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ORANGEBOOK

TECHNICAL COMMISSIONS

 
Version June 2011

1. Introduction


Technical Commissions (TC) are hosted by Ordinary Members. Members wishing to host a TC should submit an application to the Secretary General 4 months before the Congress according to the instructions given in section 3 below.  Council will welcome applications from 2 members to jointly host a TC, or for separate hosting of TCs,  but joint organisation of Symposia. Members making an application must be fully conversant with the responsibilities of hosting a TC and of the responsibilities and duties of the Technical Commission President (TCP) as set out below.
 

2. Major responsibilities of Technical Commissions
2.1. The responsibilities and the main tasks of a Technical Commission are defined in Statute XIII and Bylaw XIII of ISPRS. TCPs are officials of ISPRS and are expected to take this responsibility seriously.
2.2. 2.2 The Member organization will have complete financial responsibility for all expenses incurred by the work of the Commission. Before submitting an application to the Society for a Commission, the Member must ensure that the necessary resources are available.
2.3. Technical Commissions are expected to host a Symposium between Congresses
2.4. The TCP should be able to spend considerable time on Commission work, especially during the months prior to the Symposium and the next Congress.
2.5. It is essential that the Commission Board be provided with English speaking secretarial assistance. About 30 percent of the secretary's time will be needed for Commission affairs. The tasks of the Commission Secretary should be undertaken by a person who can work in close cooperation with the TCP.
2.6. The TCPs must be free to undertake international travel. They will be expected to attend joint meetings with the Council of the Society annually between Congresses. They will also be expected to attend a planning meeting of one or two days immediately after the Congress and all applicants must plan their travel schedules to allow for this possibility. In addition, it may be necessary to hold Commission Board meetings with Working Group Chairpersons. All travel expenses of the TCP must be financed by the host country(ies).
2.7. The host country will be required to sign a contract with ISPRS. This will set out the responsibilities of both parties. A model contract is provided in Appendix 1.
 

3. Applying for hosting a Technical Commission
3.1. Members wishing to host a Technical Commission for the next four-year period shall submit an application to the Secretary General 4 months before the Congress. The application shall contain the following information:
  • Name(s) of Ordinary Member(s) making the application;
  • Name of the proposed Technical Commission President (TCP);
  • A provisional plan for financial and management  arrangements;
  • A provisional plan for technical meetings (symposia and workshops) for the four year period.
3.2. Before the General Assembly of ISPRS decides to allocate a Commission to an Ordinary Member, the proposed TCP shall present to the General Assembly the details of their proposal as set out in paragraph 3.1.
3.3. In choosing the Ordinary Member or group of Ordinary Members to be entrusted with the responsibility for the work of a Commission, the General Assembly shall take into consideration all relevant factors, including in particular:
  • the various Ordinary Members willing to undertake the responsibility;
  • the scientific and technical ability available to each candidate;
  • the professional standing and ability of the person proposed as Commission President;
  • the ability and willingness of each Ordinary Member and other organizations in its country to support a Commission;
  • the programme of Commission activities proposed by the Ordinary Members and in particular the Working Groups, their chairpersons and the events contemplated.
3.4. Council will review the applications for running a Technical Commission for may interview applicants in person or by telephone conference prior to the Congress, in order to clarify aspects of the proposal and ensure that their proposals do meet the expectations.
3.5. Elected TCPs will be required to attend a joint meeting with Council immediately after the Congress. Applicants will be notified of the dates of that meeting before the Congress.
 

4. Symposia
4.1. Technical Commissions are required to hold a symposium between Congresses. (See Appendix 2 "Guidelines for Planning ISPRS Symposia"). TCPs are encouraged to consider joint Symposia with other TCs and also to consider whether the Symposia can be organised together with a regional event.
4.2. The subject matter is to be related to the field of the Commission or Commissions if a joint symposium is planned. When a Symposium is convened in a developing country, the topics of other Commissions may be included in the Symposium, if pre-approved by Council.
4.3. A technical exhibit may be arranged, preferably within the scope of the Commission.
4.4. The financing of the Symposium is the sole responsibility of the Ordinary Member hosting the TC. Registration fees may be charged as appropriate. An ISPRS surcharge equivalent to ten percent of all paid Symposium registrations will be imposed to contribute to the costs of running the Society and for improving ISPRS activities.
4.5. The schedule of all Symposia will be approved by Council at the post Congress Joint Meeting. Council requires a draft programme for Symposia and major workshops to be presented and approved at the Joint Meeting which will be held in the autumn of the Congress year.
4.6. The proceedings of each Commission Symposium shall be published in the prescribed format as a Part of the Volume of The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. Instructions for publication are given in Appendix 4.
4.7. ISPRS Council has signed a contract with Copernicus Gesellschaft mbH commencing from 1 July 2011 and effective until 31 December 2014 to assist event organizers to facilitate the management of their event through two service Packages numbered A and B.  Service Package A will include management of Abstracts, Full Papers and supply of the papers to the Web Master for inclusion in the ISPRS Archives. .  The use of Package A in this contract will be mandatory for all organizers of ISPRS events, including Symposia.  Service Package B will be optional and provide for registrations of delegates, names badges etc.  A separate agreement must be established between organizers of each ISPRS event and Copernicus Gesellschaft mbH, which will permit considerable flexibility in content to satisfy specific needs of each event.  More details are given in Appendix 4 and a copy of the Contract will be provided by the Secretary General. Contact details are as follows:
meetings@copernicus.org
http://meetings.copernicus.org
 

5. Working Groups
5.1. Once appointed at the Congress, TCPs are responsible for the preparation, planning, management and reporting of the Commission's work for the following four years.
5.2. Preparation for selection of WG officers and the determination of Terms of Reference (ToR) must commence at the Congress at which the TCPs have been selected, in consultation with the outgoing TCPs, and taking into consideration the Resolutions approved at the Congress for the Commission. The selection of WG officers and WG ToR must be finalised for presentation and ratification at the Joint Meeting of TCPs and Council in October/November following the Congress.
5.3. The optimum number of working groups is eight, in exceptional circumstances a Commission may have up to 10 WGs.
5.4. TCPs are strongly advised to reestablish successful working groups with the same officers on the recommendation of Council.
5.5. Each Working Group may have a 'Chair', 'Co-Chair' and 'Secretary'. TCPs may also appoint Regional Representatives where relevant to the work of the WG.
5.6. TCPs should take advantage of the inter-disciplinary nature of ISPRS scientific activities and the resulting opportunities for enhancing the activities of their Commission by encouraging their WGs to include researchers from related inter-disciplinary areas. Inter-disciplinary keynote papers and/or sessions should also be included in Commission Symposia. TCPs should also encourage joint activities with other WGs and with other cognate organizations.
5.7. WG officers will be selected on the basis of:
  • Recognition of their talents and scientific achievements, and the inter-continental representation of the selected officers.
  • Their ability to manage and direct the activities of the WG for the four year period.
  • Their ability to independently fund the operations of the WG, including holding WG meetings during the years between congresses and symposia.
  • Their acceptance of the requirement to attend the Symposium of their Commission and the Congress during their period of tenure of the WG and present papers on the topics of the WG.
5.8. In the process of approving the plans for the WGs, Council will take into consideration the overall structure of the WGs, their ToR and the selection of WG officers according to the above requirements. Inter-Commission (IC) WGs may also be approved if considered necessary by Council, but the responsibility for the management of the ICWG must be taken by a nominated TCP. The proposed WGs, modified where appropriate, will normally receive endorsement at the JM following the Congress.
5.9. WGs will be numbered according to their Commission in Roman numerals, followed by the WG number in Arabic numbers. For example, WG II/6 refers to Working Group 6 in Commission II.
5.10. In seeking involvement of the full membership of ISPRS, TCPs should establish contact with the Commission Correspondents of the Member organisations of ISPRS. To assist TCPs in this process, a matrix of overlaps in the scientific activities of TCs and Regional Members is available from the Secretary General. Details of the Member organisations and addresses of Commission Correspondents are provided in the ISPRS Membership List (Blue Book), published annually by the Secretary General, and also posted on the Society's Home Page.
5.11. The TCP shall review and evaluate the activity of each Working Group and report to the Council annually.
5.12. The TCP may replace, in consultation with the Council, any Chairperson who has not been active and who has not contributed to the work of the Commission.
5.13. The TCP may reorganize the Working Groups in consultation with Council.
 

6. Reporting
6.1. TCPs must attend the annual two to three day Joint Meeting of the Technical Commissions and the Council, to report on Commission activities and problems that may arise in the operation of the WGs, and to coordinate plans for the Symposia and/or the Congress.
6.2. TCPs must report on the implementation of the Resolutions of their Commission at the Joint meeting held in the year of the Symposia.
6.3. The TCPs are required to prepare and submit by 15 December an Annual Report as outlined in Appendix 10, and are to ensure that summary reports of their Commission and WG events are submitted promptly for publication in ISPRS eBulletin. In Congress years the annual report will be prepared jointly by the outgoing and incoming TCP.
 

7. Communications
7.1. TCPs should communicate regularly with the Commission Correspondent. Guidelines and responsibilities of TCPs and Correspondents are given in Appendix 11.
7.2. 7.2 TCPs are required to use the official file numbers in all ISPRS correspondence. File numbers are found in Appendix 17.
 

8. Publications and ISPRS Home Page
8.1. The TCPs are expected to seek high quality papers suitable for publication in the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and theISPRS International Journal for Geo-Information at their symposia and WG meetings, and provide papers for at least one theme issue on topics related to their Commission during the four year period of their tenure on the Commission.
8.2. TCPs and WG Chairs are expected to collaborate with the Journal editors in publicising the Journals at symposia and workshops and to assist the participation of the editor in these meetings.
8.3. The TCPs and WG Chairs are expected to submit news items and WG Newsletters for publication in ISPRS eBulletin to the editor of eBulletin.  The Society's Annual Report will be printed in ISPRS eBulletin.  TCPs are entitled to place up to five free full-page advertisements of their Symposium, (limited to one page per Commission per issue) in ISPRS eBulletin.
8.4. The official ISPRS Home Page is http://www.isprs.org.  TCPs and WG officers are required to develop and maintain their own Home Pages according to the "Guidelines for Preparation and Maintenance of ISPRS Webpages" Appendix 15. The Commission address shall take the form of http://www.****.isprs.org
8.5. The provision of links between Commission, WG Home Pages and the ISPRS Home Page, and vice versa, must be coordinated with the ISPRS Web Master. 
8.6. As a Society courtesy, TCPs and WG Chairs are encouraged to send promptly to all TCPs and Council, complimentary copies of their Symposia ISPRS Archives Volume, as well as other ISPRS Workshop, Conference, etc. Archives Volumes published by their Commission and/or WG.
 

9. Recommendations on ISPRS Awards
9.1. The ISPRS presents major awards at each Congress,  including Young Author Awards for authors of papers at the Congress who are younger that 35 years of age, and The President's Honorary Citation to WG members for outstanding performance during the four year period.
9.2. TCPs are expected to propose recommendations for candidates for the major awards, through their Ordinary Member as appropriate and in accordance with the ISPRS Awards documentation provided in the “Silver Book.”
9.3. TCPs will be required to assess papers submitted for the Young Authors Awards, and to nominate candidates for The President’s Honorary Citation, according to the Guidelines in Appendix 12.
 

10. Resolutions for the Congress


TCPs are responsible, in cooperation with the First Vice President, for the compilation of scientific and technical resolutions that are presented to the General Assembly at the Congress for approval. The TCP shall organize a Commission Resolutions Committee in cooperation with Working Group Chairpersons/Co-Chairpersons and prepare draft scientific and technologic Resolutions for consideration before the last Joint Meeting of TCPs with Council.  The TCP shall submit a final draft of Resolutions to the First Vice-President in due time for review by the ISAC prior to the Congress.  The format and schedule for the preparation of the resolutions are outlined in The Guidelines for Proposing ISPRS Resolutions in Appendix 13.
 

11. Other responsibilities of TCPs
11.1. TCPs are to keep the Secretary General promptly informed of all address changes of officers in their Commission and its WGs.
11.2. ISPRS Council and Honorary Members, the Chairperson of the Financial Commission and the Editor of the ISPRS Journals are entitled to register at Commission Symposia and Working Group meetings free of charge.  It is expected that free accommodation will be provided to Council during the TC Symposium.
11.3. One of the Technical Commissions is expected to invite Council and Technical Commission Presidents to convene Council and Joint Meetings (comprising Council and Technical Commission Presidents and Secretaries) in conjunction with its Symposium.  These meetings are normally scheduled for the last Symposium in the year, and have duration of three to four days. Reports on Symposia, assessment of the performance of the Commissions, and planning for the forthcoming Congress will be important items of consideration at the Joint Meeting.
11.4. TCPs are responsible for ensuring conformance by Working Group Chairpersons to the "Guidelines for Conducting a Working Group", see page 7.
11.5. The Technical Commission V President, or a Council designee, will be an ex-officio member of the CIPA Committee, and as such will be required to attend the biannual meetings of the CIPA Committee.
11.6. Outgoing TCPs should be prepared to attend the post Congress Joint Meeting of Council with incoming TCPs if deemed advantageous to the operations of the Commission.