IFIP TC12 - Artificial Intelligence

Follow the sub-menus for:

• Guidelines for the TC12 Committee
• Guidelines for the Working Groups
• Guilines for organising 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.

Composition of the Committee

The IFIP TC12 Technical Committee is composed of:

• one representative appointed by each Full Member of IFIP;
• one or more representatives recommended by the TC and accepted by the relevant Full Member of IFIP;

Both of these categories of members will be appointed by the Technical Committee Chairman, have full voting rights and are eligible for elections as officers.

• any number of persons (not exceeding 25% of the total TC membership) who possess expert or specialist knowledge, who need not be members of an IFIP Member organization.

Such persons will be appointed by the Technical Committee Chairman on the recommendation of the TC. They will have no formal vote nor be eligible for election as officers of the Committee.

• Working Group Chairs are ex-officio members of the Committee for the duration of their terms of office, with full voting rights.

The Chairman of TC12 must be recommended by the TC and is appointed by the President of IFIP. The Chairman must be a member of the TC, shall serve for a term of three years and may be re-appointed for one additional term.

The Chairman of TC12 may designate a Vice-Chairman and a Secretary with the approval of the TC. The Vice-Chairman must be a member of the TC, shall serve for a term of three years and may be designated for one additional term. The term of office for Secretaries is three years which may be renewed without any limitation.

Responsibilities of National Representatives

The mission of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is to be the foremost international organization encouraging and assisting in the development, exploitation and application of Information Technology for the benefit of all people. To achieve this, IFIP has organized twelve Technical Committees that facilitate the investigation and forward progress of Information Processing.

Dedicated and productive participation in the various Technical Committees is critical to success. Each member of a Technical Committee has an obligation to work towards achieving the specific individual goals of the Technical Committee and its Working Groups. In particular, National Representatives on Technical Committees are required to be active researchers in the field relevant to the particular Technical Committee and to be actively interested in the promotion of the global mission and goals of IFIP in general and of the Technical Committee in particular.

The following outlines particular responsibilities of National Representatives:

• Meetings of the Technical Committee
  • To attend scheduled meetings on a regular basis or provide prior notification of planned absence.
  • To provide the Technical Committee with occasional reports on relevant discoveries, activities and events in their home countries.
• Technical Committee Activities
• To participate in Technical Committee events and activities.
• To assist with the identification of areas of advancement and improvement supporting continuation of IFIP s global mission and goals.
• To provide information about individual research communities, activities and events in their home countries when requested by people seeking information for Technical Committee conferences or publications.
• In Their Home Countries
  • To promote the innovations of technology and pertinent R&D activities from the Technical Committee to their professional fields and other organizations in their home countries.
  • To promote collaboration and involvement between the Technical Committee Working Groups and their national communities including educational institutions, professional organizations and personal affiliations.
  • To encourage involvement and knowledge-sharing amongst scientists and experts in the corresponding relevant fields of the Technical Committee in their home countries.
  • To nominate and suggest appropriate subject experts when required by representatives of the Technical Committee and/or Working Group Conference Program Chairs for a conference organized in their countries.
  • To identify and nominate individuals in the technical community of their home countries to serve on Working Groups of the Technical Committee.

Working Groups

A Working Group may be established by the Technical Assembly upon the submission by a Technical Committee of the proposed scope of the Working Group.

A Working Group consists of technical experts selected and assigned without consideration of nationality to work in a specified technical area. The scope of an established Working Group shall be included in the IFIP Bulletin web pages. A Working Group may be dissolved or re-directed by the Technical Assembly upon consultation with, or recommendation of, its Technical Committee.

The members of a Working Group are appointed by the Chairman of TC12, with the approval of the Committee. Membership is not restricted to those who belong to an IFIP Member Society. The Chairman of a Working Group is appointed by the Technical Committee Chairman upon the recommendation of the Technical Committee. The Chairman of a Working Group may designate a Vice-Chairman and a Secretary with the approval of the Working Group.

The term of office of Working Group Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen shall be three years and may be renewed once only. The term of office for Secretaries is three years which may be renewed without any limitation. The appointment of Working Group Chairmen may be terminated by the TC Chairman upon the recommendation of the Technical Committee.

Publication in the name of a Working Group may be made after review by the TC or SG, subject to submission and approval of the General Assembly. After such approval, the publication becomes an official IFIP publication.

Joint Working Groups

A Joint Working Group may be established by mutual agreement of two or more Technical Committees subject to the following:

• One of the TCs must be designated as having full responsibility for all matters of administration and finance.
• The Joint Working Group may report to one or more of its parent TCs on technical matters.
• The Joint Working Group will be listed in the Bulletin under the TC which has administrative responsibility with a reference to its other parents.

Special Interest Groups

Any Working Group of a Technical Committee may, with the approval of its parent Technical Committee, create or later disband a Special Interest Group. Membership of such a SIG will be open to any scientist or professional who wishes to join subject only to the formal approval of the Working Group Chairman.