1. Policies, Procedures, and Best Practices IEEE AESS PANELS Prepared by the Technical Operations Committee
Contents:
Applying for Panel Approval
Forming an Approved Panel
“Best” Panel Operating Procedures

2. 1.1 Applying for Board of Governors Panel Approval
Technical Panels are a group of AES Society members and affiliates interested in symposia, papers, standards and other programs addressing specific portions of the technical fields of interest of the Society (AESS Bylaws Article X)
The Board of Governors may establish or eliminate Technical Panels upon recommendation by the Vice President, Technical Operations (AESS Bylaws Article X)
A group of at least 3, preferably 5, Society members and affiliates interested in forming a Panel should contact the Vice President, Technical Operations and provide the information on the following chart

3. 1.2 Applying for Panel Approval (cont’d)
Proposed Panel name
List of proposers with AESS status and their contact information including affiliation and IEEE number
Prime and alternate person for the VP Technical Operations to contact
Write a proposal for what, why, etc. you want to start this Panel. Identify the benefits to our Society. Also list the first year goals of the Panel and a time-phased strategy to meet those goals. Identify key personnel in the strategy. Is AESS funding required? A Panel should have a portfolio of activities, as well as, a primary conference “to own”. The Radar Systems Panel is a good example of having a portfolio of relevant activities in its technical area.
The VP Technical Operations will respond to the proposal promptly.

4. 2.1 Forming an Approved Panel
A document containing the articles of organization is needed consisting of
Charter
Organization
Objectives
This document is published on the AESS website

5. 2.2 Articles of Organization: Charter
The charter has three main parts
1) Brief statement of the primary area(s) of technical focus of the panel
2) A bulleted-list of items describing the purpose/major activities of the panel
3) Brief description of the qualifications/background of key panel members

6. 2.3 Articles of Organization: Organization and Objectives
The ‘Organization’ section of the articles consists of
requirements for panel membership
frequency and location of panel meetings
major responsibilities of the panel
the process for electing leadership (at least a Chair and Vice-Chair)
The ‘Objectives’ section consists of a simple list of specific objectives designed to achieve the aforementioned purpose

7. 2.4 Forming an Approved Panel
Presumably, the AESS members who submitted the panel proposal will also be the ‘founding’ members of the panel
Additional members may be added in any manner the panel deems appropriate (nomination, consensus, etc.). A Membership Committee should be formed.
A procedure for dismissing members should be set;
for example, missing 3 meetings in a row
Note that panel members need not be members of AESS or even IEEE; however, only active AESS members may serve as Chair / Vice-Chair

8. 2.4 Forming an Approved Panel (cont’d)
To form and continue a Panel, new members must be continually sought out. These can be found through technical contacts, conference and journal authors, and conference attendees. Conference Catalysts can obtain attendance lists from most conferences with their affiliations. A search can be made of attendees who are IEEE members, or AESS members. A solicitation can then be sent to prospective members.

9. 3.1 ‘Best’ Panel Operating Procedures
Once the articles of organization have been established, periodic meetings are needed to keep the panel ‘on track’
At a minimum: Semi-annual
Preferred: Quarterly
If a majority of the panel members regularly attend certain conferences, these are excellent venues for holding panel meetings
Conference Catalysts stands ready to facilitate virtual meetings via GoToMeeting
If the Panel will deal with Standards, additional IEEE requirements may apply
The Chair should send a list of members to the AESS Administrator every January

10. 3.2 ‘Best’ Procedures (cont’d)
Circulate an agenda well in advance of any given meeting
The more specific, the better
Before the meeting concludes, action items should be assigned along with due dates
Since many people either are deadline-driven or in need of gentle reminders, the Chair and/or Vice-Chair must be diligent to follow-up regularly with those who have signed up for an action item
Action items without a designated responsible person WILL NOT HAPPEN

11. 3.3 ‘Best’ Procedures (cont’d)
If the panel members are distributed across several continents, it can be challenging to find a good time for virtual meetings
Alternate times so that members can participate at least every other meeting
Find out if some members are willing to meet early or in (their) evening
Meeting minutes should be taken, circulated prior to the next meeting and subsequently approved and archived. A copy should be sent to the AESS Administrator and AESS VP Technical Operations.

12. 3.3 ‘Best’ Procedures-To Do (cont’d)
Someone on the Panel should be responsible for providing inputs to the QEB 4 times a year.
Someone should be responsible for the annual Panel technology article for Systems.
The Chair is responsible for 3 reports to the VP Technical Operations in support of his 2 reports for Board meetings and 1 report to the Strategic Planning Officers Meeting.
The Chair should make any funding requests to the VP well in advance of their need.
Panel should suggest DLs to Education for building Chapter relations. DLs should be on the Panel.