ACM Volunteer Structure

Vicki HansonChair, SIG Governing Board (SGB)

Goals for this Session

• Overview of volunteer leadership structure for all of ACM• know where decisions are made• know where to go with ideas/needs• know how things work to explain to your

members

• Specific details on the SGB and SIG governance• how to get things done

Starting at the Top

• ACM Council• Council is the final authority on all ACM policy

decisions, approves all major new initiatives, approves the annual budget, etc.

• ACM Executive Committee• ACM EC is charged with operational governance

• Five ACM EC members• President

• Alain Chesnais

• Vice-President• Barbara Ryder

• Secretary-Treasurer• Alex Wolf

• Past President• Wendy Hall

• SGB Chair• Vicki Hanson

• Three SGB-elected reps• Scott Owen• Andrew Sears• Doug Terry

• Seven at-large members

• Publications Board Chair

• Two ex officio• ACM CEO (John White)• ACM COO (Pat Ryan)

ACM Council Members

ACM Boards and Councils

• Boards• SGB• Publications• Practitioners• Education

• Councils• ACM-W• USACM• Regional

• ACM Europe• ACM India• ACM China

Committees

• ACM Council• Audit Committee• Awards Committee

• ACM EC• Coalition to Diversity

Computing (CDC)• Computers and Public

Policy• Constitution and Bylaws• Nominating

• ACM EC (cont.)• Elections• Committee on

Professional Ethics (COPE)

• ACM International Collegiate Programming Context (ICPC)

• History• Investment

When is ACM Council Involved?

• Some SIG/SGB activities go to the ACM EC or Council for approval• some by-laws changes• annual budgets (in aggregate)• large actions (e.g., large conference budgets,

SIG dissolution)• named awards

When Are Other Boards / Committees Involved?

• Some activities relevant to SIGs are actually done by, or are best coordinated with, others• journals and magazines (Pubs Board)• public policy (USACM)• awards (Awards Committee)

• Many value SIG participation

SIG Governing Board (SGB)

• Who• the leaders of each SIG• supported by SIG Services (Donna Cappo)

• What• collective governance

• setting policies• SIG allocation• distribution of DL revenue

• creation/review/oversight of SIGs

• How• weighted voting

• 1 vote plus 1 per 1000 members

• Transitional SIGs not eligible to vote

SGB EC

• Chair• Vicki Hanson

• Past Chair• Alex Wolf

• Director of SIG Services• Donna Cappo

• Publications Advisor• Joe Konstan

• Members at large

• VC for Operations• Andrew Sears

• SIG Development Advisor• Dave Pennock

• New SIG Advisor• Janice Sipior

• SIG Viability Advisor• Barbara Boucher Owens

• SIG Conference Advisor• Klara Nahrstedt

• SIG Awards Advisor• Erik Altman

Role of the SGB Chair and EC

• Administrative and oversight of SGB decisions

• Prepare agendas and (sometimes) recommendations for SGB meeting

• Handle a wide range of “routine” requests specifically delegated to Chair or EC• replacement of officers for some SIGs• by-laws change review

• Task forces

• Plus whatever else is needed

SGB Collective Governance

• Examples• SIG allocation• DL revenue and its distribution• viability reviews• new SIGs• best practices

SIG Allocation• One collective obligation of the SIGs is to pay for a

portion of ACM’s operating costs (cost of doing business)• Support for conferences• Financial support• Publications support• Volunteer activities• Information services• Administrative support (legal, elections etc)

• Total amount for FY 2012 is $2.835M

• Allocation formula is a sliding scale • based on expenses per SIG• $10K minimum per SIG

Digital Library Revenue Distribution

• SIG content is major component of the DL• Conferences and newsletters

• Revenue-sharing arrangement where SGB receives a percentage of DL revenue • budgeted estimate for FY 2012 is $2.66M

• Collective decision to divide this based on downloads, but with a $10K minimum per SIG

Viability Reviews

• Each SIG faces regular program reviews

• SIG prepares a 5-slide summary of activity and vision / goals• SGB EC performs an initial review and makes a

recommendation• SGB which makes final decision

• Opportunity for collective advice and guidance• recent examples

• concerns about volunteer development

• concerns about member benefits

• working with related organizations

Best Practices

• At each SGB meeting there is time set aside for sharing successful practices• Many SIG leaders find this to be the most valuable

part of the meeting!

• Examples• Volunteer development

• Governing structure

• Attendance at Business Meetings

• Experiences with holding conferences outside US

• Openness in nominations and finances

Other Responsibilities to Take Seriously

• Annual reporting

• Setting membership benefits and dues

• Volunteer and leadership development

• Community building

• Sustainable excellence