GUIDELINES FOR IEEE-USA INVOLVEMENT IN STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTS 1.0 Purpose of Government Appointments Program IEEE-USA's Government Appointments Program is responsible for recruiting and recommending qualified IEEE members for appointment to federal and state executive and advisory positions to help ensure effective management of technical programs and as a means of providing engineers' unique insights on innovation solutions to problems confronting our technologically-complex society. IEEE-USA may endorse or recommend any qualified IEEE member, or non-member who is nominated by an IEEE member at Member Grade or higher, for government appointment. 2.0 Identification of Key Positions: IEEE-USA staff will work with the American Association of Engineering Societies and the White House Office of Presidential Personnel to identify key positions in the Federal government with S&T responsibilities. Through the State Government Activities Committee, IEEE-USA's state government coordinators will also be invited to identify key appointment opportunities at the state/local level. A generic listing of key S&T positions will be maintained and disseminated through the World Wide Web. A list of current known vacancies will also be maintained and publicized. 3.0 Solicitation for Recommendations and Requests for Endorsement: Notices soliciting recommendations for identified positions will be forwarded to the leaders of relevant IEEE Boards and technical society presidents by the IEEE-USA President or designee for consideration. Each notice will specify the position(s) for whom qualified candidates are being sought, a brief description of that position, and any special qualifications required. The notice will request that individuals seeking an IEEE-USA endorsement or recommendation for a particular position must provide a cover letter outlining the individual's interests and qualifications for the position, a biographical sketch, an updated resume or CV, and the names of at least three personal/professional references who can be contacted on the individual's behalf. In the event that a respondent recommends another individual for appointment, the respondent will be asked to confirm that individual's willingness to be recommended. To assist the solicitation process, an article(s) will be published in appropriate IEEE-USA publications highlighting the effort, the opportunity for interested engineers to seek government appointments, and advice on how to do so. 4.0 Review of Prospective Candidates: All proposals for Recommendations and requests for Endorsements at the federal level will be considered by the USAB Operating Committee. Recommendations or endorsements require a consensus that the candidate is qualified for the position sought. All proposals for Recommendations and requests for Endorsements at the State or Local level will be considered by the State Government Activities Committee, who shall make a recommendation by majority vote for consideration by the IEEE-USA President. The review process may be conducted by mail, electronic mail, fax, or teleconference. Meetings may be called for the purpose of reviewing appointment recommendations or endorsements by the responsible chair with appropriate notice. In reviewing candidates, the review committee may take into consideration the following criteria: 1) Political qualifications (e.g. support for the S&T policies of the present administration, campaign service, party affiliation where relevant, etc.); 2) Technical qualifications relevant to the appointive position sought; 3) Strong program/budget/personnel management qualifications; 4) Diversity; 5) Candidates expressed interest in a specific position (as opposed to a general, or undefined interest in being appointed); and, 6) Evidence of support in Congress for confirmation. All reviews will result in a decision either to recommend/endorse or not recommend/endorse an individual seeking an appointment. In the case that a recommendation/endorsement is approved, it will be communicated by the IEEE-USA chair by letter to the appropriate government official, along with any supporting materials. These recommendations/ endorsements will be treated as IEEE-USA communications and may be publicized accordingly. IEEE-USA may recommend/endorse two or more individuals deemed qualified for a particular position. In the event that two or more individuals are being recommended/endorsed, IEEE-USA may also rank the candidates in order of assessed qualifications. In the event that a recommendation/endorsement is not approved, the individual seeking the recommendation/endorsement will be notified confidentially of the action taken, but no public announcement will be made unless requested by the individual. 5.0 Recommendation of Candidates Through the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) IEEE-USA will forward recommendations for federal appointments for endorsement and submission by the American Association of Engineering Societies unless the IEEE-USA President determines that a direct recommendation by IEEE-USA is more appropriate or circumstances otherwise do not permit collaboration with AAES. 6.0 Government Appointments Candidate Database Once a candidate has been reviewed and approved for recommendation/ endorsement for a specific position, the candidate will be added to IEEE-USA's Government Appointments Candidate Database and may be considered and recommended for other government appointments as suitable opportunities become available. 7.0 Program Reports Regular reports will be provided to the IEEE United States Activities Board on the status of the Government Appointments program. At year end, the report to USAB will include an assessment of the appointments activity for the year in review to determine how successful IEEE-USA was in helping to place qualified engineers in appointive positions. The assessment may include recommendations on whether or not to continue this effort as an on-going process and suggestions for improvements to the process. 8.0 Administration IEEE-USA will provide appropriate staff and budgetary support necessary to conduct the Government Appointments activity. Business related to the Appointments activity will be conducted whenever possible through mail, e-mail, fax, and telephone to minimize costs. Expenses related to publicizing this activity, contacting prospective appointees, reviewing requests for endorsements, and presenting recommended candidates to the White House will be largely limited to those communication costs. 9.0 Changes to these Guidelines These Guidelines may be revised by the IEEE-USA President subject to notice and consent by the USAB Operating Committee. Updated: August 5, 1997