Guidelines for ISI Special Interest Groups

Special Interest Groups focus on matters of statistical interest that may reach across areas of statistics and/or link statistics with other disciplines. Some Special Interest Groups are of relevance across all of ISI and its Associations. Other Special Interest Groups link particular interests across ISI and its Associations, or link with other disciplines and/or professional interests and/or bodies and/or current developments.
 

A Special Interest Group is established by Council in accordance with the ISI Statutes and By-laws, and is overseen by a Management Committee of the Special Interest Group. 
 

Guidelines for ISI Special Interest Groups and their Management Committees

1. Chairs and Members of Management Committees of Special Interest Groups must be individual members of ISI. A non-ISI member can join only as an Advisory member. 

2. The Chair of the Special Interest Group is appointed by the Executive Committee. The members of the Management Committee are appointed by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Chair.

3. Chairs shall serve a maximum of four years (ISI By-law 10e). Chairs are appointed by the EC for two years in the first instance with re-appointment for a further two years at the discretion of the EC. In exceptional circumstances, 
a chair may be re-appointed for a further two years.

4. Management Committee members shall serve a maximum of four years. Members are appointed for two years and re-appointed for a further two years after consultation with the Chair.

5. The Executive Committee, in consultation with the Chair, may appoint a vicechair. The Special Interest Group Management Committee may choose whether such a vice-chair is chair-elect or not.

6. Each Special Interest Group submits an annual report on its activities to the Executive Committee and Council (ISI By-law 10d).

7. The Management Committee of a Special Interest Group may choose to refer to the Special Interest Group as a Special Interest Network.

8. Management Committees should have no fewer than 4 and no more than 15 members, plus the Chair. A large Special Interest Group may choose to form a network of regional/country representatives.

9. Special Interest Group Management Committees provide timely information and regular updates on the objectives, composition and activities of the Special Interest Group or Network for the ISI website.

10. It is recognized that different Special Interest Groups may have different characteristics and associated different compositions. Some may coordinate and/or organize activities of special interest to the whole statistical community but formally consist only of the Management Committee. Some may have regional representatives as part of a broad network. Some may link with other Societies or Organizations, with the Management Committee acting as a liaison committee. In the last case, ISI/Association members who are also members of the external Society/Organization should be identified on any 2 listings pertaining to the Network as members of the ISI Special Interest Group. 

11. Regional/country representatives of an ISI Special Interest Group or Network should be members of ISI/ISI Associations. Special Interest Group Committees should encourage all SIG members to be members of ISI/ISI 
Associations.