Aug 26, 2011
Conference organization is a demanding activity. You know because you’ve already done it or are currently in the thick of it. The IEEE Signal Processing Society has been supporting your efforts through a small staff component. Its mission is to provide the utmost quality support to volunteer conference organizers. Meeting that mission requires change in order to help you with the challenges you face.
Recently, the Conference Services Department underwent a study that examined tasks, skills, time, and growing requirements. The outcome was an approach that generated both philosophical and structural changes. The change in philosophy is the realization that the staff’s customers are the volunteer organizers. Thus, volunteer-facing services are structured differently to provide the broadest possible services considering the boutique size of the staff, and the need to deliver services with quality, accuracy, timeliness, and a volunteer-friendly mindset. Some specifics follow.
Linda Skeahan now fills the post of Conference Services Coordinator-General Services. Linda’s focus is on providing first-line assistance for the following activities: Conference timeline planning; proceedings status; publicity requests (includes e-notices, on-line and print advertisements, etc.); organizer resources (online and other, upon request); information on conference social media sites; detailed histories of events such as dates, attendance statistics, numbers of sessions, numbers of accepted papers, etc.; joint conference steering committee activity support and monitoring; coordination of post-conference surveys; and many other, general details of conference planning and conference portfolio coordination. While Linda will continue to receive financial information from organizers, the details of conference finance will be provided by IEEE Technical Activities (TA).
Nicole Allen, as Conference Services Coordinator-Technical Services , has a broad role that includes, but is not limited to, coordination of the Conference Organizer Solutions (COS) registration and submitted paper support tools; maintenance of the ICASSP, ICIP, ICME, ISBI, and other conference reviewer databases and submitted paper support statistics; monitoring project timelines for COS implementation; coordination and implementation of Technical Co-Sponsorship (TCS) approved applications; coordination of website requests and website compliance; coordination of requests and postings to IEEE.tv.
Lisa Schwarzbek is Manager, Conference Services. Her brief is the Signal Processing Society’s conference portfolio and management of staff and resources in assistance to you, the conference organizers. Lisa’s duties are necessarily strategic and her day-to-day activities include preparing requests for proposals; reviewing and negotiating contracts; reviewing budgets and providing Society-level conference administrative and budget approvals; supervising contractors and vendors; and supporting the activities of the Vice President-Conferences and the Society’s Conference Board.
One of the arrangements managed by Lisa is a new concept being tested with the IEEE Technical Activities (TA) Conference Finance Group. The growth and complexity of the Society’s conference portfolio, and attendant tasks such as opening concentration banking accounts, processing vendor and contractor payments, arranging loans, conducting budget reviews, etc., in compliance with Society, IEEE Technical Activities, and IEEE policy and requirements, creates a demanding workload.
Currently, conference activities at the TA level are undergoing substantial change, including improved coordination of conference financial requirements. The Signal Processing Society’s arrangement with TA assigns care for all SPS conference financial needs to TA Conference Financial Analyst, Kartik Patel. While he does not work directly for the Society, the interface between Kartik and the Society’s Conference Services Department is being managed by Lisa, with budget documentation coordinated through Linda Skeahan. Kartik’s involvement, though largely transparent to SPS conference organizers, is making a very positive difference in the speed and breadth of financial assistance the staff are able to provide.
The SPS Conference Services Department of the IEEE Signal Processing Society is here to serve you, the Society’s volunteer conference organizers. Please take advantage of the knowledge, skills, and energy of the Department’s staff. They stand ready to assist you in meeting the compliance requirements of the Society, TA, and IEEE as well as to augment your event planning with a broad variety of services and expertise.
I look forward to meeting you at a Society conference event in the near future.