How to Obtain IEEE SMCS Conference Sponsorship

Welcome

Why ask for SMCS Sponsorship for your Conference?

Why would the SMCS want to Sponsor your Conference?

Types of Sponsorship you can obtain

When should you request SMCS Sponsorship?

Who should you contact?

Proposal/Request and Approval Process

Recognized IEEE and SMCS Logos and Restrictions of Use

Points of Contact

Welcome

Dear Colleague,

We are glad that you are interested in organizing a systems, human-machine systems, or cybernetics related Conference, and are interested in the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society (SMCS) sponsorship.  We encourage you to take advantage of the benefits of IEEE and SMCS sponsorship.

Provided for you here is the information necessary to request and obtain IEEE SMCS sponsorship, and useful information for working with the SMC Society of the IEEE in order to ensure a successful and effective interaction between your Conference Organizing Committee and the SMC Society.

The SMC Society of the IEEE wishes you success in your plans and activities.

Why consider SMCS Sponsorship for your Conference?

The IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society (SMCS) is the world's leading society for the advancement of theory and applications in systems engineering, human-machine systems, and cybernetics.  Its mission is to serve the interests of its members and the community at large by promoting the theory, practice, and interdisciplinary aspects of systems science and engineering, human-machine systems, and cybernetics. This is accomplished through conferences, publications, and other activities that contribute to the professional needs of its members.

If you intend to organize, or are in the process of organizing, a Conference that is either focused on SMC or is significantly related to SMC, you will find that having the IEEE associated with your event is a significant benefit. The IEEE is the largest Engineering Society in the world, and the SMC Society of the IEEE, by their support of the event, will help ensure its success.

The SMC Society can also provide significant technical contributions to the Conference, such as:

Thus, IEEE can help you to achieve a better, highly recognized event, supported by high quality technical contributions.

Please note that use of the IEEE and/or SMCS name or logo without written permission from the IEEE and/or the IEEE SMCS Board of Governors (BoG) is strictly forbidden.

Why would the SMCS want to Sponsor your event?

The SMCS's largest benefit in sponsoring/co-sponsoring events is the very fact that through its involvement it helps to enhance the dissemination of the discipline of SMC and thereby perpetuate engineering progress to improve the quality of life for the benefit of all mankind.

The objectives of the SMC Society are scientific, literary, educational and professional in character. The SMCS strives for advancement of theory and application in systems engineering, human-machine systems, and cybernetics, in part, through conferences and publications.

The Society promotes close collaboration and exchange of technical information among its members and other professional societies and organizations. To facilitate this exchange, the SMCS organizes and participates in national and international symposia, conferences, and workshops. The SMCS views these events as forums for engineers, technicians and scientists to discuss personal views, theories and solutions.

Sponsorship/Co-Sponsorship of Conferences also enhances the awareness of the attendees and the engineering communities to the benefits of both IEEE and SMCS membership.

Types of Conference Involvement

As authorized in the IEEE bylaws, the SMC Society, by itself or jointly with other IEEE entities, and/or jointly with non-IEEE, not-for-profit entities may be involved in the organization of a conference for which registration fees will be charged. Sponsorship relates to the responsibilities and accountabilities of the SMCS with respect to financial, technical, publicity, and administrative aspects of a conference.  SMCS can provide sponsorship to conferences that includes financial involvement (Sole Sponsorship or Co-Sponsorship) or no-financial involvement (Technical Co-Sponsorship).

The types of conference sponsorship provided by the IEEE SMCS are further outlined below.

Attention: The IEEE SMC Society CANNOT participate in the organization of conferences organized by "for profit" organizations.

Sole Sponsorship

Sole sponsorship indicates full and sole SMCS involvement including complete responsibility for the technical, financial, publicity and administrative aspects of the conference.

  • In the financial area, IEEE SMCS members will be involved in preparing the conference budget, monitoring the financial affairs and preparing the final financial report.
  • At least one IEEE entity (administrative unit) will assist in local arrangements, exhibits, publicity, public relations and publications.
  • IEEE sponsored conferences are financially accountable to the sponsoring entities and to IEEE Headquarters.
  • The Proceedings of IEEE sponsored conferences qualify for distribution through the IEEE Conference Publications Program (CPP).  Full paper review is necessary for conferences to receive IEEE SMCS support for the CPP and three reviews per full paper are typically expected. Exceptions may be made for conferences with a track record of quality proceedings production.

    • IEEE sponsored conferences are entitled to IEEE services at the non-profit rate.

    IEEE SMCS sponsored conferences must have the IEEE and SMC Society logos and name included in the conference title and all conference publications and announcements.

    Co-Sponsorship

    Co-sponsorship indicates a shared involvement among several entities, one of which is SMCS, in the technical, financial, publicity and administrative areas of the conference, as defined above under Sole Sponsorship.

    IEEE co-sponsored conferences are entitled to IEEE services at the non-profit rate.

    IEEE co-sponsored conferences, for which all co-sponsoring entities are IEEE, must have the IEEE logo and name included in the conference title and the IEEE and SMC Society logos and name included in all conference publications and announcements.  For co-sponsored conferences with non-IEEE entities, it is recommended that the IEEE and SMC Society logos be used in all conference publications and announcements.

    Technical Co-Sponsorship

    Technical co-sponsorship indicates direct and substantial involvement by SMCS solely in the organization of the technical program.  The SMCS has no financial involvement in the conference.  It also involves encouraging members to submit papers and attend the conference through announcement in the SMCS eNewsletter and on the SMCS web site.

    The SMCS may wish to negotiate a variety of issues with the sponsoring organization, including registration fees for IEEE members, possible post-conference sales of proceedings through the IEEE Conference Publications Program, or other issues that benefit the conference and future interaction with the sponsoring organization.

    For IEEE Technically Co-Sponsored conferences, it is recommended that the IEEE and SMC Society logos be used in all conference publications and announcements.

    The SMCS name may not be used in the conference title, but the SMCS logo may be used in conference publications and promotional materials.

    If the conference has no sponsoring or co-sponsoring IEEE entity, then the IEEE name cannot be used in the conference title.

    Detailed information regarding the IEEE involvement may be found on the IEEE Web site:

    http://www.ieee.org

                Conferences

                Organize a conference

                IEEE Conferences Organization Manual

    2.0 Types of Conference Involvement

    When should you request/propose SMCS Sponsorship?

    Requests/Proposals for any type of SMCS sponsorship should be submitted for approval at least 1 year in advance of the conference.  It is recommended that a request/proposal be submitted to the SMCS as early as possible and no later than the time you generate your Call for Papers in order to guarantee that:

  • the logo and name of the IEEE is incorporated in your Call for Papers/Announcement, if appropriate, and approved by the SMCS Board of Governors, in a timely manner,
  • the SMC Society may be able to effectively contribute to the Technical Program of the Conference (e.g., by organizing special workshops and tutorials)

    • Note that the approval process by the SMCS Board of Governors may take as much as 2 months from the time the request/proposal is received by the SMCS Vice President for Conferences and Meetings.

    Who should you contact?

    Initial contact should be made with the SMCS Vice President for Conferences and Meetings (VPCM) and SMCS Conference Coordinator.

    The VPCM will assist in initiating the process and can be contacted for any inquiries or questions you may have.

    Proposal/Request and Approval Process
    Proposing Sponsored and Co-Sponsored Meetings

    Proposals for financial sponsorship along with additional documents listed below should be submitted to the SMCS Vice President for Conferences and Meetings (VPCM) and SMCS Conference Coordinator.

    The proposal should state the type of financial sponsorship sought from IEEE SMCS (“sponsorship”, “co-sponsorship”).  The choice depends on the degree of financial involvement.  In the case of financial sponsorship, the IEEE will request part of the conference revenue.

    Submitted proposals should be accompanied by:

  • a completed draft IEEE Information Schedule form (a final version would be submitted online to IEEE after approval).
  • a Call for Papers (CFP) and a web URL link to the website that contains full conference details.
  • a complete conference budget prepared using the IEEE Financial Reporting Workbook, a Microsoft Excel workbook that may be downloaded from the IEEE Web site:

    •                  http://www.ieee.org

                                 Conferences

                                 Organize a Conference

                                 Required Documentation for IEEE Conferences

                                 Financial Reporting Workbook

    An example proposal and an example CFP are available.

    Indicate any intent/plan to participate in the IEEE Conference Publications Program (CPP).  The IEEE CPP (formerly known as the "Book Broker Program") handles post-conference distribution of conference papers in all media and coordinates the submission of conference material to IEEE Xplore®. 

    Note that full paper review is necessary for conferences to receive IEEE SMCS support for participation in the CPP, and three (3) technical reviews per full paper are typically expected. Exceptions may be made for conferences with a track record of quality proceedings production.

    Note also that inclusion of conference material in IEEE Xplore® does not guarantee indexing in Ei Compendex.  IEEE will submit, but not guarantee, papers for indexing in Ei Compendex. Misrepresentations of guaranteed indexing services on conference materials or web sites constitute grounds for disapproval or withdrawal of IEEE SMCS Sponsorship/Co-Sponsorship.

    Requesting Technical Co-Sponsorship

    A request should be submitted to the SMCS Vice President for Conferences and Meetings (VPCM) and SMCS Conference Coordinator.

    Submitted requests should be accompanied or immediately followed by:

  • a completed draft IEEE Information Schedule form (a final version would be submitted online to IEEE after approval).
  • a Call for Papers (CFP) and a web URL link to the website that contains full conference details.
  • a copy of the conference budget (requested for IEEE SMCS information but not factored into the technical co-sponsorship approval decision).
  • a statement of confirmed interest and intent to support the conference (e.g., organization, paper review, etc) from a representative of one or more IEEE SMCS Technical Committees.

    •  

    An example CFP is available.

    Indicate any intent/plan to participate in the IEEE Conference Publications Program (CPP).  The IEEE CPP (formerly known as the "Book Broker Program") handles post-conference distribution of conference papers in all media and coordinates the submission of conference material to IEEE Xplore®. 

    Note that full paper review is necessary for conferences to receive IEEE SMCS support for participation in the CPP, and three (3) technical reviews per full paper are typically expected. Exceptions may be made for conferences with a track record of quality proceedings production.

    Note also that inclusion of conference material in IEEE Xplore® does not guarantee indexing in Ei Compendex.  IEEE will submit, but not guarantee, papers for indexing in Ei Compendex.  Misrepresentations of guaranteed indexing services on conference materials or web sites constitute grounds for disapproval or withdrawal of IEEE SMCS Technical Co-Sponsorship.

    What Happens Next

    Upon receipt of a proposal for SMCS financial Sponsorship/Co-Sponsorship and all required documents, the VPCM will present the proposal and budget to the SMCS Conferences and Meetings Committee (CMC) for separate Sponsorship/Co-Sponsorship and budget approval.  The SMCS BoG must approve the conference Sponsorship/Co-Sponsorship and conference budget before the proposal can be granted official and final SMCS approval.

    Upon receipt of a request for Technical Co-Sponsorship and all required documents, the VPCM will consider and evaluate the request and decide on approval.  Technical Co-sponsorship requests do not require the approval of the SMCS BoG.

    Decisions of the CMC/BoG during the approval processes will be taken based on criteria such as:

  • Conference organization by not-for-profit organizations (mandatory IEEE criterion)
  • Extent of relevance of the conference contents to the disciplines of SMC and benefit of the conference to the IEEE SMC Society membership
  • Time of application (at least one year in advance or sufficiently early to ensure timely and effective SMCS contribution to the conference)
  • Expected technical and administrative quality of the conference program and proceedings
  • Potential competition with other SMCS-sponsored events within 3 months of the proposed conference dates.

    •  

    The SMCS policy for approving a conference budget after sponsorship approval requires that:

  • The budget (sponsorship/co-sponsorship) is provided to the current VPCM in the required format.
  • The VPCM forwards the budget to the SMCS CMC for comments and approval. (The review is typically completed within several weeks of initial budget submission.)
  • It is possible that revisions will be required; if so, the budget is revised by the submitting entity and steps 1-2 are repeated until approval is granted by the SMCS CMC.
  • SMCS CMC budget approval, the VPCM forwards the budget to the SMCS BoG for approval
  • Once BoG approval is granted, the VPCM notifies the submitting entity of official SMCS approval.
  • The submitting entity then submits an online IEEE Conference Information Schedule form at the IEEE web site and the SMCS-approved budget directly to IEEE Conferences Services at IEEE Headquarters for IEEE approval.
  • If after initial budget approval significant changes are required, the budget must be resubmitted for approval by both SMCS and the IEEE.

    •  

    Whether the CMC/BoG approves or disapproves the sponsorship proposal/request, the VPCM or Conference Coordinator will communicate the decision shortly thereafter.

    MOU

    If the Co-Sponsorship/Technical Co-Sponsorship proposal/request is approved, you will be advised of the need to prepare an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the non-SMCS conference co-sponsors and the SMCS BoG.  The MOU provides terms and conditions of the SMCS participation in the Conference and must be signed by authorizing representatives of the co-sponsors and the SMCS.

    More information about MOU requirements, as well as sample MOUs that can be downloaded for direct use or as guides, can be found here.

    Upon completion of the MOU, submit 2 (two) signed copies of the MOU to the VPCM to be counter-signed by the SMCS President.

    Having countersigned the MOUs, 1 (one) copy will be returned to you for retention purposes.

    From this point on, you will work with the VPCM to ensure that all provisions outlined in the MOU are accomplished prior to and during the Conference.

    Recognized IEEE Logos and Restrictions of Use

    The IEEE Logos are registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and therefore must be accompanied by the ® ("Registered Trademark") placed at the lower right.

    If use of the IEEE logos is approved, visit IEEE Master Brand to access the official logo.

     

    Please note that use of the IEEE and/or SMCS name or logo without the written permission from the IEEE and/or the IEEE SMCS BoG is strictly forbidden.

    For detailed instructions regarding the Use of the IEEE Logo and Logotype "IEEE" please refer to the IEEE Intellectual Property Rights, Trademark Registration Information.

     

    Points of Contact

    SMCS President

    Michael Berthold

    SMCS VP for Conferences and Meetings

    Philip Chen

    SMCS Conference Coordinator

    Seong-Whan Lee