three candidates for each position.
All positions for which a single candidate has been selected must be approved by the geographic unit Chair and the Region Director. A single-candidate slate shall not proceed without prior Region Director approval. All requests for single-candidate slate approval must be accompanied by a written explanation of the reasons for submitting such a slate.
The petition process shall be communicated to voting members when the initial slate is announced. It is recommended that the petition process remain open for a minimum of 30 days.
Number of signatures required for a petition:
Petitions must close 10 days before the planned election date.
The Nominations and Elections Committee shall verify the eligibility and qualifications of all petition candidates. The final slate shall be submitted to the geographic unit ExCom for approval.
The Teller shall prepare the ballot in vTools voting once the final candidates are confirmed. Required information: election start/close dates and times, names of positions being elected, candidate information (name, biography, position statement, photograph).
Once the final slate is approved, it shall be announced again to all voting members of the geographic unit. This announcement shall include election start/close dates, voter eligibility, candidate information, and the voting link in vTools.
All voting in geographic unit elections shall be conducted electronically via secret ballot in vTools and shall remain open for a minimum of two weeks. Where electronic voting is not possible, the geographic unit Chair shall be notified.
When the election closes, the Teller receives results in vTools. Once results are finalized: candidates are notified → results are announced to geographic unit members.
| Item | Sample Date | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Appoint Nominations and Elections Committee | August 1 | Must begin by August 1 |
| Issue Call for Nominations | August 5 | Minimum 30 days open — Required |
| Close Call for Nominations | September 5 | |
| Review Candidates | Sep 6–12 | ~7 days |
| ExCom Approval of Slate | Sep 13–19 | ~7 days |
| Region Director Approval (single-candidate) | Sep 20–26 | ~7 days |
| Announce Slate & Open Petition Period | September 27 | Minimum 30 days open — Recommended |
| Close Petition Period | October 27 | |
| Review Petition Candidates | Oct 28–Nov 3 | ~7 days |
| ExCom Approval of Final Slate | Nov 4–10 | ~7 days |
| Announce Final Slate | November 11 | |
| Open Ballot | November 11 | |
| Close Ballot | November 25 | Minimum 2 weeks open — Required |
| Announce Final Results & Record Officers | December 15 | Results by December 15 |
The purpose of conferences is to provide a forum for communicating advances in the field through formal paper presentations and informal discussions. All IEEE conferences are governed by the policies contained in IEEE Policies Section 10.
The IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Board encourages the formation of new conferences and participation by geographic organizational units in existing conferences.
IEEE Conferences, Events & Experiences (CEE) provides additional information and resources for conference organizing committees at http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events.