I was to about to say this but Sumit Roy has already penned it more eloquently than I can. As he points out we had the same discussion few years ago and with large bandwidth utilized for a very healthy discussion of the same subjects including too many meetings, prohibitive and rising costs, quality etc. but nothing came about after that and we seem to be repeating again. IEEE has become "too big" for our own good. I am kind of reminded of politics in Washington that is out of touch with the general public. Why is the folks in the administrative and leadership positions keep ignoring and sweeping it under the carpet?
Just a few months ago again on the issue of "seeking ideas for membership development" turned out to be similar email bombardment from members. As in this case for every person in IEEE leadership position who is defending their costs/benefit analysis, there were 99 other rank-and-file members who were totally frustrated with the rising cost of membership fees, IEEE Xplore fees and access. My observation then was that "the underlining current seems to be the frustration towards IEEE management and the belief they are not in touch with rank-and-file members". I requested the people running for IEEE offices to address this and I am copying them again.
I am not saying that they are not justifiable but as Sumit addressed in his email there is a lack of transparency which is leading these comments and conclusions. Unless we understand better IEEE/Comsoc budgets we cannot all be in the same page before we can implement useful suggestions to improve them. The discussion of conferences also may be extended to journals and magazines.
Thank you for your attention. I hope collectively we need to call for CHANGE. I hope we do not get side tracked and lose sight of the bigger picture.
Ravi Sankar
-----------------------------
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 16:38:54 -0800 (PST)
From: sroy@u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tccc] Cost of attendance from developing countries / in
general (fwd)
To: tccc@lists.cs.columbia.edu
Message-ID:
<Pine.LNX.4.43.0912061638540.27659@hymn31.u.washington.edu>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
All:
This conversation has reverted (deservedly IMO) to old issues - conference
pricing, the "margins" involved and how COMSOC uses any "profits" etc. The last
time there was such an outpouring was not too long ago - based on the ICC 2007
(Glasgow) registration pricing, that was deemed excessive by many, even
compared to normal US-based fees for the same conference in recent years. I
recall Roch having made the very same points then. So clearly, this (how IEEE
runs it's conferences) IS an unresolved issue. Contributing to it is one simple
over-riding fact. LACK of transparency about a) conference and b) COMSOC
budgets respectively. Most of us on the outside have no access to accurate
information to verify the claims about the budget that Joe and Celia (and other
IEEE officials) have made/are making.
1. So in the interest of public disclosure - is there a public URL we can see
COMSOC and conference budgets? As non-profits, what are the laws (at least here
in the US) re such disclosures - anyone? WOuld love to be enlightened re this.
There is no obvious link from www.comsoc.org on anything financial at a quick
glance.
If this information is difficult to obtain - should some of us proceed via
Freedom of Information (FIA) Act here in the US to obtain this ?
2. Joe - can I get you to analyze the recently concluded 2009 Globecom
registration fees (I've attached the form just FYI) and pronounce - according
to your expert insider's insight - as to what an appropriate pricing should be?
Note- $600 (limited registration) does NOT include any banquet or any other
lunches, but does include coffee breaks, and food at selected committee
meetings. Also, the approx. attendance exceeds 1000.
3. Joe, Celia - can I get a statement from you re the following which I am told
is paid from the conference budget (this falls into the category of conference
"overhead")
1. The typical # of IEEE support staff who come to the conference, how long do
they stay etc (typically for some days before and after) - i.e. the net costs
for this.
2. Other "free" attendees - such as the ComSoc Board of Governors, who I
believe get free lodging/travel and meals etc., ie. the net costs for this.
**If I am mistaken about my assumption re 1,2 above - pls. correct and provide
a link to documents that support the facts.
In general, full disclosure of all the "overhead" components (notably freebies)
of conferences would go a long way in putting real data in the hands of those
who ARE the IEEE (us) and putting "fiscal responsibility" and "greater
transparency" at the center of this issue. This state of affairs has gone on
for too long.
Sumit Roy
UWashington
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