Get documents about "AEA POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
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AEA POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………...vi
SECTION 1: AEA HISTORY and OVERVIEW ……………………………………………………..1-1
I. FORMATION 1-1
II. PURPOSES and MISSION 1-1
III. ACTIVITIES 1-1
IV. GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW 1-1
V. MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE 1-1
SECTION 2: THE AEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS ……………………………………………….2-1
I. COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2-1
II. ROLE OF THE AEA BOARD 2-1
A. BUDGET 2-1
B. COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT 2-1
C. AWARDS and RECOGNITION PROCEDURES 2-1
D. VOTES OF THE MEMBERSHIP 2-1
E. AFFILIATES OR SUBSIDIARIES 2-2
F. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2-2
G. QUALITY ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT 2-2
H. COMPOSITION OF THE FIELD 2-2
I. SERVICES AND PRODUCTS FOR EVALUATORS 2-2
III. ROLE and RESPONSIBILITIES OF ALL BOARD MEMBERS 2-2
A. THE BOARD AS A COLLECTIVE 2-2
B. REPRESENTATION OF MEMBERSHIP 2-2
C. BEHAVIOR 2-2
D. FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY 2-2
E. KEY DOCUMENTS 2-3
F. COMPENSATION 2-3
G. CONFLICT OF INTEREST 2-3
H. CODE OF CONDUCT AT BOARD MEETINGS 2-3
IV. ROLE and RESPONSIBILITIES OF AEA OFFICERS 2-5
A. THE PRESIDENT 2-5
B. THE PRESIDENT-ELECT 2-9
C. THE PAST PRESIDENT/SECRETARY 2-9
D. THE TREASURER 2-11
V. ELECTION, APPOINTMENT and TERMS OF OFFICE for AEA BOARD MEMBERS 2-13
VI. VACANCIES IN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2-14
A. PRESIDENT 2-14
B. OTHER ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS 2-14
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual -- Page i
C. ADDING POSITIONS TO BALLOT 2-14
D. APPOINTED BOARD MEMBERS 2-14
E. UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES 2-14
VII. REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBERS 2-14
VIII. BOARD MEETINGS 2-14
A. FREQUENCY and DURATION 2-14
B. AGENDA 2-15
C. QUORUM 2-15
D. OPEN MEETINGS 2-15
E. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE 2-15
F. ATTENDANCE 2-15
G. ROLE OF THE AMC for BOARD MEETINGS 2-15
SECTION 3: COMMITTEES ………………………………………………………………………..3-1
I. COMMITTEES OVERVIEW 3-1
A. OVERVIEW OF TYPES 3-1
B. OVERVIEW OF COMPOSITION and MEMBER ROLES 3-1
C. OVERVIEW OF ACCOMMODATION FOR TEMPORARY LEAVE OF MEMBERS 3-2
D. OVERVIEW OF REMOVAL OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 3-2
E. OVERVIEW OF COMMITTEE ROLES 3-3
F. OVERVIEW OF COMMITTEE BUDGETS 3-3
II. COMMITTEE TYPES 3-3
A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (EC) 3-3
B. STANDING COMMITTEES 3-4
C. SPECIAL COMMITTEES 3-5
III AEA COMMITTEES 3-6
A. AWARDS COMMITTEE 3-6
B. ETHICS COMMITTEE 3-9
C. FINANCE COMMITTEE 3-9
D. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE 3-10
E. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 3-13
F. PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE 3-16
G. DIVERSITY COMMITTEE 3-18
H. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE 3-19
I. CONFERENCE POLICY COMMITTEE 3-20
J. PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 3-20
SECTION 4: TOPICAL INTEREST GROUPS ……………………………………………………..4-1
I. OVERVIEW 4-1
II. TIG COORDINATOR 4-1
III. TIG ROLES 4-1
IV. TIG ESTABLISHMENT 4-1
A. PETITION DEVELOPMENT 4-1
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual -- Page ii
B. PETITION SUBMISSION 4-2
C. MAINTAINING ACTIVE STATUS 4-2
V. MEMBERSHIP 4-2
VI. MEMBERSHIP LISTS 4-2
VII. LEADERSHIP 4-2
A. TIG CHAIR 4-3
B. TIG PROGRAM CHAIR 4-3
C. TIG LEADERSHIP CONTACT INFORMATION 4-3
D. DUES 4-3
E. BUSINESS MEETING 4-3
F. TIG ROLE AT THE AEA ANNUAL MEETING 4-3
G. MEMBER COMMUNICATIONS 4-4
H. FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES 4-4
SECTION 5: LOCAL AFFILIATES …………………………………………………………….…….5-1
I. OVERVIEW 5-1
II. LOCAL AFFILIATE COORDINATOR 5-1
III. LOCAL AFFILIATE ROLES 5-1
IV. LOCAL AFFILIATE ESTABLISHMENT 5-1
A. PETITION DEVELOPMENT 5-1
B. PETITION SUBMISSION 5-2
V. MEMBERSHIP 5-2
VI. MEMBERSHIP LISTS 5-2
VII.FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES 5-2
VIII. REPORTING TO AEA 5-2
SECTION 6: ANNUAL CONFERENCE …………………………………………………………….6-1
I. DIVISION OF LABOR 6-1
A. AEA BOARD 6-1
B. CONFERENCE POLICY COMMITTEE 6-1
C. CONFERENCE CHAIR 6-1
D. PRESIDENT 6-1
E. ASSOCIATE CONFERENCE CHAIR 6-1
F PRESIDENTIAL STRAND CHAIR 6-1
G. LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE 6-1
H. TIG PROGRAM CHAIRS 6-2
I. POSTER SESSION COORDINATOR(S) 6-2
J. TREASURER 6-2
K. ASSOCIATION MANAGER 6-2
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual -- Page iii
II. CONFERENCE CHAIR 6-2
A. APPOINTMENT 6-2
B. CONFERENCE CHAIR PROCEDURES AND TIMELINE 6-2
C. CONFERENCE LUNCHEONS 6-7
D. REGISTRATION FEE WAIVER 6-7
E. REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES 6-7
F LIMITATIONS 6-7
III. ASSOCIATE CONFERENCE CHAIR 6-7
A. APPOINTMENT 6-8
B. ASSOCIATE CONFERENCE CHAIR PROCEDURES AND TIMELINE 6-8
C. CONFERENCE LUNCHEON 6-10
D. REGISTRATION FEE WAIVER 6-10
E. TRAVEL EXPENSES 6-10
F. LIMITATIONS 6-10
IV. PRESIDENTIAL STRAND CHAIR 6-10
A. APPOINTMENT 6-10
B. STRAND CHAIR PROCEDURES 6-10
C. REGISTRATION FEE WAIVER 6-12
V. LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE 6-12
A. APPOINTMENT 6-13
B. ROLE OF THE CHAIR 6-13
C. COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE 6-13
D. COMMITTEE PROCEDURES 6-13
E LIMITATIONS 6-15
F CONFERENCE LUNCHEON 6-15
G. REGISTRATION FEE WAIVER 6-16
VI. THE SCHEDULING PROCESS 6-16
VII. EXHIBITORS, SPONSORS, and ADVERTISING 6-16
A. EXECUTION AND OVERSIGHT 6-16
B. GENERAL PROCESS 6-16
C. EXHIBITORS 6-17
D. SPONSORS 6-17
E. ADVERTISERS 6-18
SECTION 7: BUDGETING and PROPOSAL PROCESSES ………………………………………7-1
I. OVERVIEW 7-1
II. THE PROPOSAL 7-1
A. PROPOSED ACTION 7-1
B. PURPOSE 7-1
C. TIMEFRAME 7-1
D. BUDGET 7-1
E. HOLD HARMLESS 7-1
III. PROPOSAL REVIEW IN COMMITTEE 7-1
A. BYLAWS COMPLIANCE 7-1
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual -- Page iv
B. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMPLIANCE 7-2
C. RELEVANCE 7-2
D. DETERMINE FURTHER COURSE OF ACTION 7-2
IV. BOARD REVIEW OF PROPOSALS 7-2
A. BYLAWS COMPLIANCE 7-2
B. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMPLIANCE 7-2
C. RELEVANCE 7-2
D. CONFLICT OF INTEREST 7-3
E. BUDGETARY RAMIFICATIONS 7-3
V. REVIEW DURING THE BUDGETING PROCESS 7-3
A. KEY DATES RELATED TO ANNUAL BUDGETING 7-3
B. PROCEDURES APPLYING TO THE ANNUAL BUDGETING PROCESS 7-3
VI. APPEAL OF ACTIONS 7-5
A. APPEAL FOR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REVIEW 7-5
B. PETITION TO THE MEMBERSHIP 7-5
VII. SPECIAL TYPES OF PROPOSALS: AEA PROPOSALS TO EXTERNAL PARTIES 7-5
A. EARLY COMMUNICATION 7-5
B. THE PRESIDENT 7-5
C. THE PROPOSAL 7-5
D. THE PRELIMINARY REVIEW PROCESS 7-6
E. FINAL REVIEW 7-6
F. SUBMISSION TO EXTERNAL PARTIES 7-6
G. DETERMINATION OF THE ACCEPTANCE OF A GRANT 7-6
H. RECEIPT OF GRANT FUNDS 7-7
APPENDIX A: THE CONFERENCE SCHEDULING PROCESS A-1
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual -- Page v
INTRODUCTION
Why have a Policies and Procedures Manual?
1) The purpose of this Policies and Procedures manual (P & P) is to be a quick reference for Board members
and Committee Chairs about the way AEA has agreed to operate. This serves as a "memory" to offer
continuity of practices, assure that leaders understand what is expected, and to perpetuate best practices that
prior incumbents have discovered.
2) In previous years, the absence of a P& P has led to "drift" over time in vital functions of the association.
For example, nominations and elections have to be conducted according to a timetable if AEA is to have a
fully democratic governance.
3) Also, the P & P is the document by which the work of the Association Management Company (AMC) is
defined. The AMC's work cannot be carried out unless the AEA officers carry out theirs; we are contractually
obligated to make the AMC's work possible.
Is the P & P a binding document?
1) The Board has voted to endorse these procedures. While not binding on future Boards, as the by-laws are,
departures from and additions to the P & P would normally require agreement by the board members. In
addition, a departure from the Policies and Procedures could be and should be brought to the attention of the
Board so that members are at least aware of the fact.
2) Throughout the P & P, we have inserted relevant passages from the Bylaws. Bylaws passages will appear in
bold italic, in a different font, so the reader can tell the difference. It is the Bylaws that in the final analysis are
binding on the Board. By law the Board must follow the Bylaws unless and until the AEA membership votes
for Bylaws changes. The P & P presents the way that the Bylaws have been interpreted and implemented over
time.
Who needs the P & P?
1) All Board members
2) The AMC
3) Committees should receive the section of the P & P that pertains to their function.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual -- Page vi
SECTION 1: AEA HISTORY and OVERVIEW
I. FORMATION: The American Evaluation Association began in 1986 with the merger of two prior
associations: Evaluation Research Society and Evaluation Network. AEA does not have Articles of
Incorporation, instead it has Articles of Consolidation dated May 9, 1986. AEA is a nonprofit 501C3
organization that is primarily national in scope with some international members.
II. PURPOSES and MISSION: According to the 1986 Articles of Consolidation, the purposes of the
Association include: “1. To promote scientific, educational and charitable purposes, as those terms
are used in section 501C3 of the Internal Revenues Service Code, in connection with the science
and practice of evaluation in both the public and private sectors of society. [And] 2. To improve
the theory and practice of evaluation in public and private sectors, improve training programs to
prepare new evaluators, improve the professional competencies of practicing evaluators, and
improve the communication and utilization of evaluations” (Articles of Consolidation Article IV A,
Restated in Bylaws Article II Section 1).
AEA also subscribes to the following mission statement:
We are an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration
of program evaluation, personnel evaluation technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation
involves assessing the strengths and weakness of programs, policies, personnel, products, and
organizations to improve their effectiveness. The American Evaluation Association’s mission is to:
• Improve evaluation practices and methods
• Increase evaluation use
• Promote evaluation as a profession and
• Support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective
human action.
III. ACTIVITIES: The major activities of the Association are its annual conference held each year in early
November; the publication of two journals: American Journal of Evaluation and New Directions for Evaluation;
management of an internationally-subscribed and open-use listserv, EVALTALK; and development of
online resources via its website: www.eval.org.
IV. GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW: “The business of the Association shall be governed by a 16
member Board of Directors: the Offices of the Association, 13 of whom are elected by the
membership and three appointed by the elected members” (Bylaws Article V Section 2). The
association relies heavily on its four standing committees and multiple special or ad-hoc committees to
inform and carry out the work of the Board. In addition, AEA has numerous Topical Interest Groups
that are sub-groups of the association and represent the multiple interests of its members. Local affiliates,
located throughout the country, are independent entities endorsed by AEA and providing regional
membership and activities.
V. MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE: Until January 1997, AEA was a volunteer-run organization. In 1996
the AEA Board became increasingly aware that, in order to achieve its mission, it needed to explore
alternative methods for expanding and for managing its activities and unanimously voted to hire a
professional Association Management Company (AMC) after a Request for Proposal Process, effective
January 1, 1997. Following a mutual agreement to dissolve the relationship between its first AMC and
AEA, the Association moved to an interim agreement with membership services in California at the
offices of then-President Michael Scriven and conference services in Minnesota at the offices of then-
Conference Chair Jean King. As of February 2000, AEA hired Kistler Consulting, LLC in Arkansas to
take over full-time management of both the membership and conference services for the Association. In
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 1-1
August of 2001, Kistler Consulting moved to Massachusetts. The association currently relies on the AMC
for the majority of administrative tasks with volunteers, most notably the Treasurer, Past
President/Secretary and Conference Chair, contributing substantially to the management of the
Association as noted under their respective position descriptions.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 1-2
SECTION 2: THE AEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
I. COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: “The business of the Association shall
be governed by a 16 member Board of Directors: the Officers of the Association, 13 of whom are
elected by the membership and three appointed by the elected members. The officers of the
Association must be members in good standing. The 13 elected members shall include nine at-
large members, as well as the President, President-elect, the immediate Past
President/Secretary, and the Treasurer. These 13 shall constitute the voting members of the
Board, each having one vote. The three appointed members are ex-officio, non-voting members
as follows: the Annual Meeting Conference Chair; and the editors of the two Association
Journals” (Bylaws Article V Section 2).
TABLE I: Overview of AEA Board Composition
Position Number Term Voting Status
President 1 1 year Voting Elected
President-elect 1 1 year Voting Elected
Past President/Secretary 1 1 year Voting Elected
Treasurer 1 3 years Voting Elected
Member at-large 9 3 years Voting Elected
Annual Meeting Chair 1 3 years Nonvoting Appointed
Editor, Evaluation Practice 1 3 years Nonvoting Appointed
Editor, New Directions 1 3 years Nonvoting Appointed
II. ROLE OF THE AEA BOARD: “The Board of Directors shall have all the powers and duties
necessary or appropriate for the administration of the affairs of this Association and may perform
all such acts and things as are not directed to be exercised and done by members by law, by the
Articles of Incorporation, or by these By-Laws. The duties of the Board of Directors shall
include:
A. BUDGET: Approving a budget for each year and authorizing expenditures falling outside of
the pre-approved budget and in excess of the Treasurer's discretionary level of spending as
stated in the policies and procedures manual.
B. COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT: Establishing and overseeing the operation of Standing
and Special Committees of the Association" (Bylaws Article V Section 3) as well as reviewing any
recommendations for additional members on Standing Committees as proposed by the committee
Chair. The Board will "actively seek diversity… on all committees through attention to the
following criteria: gender balance, minority representation, disciplinary heterogeneity,
practitioner/academic balance, geographic heterogeneity, and heterogeneity of areas of
application" (Bylaws Article V Section 1).
C. AWARDS and RECOGNITION PROCEDURES: "Establishing procedures for awards or
other recognition of outstanding contributions made to the field of evaluation.
D. VOTES OF THE MEMBERSHIP: Authorizing any matters to be submitted to a vote of the
general membership of the Association including election of Board members and the
President-elect. The Board shall receive and consider petitions from the membership for
matters to be submitted to a vote of the general membership of the Association; any such
petition signed by the lesser of five percent of the official membership count of March 31 of
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-1
the previous year or 100 members makes submission of the issue to the membership
mandatory upon the Board.
E. AFFILIATES OR SUBSIDIARIES: Authorizing the formation or affiliation of any subsidiary
organizations not in conflict with the Articles of Incorporation or the By-Laws, and
considered to be appropriate to the operation and purpose of the association. Provisions for
the formation and operation of such groups, including Topical Interest Groups, shall be the
responsibility of the Board of Directors" (Bylaws Article V Section 3).
In addition, the duties of the Board of Directors also have recently included:
F. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: “[Improving] the professional competencies of practicing
evaluators” (Articles of Consolidation Article IV A) through identifying the professional
development needs of evaluators, identifying ways to address those needs, and developing
mentorship opportunities.
G. QUALITY ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT: Overseeing the AMC and negotiating the formal
and contractual as well as the informal relationship between and among the AMC, the AEA
leadership, and the membership at large.
H. COMPOSITION OF THE FIELD: Overseeing initiatives to diversify the Board composition, the
AEA membership composition, and the composition of the field of evaluation generally so as to
incorporate a range of international, minority, and substantively varied peoples and viewpoints.
I. SERVICES AND PRODUCTS FOR EVALUATORS: Overseeing initiatives to improve the
quality and variety of services and products available to evaluators generally and the AEA
membership specifically.
III. ROLE and RESPONSIBILITIES OF ALL BOARD MEMBERS: Individually and collectively,
AEA Board members have obligations to the Association.
A. THE BOARD AS A COLLECTIVE: Election confers dignity to the role and to the Association.
Board member actions can either increase that dignity or hurt it. The issue is not how smart any
individual Board member is. The issue is how smart the Board is, collectively, and that depends on
how we interact with each other.
B. REPRESENTATION OF MEMBERSHIP: The Board member represents the membership at
large and was elected for this purpose. Therefore, unless there are exceptional circumstances, the
views of all Board members are to be treated as legitimate and worthy of consideration.
C. BEHAVIOR: The role of Board member is more important than its temporary occupant. The
behavior of a Board member can either enhance or diminish the Board’s credibility with the
membership.
D. FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY: By consenting to be nominated and elected, the Board
member undertakes a fiduciary responsibility for AEA. This has both a legal and ethical meaning.
i. Legally: Board members must abide by the bylaws of the association, other legal documents such
as contracts, as well as the approved policies and procedures manual.
ii. Legally and ethically: The welfare of the association is placed in trust to the board members for
the duration of their term.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-2
iii. Ethically: Board members must undertake the responsibility seriously by participating in
meetings, conducting essential committee work between board meetings, and maintaining the
confidentiality of proceedings.
a. All elected Board members are expected to attend each meeting of the AEA Board.
Appointed Board members are encouraged to attend each meeting of the Board and in
particular those meetings where business related to the scope of their position will be
discussed.
b. All elected Board members are expected to participate in one or more committees of the
Association. Usually this will be in the capacity of Board Liaison.
iv. Indemnity: Each officer, Board member, or employee of the Association shall be indemnified by
the Association against expenses reasonably incurred by him/her in connection with any action,
suit or proceeding to which he/she may be made a party by reason of his/her being or having
been an officer, trustee, or employee of the Association.
E. KEY DOCUMENTS: To meet fiduciary responsibility, the board member should be familiar with
the bylaws, and Policies and Procedures of the Association. Time should be taken to study these
documents and to review the minutes of meetings.
F. COMPENSATION: “Compensation shall not be paid to Board members for their services in
their capacity as Board members, nor pursuant to any other contractual arrangements.
However, Board members may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred by them in the
performance of their duties, as approved by a majority of the Board” (Bylaws Article V Section
7).
G. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: AEA Board Members are not eligible to receive AEA Awards
during their term of service. By extension, any business in which the Board Member is a principle
operator or any evaluation to which the Board Member contributed significantly should not be
considered for an award during that Board Member’s term of service.
H. CODE OF CONDUCT AT BOARD MEETINGS: AEA Board members have a responsibility
to ensure that Board meetings are productive and respectful.
i. Prepare: Before the Board meeting members should:
a. Prepare for the Board meeting in advance. Send in your materials, electronically when
possible, so that they are received by the AMC at least two weeks in advance of the Board
meeting. The AMC will then send back to you, one week in advance, a packet of materials
for review before the meeting. If you do not receive materials in advance, then pressure for
them.
b. Share your agenda items with the President, copied to the AMC, at least two weeks in
advance.
c. Garner support for a position among board members through e-mail and phone. This is not
only permissible, but, in fact, it will probably help to speed the agenda and avoid needless
debate.
ii. Act with forethought: During Board meetings members should:
a. Demonstrate mutual respect
b. Use active listening through giving serious consideration of each other’s statements
c. Stick to the agenda
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-3
d. Avoid interruption of other board members (except as the Chair needs to move the agenda
along)
e. Wait to speak. The Chair will recognize those waiting to speak in order except for: Point of
information, Point of clarification and Point of order.
f. Refrain from engaging in personal attacks
g. Table disagreements for a time if debate is not productive. Reconsider later to explore ways
to resolve disagreements.
h. Be unafraid of dissent -- dissent is safe, for the force of individual personality does not derail
the process
i. Limit outside discussion of internal Board discussions – discussion during Board meetings
remains within the Board except for the methods of communication specified in the bylaws
(business meeting, annual report to membership), or by board approval.
iii. Follow up: After Board meetings members should:
a. Carry out their responsibilities as committee liaisons, committee members, and/or working
group members. This includes bringing back Board input to the committee/group,
participating in the work of the committee/group, and assisting in the preparation of reports
back to the Board. The President will delegate to Board members and committees the
process of thinking through some of our long-term aspirations. The working groups and ad
hoc committees can then submit reports at the board meetings on such items as:
• A process for timely response to proposals for new joint ventures and opportunities for
the association or membership
• Plans for competition for such items as requests for proposals, conduct of the
conference evaluation, etc.
b. Provide input and feedback to the President. To promote trust and make use of the Board’s
good judgment, the President will run new ideas and activities by the Board via e-mail, fax,
telephone, even where the bylaws indicate this is within the purview of the President. The
value of shared thinking and Board consent for activities cannot be overstated.
c. Respond promptly to requests for input and discussion: To streamline the process of Board
deliberations, the President may from time to time ask for an informal discussion and straw
poll on an item (usually via e-mail). While not binding, the straw poll can indicate whether an
item is worth placing on the agenda for a meeting or conference call.
d. Submit for reimbursement their expenses using the standard AEA expense reimbursement
form. All reimbursement requests should include receipts for items over $15 and should be
sent to the AMC within four weeks of the meeting. Members, and others invited to attend
the winter or summer Board meetings, will be reimbursed for reasonable ground
transportation expenses, airfares, parking, tips and meal expenses incurred in connection
with attendance at the meetings.
Those in attendance are encouraged to travel by the most economical means available
including special fares associated with Saturday night stay-overs. AEA will only routinely pay
for tickets purchased 21 days in advance of travel. For tickets purchased closer to the travel
date, AEA will check the least expensive 21 day advance purchase ticket available at the time
of reimbursement and pay only the cost of the least expensive advance purchase ticket. In
extreme situations, the person purchasing the ticket may appeal to the Treasurer PRIOR TO
purchasing the ticket and the Treasurer may agree to full reimbursement if the traveler did
not know of the AEA obligation in time for the advance purchase, or an extreme situation
made the traveler not realize that he or she could attend an event more than 21 days in
advance. However, the Treasurer will refuse most late travel requests for additional
reimbursement. The cost of additional nights in the hotel will be paid for and additional
meals will be reimbursed when these expenses are less than the difference between an airfare
with and without a Saturday night stay. Group meal functions and lodging will normally be
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-4
paid to the hotel or restaurant directly by AEA. Meeting attendees are responsible for their
own incidental expenses such as phone calls, movies, bellmen or valets, etc.
Board members, with the exception of the President and the Conference Chair, will be
reimbursed for one or two night’s hotel stay, as dictated by the start time and length of the
meeting, during the Annual Meeting as well as any meal expenses associated with the added
expense of arriving early to attend the Board meeting. Each Board member will also receive
one free ticket for his or her personal use to attend the Annual Awards Luncheon. No other
expenses are reimbursed during the annual meeting, with the exception of childcare as
identified two paragraphs below.
The President and the Conference Chair will be reimbursed for all travel expenses related to
the conference, including, transportation, lodging and food if these expenses are not covered
by his or her employer. The President and Conference Chair will also receive waived
conference registration fees if not paid by his or her employer and a free ticket for his or her
personal use to attend the Annual Awards Luncheon.
AEA will reimburse up to $55 per day, plus an additional $25 for overnight costs, for
childcare expenses borne by Board members or special invitees to AEA Board meetings.
AEA will reimburse up to $55 per day, plus an additional $25 for overnight costs, for the
Conference Chair during scheduling or planning meetings and the annual conference. AEA
will reimburse up to $55 per day, plus an additional $25 for overnight costs, for childcare
expenses borne by the President during the annual conference over which he or she
presides.
When requesting reimbursement for meals, the maximum reimbursement for breakfast is
$10, lunch $15, and dinner $25. AEA does NOT reimburse on a per diem basis. As with all
other expenses, receipts should be included for all meals over $15.
Should a question arise regarding the appropriateness of a reimbursement, the Board
member should contact the AMC prior to incurring the expenditure whenever possible. The
AMC will in turn contact the Treasurer as needed who may consult with the Executive
Committee at his or her discretion.
IV. ROLE and RESPONSIBILITIES OF AEA OFFICERS: AEA Officers take on additional
obligations above and beyond those of the rest of the Board.
A. THE PRESIDENT: “The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Association
and shall preside at all business meetings, serve as Chair of the Board of Directors, and have
general responsibility for the conduct of the affairs of the Association. The president is an
ex-officio member of all committees, and Topical Interest Groups of the Association. The
President shall have all of the general powers and duties that are usually vested in the office
of the president of a corporation, including the power to appoint committees from time to
time, as he or she may deem appropriate to assist in the conduct of the affairs of the
Association to the extent that such committees may be accounted for within the existing
annual budget. Committees requiring additional expenditure of Association funds are
subject to approval via a vote of the Board” (Bylaws Article VI Section 4). Specific responsibilities
of the President include:
i. Organizational visioning and oversight: The President leads the association through identifying
priorities during his or her tenure including setting the Board meeting agendas and running
Board meetings in consultation with the Board and supported by the AMC.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-5
ii. AMC Liaison: The President, Past President/Secretary, and Treasurer serve as the three primary
liaisons to the AMC. Together they provide the day-to-day points of contact for AMC questions
with the President focusing on policy, the Past President/Secretary focusing on records and
communication, and the Treasurer focusing on finances. Carrying out this task involves
scheduling regular weekly or bi-weekly phone meetings/updates with the AMC as well as
ongoing interaction via e-mail or phone. In their role as liaisons to the AMC, the President, Past
President/Secretary and Treasurer are expected to regularly confer with the Executive
Committee and the Board at large as they deem appropriate.
iii. Communications: As the titular head of the association, the President regularly represents the
association through both internal and external communications. The AMC may provide initial
drafts of any or all communications on request. These communications include, but are not
limited to:
a. By September 15 of previous year: Notice of annual meeting theme. While President-elect,
the incoming President drafts a letter that outlines the theme for the upcoming annual
meeting over which he or she will preside to be included on the inside back cover of the
previous year’s conference program.
b. By January 15: Letter or call to CES President. The President should communicate with the
CES President at the beginning of his or her term in order to a) introduce him or herself, b)
identify any information needed on the part of CES when the President represents AEA at
the CES conference in May (see item vii below), and c) identify the state of progress – and
the CES President’s perspective – on any joint initiatives or proposed joint initiatives.
c. By May 15: Ballot notice and association update. The President, in consultation with the
nominations and elections committee Chair, drafts a letter that outlines the terms of service
for Board members, encourages voting, identifies deadline and restrictions, and updates the
membership about current association events. This letter is printed as the cover to the ballot.
d. By May 30: Invitation to attend the conference. The President, in consultation with the
conference Chair, drafts a letter that restates the theme of the annual meeting, invites
members to the meeting, and highlights specific features of the meeting. This letter will go in
the front of the conference registration materials and on the AEA website.
e. By September 1: Welcome letter to conference attendees. The President drafts a letter
welcoming attendees to the conference and highlighting conference features as well as
making announcements to be placed in the inside front cover of the conference program.
f. At Annual Conference: Presidential address. The President gives a speech to the
membership during the Annual conference. The speech usually focuses on the conference
theme and may take place either during the AEA luncheon or at another time during the
conference as preferred by the President. If the address is not to be during the luncheon, the
President should notify the AMC of his or her preferred time by May 1. Following the
conference, the President provides the editor of the American Journal of Evaluation with a
typed copy of the speech for editing, feedback, and printing in a subsequent journal issue.
g. Following Board Meetings: Notices of Board actions. The President drafts and sends
notification of Board actions to parties submitting proposals.
h. Ongoing: Communication with key stakeholders. The President, as the head of AEA, often
represents the Association. He or she is likely to address member complaints not otherwise
handled by the AMC, communicate with potential financial partners on behalf of the
association, and/or respond to other outside requests as needed.
iv. Appointing committee chairs and liaisons. “The President shall annually appoint the Chair
of each standing committee to serve a one year renewable term corresponding to the
President’s term” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 3). “A Board member will serve on each
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-6
standing committee as a liaison, said appointments to be made each year by the
President at the beginning of his or her term” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 3). The President
had identified a new member for each standing committee when he/she was President Elect.
Traditionally, the chairs are those people who were appointed to the committee by the (then)
President Elect. Traditionally, at the discretion of the President, the Board liaisons remain in
their positions throughout their tenure as Board members.
v. Creating special committees: “Special Committees may… be established by the President
for a term corresponding to the President’s term in office” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 4).
The composition and charge of these committees is defined by the President. However, to assure
continuity, the President may wish to work with the President Elect on the composition and
charge. "Committees requiring additional expenditure of Association funds are subject to
approval via a vote of the Board" (Bylaws Article VI Section 4)
vi. Overseeing/participating in key features of the conference including Presidential Strand: In
addition to preparing communications related to conference materials as identified above, the
President takes on the following responsibilities in relation to the annual conference:
a. Identifying the conference theme: In recent years, each president has set a theme for the
conference that represents what he or she views as a priority for the field. This theme is
explicated in the letter to the membership included in the previous year’s conference
program, conveyed to those responsible for overseeing the Presidential Strand and then
illustrated via the strand, and elaborated upon through his or her Presidential Address.
b. Appointing a Local Arrangements Chair: The President should identify and recruit a Local
Arrangements Chair who lives at or very near the city in which the conference is to take
place. Upon request, the AMC can provide a list of members living in a general geographic
region to assist with this task.
c. Appointing a Presidential Strand Chair (formerly known as the conference program Chair)
and overseeing the Presidential Strand: The President should identify and recruit a person to
oversee the composition of the Presidential Strand. The Strand includes the plenary sessions
as well as one session in each scheduled timeslot that illustrate the theme of the conference.
As of 2001, $5000 is budgeted each year to support the costs of presenters for the strand
and the President oversees the expenditure of these funds.
d. Identifying a process for review of student proposals: The Board supports scholarships each
year to go to students whose presentations at the conference illustrate the conference theme
and thus assist students in attending the annual conference. The President identifies the
process that will be used to select these scholarship winners. In recent years approaches have
included a) review by the Presidential Strand Chair/committee, b) independent review by the
President, and c) review by a special committee created by the President for this purpose.
e. Hosting the graduate student reception: The President, supported by the Board, acts as host
for the Graduate Student Reception held one evening of the conference. The AMC arranges
for setup, food and beverage, and cleanup. Whenever possible, a suite is reserved as part of
the hotel contract for the President’s stay throughout the duration of the conference, and the
reception is held in the suite.
f. Attending the meeting of the TIG leaders: The President attends the meeting of the TIG
leaders to thank them for their work and be available to hear feedback. Traditionally, this
meeting is held either as a breakfast or luncheon on Saturday.
vii. Representing AEA at the annual meeting of the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES): The
President, or his or her designate, represents AEA at the CES annual meeting held each year the
second or third week in May. This is reciprocated by CES sending a liaison to the AEA annual
meeting in November. By mutual agreement, conference registration, accommodations and
tickets for an official luncheon are paid for by the hosting group while other expenses, including
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-7
travel, are paid for by the sending group. The visiting President gives a three-minute speech
following the Association/Society luncheon during which he or she thanks the hosts and invites
members to attend the other conference.
The President (or his or her designate) is responsible for making his or her own travel
arrangements and then submitting a travel reimbursement request for reimbursement through
the AEA office. The hosting Association will arrange for conference registration and
accommodations. As per the “Communications” section above, the AEA President should
connect with the CES President at the beginning of the year as a form of introduction and to
identify any ways in which he or she may be able to participate in the CES conference. The
President should convey his or her accommodations needs to CES as soon as travel plans are
secured.
viii. Chairing Board meetings: The President acts as Chair and parliamentarian for all meetings of the
Board. He or she is responsible for assembling the agenda with the assistance of the AMC and
then managing the discussion and procession of the meeting.
ix. Service as a Member of the Executive Committee: “The President, Past President/Secretary,
President-elect, and Treasurer compose the Executive Committee, which conducts the
day-to-day business of the Association and oversees the budget” (Bylaws Article VIII
Section 1). The President serves as Chair and Board Liaison for the Executive Committee. See
more about committees under Section 3 of this document.
x. Signatory on Bank Accounts: “For all bank accounts established for the Association, there
must be at least two signatories, the Treasurer and at least one other elected Board
member, or the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent” (Bylaws Article VII Section 6).
Currently the President and Treasurer are signatories on the bank accounts of the Association.
Although both are signatories on each account, only one signature is needed for account
transactions.
xi. Execution of Association Documents. “With the prior authorization of the Board of
Directors, all notes and contracts shall be executed on behalf of the Association by either
the President or the Treasurer or the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent” (Bylaws
Article VII Section 3).
xii. Accounting oversight and the AMC: As the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent, the AMC
collects and distributes most of the Association’s funds. The following guidelines apply to the
AMC’s accounting with relationship to the President:
a. Any expense over $500 to be paid by the AMC, whether budgeted or not, must be signed-
off on by the President or Treasurer prior to disbursement.
b. Any expense of any amount that does not clearly fall under a line item in the AEA budget
must be approved by the President, Treasurer or Conference Chair.
xiii. Notification of election results to candidates for President: Once informed by the Chair of the
nominations and elections committee, the President notifies each of the candidates for President
as to whether he or she has won or lost the elections.
xiv. Nominations to Panels or Committees: From time to time AEA is asked to nominate a
representative to a panel or committee. The President may make this nomination without further
consultation if there is no financial or legal obligation on the part of the Association due to the
nomination. If providing a representative to a committee will entail an expense that requires a
change to the budget, it must be approved by the AEA Board.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-8
xv. Oversight of administrative support: The President, working with the Treasurer and Past
President/Secretary “shall provide direct oversight to a duly-authorized Board-appointed
agent who will provide administrative support to the Board, Committees, and Groups of
the Association” (Bylaws Article VI Section 6). Administrative functions are primarily handled
by the AMC as the Board-appointed agent. The AMC is the first point of contact for most
committee inquiries and will make referrals to the Past President/Secretary as needed.
B. THE PRESIDENT-ELECT: “In the absence, or disability, of the President, the President-
elect will perform the duties and exercise the powers of the President. The President-elect
will also perform such other duties as prescribed by the Board of Directors or the President”
(Bylaws Article VI Section 5). Upon election, the President-elect should familiarize him- or herself
with the role and responsibilities of the President as many of these must be planned for during tenure
as President-elect. Specific responsibilities of the President-elect include:
i. Appointments to standing committees: “The President-elect will, at the beginning of her or
his term, appoint a non-Board member to each committee to replace the person whose
term is expiring” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 3). With the exception of the finance committee,
which is chaired by a Board member, these appointments traditionally are appointed to Chair the
committee the following year. See more about committees under Section 3 of this document.
ii. Service as a member of the Executive Committee: “The President, Past President/Secretary,
President-elect, and Treasurer compose the Executive Committee, which conducts the
day-to-day business of the Association and oversees the budget” (Bylaws Article VIII
Section 1). See more about committees under Section 3 of this document.
C. THE PAST PRESIDENT/SECRETARY: “The Past President/Secretary shall serve as
general advisor on the affairs of the Association” (Bylaws Article VI Section 7). Specific
responsibilities of the Past President include:
i. Service as a member of the Executive Committee: “The President, Past President/Secretary,
President-elect, and Treasurer compose the Executive Committee, which conducts the
day-to-day business of the Association and oversees the budget” (Bylaws Article VIII
Section 1). See more about committees under Section 3 of this document.
ii. AMC Liaison: The President, Past President/Secretary, and Treasurer serve as the three primary
liaisons to the AMC. Together they provide the day-to-day points of contact for AMC questions
with the President focusing on policy, the Past President/Secretary focusing on records and
communication, and the Treasurer focusing on finances. Carrying out this task involves
scheduling regular weekly or bi-weekly phone meetings/updates with the AMC as well as
ongoing interaction via e-mail or phone. In their role as liaisons to the AMC, the President, Past
President/Secretary and Treasurer are expected to regularly confer with the Executive
Committee and the Board at large as they deem appropriate.
ii. Joint venture reviewer: The Past President/Secretary is charged with judging the initial merit of
externally generated joint venture proposals, assigning those proposals to the relevant committee
of AEA, or putting the Chair of that committee in touch with the person making the inquiry.
The Past President/Secretary also decides whether a meeting of the Executive Committee or the
Board is required to take further action.
iii. Ombudsperson: The Past President/Secretary serves as ombudsperson for the Association. The
AMC will refer all complaints that are not immediately resolved to the satisfaction of the
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-9
member to the ombudsperson. Members may also contact the ombudsperson directly with
questions or concerns.
iv. Oversight of administrative support: The Past President/Secretary, working with the Treasurer
and President “shall provide direct oversight to a duly-authorized Board-appointed agent
who will provide administrative support to the Board, Committees, and Groups of the
Association” (Bylaws Article VI Section 6). Administrative functions are primarily handled by
the AMC as the Board-appointed agent. The AMC is the first point of contact for most
committee inquiries and will make referrals to the Past President/Secretary as needed.
v. Membership records maintenance: The Past President/Secretary "shall oversee the
maintenance of an up-to-date membership roll” (Bylaws Article VI Section 7). The AMC, as
the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent, collects these records and furnishes a full roll of the
membership upon request. The following guidelines apply to maintenance of the membership
roll:
a. Members are considered current up to one month past their renewal date.
b. The Past President/Secretary oversees the collection of demographic and TIG data as
included in membership forms. The AMC will record demographic and TIG data included
with each new membership and membership renewal and furnish breakdowns of the data
annually as well as upon request.
c. The AMC will attempt to contact each undeliverable mail and e-mail through alternative
means prior to designating the member as no longer available.
d. The official count of the membership of the association will be taken on the last day of
March each year and will include all members current through the last day of February of
same year.
vi. Minutes and Records: The Past President/Secretary, "with the assistance of the duly-
authorized board-appointed agent, shall take minutes and keep a file of the proceedings
at business and Board of Directors meetings, as well as copies of the financial reports
and official publications of the Association and shall supervise the issuance to the
membership of all notifications pertaining to the official business of the Association”
(Bylaws Article VI Section 7). The following guidelines apply to minutes and records-keeping.
a. The AMC, as the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent, takes minutes – or arranges for
the taking of minutes – at Board meetings and business meetings using as an example the
2000 minutes and submits them to the Past President/Secretary for reviewing and final
editing prior to distribution to the Board.
b. The AMC, as the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent, archives and maintains the records
of the association including minutes, financial reports, membership documents, policies and
procedures, and financial statements. All documentation is available to the leadership of the
Association upon request.
vii. Orientation: The Past President/Secretary will orient new members of the AEA Board including
a) contacting each newly elected member and offering him or herself as a contact and resource
for questions as well as orienting the member to what will happen for the upcoming November
Board meeting, b) planning and executing an in-person orientation session at the fall conference,
and c) following-up after the fall conference to guide each one on his or her responsibilities that
come with taking office the first of the year, including the individualized work that comes with a
new role as a committee, TIG, or Affiliate Board liaison. The following policies and procedures
apply to the planning and executing of an in-person orientation session:
a. It is important that the primary orientation meeting occur in real-time via a medium that
encourages questions and discussion. The orientation session should be scheduled at the
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-10
Annual Conference so that all newly elected Board members who attend the conference may
attend the orientation session. This may require an early-morning breakfast session or an
evening session.
b. If a newly elected Board member cannot attend, he or she should be provided with the
orientation via phone or in-person as soon following the conference as possible and no later
than December 1.
c. The orientation should cover the following key items, as well as others deemed necessary by
the Past President/Secretary:
• The legal and fiduciary responsibilities of Board members,
• The obligation to read and thoroughly be conversant with the AEA Bylaws,
• The conduct of Board members within and outside of Board meetings,
• The AEA annual cycle and key dates,
• The role of committees within the Association,
• The role of a Board committee liaison,
• The proposal development and submission process,
• The role of the AMC and its relationship to the Board,
• The obligation to review the policies and procedures manual prior to the Winter Board
meeting.
D. THE TREASURER: The Treasurer is responsible for overseeing the management of Association
finances and documents. While the AMC acts as the Treasurer’s designate in the day-to-day
collection and deposit of funds from members, the Treasurer determines and then implements – in
consultation with the finance committee and Board – appropriate financial practices. Specific
responsibilities of the Treasurer include:
i. AMC Liaison: The President, Past President/Secretary, and Treasurer serve as the three primary
liaisons to the AMC. Together they provide the day-to-day points of contact for AMC questions
with the President focusing on policy, the Past President/Secretary focusing on records and
communication, and the Treasurer focusing on finances. Carrying out this task involves
scheduling regular weekly or bi-weekly phone meetings/updates with the AMC as well as
ongoing interaction via e-mail or phone. In their role as liaisons to the AMC, the President, Past
President/Secretary and Treasurer are expected to regularly confer with the Executive
Committee and the Board at large as they deem appropriate.
ii. Service as a member of the Executive Committee: “The President, Past President/Secretary,
President-elect, and Treasurer compose the Executive Committee, which conducts the
day-to-day business of the Association and oversees the budget” (Bylaws Article VIII
Section 1). See more about committees under Section 3 of this document.
iii. Service as a member of the Finance Committee: “The Treasurer shall serve on the Finance
Committee” (Bylaws Article VI Section 6). As the member of the finance committee with the
most immediate connection to the financial transactions of the Association, the Treasurer will
develop a draft annual budget each year, in consultation with the AMC, for review by the finance
committee and submission to the Board.
vi. Finance records maintenance: “The Treasurer, with the assistance of the duly-authorized
Board-appointed agent, shall hold the Association's funds, collect the annual dues from
the members, consult with the Executive Committee and prepare the yearly budget for
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-11
consideration and approval by the Board of Directors, account for the receipt and
expenditures of all monies, and keep the other offices informed of the financial condition
of the Association at their request. The Treasurer, with the assistance of the duly-
authorized Board-appointed agent, shall make disbursements, shall upon request of the
Board of Directors provide for examinations of financial reports and records by an
auditing firm or a Certified Public Accountant, and shall prepare an annual financial
statement for publication to all members” (Bylaws Article VI Section 6). The AMC, as the
duly-authorized Board-appointed agent, collects all funds from members and maintains records
of member payments. The following guidelines apply to maintenance of the finance records:
a. The Treasurer will identify appropriate categories for use in budgeting and accounting.
b. All income and expenditures must be allocated to an account.
c. New expenditures approved after the budget has been approved must have an identified
category from which the expense is to be accounted for.
d. Actual collection and disbursement of most funds is done by the AMC with an itemized
record of the funds collected and disbursed each month reported to the Treasurer by the
15th of the following month. (See item x below.)
e. “Unless otherwise specified, the fiscal year of the Association shall begin on the first
day of January of every year. The commencement date of the fiscal year herein
established shall be subject to change by the Board of Directors, with the prior
written approval of the appropriate government agencies” (Bylaws Article VII Section
1). As of 2002, the Fiscal Year of the American Evaluation Association commences on July
1 as approved by the AEA Board.
vii. Depositing or Investment of Funds: “Upon authorization by the Board of Directors, the
Treasurer or the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent may deposit or invest the funds
of the Association” (Bylaws Article VI Section 6).
viii. Signatory on Bank Accounts: “For all bank accounts established for the Association, there
must be at least two signatories, the Treasurer and at least one other elected Board
member, or the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent” (Bylaws Article VII Section 6).
Currently the President and Treasurer are signatories on the bank accounts of the Association.
Although both are signatories on each account, only one signature is needed for account
transactions.
ix. Execution of Association Documents. “With the prior authorization of the Board of
Directors, all notes and contracts shall be executed on behalf of the Association by either
the President of the Treasurer or the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent” (Bylaws
Article VII Section 3).
x. Accounting oversight and the AMC: As the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent, the AMC
collects and distributes the majority of funds of the Association. The following guidelines apply
to the AMC’s Accounting:
a. The AMC is not a signatory on any AEA account.
b. The AMC may manage AEA accounts including making deposits to those accounts,
receiving account balances and statements, and pursuing inquiries into account transactions.
c. Association expenses incurred through the AMC are reimbursed by the Association as long
as the policies and procedures stipulated herein are followed. The AMC pays directly for
expenses at its discretion.
d. The AMC submits a reimbursement request of all expenses it incurred each month, broken
down by the pre-approved income and expenditures categories, to the Treasurer.
e. All reimbursement requests must include receipts or appropriate documentation of the
expense that also identify the use of the items.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-12
f. The AMC submits bills to be paid directly by AEA, along with completed but unsigned
checks, to the Treasurer on a schedule agreed to by the Treasurer and AMC and that avoids
any finance charges.
g. Any expense over $500 to be paid by the AMC, whether budgeted or not, must be signed-
off on by the President or Treasurer prior to disbursement.
h. Any expense, regardless of size, not clearly associated with a line item in the AEA budget
must be signed-off on by the President, Treasurer or Conference Chair.
xi. Grants Management: The Treasurer shall have responsibilities for all funds received by
foundations, government agencies and other donors to AEA according to the policies and
procedures followed for other AEA funds. In addition, the Treasurer will review all grant
proposals and their budgets prior to their submission on behalf of AEA.
xii. Preparing Tax Returns: The Treasurer oversees the work of an accountant annually to prepare
and file AEA tax returns. AEA files returns for Federal taxes as a 501C3 corporation and
Maryland taxes as a non-profit corporation.
xiv. Preparing Legal Documents: The Treasurer will insure that all federal, state, and local taxes or
other forms relating to the legal status, insurance, or other business operations of the
Association, required by law or other obligations, are properly filed.
xv. Oversight of administrative support: The Treasurer, working with the President and Past
President/Secretary “shall provide direct oversight to a duly-authorized Board-appointed
agent who will provide administrative support to the Board, Committees, and Groups of
the Association” (Bylaws Article VI Section 6). Administrative functions are primarily handled
by the AMC as the Board-appointed agent. The AMC is the first point of contact for most
committee inquiries and will make referrals to the Past President/Secretary as needed.
V. ELECTION, APPOINTMENT and TERMS OF OFFICE for AEA BOARD MEMBERS:
“Terms of office shall begin January 1 after election and correspond to the calendar year, ending
December 31 of the final term year. All elected Board members shall serve three year terms. The
President, President-elect, and the Past President/Secretary will each serve one year in their
respective offices; the President-elect shall automatically succeed to the Presidency in the
following year, and the President shall automatically succeed to the office of Past
President/Secretary and take on the duties of the Association Secretary” (Bylaws Article V Section
4). For specific processes related to the Nomination and Election of Board members, see the
corresponding section in this manual.
“The three appointed positions (the editors of the two Association journals; and the Annual
Meeting Conference Chair) shall be appointed for three year terms by two-thirds quorum vote of
the elected members of the Board. Appointments shall be made following an announcement in
one or more of the Association journals and an open search process that permits applications
and nominations for at least 60 days following the published announcement. The process shall
be conducted so as to allow an adequate period of transition between the incoming and the
outgoing appointed officer. Once appointed to a three-year term through the procedure
described above, incumbents in appointed positions may be reappointed for an additional three-
year term by a two-thirds vote of the elected members of the Board, without any further search
procedure. There is no fixed limit to the number of successive terms an appointed officer may
serve, but the public nomination and search process shall be followed at least every other term.
Appointments for the two editorships and Annual Meeting Conference Chair shall also be
staggered so that, subject to unexpected vacancies, no more than one of these positions would
normally be filled in any single year. Votes on appointed positions will be by confidential ballot,
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-13
and can be conducted by mail and handled by a duly-authorized agent of the Board. During
board discussion of appointments, the person or persons under discussion should not be
present” (Bylaws Article V Section 4).
VI. VACANCIES IN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: “Vacancies in the Board of Directors caused
by any reason shall be filled in the following manner:
A. PRESIDENT: If the President does not serve out a full term for any reason, the President-
elect shall immediately succeed to the Presidency for the remainder of the unexpired term as
well as for the following calendar year. If the office of President-elect becomes vacant, it
shall remain so until the January 1 following the next general election at which time the
membership will elect a new President and new President-elect. If the offices of President
and President-elect become vacant within the same year, the Board of Directors shall elect a
member of the Association to serve as Acting President until the January 1 following the next
general election. If the office of Past President/Secretary becomes vacant it shall remain so
and the Treasurer shall take on the duties of Secretary until January 1 following the next
general election.
B. OTHER ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS: If any elected Board member position becomes
vacant, a replacement Board member shall be elected during the normal membership
election for that year, at which time the newly elected replacement Board member shall
immediately assume office as soon as results of the election are available. The Board may
with a two-thirds vote appoint an interim Board member to serve until the results of the
election.
C. ADDING POSITIONS TO BALLOT: Any elected Board positions that are vacant or have
acting incumbents shall be added to the ballot for the next general election to select
permanent Board members to fill the unexpired term.
D. APPOINTED BOARD MEMBERS: If any of the appointed positions become vacant, the
President shall appoint a temporary replacement to complete the vacant term subject to a
two-thirds vote of approval by the Board.
E. UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES: In other unusual circumstances the Board of Directors
shall determine how to fill vacancies.”
Above Introduction and items A-E taken from (Bylaws Article V Section 5).
VII.REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBERS: “A motion to remove any Board member for cause must
be circulated to all Board members in writing thirty days prior to a vote on removal. During this
thirty day period, the Board member in question has the right to respond in writing to the
removal motion. A confidential ballot vote of eligible voting members, which can be conducted
by mail and handled by a duly-authorized agent of the Board, shall then be taken. The Board
member in question does not vote on his or her own removal. The votes of two-thirds of eligible
voting Board members are necessary to remove the member in question. Upon removal of a
Board member, the position will be filled in accordance with vacancy provisions as stated
[above]” (Bylaws Article V Section 6).
VIII. BOARD MEETINGS: Board meetings are held each year as a forum for discussing AEA business.
While at least two of these meetings are face-to-face, other meetings may take place via conference call.
A. FREQUENCY and DURATION: “The Board of Directors shall meet at least twice each
year. One of these Board meetings shall be held in conjunction with the annual conference”
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-14
(Bylaws Article V Section 8). “Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the
President or by at least five other Board members, on at least two weeks notice, if practical,
to each Board member stating the time, place, and purpose of the meeting” (Bylaws Article V
Section 9).
The Board generally meets face-to-face three times per year: once in January or February, once in
June or July, and again at the Annual Meeting in November. Each meeting lasts for 1.5 to 2 days with
the location of the meetings not held at the annual conference determined at the discretion of the
President in consultation with the Board. Traditionally, either the winter or the summer meeting is
held at the location of the conference for that year so that the Board members may experience the
site. In between Board meetings, the Board or the Executive Committee may meet via conference
call.
B. AGENDA: The agenda for each Board meeting is set by the President in consultation with the
Board. Items for consideration for the agenda should be submitted to the President and copied to
the AMC at least two weeks in advance of the Board meeting so that the agenda and supporting
documentation may be distributed at least one week in advance of the Board meeting. At a
minimum, the agenda will include an update on the work of each committee.
C. QUORUM: “At all meetings of the Board of Directors, a majority of the voting members
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the acts of the majority of the
Board members present at a meeting at which the quorum is present shall be the acts of the
Board, except where a larger number is required by law, Articles of Incorporation, or these
By-Laws. If, at any meeting of the Board, there is less than a quorum present, the majority of
those present may adjourn the meeting from time to time. At any such adjourned meeting,
any business that might have been transacted at the meeting as originally called may be
transacted at the next session without further notice” (Bylaws Article V Section 10).
D. OPEN MEETINGS: “All meetings of the Board of Directors shall be open to the
membership except for those times when the Board will discuss matters involving personal
privacy. A majority vote of the voting Board members present shall be sufficient to hold a
closed meeting” (Bylaws Article V Section 11).
Although Board meetings are open to any AEA member in good standing, the Board reserves the
right to go into closed meeting, which would exclude outsiders and would not appear in detail in the
minutes. Closed meetings should be used sparingly and only for a limited set of purposes. The
purpose of a closed meeting is to discuss sensitive matters for which an open session might violate
confidentiality, adversely affect individuals, or impair board functioning.
E. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE: “Meetings of the Board and the membership will
normally be conducted using informal, but businesslike procedures. At any time a
procedural conflict arises, the provisions of the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of
Order shall be used to resolve the conflict” (Bylaws Article V Section 12).
F. ATTENDANCE: Board meetings are to be attended by all Board members and by members of the
Association as deemed necessary by the President in order to further the business of the Association.
Committee Chairs, for example, are invited by the President if their presence would be required in
order to transact business effectively.
G. ROLE OF THE AMC for BOARD MEETINGS: The AMC is responsible for coordination of
the Board meeting as well as for providing
• Within two weeks following previous Board meeting: AMC contracts for accommodations
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-15
• Within three weeks following previous Board meeting: AMC reminds all of date/location of next
meeting
• Within four weeks of previous meeting: AMC reminds Board members regarding tasks agreed
upon at previous meeting
• One month prior to meeting: AMC reminds Board of pending meeting, need for reports
• One month prior to meeting: AMC turns in housing list to hotel
• Two weeks prior to meeting: AMC identifies menus with hotel
• Two weeks prior to meeting: All materials and possible agenda items due to AMC
• Two weeks prior to meeting: AMC identifies potential agenda items for President and creates a
draft agenda if requested by President
• Two weeks to one week prior to meeting: President sets items for agenda
• One week prior to meeting: Materials distributed to Board
• At meeting: AMC or representative takes minutes
• At meeting: AMC provides contextual information and assists in reviewing actions for
compliance with bylaws
• At meeting: AMC liaisons with hotel and arranges for Board dinner
• Following meeting: AMC reimburses Board members for expenses within two weeks of receipt
of full reimbursement request.
• Following meeting: AMC ensures that appropriate parties are notified of outcomes of Board
decisions.
• At WINTER board meeting: AMC distributes new Board books containing bylaws, ventures
guidelines, policies and procedures, and space for materials for three meetings
• At WINTER board meeting: AMC provides a profile of the Association including demographic
breakdown
• One week prior to FALL board meeting: AMC provides a list of Board member obligations for
the upcoming conference
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 2-16
SECTION 3: COMMITTEES
I. COMMITTEES OVERVIEW: The governance of the American Evaluation Association relies heavily
on committees to carry out its business. This section will identify the types of committees associated with
AEA, their composition, policy associated with changes in committee membership, the roles of the
committees, and budgeting for committees. Specific information about any particular committee can be
found in subsequent sections to the policies and procedures manual.
A. OVERVIEW OF TYPES: As part of AEA governance, the Association includes three types of
Committees: Executive Committee, Standing Committees, and Special Committees.
B. OVERVIEW OF COMPOSITION and MEMBER ROLES: “It is the policy of the American
Evaluation Association to actively seek diversity on the Board and all committees through
attention to the following criteria: gender balance, minority representation, disciplinary
heterogeneity, practitioner/academic balance, geographic heterogeneity, and heterogeneity
of areas of application” (Bylaws Article V Section 1). Committee membership is one way to foster
growth in the Association through developing the leadership potential of possible future Board
members. It is advantageous to seek committee members, when feasible, from beyond the pool of
current and past Board members and Committee chairs are encouraged to do so in order to
incorporate needed expertise, foster continuity, and ensure diversity. “Committee chairs may add
members to committees, with approval of the Board, for purposes of carrying out the work of
the committee” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 3). This is understood to include special committees as
well as standing committees. Members added to a committee serve for a duration specified at the
time of their addition to the committee and not to exceed three years without re-approval by the
Board.
All committees must include a Committee Chair and a Board Liaison. The Committee Chair and the
Board Liaison may be one and the same person when needed and when not explicitly prohibited.
Members of all committees should be drawn from the pool of current AEA members. Those who
are not members of AEA should only be included on a committee when specific expertise is not
available within the membership.
i. Committee Chair: The role of the committee Chair is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the
committee. He or she is expected to identify a clear long-term or short-term charge for the
committee, create a plan to accomplish that charge, and lead the committee through arranging
for and conducting information exchange among committee members and delegating tasks as
required to achieve its goal(s) within a given timeframe. Committee Chairs oversee the use of any
funds authorized for expenditure by the committee and submit documentation for
reimbursement to the AMC in a timely manner. Should a committee need more funds than
authorized by the Board, the Chair of the committee may request additional money in writing
with explanation to the Board Treasurer.
Prior to January 1 of the year in which he or she will serve as committee Chair (and ideally at that
year’s annual meeting so that the connection can be made face-to-face if possible), the incoming
Chair should connect with the previous Chair as well as the AEA office to receive relevant
documentation and identify priorities for the coming year. Prior to January 1, the incoming Chair
should identify the current committee membership (the AMC should have this on file) and
develop a plan for committee action during the coming year. During January, the Chair should
contact each committee member and convey to him or her the plan of action for the year.
Throughout the year, the committee Chair should remain connected with committee members,
ensure that the committee business is addressed and ensure timely progress on tasks, and report
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -1
as needed to the Board through the Board Liaison. Working with the Board Liaison, “each
standing committee Chair, at the time of the annual meeting, shall prepare a written
report to the Board and membership on the committee’s accomplishments” (Bylaws
Article VIII Section 3).
All committee chairs should read the section in this manual entitled “Budgeting and Proposal
Processes.” That section outlines how to develop a proposal for consideration by the Board as
well as secure funding for committee initiatives. Key to that section is the need to submit all
proposals to the AEA office by April 15 if they are to accommodated within the standard
budgeting cycle. Proposals not received in the AEA office by April 15 will need to be considered
outside of the standard budgeting cycle when usually fewer funds are available.
ii. Board Liaison: The Board Liaison is a member of the Board identified to serve on the
committee for a single year (renewable). Board Liaison appointments are “made each year by
the President at the beginning of his or her term” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 3), thus the
Liaison serves in that capacity from Jan 1 to December 31 of the year in which the current
President serves. Ideally, such appointments are identified at the end of the previous year while
the incoming President is ending his or her term as President-elect.
The Liaison is a voting member of the committee and conveys the work of the committee to the
Board as well as any relevant decisions of the Board back to the committee. The Liaison does
not set the agenda for the committee, although he or she will work with the Chair to incorporate
Board-identified needs into the committee’s priorities for the year. The Board Liaison will also
represent to the Board at Board meetings any proposals developed or reviewed by the committee
as well as progress on major committee initiatives. The Liaison is expected to have a working
knowledge of each proposal brought to the Board.
C. OVERVIEW OF ACCOMMODATION FOR TEMPORARY LEAVE OF MEMBERS:
“Committee chairs and members who find that they cannot fulfill the responsibilities of their
position may notify the President, who may appoint a temporary replacement until such time
as the committee member can resume his or her duties. At the discretion of the President,
the replacement may be continued on the committee as an additional member” (Bylaws
Article VIII Section 6). However, unless re-appointed or re-elected, replacement members serve no
longer on a committee than the person whom they are replacing.
If the vacant position does not represent an appointee of the current President, it is expected that the
President will consult the person (President-elect or Past President/Secretary) who made the initial
appointment when selecting a new appointee.
D. OVERVIEW OF REMOVAL OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS: "A motion for the Executive
Committee to remove any committee member for cause or for nonperformance of duties
shall be circulated in writing to all Board members thirty days prior to a vote on removal.
During this thirty day period, the committee member in question has the right to respond in
writing to the removal motion. A confidential ballot of the eligible voting Board members
shall be taken, and can be conducted by mail and handled by a duly-authorized agent of the
Board. If the committee member in question is a Board member, he or she shall not vote on
the motion for removal from the committee. A motion to remove a committee member from
the committee shall require a two-third majority of the voting Board for approval. Upon
removal of a committee member from the committee, the President shall appoint a
temporary replacement to complete the vacant term” (Bylaws, Article VIII Section 7).
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -2
If a newly vacant position does not represent an appointee of the current President, it is expected
that the President will consult the person (President-elect or Past President/Secretary) who made the
initial appointment when selecting a new appointee.
E. OVERVIEW OF COMMITTEE ROLES: Each committee shall be charged with accomplishing
specific tasks and/or shall oversee tasks within a particular area of interest to the Board. All
proposals brought to the Board should first be reviewed within a committee to ensure completeness
and clarity of content. When proposals to the Board come from outside a committee, the committee
should work with the proposing party to refine the proposal and ensure that the Board Liaison is
adequately informed to represent that proposal, with recommendations based on committee input, to
the Board. Any committee may be called upon to review an externally generated proposal that is
within its area of interest. Assigning external proposals to committees is the purview of the Past
President/Secretary. For more information about the timeline required for submitting proposals to
the Board, refer to the proposal section of this manual.
F. OVERVIEW OF COMMITTEE BUDGETS: The Board will, at the time of establishing any
committee and upon subsequent years during which a committee exists, give consideration to its
needs for funds and will authorize expenditure of those funds. Any expenditures are to be authorized
by the committee Chair and verified by receipts where appropriate. Reimbursement requests should
be sent to the AMC along with receipts for each expense within four weeks of incurring the expense
and no later than July 15 for the following year.
II. COMMITTEE TYPES: The three types of committees used by AEA are the Executive Committee,
Standing Committees, and Special or Ad-hoc Committees. This section includes an overview of each
committee type, its composition, its role, and its duration.
A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (EC): There is a single executive committee that represents the
executive leadership to the Association.
i. Composition: “The President, Past President/Secretary, President-elect, and Treasurer
compose the Executive Committee” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 1). Each member of the EC
serves for a three-year term concurrent with his or her term on the Board. The President chairs
this committee and serves as the Board Liaison.
ii. Role: The EC “conducts the day-to-day business of the Association and oversees the
budget” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 1). “For conduct of routine business of the
Association between meetings and to meet any emergencies that might arise of such
nature that a two week delay in scheduling a meeting of the entire Board would be
intolerable… [the EC] shall be empowered to act on [the Board’s] behalf. All actions
taken by the Executive Committee shall be reported in writing to the Board, immediately
in the case of emergency actions of importance and prior to the next scheduled meeting
of the Board for routine items” (Bylaws Article V Section 13).
“Routine business of the Association” is defined as addressing questions or concerns regarding
implementation of existing policies. The AMC should first contact the Past President/Secretary
or President should questions arise and the President or Past President/Secretary will, in turn,
determine if a ruling from the EC is needed in order to clarify policy or guide policy
implementation.
The EC may have decision-making authority delegated to it by the Board as a whole to address
specific issues. The EC may serve as a sounding board for the AMC and/or Board members as
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -3
needed. Should the need arise, the EC is responsible, as dictated by the bylaws, for circulating
petitions for the removal of committee members.
iii. Duration: The EC is an ongoing committee whose composition is dictated by the AEA Bylaws
and, as such, exists in perpetuity.
iv. Quorum: "The President and two other members of the Executive Committee shall
constitute quorum for the Executive Committee" (Bylaws Article V Section 13).
B. STANDING COMMITTEES: “There shall be standing committees on Finance, on Awards,
on Ethics, on Conference Policy, on Diversity, on Publications, on Membership, on
Professional Development, on Public Affairs and on Nominations and Elections” (Bylaws
Article VIII Section 2).
i. Composition: “Committee appointments shall be for three years and shall be renewable.
Each committee shall have three appointed members. The President-elect will, at the
beginning of her or his term, appoint a non-board member to each committee to replace
the person whose term is expiring” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 3). “The President shall
annually appoint the Chair of each standing committee to serve a one year renewable
term corresponding to the President’s term” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 3). Usually, the
person appointed by the President to chair the committee has already served on the committee
for one year and is the person initially appointed to the committee by the President while he or
she was President-elect. However, the President may select the Chair from among the other two
appointed committee members. An outside Chair may not be brought in by the President, except
with the express permission of the Board. Although not a requirement, appointments are
generally made from the pool of current members not serving on the Board. The Board Liaison
on each committee is appointed from among the current Board members by the President to
serve one year (renewable).
"Committee chairs may add members to committees, with approval of the Board, for
purposes of carrying out the work of the committee” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 3). Should
the Chair wish to add members to the committee, he or she should submit a request to the
Board identifying the reason for broader representation on the committee as well as the
proposed membership. The Board will actively seek diversity on "all committees through
attention to the following criteria: gender balance, minority representation, disciplinary
heterogeneity, practitioner/academic balance, geographic heterogeneity, and
heterogeneity of areas of application" (Bylaws Article V Section I).
The Finance committee is an exception to the above composition guidelines in two ways 1.
“The Finance Committee must be chaired by a Board member” (Bylaws Article VIII
Section 2) who is appointed by the President and may not be the Treasurer. And 2. “the
Treasurer shall serve on the Finance Committee” (Bylaws Article VI Section 6). Thus, the
finance committee consists of from 3 to 5 standing members – three appointed members (one
by each of the President, Past-President/Secretary and President-elect), the Treasurer, and the
Chair who also serves as the Board Liaison. It is possible that either or both the Chair and the
Treasurer are also appointees.
ii. Role: Standing committees exist to address the long-term needs of the Association and its Board
of Directors.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -4
iii. Duration: Standing committees, by definition, are ongoing with a skeleton composition dictated
by the AEA Bylaws and, as such, exist in perpetuity. Standing committees can only be created or
dissolved via a change to the AEA bylaws.
iv. Quorum: Quorum for standing committees shall be defined as a minimum of three committee
members participating in any vote for committees with only four or five members or a minimum
of two less than the total number of committee members for larger committees. "Committee
members" is defined as the three appointed members of a committee, the Board Liaison, any
Board-approved additional members brought into the committee by the Chair, and any members
mandated by bylaws or these policies and procedures. All committee members must be aware of
committee business prior to conducting of that business and must have an opportunity to
provide input on committee business. Committee meetings must be scheduled in a way that
offers as many committee members as possible an opportunity to participate and that excludes
no committee member for any reason other than a scheduling conflict.
C. SPECIAL COMMITTEES: Also known as ad-hoc committees, special committees are convened
as needed in order to further the interests of the association. “Special committees may be
established by a two-thirds vote of the [voting] Board…Special committees may also be
established by the President” at his or her discretion (Bylaws Article VIII Section 4).
i. Composition: Special committees should have a composition that draws upon the expertise and
diversity of the AEA membership. "The Chair of each special committee will be identified
by the Board, if the committee is constituted by the Board, or by the President, if the
committee is constituted by the President. The Chair will serve a term corresponding to
the term of the special committee. Should the Chair of a special committee be a current
Board member, he or she will also serve as Board Liaison. Should the Chair of a special
committee not be a current Board member, the President shall annually appoint a Board
Liaison to the special committee to serve a one year renewable term corresponding to the
President's term" (Bylaws Article VIII Section 4). If a committee is established via vote of the
Board, the Board may dictate committee membership or may delegate that task to the
Committee Chair. If a committee is established via Presidential discretion, the President may
dictate committee membership or may delegate that task to the Committee Chair. As a note,
“special committees need not be chaired by a currently elected member of the Board”
(Bylaws Article VIII Section 4).
Whether dictated by the Board, by the President, or at the behest of the Committee Chair, the
following guidelines are recommended for committee composition:
a. Special committees shall consist of no fewer than three and no more than six members
including a Chair and Board Liaison unless the quantity of work or diversity of knowledge
required dictates a larger representation. The Liaison position is appointed annually by the
current President at the beginning of his or her term or at the time of the creation of the
special committee with the position being renewable from year to year at the discretion of
the President.
b. Appointment to a special committee is limited to the duration of the committee as defined
by its sunset date and thus may not exceed a three-year (renewable) term.
c. Special committee members, other than the Board Liaison, should not be Board members
unless the specific expertise of a member of the Board is required.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -5
d. Committee members should be drawn from the membership at large with an eye toward
diversity, and include both long-term and newer members of the Association. Committee
members should be current members of the Association unless the specific expertise of a
non-member is required.
e. At least half of the members of any special committee should be drawn from the portion of
the AEA membership that has never served on the Board. Sources for identifying potential
committee members include: EVALTALK, review of those people recently seeking
nominations to the Board (but not elected), as well as recommendations from relevant TIG
leaders, colleagues, and the AMC.
f. Should a special committee be reauthorized after its sunset date by a vote of the Board or at
the discretion of the President, the composition of that committee should be re-examined at
that time with the goal of rotating the majority of any committee’s current members off of
the committee.
ii. Role: “Special committees are created to address important timely concerns of the
Association” (Bylaws Article VIII Section 4). The current list of committees with their members
and charges will be distributed to the Board at its winter Board meeting and an overview of each
committee can be found in a subsequent section of this manual.
iii. Duration: Special committees created by a two-thirds vote of the board “must have a specified
term of no more than three years” whereas those established under the President’s discretion are
created “for a term corresponding to the President’s term in office” (Bylaws Article VIII Section
4). “Unless reauthorized by the Board, all special committees dissolve automatically at the
end of their term; and they may be dissolved earlier by a two-thirds vote of the Board”
(Bylaws Article VIII Section 4). Special committees should be established with a sunset date of no
longer than three years from the date of formation and may be re-authorized as needed.
iv. Quorum: Quorum for special committees shall be defined as a minimum of three committee
members participating in any vote for committees with only four or five members or a minimum of
two less than the total number of committee members for larger committees. "Committee members"
is defined as members appointed by the President, by the Board, or by the Committee Chair as well
as the Board Liaison. All committee members must be aware of committee business prior to
conducting of that business and must have an opportunity to provide input on committee business.
Committee meetings must be scheduled in a way that offers as many committee members as possible
an opportunity to participate and that excludes no committee member for any reason other than a
scheduling conflict.
III AEA COMMITTEES: Herein is a list of current AEA Committees separated by committee type and
the policies and procedures specific to each committee. Committee members should review all of item I
and the relevant portions of item II within the Committees section of the Policies and Procedures manual
as well as the section below pertaining to their committee.
A. AWARDS COMMITTEE: One of the ten standing committees of the Association referred to in
the Bylaws, the Awards Committee honors individuals or groups for their outstanding contributions
to the field.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -6
ii. Charge: The awards committee is responsible for overseeing the nominations of awards
candidates, reviewing the applications of awards candidates and selecting winners, and notifying
award winners and losers. AEA has awards in the following areas:
a. PAUL F. LAZARSFELD AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO EVALUATION
THEORY AND/OR PRACTICE: To individuals whose written work on evaluation theory
and/or practice has led to important insights about the nature of evaluations, and whose
contributions have fostered fruitful debates on definitions, assumptions, goals, models,
methods, and the practice of evaluation.
b. ALVA AND GUNNAR MYRDAL AWARD FOR CUMULATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS
TO EVALUATION IN NON-GOVERNMENT SETTINGS: To individuals associated
with non-governmental organizations (including, for example, schools, businesses,
foundations, not-for-profit organizations) who have been particularly instrumental in
furthering the interests of evaluation through advocacy, sponsorship, management, or use of
evaluation in their organizations.
c. ALVA AND GUNNAR MYRDAL AWARD FOR CUMULATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS
TO EVALUATION IN GOVERNMENT SETTINGS: To individuals who have been
particularly instrumental in furthering the interests of evaluation through advocacy,
sponsorship, management, or use of evaluation in government.
d. ROBERT INGLE AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE TO AEA: To a
member of AEA who has been particularly instrumental in promoting the interests and
operations of the American Evaluation Association.
e. AEA OUTSTANDING RECENT EVALUATION AWARD: To individuals or groups
who have conducted an evaluation that best represents the ideals set forth in the AEA
Guiding Principles (available at www.eval.org). The award will be given for an evaluation
completed in the previous three years.
iii. Committee Procedures: The following guidelines apply specifically to the awards committee.
a. The following key dates apply to the awards process:
• By November 15 previous year – AMC and Chair exchange info
• By December 7 previous year – Chair revises and returns Call to AMC
• By January 7 – AMC sends out Calls to membership
• June 1 – Deadline for submission of awards nominations
• By June 7 – AMC sends packets to committee members
• By July 15 – Committee completes its selection of winners
• August 15 – Deadline for notification of award winners
• At Conference – Committee announces awards winners at luncheon
• By November 15 – AMC updates list of winners on website
• By November 15 – Chair sends remarks to AMC and AJE
b. The AMC will contact the Awards Committee Chair for the coming year to confirm
procedures and schedules and request a review of the Standard Call for Awards
Nominations. The AMC will forward to the new Awards Committee Chair the previous
year’s awards committee review book, including a history of awards nominees since the year
2000. Ideally, this exchange of information will happen at the previous year’s conference and
will occur no later than November 15 of the year prior to that in which the Awards
Committee Chair officially takes office. A copy of the Call for Awards Nominations is
available on the AEA website.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -7
c. The AMC maintains the Standard Call for Awards Nominations on the AEA website and
will update it annually under the oversight of the Awards Committee Chair.
d. By December 7 of the previous year, the Awards Committee Chair should review the Call
for Awards Nominations and return any revisions to the AEA office. The dates and name of
the Committee Chairs on the Standard Call for Awards Nominations should be updated;
however, substantive changes to the Call should be made by the Board and not by the
Committee Chair.
e. The hardcopy Call for Awards Nominations, Call for Nominations for the Board of
Directors, and the Call for Proposals all will be included in the same mailing when feasible
and desired by the Board.
f. The AMC will receive nominations for the various awards and maintain records of who was
nominated for which awards. After the deadline for receipt of nominations, the AMC will
compile and deliver copies of the nomination packages to each member of the Awards
Committee. The package should include letters from the nominees, letters of
recommendation, and a list of publications submitted by each nominee that are available on
request from the AMC.
g. The Awards Committee should have approximately six weeks to complete the work of
selecting Award winners. At a minimum, individual committee members should carefully
review the nominations and have a meeting or teleconference to discuss the nominees and
reach agreement on the award winners. The Committee may make more than one award, or
no awards, in each category depending on the strength of the nominees. Board Members are
not eligible to receive AEA awards during their term of service. By extension, any business
in which the Board Member is a principle operator or any evaluation to which the Board
Member contributed significantly should not be considered for an award during that Board
Member’s term of service.
h. The Chair should notify awards winners, the President of AEA and the AMC of their
selection. The identity of award winners should be kept confidential, with only the Awards
Committee members, the AMC and the President informed of the winners' names prior to
their announcement at the luncheon at the AEA annual conference. One representative for
each award shall receive a complimentary ticket to the annual luncheon in order to accept
the award.
i. The AMC will prepare plaques for award winners, bring them to the annual conference, and
have them available for the luncheon. The Awards Committee is responsible for preparing
remarks to be made at the luncheon, and deciding who will make the awards.
j. Following the annual meeting, the Awards Committee Chair will provide a copy of the
luncheon remarks to the AEA Office and the editor of the American Journal of Evaluation
(AJE) for publication. The information regarding awards in AJE should remain consistent
with the descriptions contained in the Call for Nominations and this manual.
k. Following the annual meeting, the AMC will update the list of award winners on the AEA
website and the internal records of nominations following the conference. The information
regarding awards on the Web Site should remain consistent with the descriptions contained
in the Call for Nominations and this manual.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -8
B. ETHICS COMMITTEE: One of the ten standing committees of the association referred to in the
Bylaws, the Ethics Committee focuses its work on the ethical conduct of the Association and the
field.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
ii. Charge: The Ethics Committee is responsible for making policy recommendations to the Board
on all matters related to the ethical conduct of Association business as well as ethical conduct in
the field of evaluation generally. The committee is responsible for maintaining the AEA Guiding
Principles for Evaluators and for coordinating revisions of them as needed. The Committee
fosters a teaching capacity by sponsoring sessions on ethics at the annual conference and
pursuing other means for disseminating the Guiding Principles and encouraging ethical behavior
among evaluators. The committee is responsible for the logistical coordination of AEA with
other organizations on matters of ethics and standards, including recruitment of candidates to
serve such roles as liaison to the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation and
lobbying regarding federal regulations pertaining to ethical issues in evaluation.
iii. Committee Procedures: The Chair of the Ethics Committee sets the committee’s agenda
annually and determines the timeline for the year’s activities.
C. FINANCE COMMITTEE: One of the ten standing committees of the association referred to in
the Bylaws, the Finance Committee focuses its work on issues related to the short and long-term
financial health of the Association, review of the annual budget, long-term financial planning, and the
establishment and review of the accounting procedures for the Association.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
ii. Charge: The Finance Committee is responsible for review of the annual budget, long-term
financial planning, and making initiative and policy recommendations to the Board on all matters
related to Association accounting and budgeting procedures.
iii. Committee Procedures – Budget Review: Committee members should refer to the section of this
document on Budget and Proposal review.
iv. Committee Procedures – Budget Oversight: The Finance Committee tracks the financial health
of the Association. The following key dates apply to this task:
a. Four weeks prior to Board meeting: Treasurer, working with the AMC, prepares draft
budget update, including income and expenses to date within the current fiscal year (and a
second one for the previous fiscal year if needed) and account balances, distributes to
Committee
b. Three weeks prior to Board meeting: Finance Committee and AMC meet via conference call
to review budget update and make any recommendations
c. Two weeks prior to Board meeting: Treasurer delivers final budget update to AMC
d. One week prior to Board meeting: AMC distributes update with Board materials
e. At meeting: Treasurer presents budget update to Board
f. At meeting: Finance Committee Board Liaison reports on any concerns or recommendations
of the committee
v. Committee Procedures – Long Term Financial Planning: 90 days prior to the end of each fiscal
year, the Chair should work with the Treasurer, to review the current financial health of the
Association including identifying the status of investments, account balances, and outstanding
debt. The Association seeks to have approximately one full year’s operating budget in reserve.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -9
The financial state of the Association should be reviewed by the committee as a whole within 60
days prior to the end of each fiscal year and recommendations made to the Treasurer, for
consideration in the next budget cycle. The results of these discussions should be reported at the
next meeting of the Board.
D. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE: One of the ten standing committees of
the association referred to in the Bylaws, the Nominations and Elections (N&E) Committee focuses
its work on developing a slate of nominees for the AEA Board of directors and overseeing the
execution of the elections process.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
ii. Charge: “Yearly, the committee on Nominations and Elections (see Article VIII) shall
secure two nominations for each expiring elected-office of the Association and shall,
with the authorization of the Board of Directors, submit the slate of nominees to the
membership for vote by mail ballot. The Committee will solicit nominations from the
members, consult with the Board of Directors, and choose candidates that reflect the
diversity and characteristics of the Association's membership” (Bylaws Article VI Section
2a).
iii. Committee Procedures: The following guidelines apply specifically to the Nominations and
Elections Committee.
a. The following key dates apply to the nominations and elections process:
• By November 15 previous year – AMC and Chair exchange info including policies
• By December 7 previous year – Chair revises and returns Call to AMC
• By December 7 previous year – Chair determines exact key dates for coming year
• By January 7 – AMC sends out Calls to membership
• By March 1 – N&E Committee Chair works with leadership to identify nominees
• By March 21 – Deadline for submission of Board nominations
• One week after deadline – AMC sends candidate dossiers to committee members
• By April 1 – N&E Chair reviews ballot format
• Minimum of two week period – Committee identifies its choices for slate
• By April 7 – Committee secures nominees’ agreement to be considered for slate
• By April 14 – Committee proposes slate to Board
• By April 28 – Board approves a final slate
• By May 7 – N&E Chair notifies nominees not placed on slate
• By May 15 – Personal statements and photos of nominees due to AMC
• By June 1 – AMC develops ballot and submits to N&E Chair for review
• By June 7 – Ballot proofed and reviewed by N&E Chair
• By June 14 – Ballot goes to printer
• By June 28 – Ballot goes to mailer
• By July 7 – Ballot in mail
• Two weeks prior to due date – AMC no longer sends ballots to new members
• By September 15 – Ballots due in AEA office
• Day ballots due – AMC counts ballots
• Day after ballots due – AMC sends ballots overnight to N&E rep for verification
• By September 21 – Ballots verified
• By September 21 – AMC notifies Board of winners
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -10
• By September 21 – President notifies winners and losers in President’s race
• By September 21 – N&E committee notifies winners and losers in other races
• In next newsletter – AMC announces new leadership
b. The AMC will contact the N&E Committee Chair for the coming year to confirm
procedures and schedules and request a review of the Standard Call for Board nominations.
The AMC will forward to the new N&E Committee Chair the previous year’s N&E
committee review documents if the new Chair was not on the committee the previous year.
Ideally, this exchange of information will happen at the previous year’s conference and will
occur no later than November 15 of the year prior to that in which the N&E Committee
Chair officially takes office.
c. By December 7 of the previous year, the N&E Committee Chair should review the Call for
Board nominations and return any revisions to the AEA office. The dates and name of the
Committee Chairs on the Standard Call for Nominations should be updated; however,
substantive changes to the Call should be made by the Board and not by the Committee
Chair.
d. The hardcopy Call for Awards Nominations, Call for Nominations for the Board of
Directors, and the Call for Proposals all will be included in the same mailing when feasible
and desired by the Board. The AMC is responsible for coordinating, developing and mailing
these Calls.
e. While reviewing the Call, the N&E Chair, in consultation with the AMC, shall also identify
the exact dates for the coming year, establishing the timeline on which the committee will
conduct its business.
f. The committee Chair should work with the AEA leadership to identify potential nominees.
This should include a plea for nominees, through the Board liaison, to the Board at its winter
Board meeting. This may include letters to TIG leaders or Local Affiliate leaders.
Developing a slate may require identifying specific names as a committee and then working
with key colleagues to secure a self or peer-nomination.
g. The AMC will receive nominations for the Board and maintain records of who was
nominated for each position. By one week after the deadline for receipt of nominations, the
AMC will compile and deliver copies of the candidate dossiers to each member of the N&E
Committee.
h. The N&E Committee Chair should review the form of the previous year’s ballot for use in
the coming year. Working with the AMC, he or she should identify any desired changes to
the format or content prior to development of the slate.
i. The N&E Committee is vested with the responsibility to develop the slate, securing two –
and only two -- nominations for each position. “Additional nominations may be
presented by the membership for inclusion in the election provided each such
nomination is presented to the Committee in the form of a petition signed by at least
25 of the current members not later than the announced due date for submission of
nominations each year. If the foregoing provisions are met, the person(s) so
nominated shall be included on the ballot” (Bylaws Article VI Section 2a). At the
discretion of the N&E Committee, those included in the ballot due to petition may be in
addition to, or may serve as, a nominee put forth by the N&E Committee.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -11
“It is the policy of the American Evaluation Association to actively seek diversity on
the Board and all committees through attention to the following criteria:
gender balance
• minority representation
• disciplinary heterogeneity
• practitioner/academic balance
• geographic heterogeneity
• heterogeneity of areas of application” (Bylaws Article V Section 1)
The N&E Committee Chair is responsible for overseeing the process of selection of the
final slate from among those nominated. He or she identifies the process that will be used to
choose from among competing candidates taking into consideration the desire for a diverse
Board as specified in the bylaws as well as any other directives from the current Board.
Ideally, alternates should also be identified and ranked should the Board not accept the
proposed slate or should a nominee drop from the race.
j. Once the committee has identified its proposed slate, each potential person on that slate is
contacted by a member of the N&E Committee who secures the nominees’ agreement to be
on the slate. The committee representative informs the nominee of the general duties of the
position and supplies him or her with the policies and procedures related to the position
upon request. The representative will also convey to the nominees the need for a personal
statement and picture, the timeline for supplying those, and the guidelines for statement
length and picture size.
k. Once each potential nominee’s agreement has been secured, the slate of nominees is
presented to the Board. The Board should have one full week to review and ask questions
regarding the slate prior to it being brought to a formal vote. The AEA office will coordinate
the meeting needed to vote on the slate and the N&E Chair should coordinate with the
office in order to establish the range of dates for this meeting well in advance.
l. The Board reviews the proposed slate. The Board Liaison to the N&E Committee or the
N&E Chair must be present on the conference call to respond to questions prior to the
vote. If the proposed slate is not acceptable following discussion, the Board will make
concrete recommendations for revising the slate and the N&E Committee must develop a
new slate to present to the Board and revise its procedural timelines accordingly. The
timelines represented herein are optimal; however, the timeline mandated by the bylaws
states: “At least sixty (60) days prior to the annual meeting, the Committee shall
submit to the membership a complete ballot for the election of officers” (Bylaws
Article VI Section 2a).
m. The N&E Chair will notify, in writing, all nominees who are not placed on the slate. Each
should be encouraged to consider running again for the Board and thanked for their
contribution and willingness to serve.
n. The nominees will turn in all personal statements and pictures to the AEA office. The
statements and pictures must conform to the guidelines provided to them when their
willingness to appear on the slate was secured.
o. The AMC will develop the ballot based on the guidelines supplied by the N&E Committee
Chairperson and the information and photos supplied by the nominees. The ballot shall
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -12
specify a postmark date as noted in the bylaws: “The membership will be instructed to
return the ballot to the Past-President/Secretary or the duly-authorized Board-
appointed agent, received in the AEA office no later than the date specified on the
ballot” (Bylaws Article VI Section 2b). At this time, the duly-authorized Board-appointed
agent is the AMC.
p. The AMC will turn over the draft ballot to the N&E Committee Chair for final proofing and
review and will make minor revisions as noted by the Chair.
q. The AMC will oversee the printing and mailing of the ballot on the timeline specified by the
N&E Committee Chair. There must be two weeks allowed for layout of the ballot, one week
for revisions following review by the committee Chair, two weeks for printing, and one week
for mailing.
r. The AMC will send, via first class mail, ballots to new members to the Association up to two
weeks prior to the due date for receipt of votes.
s. The AMC, as the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent, is “responsible for verifying the
ballots, protecting the security of the ballots, obtaining the independent
corroboration of the ballot counts, and reporting the results to the Board of Directors
and to the membership” (Bylaws Article VI Section 2b). In order to verify the ballots, on
the day that the ballots are due, the AMC will have two individuals count and re-count until
their counts match. Only those ballots with clearly marked selections for a given office will
be included when counting for that office, although a ballot that is ambiguous for one office
may be counted when counting for a second office in which the mark is not ambiguous.
Ballots with too many selections will not be counted.
t. On the day after the ballots are due, once the count has been verified, the AMC will
overnight the ballots to a representative from the N&E Committee for independent
corroboration of the ballot count. The final ballot count will be kept on record by the AMC
and will be disclosed only to the Past President/Secretary and the Chair of the Nominations
and Elections Committee.
u. Once the ballot count has been corroborated, the AMC will announce the winners to the
Board.
v. Once the ballot count has been corroborated, the President will notify the winner and
loser(s) in the Presidential race.
w. Once the ballot count has been corroborated, the N&E Committee Chair will notify the
winners and losers in all races but the Presidential race. This activity should be coordinated
so that winners and losers all find out their status on the same day.
x. In the next newsletter, the AMC will announce the composition of the Board for the new
year.
E. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: On January 1, 2002, the Professional
Development (PD) Committee became one of the ten standing committees specified in the bylaws.
The committee is responsible for developing and overseeing activities that enhance the professional
practice of AEA members with the exception of those activities overseen by other committees as
specified in this manual.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -13
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
ii. Charge: The Professional Development Committee is responsible for making policy
recommendations to the Board on all matters related to the professional development of AEA
members specifically and evaluation practitioners generally. The committee is responsible for
overseeing mentoring activities and for developing a slate of professional development
workshops to be offered in conjunction with the Annual Conference.
iii. Committee Procedures – Professional Development Workshop Selection: A task force of the
Professional Development Committee is responsible for selecting the slate of professional
development workshops offered in conjunction with the Annual Conference.
a. There are two types of professional development workshops, and the review/generation of
each type follows a slightly different path yet takes place concurrently. The workshop types
are:
• Sessions proposed by workshop presenters: These sessions are submitted through the
AEA office on a predefined timeline.
• Sessions created by the Professional Development Workshop Review Subcommittee:
Workshop presenters for these sessions are invited to present on a particular topic due
to the appeal of the presenter, the appeal of the topic, and/or the need to fill a niche not
addressed by those workshops proposed by presenters.
b. The following key dates and processes apply to generating the slate of professional
development workshops for the annual conference.
• By November 15 of previous year: Chair of the PD committee appoints a Chair for the
task force for professional development workshop review and supplies name to the
AMC.
• By November 21 of previous year: AMC provides task force Chair with a copy of the
Call for Professional Development Proposals with a request to revise it as needed for
coming year.
• By December 7 of previous year: Task force Chair provides AMC with revisions to the
professional development Call for Proposals.
• By January 7: AMC publishes Call for Professional Development Proposals on website,
makes it available on request in hardcopy form, and includes notice of its availability in
the Call for Proposals for the Annual Conference.
• By February 7: The Chair of the task force identifies those who are to compose the task
force and supplies the names of these persons to the AMC. This task force includes the
following members:
1. The Associate Conference Chair,
2. The Conference Chair,
3. Members of the Professional Development Committee as appropriate, and
4. Other reviewers as deemed necessary by the subcommittee Chair.
• By March 1: AMC reminds all professional development workshop presenters from the
previous year that the cutoff date for submission of professional development proposals
for the current year is imminent.
• By March 1: The task force identifies the criteria to be used for review of professional
development sessions this year and conveys them to the AMC. The criteria for review of
workshop proposals include:
1. The quality of the content of the individual workshop (Is the topic useful in the field
of evaluation? Current? Well thought-out?)
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -14
2. The quality of the individual presentation (Has the presenter been well-reviewed in
previous years? Has he or she presented this topic before? Are positive evaluations
available from outside of AEA? Are multiple teaching methods to be employed?)
3. The diversity of the full set of workshops being recommended (Are there multiple
presentations on one topic? Are workshops available that emphasize AEA’s
commitment to diversity?)
4. The appeal of the session to AEA members (Was enrollment high in previous years?
Does the workshop have broad appeal to multiple constituencies (rather than
narrow appeal to a small subset)? Has the topic generated interest and discussion
when raised in recent journals or on EVALTALK?)
5. The level of difficulty of the session (Are there sessions available for beginning,
intermediate, and advanced practitioners?)
6. Other criteria as defined by the Board, the President, or the subcommittee (Does the
theme of the conference suggest a need for particular workshops? Have recent
Association initiatives created a need for professional development in a particular
area? Does evaluation feedback from previous years suggest a gap in professional
development options?).
• By March 20: Proposals for professional development sessions are due in the AEA
office. The exact date is set by the Conference Chair and coincides with the due date for
conference proposals.
• By March 25: The AMC distributes copies of the following to all members of the
reviewing task force:
1. All professional development session proposals
2. Results of professional development session evaluations from previous years
3. Workshop enrollment numbers from previous years
4. A note of the number of timeslots available for professional development sessions
5. A summary form for use in conveying review results to the subcommittee Chair that
indicates whether a review recommends the session be accepted, rejected, or
accepted on a space-available basis
6. A copy of these policies and procedures applying to professional development session
workshop review.
• By April 7: The task force meets (via conference call or e-mail) to discuss the following:
1. Concerns about and impressions of the slate of proposals (Which should be
recommended for scheduling, which should be rejected, why?)
2. The need to solicit proposals outside of those already proposed (Have the “big
names” proposed sessions? Is there a “hot topic” that isn’t represented? Are there
beginning, intermediate, and advanced courses available in acceptable numbers?)
3. Who will be responsible for soliciting each additional workshop. Solicited proposals
need to include, at a minimum, the name and contact information for all presenters
as well as a 150 word abstract for use in the registration materials.
• By May 1: Results of individual reviews of presenter-generated proposals, as well as full
information for solicited workshops (abstract, contact info for presenters), with any
notes as appropriate, are due to the subcommittee Chair.
• By May 7: The subcommittee Chair integrates the results of the individual reviews and
the solicited workshops and submits a slate of professional development workshops to
the AEA office. Each proposal, including those that were solicited, should be identified
as falling in one of three categories:
1. SCHEDULE: All of these sessions will be scheduled. The number of sessions
identified for scheduling should fill no more than the available slots minus 1. One
full day session fills a slot. Two half-day sessions fill a slot. Traditionally, the
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -15
sessions have been divided so that approximately 1/3 are full-day and 2/3 are half-
day sessions.
2. SCHEDULE IF SPACE: If acceptable sessions are available, up to 2 full-day and 2
half-day sessions should be identified for scheduling on a space-available basis.
These sessions will be scheduled into available rooms should a workshop presenter
cancel before the Call is printed, should a room be available, or should someone in
the SCHEDULE category be unable to present in the available timeslot.
3. DO NOT SCHEDULE: These sessions are rejected.
Where there is conflict as to whether to recommend a session for inclusion, the Task
Force Chair should conduct a discussion via e-mail or phone to resolve the conflict.
• By May 14: The AMC schedules the workshops and conveys that schedule back to the
Task Force Chair with notes as appropriate.
• By May 21: The AMC edits the workshop abstract submitted by each workshop
presenter for inclusion in the registration materials and provides it to the presenter for
final review.
• By June 1: Registration materials, with descriptions of professional development
workshops, goes to print.
• By June 15: Registration materials, with descriptions of professional development
workshops, are mailed to AEA members.
F. PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE: On January 1, 2002, the Publications Committee became one
of the ten standing committees specified in the bylaws. The committee is responsible for
coordinating all matters and making recommendations to the Board regarding policies and
procedures related to the Association’s publications and publishing matters.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing (pending)/Ongoing
ii. Charge: The Publications Committee is responsible for assisting journal editors as a liaison with
the Board and its publishers, recruiting candidates for journal editors, planning for future
publication development, negotiating contracts when necessary, overseeing copyright
enforcement for AEA publications, and working with the AMC regarding publications.
iii. Composition: As a standing committee, the Publications Committee consists of three appointed
members (see standing committees above) and a Board Liaison. In addition, the editors of New
Directions for Evaluation and the American Journal of Evaluation are also committee members.
iv. Committee Procedures – Assistance and guidance to journal editors: The American Evaluation
Association publishes two journals:
a. American Journal of Evaluation (AJE): The American Journal of Evaluation is a peer-reviewed
journal publishing articles on the theory, methods, practice and findings of evaluation from
any discipline. Submission guidelines are available online at www.eval.org.
b. New Directions for Evaluation (NDE): New Directions for Evaluation is an ongoing series
of paperback source books that "..presents the latest techniques and procedures for
conducting useful evaluation studies of all types of programs" (Jossey-Bass Ordering
Information notes). It is one of several "New Direction" series in the applied social sciences
that are "…designed for a multidisciplinary academic and professional audience of
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -16
administrators, faculty leaders, scholars and professional practitioners who need practical yet
research-based information…". Submission guidelines are available online at www.eval.org.
The Publications Committee assists the journal editors through reviewing and clarifying
proposals to the Board related to the journals, acting as a sounding board for editor concerns,
developing contracts with AEA publishers for final submission to the Board, and representing
the concerns of the Board to the publishers.
v. Committee Procedures – Selection of Editors: “The three appointed positions (the editors of
the two Association journals; and the Annual Meeting Conference Chair) shall be
appointed for three year terms by two-thirds quorum vote of the elected members of the
Board. Appointments shall be made following an announcement in one or more of the
Association journals and an open search process that permits applications and
nominations for at least 60 days following the published announcement. The process
shall be conducted so as to allow an adequate period of transition between the incoming
and the outgoing appointed officer. Once appointed to a three- year term through the
procedure described above, incumbents in appointed positions may be reappointed for
an additional three-year term by a two-thirds vote of the of the elected members of the
Board, without any further search procedure. There is no fixed limit to the number of
successive terms an appointed officer may serve, but the public nomination and search
process shall be followed at least every other term” (Bylaws Article V Section 4). The
Publications Committee plays a key role in the selection process through conducting a search,
reviewing the credentials of those found through the search as well as those found through the
open nominations process, and making recommendations to the Board. Materials that are helpful
in judging potential editors include: Vita, Statement of future direction for the journal, Statement
of institutional support for the prospective editor, and letters of support.
vi. Committee Procedures – copyright enforcement: In general, the American Evaluation
Association should encourage the dissemination of knowledge about evaluation theory and
practice. Towards that end, the following guidelines apply to AEA copyright oversight:
a. No permission is necessary to reproduce a table, a figure, or an excerpt of fewer than 500
words.
b. Requests for reproducing AEA copyrighted material for classroom use will be granted at no
cost and such requests will be judged by the “Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom
Copying in Not-for-profit Educational Institutions with Respect to Books and Periodicals”
under section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act.
c. Requests for reproducing the Guiding Principles for Evaluation, will be granted at no cost and
may be reproduced in either the shorter version found on the web or in the AEA brochure
or the longer version found in NDE No. 66, 1995.
d. All AEA copyrighted material will be registered with the Copyright Clearance Center.
e. Authors do not relinquish proprietary rights or rights to use their work as they please in the
future, including reproducing or reprinting.
f. Requests for reproducing and/or reprinting AEA copyrighted material for use in commercial
ventures (such as workshops, institutes, or commercially published books) must be made to
the Association and will be judged on an individual basis. Charges for reproduction may be
up to the reproduction fee plus $.50 per copy plus $.15 per page. Charges for reprinting may
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -17
be up to $40 per page. In all cases, those who reproduce or reprint AEA copyrighted
material shall acknowledge the source of the material, including a full bibliographic citation.
g. Requests for reproduction and/or reprinting copyrighted materials should be made in
writing to the AEA office that will in turn take one of the following three actions:
• Requests for reprinting or reproduction of the Guiding Principles for clearly classroom
use will be granted directly from the AMC
• Requests for reproduction of materials other than the Guiding Principles and for a
section of materials longer than 500 words will be referred to the Copyright Clearance
Center (222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers MA 01923 – Phone: 978-750-8400, Fax: 978-
750-4470 and on the web at www.copyright.com)
• All other requests, including requests for reprinting, and any requests in which the
publication does not clearly fit in one of the two categories identified under section a or
b, will be referred to the Publications Committee through the Chair and should contain
what specific work the request is for, the specific purpose of the copying/reprinting, and
projected sales and revenue
G. DIVERSITY COMMITTEE: On January 1, 2002, the Diversity Committee became one of the ten
standing committees specified in the bylaws. The committee is responsible for a range of activities as
identified below under Charge.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
ii. Charge: The purpose of the Diversity Committee is to increase the diversity of the members and
leaders in AEA and to provide leadership within AEA and outside of AEA to address this issue.
To this end, the committee will undertake a variety of activities directed towards addressing
pluralism in terms of race/ethnicity, disability, gender, and sexual orientation. The following
types of activities may be pursued.
a. Provide announcements of the AEA annual program theme to organizations that have been
more successful in recruiting people of color, those with disabilities, and advocates for social
justice.
b. Provide a copy of the Call for Papers to these organizations so that they can submit
proposals to the AEA annual meeting.
c. Provide a copy of the meeting registration form to these organizations so that members can
attend the annual meeting.
d. Solicit nominations from individuals of minority race/ethnicity, those with disabilities, and
women for leadership positions within AEA.
e. Work with the Local Arrangements Chair to identify students in evaluation who are of
minority race/ethnicity, have a disability, or are women for scholarships to attend AEA's
annual meeting.
f. Organize jointly sponsored sessions that highlight issues relevant to the AEA's increase in
diversity.
g. Educate AEA members to diversity issues through workshops, publications, presentations,
news items, and analyzing the coverage of diversity related issues in major evaluation
journals.
h. Initiate a mentoring program for younger members of color and those who have a disability.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -18
i. Promote the use of Evaluation as a means of improving practice in our public schools.
Particular attention should be given to low performance schools. Possible actions include:
• Adoption of a school for facilitating staff use of evaluation for improving practice.
• Partnerships with a school district to conduct mini-workshops on evaluation.
• Mini conventions held in a local school district.
iii. Composition: As a standing committee, the Diversity Committee consists of three appointed
members (see standing committees above) and a Board Liaison. In addition to these members
specified in the bylaws, the diversity committee will include one designated representative from
each of the following Topical Interest Groups: Minority Issues; Feminist Issues; Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Issues; and Evaluation of Services for Special Needs Populations.
H. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: On January 1, 2002, the Membership Committee became one
of the ten standing committees specified in the bylaws. The committee is responsible for all aspects
of policy and initiatives related to member services.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
ii. Charge: The membership committee conducts tasks in three areas: a) identification of member
needs and research opportunities for expanding membership services, b) review of documents
used in promoting the Association to members and outside groups, and c) identifying and
overseeing the implementation of membership recruitment initiatives.
iii. Committee Procedures – recruitment initiatives: The following guidelines apply specifically to
recruitment initiatives overseen by the membership committee:
a. The Association Management Company, by contract, will undertake two small scale or one
large-scale membership recruitment initiatives each year. Small scale initiatives are those that
involve sending mailings to one set of defined, existing, lists of potential members. Examples
of small scale initiatives include sending a solicitation to all non-member subscribers to
EVALTALK or all non-members of the local affiliates. Large scale initiatives would be those
that are done over a longer duration and likely involve active recruitment. The scope of an
initiative should be agreed upon in advance with the AMC with any disagreement arbitrated
by the Executive Committee.
b. The cost of a recruitment initiative may range from $0 for an emailing to an existing list of
emails as one of the AMC pre-contracted initiatives to several thousand dollars for a
landmail or phone campaign conducted with the help of the AMC outside of the pre-
contracted agreement. Each initiative should have a budget associated with it.
c. Recommendations for membership recruitment initiatives may originate from the AMC or
from the Committee or from outside the Committee. In any case, the Membership
Committee is responsible for review of the proposal.
d. The membership committee may approve, on its own, small scale initiatives within the scope
of the AMC contract and with a total expense of $0. These initiatives, and the progress on
each, should be reported to the Board at each Board meeting. If the budget shows expenses
of greater than $0, if the initiative is large-scale, or if it is to required AMC time beyond that
which is currently contracted, the initiative must be submitted to the Board for approval
along with a detailed budget and explanation for why the initiative should be undertaken and
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -19
the desired return. Work may not begin on initiatives to be approved by the Board until
Board approval has been received.
e. Membership recruitment initiatives should be timed so that they take advantage of the
slower periods in the AEA annual cycle and do not require mailings during December when
history has shown that response is very low. Slow periods for AEA include January 15 to
March 1, July 15 to September 15, and November 15 to December 1.
I. CONFERENCE POLICY COMMITTEE: On January 1, 2002, the Conference Policy Committee
became one of the ten standing committees specified in the bylaws. The committee is responsible for
recommending policy related to the conference and visioning for long-term conference planning.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
ii. Charge: Advising the Board with making decisions about conference capacity.
iii. Composition: As a standing committee, the Conference Policy Committee consists of three
nominated members (see standing committees). The Conference Policy Committee is Chaired by
the Conference Chair.
J. PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: On January 1, 2002, the Public Affairs Committee became
one of the ten standing committees specified in the bylaws. The Public Affairs Committee plans
and/or reviews all AEA initiatives that affect evaluation as a public activity.
i. Type of Committee and Duration: Standing/Ongoing
ii. Charge: The Public Affairs Committee develops public and position statements and speakers
bureaus; and directs queries from media or public officials to the appropriate party within AEA.
iii. Committee Policies and Procedures – Developing and Approving AEA Position Statements:
The American Evaluation Association may develop a statement on issues of major national or
international concern when the unique knowledge and expertise of the evaluation community
will contribute significantly to the social good as well as to the debate and discussion on the
topic. Evaluation and evaluators bring a unique perspective to many policy discussions.
Evaluators and AEA can make a contribution to improving evaluation use through a public
information and education program illuminating our unique evaluation-based perspective.
The following policies and procedures apply specifically to developing, approving, and
disseminating AEA position statements:
a. AEA has a dual responsibility to forward the ethical practice and the expertise of the
profession as well as the greater social good. These dual obligations must be considered
throughout the process and be evident in any proposals reaching the Board.
b. The role of the Public Affairs Committee throughout the proposal process is to guide the
party proposing the topic through the process while at the same time providing sufficient
information to the Board to make informed decisions. Initial screening by the Public Affairs
Committee is intended to contain or resolve disagreements early in the process.
c. Individual Association members, groups of members, committees, local affiliates, Topical
Interest Groups, Board members or officers may make proposals to develop position
statements. Proposals may be initiated in a variety of ways including discussions with Board
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -20
members or directly to the Public Affairs Committee, or through the AEA Office.
Regardless of the point of initiation, all proposals will be referred to the Public Affairs
Committee for initial review.
d. An initial proposal should contain, at a minimum, the following components, although a
complete proposal including all of the components stipulated in item ‘g’ is welcome:
• Description of the concern and why AEA should make a statement or take a position,
and
• Description of the desired outcome indicating what public good is served by the
statement as well as the potential audience for the statement.
e. The Public Affairs Committee will review the initial statement to determine if the concern
described is one of major national or international concern to which the unique knowledge
and expertise of the evaluation community can contribute significantly to the social good as
well as to the debate and discussion on the topic.
f. If the topic does not meet the criteria identified above in ‘e’, the Public Affairs Committee
will notify the proposing party and the AEA President of their determination and concerns.
g. If the topic does meet the stated criteria, the Public Affairs Committee will coach the
proposing party in the development of a complete proposal for presentation to the Board. In
its role as coach, the Public Affairs Committee may recommend additions or modifications
to the proposal in order to ensure that the Public Affairs Committee itself, and ultimately the
Board as a whole, has sufficient information to make informed decisions. A complete
proposal will include:
• Description of the concern and why AEA should make a statement or take a position,
• Description of the desired outcome indicating what public good is served by the
statement as well as the potential audience for the statement,
• Plan for developing a position statement, including a timetable (if important), and a
process for soliciting broad input and contributions from the membership,
• List of potential task force members,
• Budget showing costs to be borne by AEA versus costs to be borne by any other
parties, including at a minimum, line items for communication, administration, and
travel if needed (the AEA office should be consulted during development of the
budget),
• Communications plan identifying the audience(s) and method(s) of communication for
completed and approved position statements. The nature of each statement will
influence plans for communication and may influence the potential to generate external
funding with which to support communication.
h. The Public Affairs Committee will undertake a review of the completed proposal and then
make a recommendation with explanation to the Board either to proceed or not to proceed
with formation of a task force.
i. The Board will undertake a review of the completed proposal, as well as the
recommendation and explanation from the Public Affairs Committee, and then determine
whether to proceed or not to proceed with formation of a task force. Before recommending
the formation of a task force, the Board should be confident that the financial and volunteer
resources are available to complete the work of developing a position statement.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -21
j. Upon Board approval to proceed, the Public Affairs Committee shall constitute a task force
to complete an initial draft of the statement.
• The Public Affairs Committee should begin by identifying a Task Force Chair.
Selection of the Chair should include consideration of the work and time involved in
developing a position statement. The party originating the proposal should be among
those considered to Chair the task force and should be asked for recommendations of
others who may wish to serve as the Task Force Chair should he or she not be inclined
to serve.
• Working with the Public Affairs Committee, the Task Force Chair should develop a
slate of nominees for participation on the task force. Prior to being placed on the slate,
all nominees should have indicated an interest in the topic as well as appropriate
expertise, a willingness to serve, and a lack of conflict of pecuniary interest. When
soliciting potential task force members, it should be made clear that names are being
placed on a slate that must be approved by the AEA Board of Directors. As with all
committees,
AEA seeks “diversity… through attention to the following criteria: gender
balance, minority representation, disciplinary heterogeneity,
practitioner/academic balance, geographic heterogeneity, and heterogeneity of
areas of application” (Bylaws Article V Section 1).
k. The Public Affairs Committee will provide the slate of task force members to the Board for
final approval. The AEA Board will determine the final composition of the task force.
l. Once the task force has been composed, the Public Affairs Committee is responsible for
monitoring committee progress to encourage timely completion and ensure broad member
participation and input.
m. The task force will begin the process of drafting the statement or position paper. The
description of the concern and desired outcomes as stated in the proposal may serve as a
good starting point for discussion. Position statements should be well grounded in specifics,
not opinions, illustrating either the concern or the issues. The final statement or paper
should include a description of the following:
• The concern
• Potential audience
• Desired outcome
• Analysis of salient issues
• AEA’s position stated clearly
• Needed actions
• What public good is served
n. Once a draft statement or position paper is complete, the task force will make it available to
the AEA Board for comment.
o. Following the Board comment period, the task force will make the statement or paper
available to the membership through such avenues as the AEA newsletter, directed mailings,
and posting on the AEA website. The development of all statements should be an iterative
process and should allow for review and input through at least one session during the AEA
annual meeting.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -22
p. The task force will revise the statement or position paper based on member feedback
provided during the comment period. This next draft should then be submitted to the Public
Affairs Committee along with any member feedback that was not incorporated into the new
draft.
q. The Public Affairs Committee will review the new draft and either recommend further
revision or recommend it to the Board for acceptance as Association policy.
r. Once a final statement has been developed, the Board liaison will bring the statement to the
Board that has the final authority to approve it, recommend further changes, or reject it.
s. Once a statement is complete and approved by the Board, the final task of the task force is
to implement the communications plan as proposed or with appropriate revisions due to the
task force’s expanded understanding of the topic. Significant changes in the communications
plan should be submitted to the Board for approval.
t. If at any point the decisions of the Public Affairs Committee are in conflict with either the
proposing party or the task force such that an agreement or compromise cannot be reached,
the decision may be appealed to the Executive Committee by bringing the issue to the
attention of the AEA President.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 3 -23
SECTION 4: TOPICAL INTEREST GROUPS
I. OVERVIEW: American Evaluation Association (AEA) members have diverse interests in different
aspects of evaluation. To facilitate these interests, AEA created Topical Interest Groups (TIGs) as
subgroups of the organization. AEA members may join up to five TIGs as a benefit of membership, and
TIGs may only have AEA members as TIG members. The activity level of TIGs varies greatly from
nearly dormant most of the year, to active participation in annual conference activities, to highly active
year around with newsletters, web sites and working committee structures.
II. TIG COORDINATOR: TIG activities are coordinated by, and TIGs are represented on the Board by,
a TIG Coordinator. The TIG Coordinator may be an AEA member appointed by the AEA President,
but is generally an elected Board member who agrees to assume this responsibility. The TIG Coordinator
shall hold a business meeting with TIG leaders at the AEA annual meeting. To the extent feasible, TIG
leaders are expected to participate in communications networks or use communications methods
established by the TIG Coordinator.
III. TIG ROLES: TIGs fulfill a variety of roles within AEA, among them:
• Provide a structure and conduit for sharing knowledge about common evaluation interests.
• Provide an alternative mechanism for communicating and disseminating professional information.
Provide a focal point for collecting and synthesizing the literature in a specific area of the profession.
Increase awareness of current research in that area and track its evolution.
• Nurture new members and help them feel connected to the organization.
• Serve as a showcase for the intellectual diversity of the organization.
• Generate and try innovative ideas.
• Serve as a conduit for outreach to related professional organizations.
• Provide an organized means of raising issues to the leadership of the association.
• Facilitate opportunities for collaborative research and evaluation.
• Create opportunities for mentoring (especially of young evaluators), evaluation-related training and
enhancement of member services.
• Cultivate, foster and develop association leadership.
• Play a major role in annual conference programming and coordination, including:
- Serving as a primary vehicle for organizing and sponsoring conference sessions, either by
soliciting presentations or refereeing submitted proposals.
- Serving as strong supporters of and contributors to the Presidential Strand.
- Providing cohesion to and a vehicle for a natural clustering of similar topics for the conference
program.
IV. TIG ESTABLISHMENT: "Groups of members with similar interests may petition the Board to
forma Topical Interest Group" (Bylaws Article IX Section 1). The steps in the TIG proposal process
include:
A. PETITION DEVELOPMENT: Develop a petition that includes:
i. TIG Name: The TIG name should clearly convey the TIG's purpose, identify the focused,
topical interests of the TIG members, avoid confusion with other TIGs, and not be divisive
when considered in the larger context of all TIGs and the Association.
ii. TIG Purpose: A statement of purpose for the proposed TIG that is consistent with the mission
of AEA. The American Evaluation Association’s mission is to:
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 4 -1
• Improve evaluation practices and methods
• Increase evaluation use
• Promote evaluation as a profession and
• Support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about
effective human action.
iii. TIG Organizers: A list of organizer’s name and contact/mailing information (including e-mail
when available) should include identification of an interim TIG Chair and TIG Program Chair.
These positions may be held by the same person or by two different people. If the TIG is
approved prior to October 1, these leaders will serve until the last day of the calendar year. If the
TIG is approved on or after October 1, these leaders will serve until the last day of the following
calendar year or until elected leadership has been identified. During the period of interim
leadership, the interim leaders must conduct an election to identify those to succeed them.
iv. Planned Activities: A list of activities planned for the proposed TIG for the coming year should
include, at a minimum, a business meeting at the next annual conference.
B. PETITION SUBMISSION: The petition should be submitted to the TIG Coordinator at least 30
days prior to the AEA Board of Directors meeting at which the petition will be considered. The TIG
Coordinator will review the petition, recommend any changes to strengthen the petition, review any
revisions, and then present the petition to the Board of Directors for a vote on formal approval,
along with the TIG Coordinator’s recommendation for or against approval.
C. MAINTAINING ACTIVE STATUS: Once approved, a TIG must at a minimum do the
following in order to remain in active status:
i. Business Meeting: Hold a TIG business meeting at the AEA annual meeting.
ii. Elections: "Each Topical Interest Group must elect a Chair (or Co-Chairs) and a Program
Chair (or Program Co-Chairs). The same person may serve in both positions. The
leaders must be elected for a term of no more than three years, renewable" (Bylaws Article
IX Section 2). The name and contact information for the Chair and Program Chair, and terms of
office, should be provided to the AEA office immediately following the elections.
V. MEMBERSHIP: To be a member of a TIG, an individual must be a member of AEA. An individual
may designate or terminate TIG affiliations annually from a list of all formally approved TIGs on the
AEA Membership Application or Renewal form, or by making a written (e-mail, fax, or landmail) request
to the AEA office at any time.
VI. MEMBERSHIP LISTS: The AEA office is responsible for maintaining the official list of TIG
members. Upon the reasonable request of an officially designated TIG leader, accompanied by a copy of
the proposed communication, the AEA administration shall provide the TIG with an electronic list of
TIG members. TIG membership lists are for the exclusive use of the TIG for official TIG business and
may not be shared with any third party or used for personal use by any TIG member or leader. A new list
should be requested for each use as the membership of a TIG changes on a weekly basis due to member
renewals and AEA membership expiration.
VII. LEADERSHIP: Each Topical Interest Group must elect a Chair (or co-Chairs) and a Program Chair
(or program co-Chairs). The same person may serve in both positions. The leaders must be elected for a
term of no more than three years, renewable. TIGs may have other leaders or officers as desired.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 4 -2
A. TIG CHAIR: The TIG Chair is responsible for convening the TIG business meeting at the annual
conference. This meeting will be scheduled by the AEA office in consultation with the TIG Program
Chair as part of the conference program. The TIG Chair is also responsible for overseeing the
planning and development of any TIG activities outside of the annual meeting.
B. TIG PROGRAM CHAIR: Although the office of TIG Program Chair may be shared, each TIG
shall designate one and only one TIG member as the lead Program Chair for the AEA annual
meeting. The lead TIG Program Chair will coordinate the planning, development and
implementation of the TIG’s program at the annual meeting and will receive the materials from the
AEA office for redistribution to reviewers as needed.
C. TIG LEADERSHIP CONTACT INFORMATION: Immediately following the AEA annual
meeting, and as changes occur throughout the year, TIGs shall provide the AEA office with current
contact information for TIG leaders. The contact information will be shared on the AEA website
unless the TIG leader requests one or more pieces of contact information to be confidential.
Complete contact information should include:
• TIG office title
• Officer name
• Organization
• Mailing address
• Telephone number
• Fax number
• E-mail address
D. DUES: TIGs shall not collect or maintain dues independently of AEA.
E. BUSINESS MEETING: Each TIG shall request and conduct a business meeting at the AEA
annual meeting.
F. TIG ROLE AT THE AEA ANNUAL MEETING: The TIGs are key players in developing the
program for the annual conference. The following apply to this process:
i. Orientation: At the annual meeting or within thirty days following the meeting, the AEA office
will distribute a TIG Program Chair Manual to each person who will serve as the lead Program
Chair for the coming year. The Manual will elaborate on the items identified in ii-vi below.
ii. Sessions: TIGs may organize professional sessions at their own initiative, may co-sponsor
sessions with other TIGs, and will be asked to review and coordinate proposals that fall within a
TIG’s topical area. If a TIG leader develops a session, he or she must submit that session via the
Call for Proposal guidelines. All proposals, including those for invited speakers and those
chaired by the TIG leadership, must be submitted through the regular submission
process by the deadline specified in the Call for Proposals.
iii. Presidential Strand: TIGs will have the opportunity to nominate a session from among those that
they review for the Presidential Strand.
iv. Proposal Review: TIGs will receive from the conference office a packet of proposals for review
and will be asked to rank the final sessions. All proposals must be reviewed by at least two
people. The lead TIG Program Chair is responsible for contacting other reviewers, coordinating
the review, and integrating reviews received into a single ranking. The lead TIG Program Chair
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 4 -3
must submit complete information on all of the reviewed proposals, in the format prescribed by
the Conference Committee, by the required deadline.
v. Session Scheduling: The Conference Chair and the AEA office are responsible for session
scheduling. All sessions accepted by a TIG may not be scheduled if there are space or scheduling
limitations at the conference venue or due to other considerations such as the overall diversity of
sessions represented on the program.
vi. Announcing the Program: After the program schedule is fixed, the AEA office will notify
individual participants of the acceptance or rejection of their proposal, and provide them with
scheduling and conference registration information. The TIG Program Chair will be sent
notification of which proposals and TIG-sponsored sessions have been accepted or rejected, and
the date, time, and location of those sessions (including the required TIG business meeting).
G. MEMBER COMMUNICATIONS: At a minimum, TIGs should communicate with all TIG
members prior to the AEA annual meeting to inform members of planned TIG sessions and
activities, to identify prospective TIG leadership, to solicit input on the agenda for the coming year,
and to identify topics for discussion at the annual TIG business meeting.
H. FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES: Currently, the Board
budgets $300 per TIG per year to support routine TIG activities. This amount is subject to change
with the budget for each fiscal year and the TIG leadership will be notified prior to the beginning of
the fiscal year should the amount change. The following procedures apply to accessing and using
these funds:
i. Reimbursable Expenditures: TIG funds should be used in the furtherance of the goals of the
TIG and are expended at the discretion of the TIG Chair. Routine expenditures include costs for
producing and mailing newsletters and announcements, administrative support for meetings (e.g.,
name tags, equipment rentals, document reproduction), reimbursement for invited speakers or
special meeting room fees, refreshments at an annual business meeting, website design and
maintenance, etc.
ii. Reimbursement Requests: Reimbursement requests should be sent to the AEA office at any time
during the year, but no later than the first of the month prior to the end of the Association's
fiscal year. The Association’s fiscal year ends on June 30, thus requests should be received no
later than June 1. Requests for reimbursement must be submitted by the TIG Chair. The request
should itemize and total the amount requested and include originals or photocopies of receipts
for all expenses. The AEA Office will send TIG Chairs a notice 60 days prior to the end of the
association’s fiscal year reminding them to submit any reimbursement requests. The request
should include an identification of the party to receive the reimbursement and the exact name
that should appear on the reimbursement check.
iii. Special Expenditures: Requests for special expenditures (i.e., in excess of the annual allocated
amount, or for non-routine projects or activities) require approval of the AEA Board and TIG
Coordinator. A TIG leader must obtain Executive Committee approval in writing (either hard
copy or electronic) through the TIG Coordinator prior to the event/expenditure. A copy of that
approval must accompany the request to the AEA Office for payment. Requests for payment
for special expenditures should be made as a formal proposal to the AEA Board as described in
the AEA Policies and Procedures Manual section under “Budgeting and Proposal Processes”.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 4 -4
iv. Accounting: The AEA office will maintain a balance sheet of expenditures and remaining
balances separately for each TIG on an annual basis in accordance with the Association’s fiscal
year. TIG chairs may consult the office at any time to check on the account balance.
v. Fund Rollover: Individual TIG allocations will NOT be carried over into the subsequent fiscal
year.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 4 -5
SECTION 5: LOCAL AFFILIATES
I. OVERVIEW: “Local Affiliates are organizations that are interested in being associated with
AEA for the mutual benefit of their memberships. Such benefits may include access to
membership lists, sharing of information, and modest support from AEA in organizing a local
affiliate group. Local Affiliates are separated entities from AEA. Local Affiliates elect separate
officers, operate under their own by-laws, maintain their own financial records, and, if tax
exempt, have separate non-profit status. AEA exercises no control over decisions made by Local
Affiliates and takes no responsibility for their actions. Groups must apply to, and have their
application approved by, the AEA Board of Directors to be designated as an AEA Local
Affiliate” (Bylaws Article V Section 3e).
II. LOCAL AFFILIATE COORDINATOR: Local Affiliate (LA) concerns related to the American
Evaluation Association are addressed by, and LAs are represented on the Board by, a LA Coordinator.
The LA Coordinator may be an AEA member appointed by the AEA President, but is generally an
elected Board member who agrees to assume this responsibility.
III. LOCAL AFFILIATE ROLES: LAs fulfill a variety of roles, among them:
• Providing local or regional programming to evaluators
• Providing local or regional networking opportunities
• Supporting the field by representing evaluation and the concerns of evaluators
• Providing resources to evaluators and those seeking information about evaluators or evaluation
IV. LOCAL AFFILIATE ESTABLISHMENT: Any member of AEA may petition the Board of
Directors to establish a LA. The steps in the LA proposal process include:
A. PETITION DEVELOPMENT: Develop a petition that includes:
i. LA Name: The LA name should clearly convey the region represented by the affiliate, avoid
confusion with other LAs, and clearly differentiate it from the American Evaluation Association.
ii. LA Purpose: A statement of purpose for the proposed affiliate that is consistent with the mission
of AEA. The American Evaluation Association’s mission is to:
• Improve evaluation practices and methods
• Increase evaluation use
• Promote evaluation as a profession and
• Support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about
effective human action.
iii. LA Organizers: A list of organizer’s name and contact/mailing information (including e-mail
when available).
iv. Activity Description: Please include a description of activities or accomplishments of the local
organization (including provisional and paid membership) at the time of petition, and planned
activities for the upcoming year.
v. Operating Year: Identify your operating year including when elections are to take place and when
officers take office.
vi. Geographic Region: Describe the geographic region to be served.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 5 -1
vii. Funding: You may request up to $300 in start-up funding to assist with initial organizing
activities. This funding would be provided on a reimbursement basis and a budget identifying
proposed spending should accompany the initial request.
B. PETITION SUBMISSION: The petition should be submitted to the LA Coordinator at least 30
days prior to the AEA Board of Directors meeting at which the petition will be considered. The LA
Coordinator will review the petition, recommend any changes to strengthen the petition, review any
revisions, and then present the petition to the Board of Directors for a vote on formal approval,
along with the LA Coordinator’s recommendation for or against approval.
V. MEMBERSHIP: Membership of Local Affiliates is separate from membership in the American
Evaluation Association. A person may be a member of one organization without being a member of the
other.
VI. MEMBERSHIP LISTS: The AEA office maintains a list of AEA members that is broken down by
state and postal code. The Local Affiliate Leader may request from the office, at no charge, a mailing list
of AEA members for the affiliate region for use for official affiliate business. Requests should include a
copy of the proposed communication to be sent to the list or a clear description of how the list will be
used. A person should be designated for each affiliate who maintains the membership list for that
affiliate. At the request of the AEA office, the affiliate should provide a membership list for use for
official AEA business.
VII. FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES: Currently, the Board
budgets $300 per LA for one-time start up support. This amount is subject to change with the budget for
each fiscal year and any new affiliate will be notified prior to the beginning of the fiscal year should the
amount change. The following procedures apply to accessing and using these funds:
i. Reimbursable Expenditures: LA funds should be used in the furtherance of the goals of the
affiliate and are expended at the discretion of the LA leadership. Routine start-up expenditures
include costs for producing and mailing newsletters and announcements, administrative support
for initial meetings (e.g., name tags, equipment rentals, document reproduction), reimbursement
for invited speakers, website design, etc.
ii. Reimbursement Requests: Reimbursement requests should be sent to the AEA office at any time
during the year, but no later than the first of the month prior to the end of the Association's
fiscal year. The Association’s fiscal year ends on June 30, thus requests should be received no
later than June 1. Requests for reimbursement must be submitted by the LA President. The
request should itemize and total the amount requested and include originals or photocopies of
receipts for all expenses. The request should include an identification of the party to receive the
reimbursement and the exact name that should appear on the reimbursement check.
iii. Special Expenditures: Requests for special expenditures (i.e., in excess of the allocated amount,
or for non-routine projects or activities) require approval of the AEA Board and LA
Coordinator. An LA leader must obtain Board approval in writing (either hard copy or
electronic) through the LA Coordinator prior to the event/expenditure. A copy of that approval
must accompany any request to the AEA Office for payment. Requests for payment for special
expenditures should be made as a formal proposal to the AEA Board as described in the AEA
Policies and Procedures Manual section under “Budgeting and Proposal Processes”.
VIII. REPORTING TO AEA: The LA is requested to notify the AEA office whenever the leadership of
the affiliate has changed. The AEA office maintains a WebPage listing its affiliates and LA leaders and
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 5 -2
will update that list based on information from the affiliate. The LA is requested to include AEA on its
mailing list for all informational materials and publications. The LA is requested to notify the AEA office
of all upcoming events and meetings as soon as information about the events is known. The AEA office
maintains a WebPage of events listings and will include LA events based on information from the
affiliate.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 5 -3
SECTION 6: ANNUAL CONFERENCE
I DIVISION OF LABOR: Many parties work together toward the common goal of developing and
producing an excellent annual conference each year. The following represents a list of the parties
involved and the division of labor related to the conference by indicating the tasks overseen by each
party. Should any party seek to expand its role, redefine its role, or otherwise depart from what is defined
here or has been common practice; the proposed change should first be brought to the Conference
Committee for review and then to the Board as a whole for a vote.
A. AEA BOARD: The AEA Board votes on the budget for the annual meeting, votes on the final
location of the conference, and votes on significant changes to the policies herein defined.
B. CONFERENCE POLICY COMMITTEE: The Conference Policy Committee reviews all
proposed changes to the policies and procedures as defined herein as well as providing guidance to
the Board though proposals for long-term planning for the conference.
C. CONFERENCE CHAIR: The Conference Chair is responsible for overseeing the planning and
execution of the annual conference. This includes having final editorial decision-making authority
over all conference-related materials; implementing the policies defined in this manual as well as any
new activities approved by the Board; overseeing the final program scheduling; chairing the
Conference Policy Committee; trouble-shooting onsite at the conference; overseeing the orientation,
coordination, and quality of the work of the Local Arrangements Committee, the Presidential Strand
Chair, and the Topical Interest Group Program Chairs; and acting as liaison to the AMC for all
conference-related activities.
D. PRESIDENT: When President-elect, the AEA President chooses a theme for the conference for
the year in which he or she will serve as President. As part of committee appointments, he or she
appoints a Local Arrangements Chair to head the Local Arrangements Committee and a Presidential
Strand Chair to oversee development of the Presidential Strand. The President also develops letters
describing the Presidential Strand, oversees the review of the student travel grant proposals, and
prepares and presents an address during the Conference.
E. ASSOCIATE CONFERENCE CHAIR: The Associate Chair supports the work of the
Conference Chair through participating in scheduling meetings, providing onsite support, and
assisting with Orientation for first time attendees. The Associate Chair also heads the subcommittee
of the Professional Development Committee that reviews the Professional Development Workshops
for inclusion in the final program.
F. PRESIDENTIAL STRAND CHAIR: The Presidential Strand Chair works with the President to
“flesh out” the conference theme and develops, or selects from those recommended by the TIG
program chairs, one session for each conference timeslot as well as three plenary sessions. The
Presidential Strand Chair develops a budget for spending the funds allocated to the Strand and is
responsible for ensuring that Strand spending remains within that budget.
G. LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE: The Local Arrangements Committee, headed by
the Local Arrangements Chair, is responsible for locating and mobilizing local volunteers to provide
onsite support, identifying and assisting with the promotion of local social options including events
and restaurants, coordinating hosted dinners, identifying and soliciting local sponsors and local
expertise, supporting the AMC in locating local resources and vendors, and acting as representatives
of the venue onsite.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 1
H. TIG PROGRAM CHAIRS: The TIG Program Chairs are responsible for reviewing and ranking all
conference presentation proposals provided to them by the AEA office using the AEA guidelines.
The TIG Program Chairs should disseminate information about their TIG’s program prior to the
conference whenever possible.
I. POSTER SESSION COORDINATOR(S): The Poster Session Coordinator(s) are responsible for
reviewing the guidelines for poster presentations, overseeing setup and break down of the poster
presentations on site, and arranging for competitive review to identify the best poster(s) presented
each year.
J. TREASURER: The Association Treasurer reviews and revises as needed the conference-related
budget items and presents the revised draft budget to the finance committee and the Board. He or
she also signs off on all expenses over $500 incurred by the Association Manager, and oversees the
AMC in the execution of the conference sponsor and exhibitor program and setting of conference
program advertising rates.
K. ASSOCIATION MANAGER: The Association Manager implements the policies and procedures
as defined in this document under oversight from the Conference Chair and the Treasurer. This
includes, but is not limited to, developing the draft budget related to the conference, performing
initial scheduling, providing liaison to the hotel and vendors, identifying potential sites, developing
informational and promotional materials, registering attendees, coordinating onsite student
volunteers, and running the onsite registration desk.
II. CONFERENCE CHAIR: The Conference Chair is responsible for overseeing the planning and
execution of the annual conference.
A. APPOINTMENT: “The Annual Meeting Conference Chair shall be appointed for [a three
year term] by two-thirds quorum vote of the elected members of the Board. Appointments
shall be made following an announcement in one or more of the Association journals and an
open search process that permits applications and nominations for at least 60 days following
the published announcement. The process shall be conducted to as to allow an adequate
period of transition between the incoming and the outgoing appointed officer. Once
appointed to a three year term through the open nomination procedure described above,
incumbents in appointed positions may be reappointed for an additional three-year term by
a two-thirds vote of the elected members of the Board, without any further search procedure.
There is no fixed limit to the number of successive terms an appointed officer may serve, but
the public nomination and search process shall be followed at least every other term” (Bylaws
Article V Section 4).
B. CONFERENCE CHAIR PROCEDURES AND TIMELINE: The duties of the Conference
Chair cycle throughout the year and include:
i. Key Dates Related to Conference Chair:
• By December 1 of Previous Year: AMC provides these materials to all who will be working
on conference
• By December 1 of Previous Year: Conference Chair establishes the working calendar of
deadlines and transmits to AMC
• By December 7 of Previous Year: Conference Chair completes Final Review of Call for
Proposals
• By December 15 of Previous Year: AMC takes Call for Proposals to Printer
• By January 1: AMC develops Conference website
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 2
• By January 7: Conference Chair reviews conference website
• By January 7: AMC ensures Call for Proposals in Mail (first class)
• By January 15: Conference Chair identifies general schedule of Conference timeslots
• By January 15: Conference Chair sets agenda for conference committee for coming year –
distributes to committee
• By March 1: Conference Chair reviews and revises TIG review materials
• By March 15: Conference Chair, Associate and AMC identify available volunteer timeslots,
broken down by local and non-local
• By March 15: AMC delivers schedule of available volunteer timeslots to LAC
• By March 20: All Conference Proposals Due
• By March 2: AMC and Conference Chair identify reviewers for all proposals
• By April 9: AMC sends proposals to TIGs for review and to Conference Chair and
Associate Chair for review
• By May 7: TIGs return materials to AMC
• By May 14: Strand Chair returns materials to AMC
• By May 21: Conference Chair completes review of registration materials
• By June 1: AMC sends registration materials to printers
• By June 11: Chair, Associate Chair, AMC meet for conference scheduling
• By June 15: AMC ensures registration materials in mail
• By June 15: AMC adds registration materials to conference website
• By July 1: AMC adds available list of student volunteer timeslots to web
• By August 1: AMC provides general layout and index of conference program for review by
Conference Chair
• By September 7: Cutoff date for all changes to conference program
• By September 14: AMC completes final revisions to conference program
• By September 21: Conference Chair reviews and approves final conference program
• By September 23: AMC sends conference program to printers
• By October 10: AMC ensures conference program in mail
• Onsite: Meet with Associate Chair and AMC for final planning
• Onsite: Person registration desk Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning
• Onsite: Attend a variety of sessions as a participant observer
• Onsite: Attend and host luncheon
• Onsite: Co-host TIG luncheon
• Onsite: Provide oversight, troubleshooting, and emergency management
• Onsite: Schedule and attend planning meetings w/President-elect, following year’s Strand
Chair and following year’s Local Arrangements Chair
• Following Conference: Chair identifies volunteers for recognition
• Following Conference: AMC sends letters/gifts to volunteers
• Ongoing: Provides budget oversight
• Ongoing: Addresses questions of AMC and members
ii. Service as Chair of the Conference Policy Committee: The Conference Chair heads the
Conference Committee in its role as a recommending body for policy related to the conference
and visioning for long-term conference planning.
iii. Service as Liaison to the AMC and Budget Oversight: The Conference Chair oversees the work
of the AMC in all aspects of conference preparation and execution. He or she answers questions
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 3
and makes decisions throughout the year on an as-needed basis. The Conference Chair is
responsible for oversight of all budget items related to the conference and works with the AMC
to ensure that all aspects of the meeting are executed as expected within the Board-approved
budget. The following guidelines apply to budget oversight:
• In the rare instance that increased expenses will not be offset proportionally by increased
income in the ratio identified in the budget, the Conference Chair is responsible for bringing
the need for extra funds to the Board or Executive Committee.
• The AMC will provide the Conference Chair with an itemized explanation of all expenses
related to conference line items prior to incurring the expense for approval.
• Once approved by the Conference Chair, all expenses in excess of $500 must be signed-off
on by either the President or Treasurer prior to incurring the expense.
• The AMC will provide full documentation, via receipts or memorandums, for all expenses
related to the conference.
• During the conference, should an emergency arise requiring the expenditure of unbudgeted
funds, the Conference Chair may approve an expense of up to $500. Should the expense be
in excess of $500, the Conference Chair should convene an emergency meeting of as many
members of the Executive Committee as are available in order to review and approve the
additional funding.
• The Conference Chair, the Treasurer and the AMC are the only parties with full signing
authority on the hotel master account for the conference.
iv. Service as Liaison for Member Concerns: The Conference Chair is the arbiter for member
complaints or disputes related to the conference. While the AMC is expected to conduct all
front-line work with the membership and to resolve disputes based on referral to existing policy;
those concerns that cannot be immediately addressed are referred to the Conference Chair either
directly (by connecting the Conference Chair with the member) or indirectly (by requesting
guidance from the Conference Chair) for resolution.
v. Editor of Materials for Conference Related Publications and Communications: While the AMC
is responsible for developing conference-related materials, it does so under the oversight and
guidance of the Conference Chair. The Conference Chair reviews and edits the Call for
Proposals, The Conference Website, The Conference Registration Materials, Conference
Publicity Materials, and the Conference Program as well as correspondence related to various
aspects of the conference.
vi. Establishment of the Annual Schedule for all Conference Processes: Based on the schedule set
forth in this manual, the Conference Chair works with the Associate Conference Chair and AMC
to develop the key conference related dates for the year. Care must be taken to ensure that the
AMC has at least 2.5 weeks from the date proposals are due until they must be delivered to the
TIGs, that the TIGs have at least 3.5 weeks from the time they receive their proposal set before
they need to return it to the AMC, that the AMC has at least 1.5 weeks from the time the TIGs
return the materials until the scheduling meeting, and that the AMC has at least 2.5 weeks after
the scheduling meeting before notifications are due. All of these dates cannot be minimized.
Flexibility must be available in the conference scheduling timeline to allow for the unexpected.
vii. Establishment of the General Schedule for Conference Sessions: Working with the Associate
Conference Chair, the President, the Strand Chair, and the AMC, the Conference Chair
establishes the general schedule for the conference including when plenaries, full-sessions, half-
sessions, and receptions are to take place.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 4
viii. Oversight of Redistribution of Proposals: The AMC redistributes proposals submitted with a
request that they be redirected to the most appropriate reviewing body. All proposals for which
the AMC cannot immediately identify an appropriate reviewing body are sent to the Conference
Chair for recommendations.
ix. Oversight of TIG Review Process: Based on feedback from previous years, and input from the
Board, Conference Committee and TIG Liaison, the Conference Chair oversees the revision of
the procedures and materials used by TIGs for review of sessions. The AMC develops and
undertakes the actual drafting of materials, the distribution of these materials and sessions to the
TIGs, the collection of the materials from the TIGs and the organization of the materials to
inform the scheduling process.
x. Review of Sessions Assigned to Conference Committee: The Conference Chair and the
Associate Conference Chair review and rank those proposals for which the proposer requested
Conference Committee review and for those sessions that do not fit appropriately with any
single TIG for review.
xi. Conference Scheduling and Identification of Conference Committee Strand: The Conference
Chair and the Associate Conference Chair work together to look across the reviewing bodies and
identify those sessions for inclusion in the final program based on TIG recommendations, Board
directives, and the logistics of available space and resources. They identify a single strand of
sessions to be set aside as the Conference Committee Strand. While of the highest quality, these
sessions also cut across multiple disciplines, showcase well-known speakers, and/or highlight a
particular focus of the current Board agenda. Participation in the Conference Committee Strand
will not be counted towards any limit on the number of presentations that a presenter may make.
The AMC is responsible for the actual fitting of the selected sessions into timeslots based on the
preferences of the Chair and Associate Chair. In reality, the actual final scheduling is a
collaborative effort among the party of three, although the Conference Chair has final decision
on what sessions are scheduled, based on recommendations of relevant review bodies. This
scheduling usually takes place during a four-day scheduling retreat at the conference site.
xii. Oversight of Notification of Proposal Status: The Conference Chair is responsible for reviewing
and revising the letters used for notification of acceptance and rejection of proposals as well as
for responding to unresolved complaints regarding the review process. The AMC is responsible
for the actual notification of presenters as to the status of their proposals, the fielding of initial
complaints through explication of the review and scheduling process, and the referral of
complaints to the Conference Chair.
xiii. Oversight of Registration Process: The AMC conducts all aspects of registration under oversight
from the Conference Chair. The following guidelines identify expectations for the processing of
registrations:
• Online registrations will be acknowledged within three working days of receipt
• All completed registrations will be processed within 9 calendar days of receipt or notified of
missing information or inaccuracies
• Registrants will receive notification and an itemized receipt, electronically when possible,
within two working days of processing
• Records will be kept that identify the roll of registrants in each professional development
session; the number of student, member, and nonmember registrants; the number of first-
time conference attendees; and the number of luncheon, social event and t-shirts sold and to
whom.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 5
xiv. Liaison to Local Arrangements Committee, Strand Chair and Evaluation Team The Conference
Chair will connect regularly, and meet as needed, to facilitate the progress of the Local
Arrangements Committee, Strand Chair, and Evaluation Team. The AMC will monitor the
progress of and provide logistical and administrative assistance to these three people/groups and
will ensure that the Conference Chair is included in all key communications. The Conference
Chair will address policy and process concerns as they arise.
xv. Oversight of Program Design: The Conference Chair will work with the AMC in designing the
contents and layout for the Conference Program. The AMC is responsible for developing,
typesetting, and arranging the actual program and for providing it to the Conference Chair for
review.
xvi. Oversight of Conference Volunteers: The Conference Chair and Associate Conference Chair
work with the AMC to identify when volunteers will be needed and what resources are available
for providing assistance to student volunteers. Local student volunteers may receive waived
conference registration fees to fill volunteer slots on a first-come, first-served basis. Non-local
student volunteers may receive reduced price rooms as available through hotel contracts on a
first-come, first-served basis. The goal is to encourage student participation by providing
discounted conference rates in exchange for a minimal contribution of volunteer time. Once a
schedule of volunteer timeslots is established, broken down by the number of slots for local
versus non-local volunteers, the AMC will distribute this to the LAC as well as post it on the web
once proposal notifications have been sent out. The AMC will recruit and schedule non-local
volunteers and arrange for discounted rooming when available. The LAC will arrange for and
schedule local volunteers and submit a list to the AMC for registration waivers. The AMC will
notify volunteers of expectations prior to the conference, will provide an information list to
volunteers at the conference, will ensure that volunteers are oriented at the beginning of their
shift, and will send thank-you notes following the conference to all those who volunteered.
xvii. Onsite Support and Troubleshooting: The Conference Chair, Associate Conference Chair and
AMC will meet prior to the start of the conference for final planning and last minute updates
regarding the conference. The Conference Chair and Associate Chair will assist at the registration
desk during the Tuesday evening hours and Wednesday morning. Throughout the conference,
the Conference Chair and Associate Chair will periodically check-in at the conference desk to
address any problems that may arise during the event. The AMC is responsible for onsite
registration including ensuring that materials and staff are available and informed and that
someone is available at all times throughout the hours that the registration desk is open to
address the immediate needs of attendees.
xviii. Onsite Information Gathering: The Conference Chair and Associate Conference Chair will act
as participant observers throughout the conference, identifying areas in need of improvement as
well as those that are working smoothly. They should plan on attending as many and as diverse a
set of sessions as is feasible.
xix. Orient New Conference Attendees: The Conference Chair and Associate Conference Chair will
provide a 20-30 minute orientation session for new conference attendees to be held the first day
of the conference. The orientation session should cover the following basic items: what are
TIGs, what are LAs, how do you join or participate in a TIG or LA, how to submit conference
proposals, how they are reviewed and by whom, how they are scheduled and by whom, how
many sessions there are and the session types for this conference, the basic conference schedule
and the difference between professional development sessions versus the concurrently scheduled
conference sessions, the organization of the association including the volunteer/staff split and
role of Board, who the current leaders are and the staff are, and how to contact the AEA office.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 6
xx. Host Conference Luncheon: The Conference Chair attends the Friday luncheon, identifies the
seating arrangements, establishes an agenda and strict timeline for speakers, and emcees the
event.
xxi. Co-host TIG Luncheon with TIG Chair: The Conference Chair attends the Saturday luncheon
meeting of the Topical Interest Group Leaders and provides information at that meeting on their
role in reviewing proposals and making preparations for the following annual meeting.
xxii. Meet with Strand Chair, Local Arrangements Chair, and President-elect: During the annual
meeting, the Conference Chair and AMC together should meet with each of these key parties in
turn to begin the process of planning for the coming year.
xxiii. Recognize Contributions of Volunteers: The Conference Chair should work with the AMC to
identify those who should be singled out for recognition via a letter or small gift. The AMC is
responsible for mailing letters and purchasing and sending gifts.
C. CONFERENCE LUNCHEONS: The Conference Chair receives a complimentary ticket to the
AEA Friday Luncheon.
D. REGISTRATION FEE WAIVER: All registration fees, to any portion of the conference, will be
waived for the Conference Chair in recognition of the time involved during the conference that will
prevent this person from attending the entire event as well as the need for the Conference Chair to
have open access to all portions of the conference.
E. REIMBURSEABLE EXPENSES: All travel expenses, including, transportation, lodging and food
are reimbursed or covered for the Conference Chair to attend the scheduling meeting and the annual
conference, as well as any Board meetings he or she is asked to or wishes to attend if these expenses
are not covered by his or her employer. If not paid by an employer, all registration fees, to any
portion of the conference, will be waived for the Associate Conference Chair in recognition of the
time involved during the conference that will prevent this person from attending the entire event as
well as the need for the Associate Conference Chair to have open access to all portions of the
conference. When available as part of the hotel contract, the Conference Chair will receive a suite for
his or her use during the conference.
AEA will reimburse up to $55 per day, plus an additional $25 for overnight costs, for childcare
expenses borne by Board members or special invitees to AEA Board meetings. AEA will reimburse
up to $55 per day, plus an additional $25 for overnight costs, for the conference Chair during
scheduling or planning meetings and the annual conference.
F. LIMITATIONS: Please note that the Conference Chair may not sign contracts on behalf of AEA
nor enter into any agreement that creates a financial obligation for the Association. All contractual
arrangements should be handled through the AEA office. The single exception to this policy is that,
in an Emergency during the conference, the Conference Chair may approve unbudgeted expenses of
up to $500.
III. ASSOCIATE CONFERENCE CHAIR: The Associate Conference Chair works with the Conference
Chair to plan and execute the annual conference.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 7
A. APPOINTMENT: The Conference Chair recommends an Associate Conference Chair to the
Board to serve a one to three year term as identified by the Conference Chair. The Board must
approve the appointment by an affirmative vote of 2/3 of the voting Board members.
B. ASSOCIATE CONFERENCE CHAIR PROCEDURES AND TIMELINE: The duties of the
Associate Conference Chair cycle throughout the year and include:
i. Key Dates Related to Associate Conference Chair:
• By December 1 of Previous Year: AMC provides these materials to all who will be working
on conference
• By December 1 of Previous Year: Conference Chair establishes the working calendar of
deadlines and transmits to AMC
• By March 15: Conference Chair, Associate and AMC identify available volunteer timeslots,
broken down by local and non-local
• By March 20: All Conference Proposals due
• By April 9: AMC sends proposals to TIGs for Review and to Conference Chair and
Associate Chair for review
• By June 11: Chair, Associate Chair, AMC meet for conference scheduling
• By September 7: Cutoff date for all changes to conference program
• Onsite: Meet with Associate Chair and AMC for final planning
• Onsite: Person registration desk Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning
• Onsite: Attend a variety of sessions as a participant observer
• Ongoing: Addresses questions of AMC and members
ii. Service on the Professional Development Committee: The Associate Conference Chair serves on
the Professional Development Committee. The capacity in which he or she serves – as Chair, as
liaison to conference team, as member – may vary from year to year. The Associate Chair works
with the Conference Chair and AMC to identify any concerns related to professional
development sessions for the annual conference, conveys those concerns to the professional
development committee, and ensures that those concerns are considered during the professional
development session review process. Specifically, the Associate Conference Chair assists in
identifying gaps (are all levels of sessions represented, are a variety of types represented, have the
“big names” who regularly present sessions been considered for presenting this year?) in the
proposals submitted for professional development review as well as the slate of proposed
professional development sessions and takes steps to fill those gaps.
iii. Establishment of the Annual Schedule for all Conference Processes: Based on the schedule set
forth in this manual, the Conference Chair works with the Associate Conference Chair and AMC
to develop the key conference related dates for the year. Care must be taken to ensure that the
AMC has at least 2.5 weeks from the date proposals are due until they must be delivered to the
TIGs, that the TIGs have at least 3.5 weeks from the time they receive their proposal set before
they need to return it to the AMC, that the AMC has at least 1.5 weeks from the time the TIGs
return the materials until the scheduling meeting, and that the AMC has at least 2.5 weeks after
the scheduling meeting before notifications are due. All of these dates cannot be minimized.
Flexibility must be available in the conference scheduling timeline to allow for the unexpected.
iv Establishment of the General Schedule for Conference Sessions: Working with the Associate
Conference Chair, the President, the Strand Chair, and the AMC, the Conference Chair
establishes the general schedule for the conference including when plenaries, full-sessions, half-
sessions, and receptions are to take place.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 8
v Review of Sessions Assigned to Conference Committee: The Conference Chair and the
Associate Conference Chair review and rank those proposals for which the proposer requested
Conference Committee review and for those sessions that do not fit appropriately with any
single TIG for review.
vi. Conference Scheduling and Identification of Conference Committee Strand: The Conference
Chair and the Associate Conference Chair work together to look across the reviewing bodies and
identify those sessions for inclusion in the final program based on TIG recommendations, Board
directives, and the logistics of available space and resources. They identify a single strand of
sessions to be set aside as the Conference Committee Strand. While of the highest quality, these
sessions also cut across multiple disciplines, showcase well-known speakers, and/or highlight a
particular focus of the current Board agenda. Participation in the Conference Committee Strand
will not be counted towards any limit on the number of presentations that a presenter may make.
The AMC is responsible for the actual fitting of the selected sessions into timeslots based on the
preferences of the Chair and Associate Chair. In reality, the actual final scheduling is a
collaborative effort among the party of three, although the Conference Chair has final decision
on what sessions are scheduled, based on recommendations of relevant review bodies. This
scheduling usually takes place during a four-day scheduling retreat at the conference site
vii. Oversight of Conference Volunteers: The Conference Chair and Associate Conference Chair
work with the AMC to identify when volunteers will be needed and what resources are available
for providing assistance to student volunteers. Local student volunteers may receive waived
conference registration fees to fill volunteer slots on a first-come, first-served basis. Non-local
student volunteers may receive reduced price rooms as available through hotel contracts on a
first-come, first-served basis. The goal is to encourage student participation by providing
discounted conference rates in exchange for a minimal contribution of volunteer time. Once a
schedule of volunteer timeslots is established, broken down by the number of slots for local
versus non-local volunteers, the AMC will distribute this to the LAC as well as post it on the web
once proposal notifications have been sent out. The AMC will recruit and schedule non-local
volunteers and arrange for discounted rooming when available. The LAC will arrange for and
schedule local volunteers and submit a list to the AMC for registration waivers. The AMC will
notify volunteers of expectations prior to the conference, will provide an information list to
volunteers at the conference, will ensure that volunteers are oriented at the beginning of their
shift, and will send thank-you notes following the conference to all those who volunteered.
viii. Orient New Conference Attendees: The Conference Chair and Associate Conference Chair will
provide a 20-30 minute orientation session for new conference attendees to be held the first day
of the conference. The orientation session should cover the following basic items: what are
TIGs, what are LAs, how do you join or participate in a TIG or LA, how to submit conference
proposals, how they are reviewed and by whom, how they are scheduled and by whom, how
many sessions there are and the session types for this conference, the basic conference schedule
and the difference between professional development sessions versus the concurrently scheduled
conference sessions, the organization of the association including the volunteer/staff split and
role of Board, who the current leaders are and the staff are, and how to contact the AEA office.
xi. Onsite Support and Troubleshooting: The Conference Chair, Associate Conference Chair and
AMC will meet prior to the start of the conference for final planning and last minute updates
regarding the conference. The Conference Chair and Associate Chair will assist at the registration
desk during the Tuesday evening hours and Wednesday morning. Throughout the conference,
the Conference Chair and Associate Chair will periodically check-in at the conference desk to
address any problems that may arise during the event. The AMC is responsible for onsite
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 9
registration including ensuring that materials and staff are available and informed and that
someone is available at all times throughout the hours that the registration desk is open to
address the immediate needs of attendees.
x. Onsite Information Gathering: The Conference Chair and Associate Conference Chair will act as
participant observers throughout the conference, identifying areas in need of improvement as
well as those that are working smoothly. They should plan on attending as many and as diverse a
set of sessions as is feasible.
xi. Attend Conference Luncheon: The Associate Conference Chair attends the Friday luncheon, and
sits on the dais.
C. CONFERENCE LUNCHEON: The Associate Conference Chair receives a complimentary ticket
to the AEA Friday Luncheon.
D. REGISTRATION FEE WAIVER: If not paid by an employer, all registration fees, to any portion
of the conference, will be waived for the Associate Conference Chair in recognition of the time
involved during the conference that will prevent this person from attending the entire event as well
as the need for the Associate Conference Chair to have open access to all portions of the conference.
E. TRAVEL EXPENSES: All travel expenses, including transportation, lodging and food are
reimbursed or covered for the Associate Conference Chair to attend the scheduling meeting. Lodging
only is covered or reimbursed for the annual meeting.
F. LIMITATIONS: Please note that the Associate Conference Chair may not sign contracts on behalf
of AEA nor enter into any agreement that creates a financial obligation for the Association. All
contractual arrangements should be handled through the AEA office.
IV. PRESIDENTIAL STRAND CHAIR: The Presidential Strand Chair for the AEA Annual Conference
is responsible for bringing to life the Conference Theme identified by the President.
A. APPOINTMENT: While President-elect, the President who is to preside over the annual
conference will appoint a Presidential Strand Chair. The Chair should be familiar with the
Conference Theme and plan to attend the annual conference.
B. STRAND CHAIR PROCEDURES: The following represent an overview of the background
information, tasks and timeline applicable to Strand activities.
i. The following key dates apply to the Strand:
• By October 15 of previous year – Strand Chair identified by President-elect
• By December 1 of previous year – AMC supplies this document and previous year’s Call to
the Chair
• By December 1 of previous year – Strand Chair meets with President to explore theme
• By December 1 of previous year – Strand Chair reviews and edits relevant portions of Call
for Proposals
• By December 1 of previous year – Strand Chair drafts procedures for President’s Prize if
contest is to take place
• By January 1 – Strand Chair develops full explanation of Strand for website
• By January 15 – AMC provides Strand Chair with schedule of timeslots for upcoming
conference
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 10
• By February 1 – Strand Chair notifies AMC whether recommendations from TIGs should
be made
• By March 15 – Strand Chair submits sessions not recommended by TIGs online using
regular submission forms
• By May 4 – TIGs return proposals to AEA office
• By May 7 – AMC delivers set of TIG recommendations to Strand Chair
• By May 14 – Strand Chair returns full set of Strand Sessions, scheduled by timeslot, to AEA
office
ii. Key background information applying to the Presidential Strand:
• Plenaries: There are three plenary sessions and each is 75 minutes long. These take place
EITHER Wednesday, Thursday and Friday early evening OR Thursday, Friday and Saturday
morning. The Strand Chair should indicate a preference as soon as feasible to the AEA
office and the office can determine the feasibility with the hotel. The Conference may also
open with a plenary on Wednesday evening depending on the President’s preferences. Any
change that would result in either a) a significant change in the overall number of sessions
that may appear on the program, or b) a significant change in the length of the conference
day, must be proposed to the Conference Committee and approved by the Board.
• Strand Sessions: There are approximately 14 session slots. These would include eleven 90-
minute sessions and three 45-minute sessions. The Conference Chair and AMC will provide
the Strand Chair with a schedule of the session slots by January 15. Any change in the
number of slots allocated to the strand that would result in either a) a change in the overall
number of sessions that may appear on the program, or b) a change in the length of the
conference day, must be proposed to the Conference Committee and approved by the
Board.
• Room Set: Usually, the entire strand and plenaries would all be scheduled in the same room.
Given the short turnaround time allowed, this would dictate that there be one type of room
setup per day (usually theatre style). If the Strand Chair would like a session set in an
alternative way (such as roundtables), it can be accommodated in a different room.
• Audio-Visual (AV): Each room is supplied with an overhead and screen. Other audio-visual
items may be rented through the hotel and the cost of the rental subtracted from the Strand
budget. The AEA office is the liaison to the hotel and will make arrangements based on
Strand Chair requests. The most common request is for an LCD projector for which the
rental fee is approximately $400 per day. The exact rental fees will be supplied by January 15.
• Budget: The Presidential Strand budget is set by the Board. It is currently $5000. These
funds have been expended for such items as speaker honorariums, funds to offset travel
expenses for speakers and AV rental. If there are any questions as to the appropriateness of
an expense, check with the AEA office who will, in turn, bring it to the Treasurer. It is the
responsibility of the Strand Chair to develop a budget, submit it to the AEA office, and
operate within that budget throughout the planning and delivery cycle. The AEA office will
handle all actual disbursement of funds based on the budget provided.
Funds expended for AV rental or other hotel expenses will be subtracted directly from the
hotel master account. Speaker honorariums will be paid directly to the speaker, or to his or
her designated agent, within two weeks after the conference. Speaker travel reimbursements
will be paid within two weeks of submission to the AEA office of a completed travel form
with appropriate receipts. Based on the budget and written requests, the office will deliver
travel forms directly to speakers as needed.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 11
iii. Identifying a Mix of Session Types: Selecting sessions for the Strand is the primary job of the
Strand Chair. There are four general types of sessions from which to develop the Strand: i.)
Sessions created by the Strand Chair, ii.) Sessions selected from those reviewed by TIGs, iii.)
Sessions resulting from some sort of competition or awards, and iv.) Sessions set-aside due to
pre-existing obligations.
• Sessions created by the Strand Chair: These may be of any type and reflect presentations by
those people the Strand Chair has actively connected with and invited to present. Plenary
presentations are usually of this type as well as some of the regular strand sessions. These
should follow the regular timeline for submission of proposals and be submitted online
whenever possible. When submitting, choose “Conference Committee” as the reviewing
group and indicate that it is a strand selection. When using the online system, at the end of
each online submission form is a section for other information. In that box, please indicate,
at the very beginning and before any other information in the box, “PRESELECTED
STRAND SESSION.”
• Sessions selected from those reviewed by TIGs: The TIGs review and rank sessions
submitted by members and created via TIG invitation. Strand Chairs have often asked each
TIG to recommend one session for the Strand (usually about 75% of the TIGs actually
recommend one when asked). If TIGs should recommend sessions, please make that known
to the AEA office by February 1.
• Sessions resulting from some sort of competition or awards: Michael Scriven held a
competition focused on the theme to select one of his plenary sessions. Laura Leviton had
one session devoted to the winners of the annual awards. These sessions are unique for two
reasons. First, they require extra planning and second, the actual participants usually are not
listed in the program (the winners being a surprise and often selected too late for inclusion).
• Sessions set-aside due to pre-existing obligations: These include one session for the
Presidential Address (either plenary or in the strand – or, the Address may be given during
the luncheon, but it is then limited to approximately 15 minutes). They may also include
sessions identified by the Board or the President for special status. For instance, in 2000 a
session was set aside for the winners of the minority student scholarship winners.
iv. Composing the Program: The Strand Chair (perhaps working with a team) selects those sessions
that believed to exemplify best the conference theme. First, determine the mix of the above
session types for the program, then fit the mix into the scheduled slots. From there, begin
recruiting and then await the TIG recommendations. There is only ONE week from the time the
TIG recommendations are made to return the completed set of Strand sessions.
v. Onsite Support: One volunteer should be assigned to attend and facilitate at the plenaries and
Strand sessions (particularly if using an LCD projector). This may be the Strand Chair or his or
her designate, but probably should not be more than two people over the duration of the
conference. This person will be a liaison to the AEA office and to the hotel staff on site. This
person is not necessarily presenting in the sessions, but is there to troubleshoot and act as host.
C. REGISTRATION FEE WAIVER: If not paid by an employer, the base conference registration
fee will be waived for the Conference Strand Chair in recognition of the time involved during the
conference that will prevent this person from attending the entire event. Please note that only one
waiver is extended, even when this work is taken on as a committee.
V. LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE: The Local Arrangements Committee for the AEA
Annual Conference assists the Conference Chair and the AEA Office with mobilizing local expertise and
resources to enhance the annual conference. Please note throughout this section of the document “LAC”
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 12
refers to Local Arrangements Committee – but that this committee may be a committee of 1 consisting
of the Local Arrangements Chair.
A. APPOINTMENT: While President-elect, the President who is to preside over the annual
conference will appoint a Local Arrangements Chair. The Chair should reside at or near the
conference city and should have access to local resources, including local volunteer labor.
B. ROLE OF THE CHAIR: Local arrangements may be provided by a single individual or by a
committee of individuals under the Chair's direction. If undertaken as a committee, the Chair
identifies and recruits LAC members, and then convenes and leads the LAC. The Chair is the
primary liaison to the AEA Office (also known as the AMC – Association Management Company)
and to the Conference Committee. The Chair, the AMC, and the Conference Chair will be in regular
contact to discuss the items on this list as well as other items as they arise. What appear herein are
guidelines. Each LAC may have unique ideas for how it can enhance the conference. These will be
negotiated with the AMC and Conference Committee.
C. COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE: Chairs who elect to form a committee should identify its
members as early as possible to share in the work. The committee allows the LAC work to be spread
out among many volunteers and draws upon the expertise and resources of multiple parties. The
Chair may request the AEA Office for a list of AEA members in the region as a resource for
composing the committee.
D. COMMITTEE PROCEDURES: While the tasks asked of the LAC vary from year to year, the
following represent an overview of the tasks and timeline applicable to LAC activities.
i. Key Dates: The following key dates apply to the LAC:
• By October 15 of previous year – LAC Chair identified by President-elect
• By December 1 of previous year – AMC supplies this document to Chair
• By February 1 – Chair identifies and recruits committee members (optional)
• By February 15 – LAC conveys size of student volunteer pool to AMC
• By March 1 – LAC identifies feasibility of computer room, conveys to AMC
• By March 15 – AMC provides blank volunteer schedule to LAC
• By March 15 – LAC identifies social event options, conveys to AMC
• By April 15 – AMC Confirms arrangements for social event
• By June 1 – LAC provides local events list to AMC
• By July 1 – AMC posts local events list to web along with registration materials
• By August 1 – AMC provides hosted dinner host list to LAC
• By September 1 – LAC matches hosts to restaurants, provides list to AMC
• By September 1 – LAC provides restaurant guide to AMC
• By September 15 – AMC posts/advertises hosted dinners list on web
• By October 15 – LAC provides completed volunteer schedule to AMC
• By October 15 – LAC provides masters for the restaurant guide to the AMC
• By November 1 – Chair provides committee member list for acknowledgement
• By November 1 – LAC collects all supplies for restaurant board
• Onsite: Local students/adults person the info desk, computer desk, as per schedule
• Onsite: LAC Chair attends Friday luncheon
• Onsite: LAC oversees local student volunteers in computer area, info desk area
• Ongoing: Identify partners and sponsors
• Ongoing: Research and recommend local resources
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 13
ii. Onsite Volunteers: In 2000, AEA instituted a local arrangements desk within the registration
area. This desk proved very useful throughout the conference as a resource for attendees. It is
here that one would find the message board, restaurant board, and hosted dinner signups; pick
up pre-purchased tickets; or purchase any available tickets or t-shirts. Since this position involves
money handling as well as knowledge of the local area, we seek to staff it with non-student adult
volunteers (students may not collect or distribute funds), usually the members of the LAC. This
desk is most important at the beginning of the conference, through lunch on Friday. Thus,
volunteers would be needed from one-half hour before opening until one-half hour after closing
on Tuesday evening, Wednesday, Thursday, and then Friday until approximately 1:00. In
addition, the LAC will be called upon to recruit student volunteers to assist with setting up for
the conference and peopling the registration, information, and potentially computer desk. At the
beginning of the year, the AEA office will work with the LAC to identify the size of the available
pool of local student volunteers and generate a schedule. Local student volunteers who work at
least five hours receive a waived conference registration. The AEA office also recruits student
volunteers nationally, so the goal is to balance local and national volunteers based on skills and
availability and to offer registration fee waivers on a fair basis.
iii. Conference Social Event: The LAC should identify and “scout out” a social event for one
evening during the conference. This is usually a ticketed event that showcases something of the
local culture. In Chicago, it was a “Blues Crawl,” in Atlanta, a Bar-B-Que, and in Honolulu an
evening cruise. The event should be able to accommodate at least 300 attendees, but should not
require a contract for more than 100. Transportation needs must be taken into consideration.
The LAC should work with the AEA office to identify the feasibility of a particular option. This
is not an evening professional development session (thus not a site visit or something overtly
educational), but rather an opportunity for attendees to enjoy themselves, network, and connect
with their many friends and colleagues. The LAC should identify preliminarily the costs involved
and the AEA office will then work with the venues as needed to generate and sign contracts.
One free ticket to the event is extended to the Chair or the member of the LAC responsible for
coordinating this event who should also act as an informal host during the event. Preferably this
event is on Saturday evening.
iv. Restaurant Board: The LAC should develop the components for a restaurant board to be
displayed at the Conference. The board should, at a minimum, include menus from a variety of
restaurants, addresses, a map that illustrates how to get there, and short descriptions of the
restaurants if not apparent from the menu (“great live jazz and fun finger food – people tend to
munch throughout the evening more than eat a meal” or “known throughout the city for having
the very best steaks and impeccable service, come see and be seen and enjoy a pricey but never-
to-be-forgotten meal”). Recommended restaurants should be accessible via a short walk or taxi
ride from the hotel and span the gamut in terms of cuisine and price (remember, many attendees
are on a fixed budget).
v. Hosted Dinners: Thursday evening of the conference, AEA has begun offering hosted “Dutch-
treat” dinners. Dinner hosts are AEA members with a long relationship with and to the
Association and/or local members with knowledge of the city. These were begun in 2000 in
Honolulu and will be tried for a second year in St Louis. Results will determine their feasibility in
subsequent years. The AEA office will recruit volunteer hosts (approximately 12) and/or add to
a host list generated by the LAC. Hosts typically are allowed to specify general preferences such
as “family friendly,” “seafood,” or “live music.” The LAC then attempts to match the hosts with
appropriate restaurants, each of which can host a party of 10 people, and make reservations for
8:00 pm on the Thursday evening of the conference. The LAC should create a signup sheet for
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 14
each restaurant (examples are available from the AEA office) with a space for names and
directions.
vi. Restaurant Guide: The LAC should develop a restaurant guide for insertion in the packets of
AEA conference attendees. The guide should include brief descriptions, directions, cost, and
type of cuisine and include a variety of restaurant types and price ranges. Ideally, the guide will
serve as a partner to the restaurant board that will include menus for the restaurants listed.
vii. Computer Room: In 2000, the University of Hawaii lent the hardware and expertise needed to
offer a computer room at the annual conference. If feasible, we would like to continue this very
popular service. The LAC would be called upon to work with the AEA office in identifying and
recruiting a) a local sponsor to lend at least 5 computer setups and network, b) the volunteer
expertise needed to setup and break down these computers, and c) the volunteers (students or
others) needed to staff the computer area. In the very best of worlds, the LAC may also wish to
design a web page for the onsite conference that serves as the ‘home’ for those using the
computers.
viii. Local Sponsors and Partners: AEA has made every effort to keep conference registration fees
low. One way to continue this legacy is through the LAC calling upon universities, businesses
and organizations to partner with AEA. In the past, partners have:
• Assisted directly with funds through hosting a reception,
• Donated extensive local copying,
• Donated the use of their conference calling capabilities,
• Loaned computer hardware and setup expertise,
• Subsidized an evening social event,
• Donated the use of their facility for an event.
ix. Local Events Listing: The AMC should identify local events that may be of interest to attendees,
such as a sporting event, concert, art exhibit, etc.. These should be supplied to the AEA Office
along with key information including: ticket prices, distance from hotel, contact information,
dates, and times. The AEA Office will post this listing to the Internet. The LAC should contact
local events venues to determine if a discount is available to AEA members if we share
information about their event, through an electronic listing, with the 1200+ expected attendees
at the conference. For instance, we have received discounts on Disney tickets in Florida and
tickets to the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii.
x. Research and Recommend Local Resources: The need for local resources varies considerably
based upon the venue. However, the LAC may be called upon to identify overflow hotels,
dependable printers, local engravers, or sign language translators. While the need for some
resources may be anticipated and planned for, for others these represent on-call, as-needed
arrangements.
E. LIMITATIONS: Please note that the LAC may not sign contracts on behalf of AEA nor enter into
any agreement that creates a financial obligation for the Association. All contractual arrangements
should be handled through the AEA office.
F. CONFERENCE LUNCHEON: The Chair (or his or her designate if the Chair cannot attend)
will represent the LAC at the annual conference luncheon. AEA provides one complimentary
luncheon ticket to the Chair.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 15
G. REGISTRATION FEE WAIVER: If not paid by an employer, the base conference registration
fee will be waived for the Chair of the LAC in recognition of the time involved during the
conference that will prevent this person from attending the entire event. Please note that only one
waiver is extended, even when this work is taken on as a committee.
VI. THE SCHEDULING PROCESS: The guidelines for scheduling the program for the Annual
Conference may be found in Appendix A to the Policies and Procedures Manual. The guide4lines are
under the auspices of the Conference Policy Committee and that body is charged with reviewing and
approving changes to Appendix A as needed.
VII.EXHIBITORS, SPONSORS, and ADVERTISING: AEA offers opportunities for exhibiting,
sponsorship, and advertising at the Annual Conference in order to a) provide a means for information
dissemination about evaluation related goods and services, and b) generate revenue to offset conference
expenses. The following policies and procedures relate to exhibitors, sponsors, and advertisers:
A. EXECUTION AND OVERSIGHT: The AEA Treasurer is responsible for oversight of the AMC
who executes the exhibitor, sponsor, and advertising program. The AMC, working with the
Treasurer, sets the fees each year taking into consideration related costs to the Association, the fee
structure in previous years, and the fees of other similar Associations.
B. GENERAL PROCESS: The following represents the general process for developing, distribution,
and administration of Exhibitor, Sponsor, and Advertiser applications.
i. Setting Fees and Preparing Materials: By February 15 the AMC and Treasurer set fees for
exhibitors, sponsors and advertisers and revise exhibiting prospectus and application. The
application must include a hold harmless clause.
ii. Distribution of Materials: By February 21 the Exhibitor, Sponsor, and Advertiser Prospectus and
Application is posted to the AEA Conference website, an announcement is posted to
EVALTALK about exhibiting, and the previous year’s exhibitors, sponsors and advertisers are
provided with the application packet. The AMC and Treasurer may develop other distribution
strategies as needed.
iii. Submission of Applications: Exhibitor, Sponsor, and Advertiser applications are submitted
directly to the AMC. Applications for exhibiting and sponsoring are taken from February 15 to
the week prior to the conference. Applications for advertising are taken up to two weeks prior to
the program print date. AEA reserves the right to refuse any application.
iv. Review of Applications: The AMC may review and approve all applications from exhibitors and
advertisers who are offering goods or services directly related to evaluation. If the AMC has any
concerns about the appropriateness of an exhibitor or advertiser, the Treasurer will review and
approve or deny the application and may request a review and vote of the Executive Committee.
All sponsors must be approved by the Treasurer who may seek the review and vote of the
Executive Committee if needed.
v. Notification: The AMC will process the applications and notify applicants as to the status of
their application within ten days of receipt. The notification letter will also include pertinent
information about preparing for the conference including shipping information and setup
arrangements.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 16
C. EXHIBITORS: The following policies and procedures apply to AEA exhibitors:
i. Exhibit Type: All AEA exhibits are on table-tops.
ii. Exhibitor Placement: The AMC will place exhibitors in a way that meets the unique needs of the
exhibitors, for instance for access to an electrical hookup or a space that can accommodate three
tables, while placing exhibitors with equivalent needs in premium spaces according to the date of
receipt of payment for their exhibit space. Whenever possible, exhibits will be placed on the
main conference floor in a way that maximizes foot traffic such as near setups for breaks.
iii. Standard Exhibit Staffing: All standard exhibits must be staffed from at least 8:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. on Thursday and Friday of the conference and 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday of the
conference. Exhibit space may be available on Wednesday of the conference at the discretion of
the AMC when taking into consideration the hotel contract.
iv. Special Exhibit Staffing: There may, if space allows and it is agreed upon by the AMC and
Treasurer, be special spaces reserved for University or Non-Profit exhibitors that are not
required to be staffed. These should only be offered when adequate space is available for
standard exhibitors.
v. Exhibitor Support Onsite: The AMC will place markers on each exhibit table identifying the
party to which the table belongs. The AMC will create packets for each exhibitor with a program,
nametags with ‘exhibitor’ ribbons, and a welcome/informational letter. All exhibitors will be
notified before the start of the event as to their contact at the event. They will check in at the
AEA registration desk and receive an escort to their table(s). An AMC representative will check
with each exhibitor at least once each day to gather informal feedback on the event and identify
any challenges.
D. SPONSORS: The following policies and procedures apply to AEA sponsors:
i. Sponsor Type: AEA welcomes financial sponsorship or sponsorship through donation of goods
or services. Any party donating $1000 or more in goods or services in direct support of the event
will be considered a sponsor. In the past, sponsors have provided data analysis services,
photocopying, and direct monetary support of receptions. Example sponsorship options for
each year will be identified by the AMC and special packages may be developed by the AMC in
order to take advantage of the capacity of particular contributors.
ii. Sponsors as Exhibitors: All sponsors contributing $2500 or more may receive a basic exhibitor
package for free as part of their sponsorship. If sponsors wish to exhibit, the information
provided under ‘exhibitors’ above applies to them as well.
iii. Benefits of Sponsorship: Sponsors receive recognition in the conference program next to the
event or service that they are sponsoring and are acknowledged during the AEA annual awards
luncheon. Event sponsors, other than a sponsor for the graduate student reception, may have a
table placed at the event on which the sponsor may provide information about his or her
products or services. Sponsors providing financial support or donating goods or services valued
in excess of $2,500 also receive a basic exhibitor package and a free ¼ page advertisement in the
AEA program. Sponsors may ‘buy up’ to a larger exhibitor package or larger advertisement by
paying the difference between the basic package or the quarter page ad and their desired space or
advertisement. All full sponsors may have a sign placed at the sponsored event or room that
acknowledges their sponsorship.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 17
iv. Sponsorship Packages: The AMC, in consultation with the Treasurer who always has veto power,
may develop a benefits package catered to a particular sponsor. For instance, free registration,
free tickets to a sponsored event, or special VIP arrangements may be arranged for in order to
secure a sponsorship.
E. ADVERTISERS: The following policies and procedures apply to advertisers in the AEA
conference program:
i. Advertising Composition: All advertising must be black and white and be provided in a camera-
ready form to the AMC at least two weeks prior to the print date for the Conference Program.
Any advertising received after the two-week cutoff is included at the sole discretion of the AMC.
ii. Advertising Placement: All advertisements will be placed on the final interior pages of the AEA
program. Grouping of advertisements on the page is at the discretion of the AMC.
.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 6 - 18
SECTION 7: BUDGETING and PROPOSAL PROCESSES
I. OVERVIEW: The proposal review process makes heavy use of the AEA committee structure. All
proposals shall be reviewed by the appropriate committee before being acted upon, with the exception of
those proposals submitted via appropriate petition from the membership. "The Board shall receive and
consider petitions from the membership for matters to be submitted to a vote of the general
membership of the Association; any such petition signed by the lesser of five percent of the
official membership count of March 31 of the previous year or 100 members makes submission of
the issue to the membership mandatory upon the Board” (Bylaws Article V Section 3d). Proposals
may be generated from within a committee, from members who route it through a committee or from an
external party seeking a joint venture.
II. THE PROPOSAL: At a minimum, all proposals, must be in writing and should contain the following
four components. Please note that it should not be assumed that a proposal with all of these components
would necessarily be considered complete, as it may require additional information in order to paint a full
picture.
A. PROPOSED ACTION: What, specifically, is being requested of the Association? What are the
proposed activities or tasks? Who will be responsible for implementation of each task or activity?
B. PURPOSE: Why is this action being requested of the Association? How will it benefit the
Association and further its purpose. Who will be involved?
C. TIMEFRAME: What is the timeline for the proposed project? When are the major milestones and
activities? When will the project begin and end? What obligations and activities will continue after
the project ends?
D. BUDGET: What funds, specifically, will be required to implement this proposal? Does this
proposed project require work by the AEA management company? Does it require additional
administrative or overhead costs to consider? Budgets should conform to AEA budget categories.
Early consultation with the AEA Manager or Treasurer on budget development is strongly
recommended.
E. HOLD HARMLESS: Any joint venture involving the expenditure of AEA funds must include a
written hold harmless clause that stipulates if expenses go beyond anticipated costs, AEA will not be
responsible for payment of additional costs. Ventures in which the AMC is to expend funds on
behalf of the Association are explicitly exempt from this stipulation.
III. PROPOSAL REVIEW IN COMMITTEE: All proposals should be directed through a relevant AEA
committee. The committee Chair should initially review the proposal to ensure that it is in the
appropriate committee and should work with the Past-President/Secretary to identify a different
committee to review the proposal if he or she believes it to be better suited elsewhere. Committees may
also generate proposals to support their mission. The reviewing committee needs to review proposals at
formal meetings. All members are to be provided copies. The committee Chair should forward his/her
committee’s recommendation on a proposal to the AEA office for final review by the AEA Board.
Committee recommendations should consider:
A. BYLAWS COMPLIANCE: Is the proposed action acceptable within the bylaws?
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 7 - 1
B. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMPLIANCE: Is the proposed action acceptable under
these policies and procedures? Does the proposed action require a change to the policies and
procedures prior to taking action on the proposal? Consult with the AMC if compliance is in doubt.
C. RELEVANCE: Does the proposed action have explicit relevance to the practice of evaluation or to
improving the conduct of Association business? How does it support your committee’s mission?
D. DETERMINE FURTHER COURSE OF ACTION: The course that a proposal takes out of
committee depends on a number of factors. Incomplete or unclear proposals should not make it out
of committee. A proposal and recommendation should be acted upon in one of the three following
ways:
i. Policy, Position, and Joint Venture Proposals: If the proposal involves a change in AEA policy,
or if the proposal requires a statement to be made on behalf of the Association or Board, it
should be recommended for the agenda for the next meeting of the Board of Directors. This
would include all joint ventures as partnering with an individual or group implies a position of
the Association re the partner. By definition, this would also include all proposals involving a
member of the Board in his or her capacity other than as a Board member. Proposals involving
Board members as practitioners, whether of evaluation or other services, must be examined for
potential conflict of interest. If the proposal requires urgent action, the reviewing committee
Board Liaison should turn the materials and committee recommendation over to the AMC and
request a conference call of the Board or Executive Committee. All policy and position
proposals require Board review, regardless of the budgeting status noted in items ii and iii below.
(See Item IV)
ii. Proposals Requesting Funding in the Next Budget Cycle: If the proposal requests funds to be
expended in the next budget cycle, the reviewing committee should turn the materials and
committee recommendation over to the AMC by April 15, specifically identifying the level of
funding proposed. The AMC will bring the materials to the attention of the Treasurer and the
finance committee for consideration when generating the year’s budget. (See Item V)
iii. Proposals Requesting Funding in the Current Cycle, yet Not Represented in Current Budget: If
the proposal requests funds to be expended in the current year, it should be recommended,
through the committee’s Board Liaison, for the agenda for the next meeting of the Board of
Directors. (See Item IV)
IV. BOARD REVIEW OF PROPOSALS: The Board should review and take action on proposals brought
forth to them from committee. This would include policy and position proposals, the annual budget
brought forth from the Finance Committee, joint venture proposals, and all proposals requiring the
expenditure of funds within the current fiscal year after the budget has been set. The following should be
taken into consideration for every proposal, but represents only the baseline criteria for Board proposal
review:
A. BYLAWS COMPLIANCE: Is the proposed action acceptable within the bylaws?
B. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMPLIANCE: Is the proposed action acceptable under
these policies and procedures? Does the proposed action require a change to the policies and
procedures prior to taking action on the proposal?
C. RELEVANCE: Does the proposed action have explicit relevance to the practice of evaluation or to
improving the conduct of Association business?
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 7 - 2
D. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Does the proposed action create a conflict of interest for any
member of the Board? Will a Board member receive any compensation for duties performed in his
or her capacity as a Board member? “Compensation shall not be paid to Board members for
their services in their capacity as Board members, nor pursuant to any other contractual
arrangements. However, Board members may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred by
them in the performance of their duties, as approved by a majority of the Board” (Bylaws
Article V, Section 7).
E. BUDGETARY RAMIFICATIONS: In order to allocate funds, one of the two options below
must be explicitly selected and the line item under which an expenditure is made should be recorded
in the minutes as part of the motion for action on the proposal:
i. Accountable within the current budget under the current line items: Are funds allocated within
the current budget and under the current line items to cover the proposed action? May they be
accounted for under special projects?
ii. Accountable within the current budget through transferring funds out of an existing line item:
Are funds available through tapping into an underutilized line item in the current budget?
V. REVIEW DURING THE BUDGETING PROCESS: Proposals requesting funds for the following
fiscal year and that do not require a change in AEA policy or a position statement to be made on behalf
of the Association, should be submitted to the AMC by April 15 for consideration for the following fiscal
year. The following key dates apply to the budgeting cycle:
A. KEY DATES RELATED TO ANNUAL BUDGETING:
• January 1, new committee Chairs begin their terms
• By April 15, committee Chairs turn over proposals with funding request to AMC
• By May 1, AMC works with Treasurer to develop draft Budget
• By May 15, Finance Committee meets via conference call to review draft Budget
• By June 1, Final budget is complete
• June Board Meeting: Treasurer presents budget to Board
• Jun 30, fiscal year ends
• July 1, new fiscal year commences
B. PROCEDURES APPLYING TO THE ANNUAL BUDGETING PROCESS
i. Check for Policy and Bylaws Compliance and possible Conflict of Interest: The AMC checks
each proposal for compliance with the bylaws and these policies and procedures as well as any
potential conflict of interest. If the proposal is not in compliance with either document, or if
there are any concerns whatsoever regarding conflict of interest, it is turned over to the
Executive Committee for further action.
ii. Develop Draft Budget: The AMC forwards all budget requests to the Treasurer and “The
Treasurer, with the assistance of the duly-authorized Board-appointed agent [the AMC],
shall…prepare the yearly budget for consideration and approval by the Board of
Directors” (Bylaws Article VI Section 6).
iii. Review Draft Budget in Committee: The Treasurer brings the draft budget, as well as a list
identifying both new projects and proposals incorporated into the budget and any proposals that
were not funded under the draft budget, to the finance committee for review. The supporting
materials are available to the Finance Committee upon request and will automatically be
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 7 - 3
distributed for any proposal not fully funded. The Finance Committee identifies its
recommendation to accept the budget as proposed or to propose amendments to the budget.
iv. Official Membership Numbers: The official number of members to be used for budgeting shall
be the number of current members on March 31 prior to the start of the fiscal year. Members are
considered current for up to one month past their renewal date and thus all members with
renewal dates prior to February 28 (or 29 in a leap year) will be included in the official count.
v. Proportional Increases to Budget Line Items: The Treasurer, working with the AMC, will
identify recommended automatic per person increases to budgeted line items based on increases
in conference attendance or increases in membership numbers. For instance, they will identify an
automatic per-person increase to the food and beverage costs for the conference should
conference attendance rise over the budgeted number of attendees, and the journal printing costs
should membership numbers rise over the budgeted number of members.
These proportional increases will be reviewed by the Finance Committee and must be approved
by the Board. Once this review and approval have occurred, the Treasurer then has authority to
spend within these new limits when activated by increases in conference attendance or
membership. For example, if conference attendance increased by 50, the treasurer could approve
payments for food and beverage to cover the additional 50 attendees.
Bank fees are tied very closely to credit card payments with the fees incurred fluctuating with the
rate charged by the credit card company as well as with the number of credit card based
payments. Although the annual budget will establish an estimate for the fees for the year, it is
understood that this estimate may be exceeded. Because the relationship between the number of
conference attendees or the number of members does not correlate as closely as with
fluctuations in the bank fees as it does for other budget line items, there is not a set proportional
increase. Accordingly, without further board action, the approved budget for bank fees will equal
the total of the fees charged. The Treasurer and the Finance Committee will periodically review
the bank fee charges to ensure that other issues needing Board attention can be addressed.
vi. Budget Revision: The Treasurer revises the budget based on the input of the Finance
Committee. The Treasurer has the final determination as to the actual budget brought forth to
the Board.
vii. Presenting Budget to the Board: The Treasurer presents the budget to the Board along with the
list identifying the funded and unfunded proposals. The supporting materials are available to the
full Board upon request and will automatically be distributed for any proposal not fully funded.
The Board Liaison to the Finance Committee identifies the recommendations of the Finance
Committee regarding the proposed budget.
viii. Board Vote: One of the primary duties of the Board of directors is “approving a budget for
each year” (Bylaws Article V Section 3a). The Board should examine the draft budget, the
funded and unfounded proposals, and the recommendation of the finance committee. It must
either approve the budget as proposed or approve an amended budget.
ix. Response to Proposals: The Board Liaison to the committee behind a given proposal should
notify the Committee Chair as to the Board’s actions regarding the proposal. If the Board actions
are consonant with the recommendations of the Committee, the Committee Chair shall relay the
Board action and any next steps to the proposer. If the actions are not consonant with the
recommendations of the Committee, the Board Liaison shall relay the Board action and any next
steps to the proposer.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 7 - 4
x. Adherence to a balanced budget policy: The AEA board agrees to approve a budget where
expenses do not exceed income. A two to four percent surplus is recommended. Any changes in
the budget must keep the budget balanced or with a surplus. Any added expenses should be
enacted only if there are minimally equivalent additions to income or reductions in expenses.
VI. APPEAL OF ACTIONS: A proposer may appeal the action of the Board regarding a proposal in one
of two ways.
A. APPEAL FOR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REVIEW: The proposer may request proposal re-
review by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee accepts proposals for re-review at its
own discretion. The Executive Committee will review the information available from the initial
reviewing committee and collect further information as needed regarding the proposal in developing
its own recommendation to the Board. The Executive Committee cannot overturn a vote of the
Board, but must resubmit the proposal to the Board along with its recommendation.
B. PETITION TO THE MEMBERSHIP: The proposer may generate a petition signed by the
membership requesting a vote of the membership. “Any such petition signed by the lesser of five
percent of the most official membership count of March 31 of the previous year or 100
members makes submission of the issue to the membership mandatory upon the Board”
(Bylaws Article V Section 3d).
VII. SPECIAL TYPES OF PROPOSALS: AEA PROPOSALS TO EXTERNAL PARTIES,
INCLUDING GRANT PROPOSALS: Occasionally, AEA may wish to develop a proposal to seek
external support or otherwise partner with an outside source. “The Association, through the Board of
Directors, may accept grants of a general nature or for specific purposes; however, such
acceptance shall be free of any restriction that would either limit the Association in carrying out
its functions and objectives or cause the Association to lose its tax-exempt status.” (Bylaws Article
2 Section 3). The following guidelines are to be used when developing internal proposals for external
groups:
A. EARLY COMMUNICATION: When communicating with external parties prior to Board
approval, any internal party is not acting on behalf of the Association, but rather undertaking a fact-
finding process.
B. THE PRESIDENT: The President is to be kept informed throughout all steps of the fact-finding
process.
C. THE PROPOSAL: The proposal will include all of the components previously stipulated in Section
7.II (Proposed Action, Purpose, Timeframe, Budget, Hold Harmless). In addition, proposals to
external sources must include the following:
a. Budget line item, broken down by subcategories if needed, to cover administrative costs (e.g.,
legal, accounting, AMC time, reports, phone, wire transfers). A surcharge may be added for
grants involving international transactions and/or if the external party will require a full audit of
AEA’s books.
b. Explicit explanation of the timeline for expenditure of any funds received
c. How the grant’s purposes and expenditures align with AEA’s purposes and mission
d. A specification of who does what by when showing tasks and deliverables, including interim
deliverables, with dates for completing each task and producing each deliverable, and an
indication of what party is responsible for the work on each task or deliverable.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 7 - 5
If the above items are not directly reflected in the proposal that is to be distributed externally (i.e. the
grant proposal itself), they should be included via an additional page of information directed at the
internal reviewing parties.
D. THE PRELIMINARY REVIEW PROCESS: The proposal is reviewed by the appropriate Board
committee(s) as well as by the Treasurer, President, and AMC prior to presentation to the Board for
approval. Each party has its own obligations as part of the review process, and each party will report
back to the Board with a recommendation to accept, reject, or modify the proposal in terms of its
area of obligation:
i. The Board Committee(s): The appropriate Board Committee(s) review the proposal using the
guidelines previously stated with special emphasis on the proposal’s clarity, its relevance to the
Committee’s mission and priorities, and its overall feasibility with respect to the tasks,
deliverables, and timelines provided. If more than one committee reviews the proposal, each
committee would provide its own recommendations.
ii. The Treasurer: The Treasurer reviews the proposal for its legal and financial implications and
additional costs. The Treasurer may seek guidance from an accountant and/or legal counsel at
his or her discretion and consult with the AMC in order to determine:
a. Do the grant’s expenditures align with AEA’s purposes and mission from a legal
perspective?
b. Could acceptance of the grant funds in any way endanger AEA’s tax-exempt status?
c. Will the grant’s funds be expended in a reasonable timeframe (i.e., not endowed)?
d. What administrative, legal, or accounting support is likely to be needed in order to carry out
the work of the proposal? Is the administrative line item sufficient to cover costs for this
support?
e. Are the tasks, deliverables, and timelines realistic, given AEA’s existing resources and those
proposed in the proposal?
iii. The President: The President will focus his or her review on the big picture – whether the
purposes of the proposal align with AEA’s purposes and mission and whether AEA has the
capacity to carry out the proposed activities.
iv. The AMC: The AMC will determine the impact on administrative workload and report that
impact to the Treasurer and Board as well as whether the budgeted administrative line item
covers the administrative workload. The AMC will also assess the feasibility of the tasks,
deliverables, and timelines within the parameters of AEA’s capacities.
E. FINAL REVIEW: As with all proposals, the Board uses the baseline guidelines stipulated under
“Board Review of Proposals” in its review and decision-making process and takes into consideration
the recommendations of the appropriate Board Committee(s), President, Treasurer, and AMC. The
Board of Directors reserves the right to refuse any proposal.
F. SUBMISSION TO EXTERNAL PARTIES: Should the Board approve the proposal, it may be
submitted to the external party.
G. DETERMINATION OF THE ACCEPTANCE OF A GRANT: AEA reserves the right to
refuse any grant prior to the acceptance of grant funds. This may occur on, but is not limited to,
occasions when obligations or changes by the external party affect items described under D, i-iv
above and/or these obligations/changes alter the nature of the expected relationship between the
two parties.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 7 - 6
If there have been no changes since the proposal was approved by the Board, the Treasurer may
accept a grant on behalf of AEA.
If there have been changes since the proposal was approved by the Board (e.g., as described in the
first paragraph of this section or a change in grant size), the Treasurer will inform the Executive
Committee. The Executive Committee will decide if there is a need for further Committee or Board
review prior to its making a determination of whether or not to accept a grant on behalf of AEA.
H. RECEIPT OF GRANT FUNDS: Once AEA has determined it will accept a grant, the Treasurer
shall have responsibilities for all funds received by AEA from foundations, government agencies, and
others, including grants as herein described, according to the policies and procedures followed for
other AEA funds.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page 7 - 7
APPENDIX A: THE CONFERENCE CHEDULING PROCESS
These are the guidelines for scheduling the program for the Annual Conference. The AMC is responsible for
scheduling the program while the Conference Chair is responsible for identifying the final content of the
program. Each operates using the following guidelines:
A. PLENARIES: There are three to four plenaries, one per day, at a time specified by the President in
consultation with the Strand Chair and the AMC. In recent years, these have been held for 75
minutes each during the first timeslot on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. In 2001 a one-
hour session was added for the Presidential address and opening remarks from 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm
on Wednesday. No AEA-sponsored activity may conflict with the plenaries. The room should be
able to accommodate at least 1/3 of the total expected conference attendees.
B. AEA BUSINESS MEETING: There is one AEA business meeting to be held at a time specified
by the Past President/Secretary in consultation with the AMC. In recent years this has been from
approximately 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Friday. No AEA-sponsored activity may conflict with the
AEA business meeting. The room should be able to accommodate at least 1/10 of the total expected
conference attendees.
C. TIG BUSINESS MEETINGS: All TIGs must have a business meeting. Most are scheduled for
one hour in the last timeslot on Thursday, approximately 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. As part of the
proposal review process, TIGs will be asked to identify a preferred time. Some will request other
slots and these are given priority within those timeslots. The room size should be identified by the
TIG chairs. No other sessions sponsored by that TIG should be scheduled at the same time as its
business meeting, although the business meeting itself may contain a presentation.
When there are more requests for the last timeslot on Thursday than can be accommodate due to
space restrictions, the available slots will be assigned randomly to the TIGs requesting them.
D. LUNCHES: On Friday, a minimum of 90 minutes should be set-aside for the AEA Awards
Luncheon. The room should accommodate at least 1/3 of the total expected conference attendees at
rounds. On Thursday and Saturday, lunch time may be set aside at the discretion of the Conference
Chair after reviewing the logistics for that year and consulting with the President and AMC.
E. PRESIDENTIAL STRAND: One session in each timeslot is set aside for the Presidential Strand
with the exception of the timeslots devoted to the plenaries, the AEA business meeting, the last
session of the day on Thursday for the TIG business meetings, and the lunches. The Presidential
Strand is developed by the Strand Chair using guidelines explicated elsewhere in this document.
When possible, the entire strand is scheduled in the same room throughout the conference – and
ideally in the same room as the plenaries. The room should be able to accommodate at least 1/4 of
the total expected conference attendees.
F. CONFERENCE COMMITTEE STRAND: One session in each timeslot is set aside for the
Conference Committee Strand. The Conference Committee Strand is comprised of two types of
sessions:
i. Proposals arising out of the work of one or more AEA committees: Up to five guaranteed session
slots are set aside to be used for presentations related to the work of AEA committees. These
sessions are submitted using the regular proposal submission procedures. These sessions will be
reviewed by the Conference Chair and his/her team and any in excess of five will be returned for
review by TIGs or by the Conference Committee as part of the general pool of proposals.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page A - 1
ii. Other proposals not reviewed by TIGs: The remaining Conference Committee Strand is
developed by the Conference Chair using guidelines explicated elsewhere.
G. ROUNDTABLES: The AMC should estimate the likely number of roundtable slots that will be
needed based on accommodating 5 to 6 tables each offering one presentation per 45-minuters.
Spread the roundtable slots out throughout the program, ideally in the same room. There should not
be more than one set of roundtables per any timeslot, even if this means that roundtables will need
to be rejected. Roundtable rooms should be able to accommodate 6 rounds of 10 plus 50 additional,
movable chairs. Although only 6 rounds will be used, the room utilized should be large enough to
accommodate up to 12 rounds in order to allow for comfortable discussion.
H. EMERGENCY BACKUPS: Establish two 90-minute and one 45-minute session placeholders
spread throughout the days of the conference. Do not schedule any sessions into these three slots.
These placeholders will be used to accommodate any emergency changes to the program.
I. TIG and CONFERENCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED SESSIONS: The total number
of 45-minute and 90-minute session slots remaining available after scheduling each of the above
items should be identified. The total number of 45-minute and 90-minute slots needed to
accommodate the sessions recommended for scheduling by the TIGs and Conference Committee
should be identified. Calculate the ratio of sessions available to sessions recommended for both 45-
minute and 90-minute slots. If all sessions can be scheduled, all should be. If sessions are to be
rejected, the following guidelines should be employed when scheduling at the margin:
i. Sessions with Overlap: The AMC and Conference Chair should work together to identify any
sessions with significant overlap that were sent to different reviewing bodies. The AMC should
with the reviewing bodies regarding any sessions with significant overlap to see if they
recommend: a) consolidation, b) rejection of one and scheduling of the other, or c) scheduling
both if space is available.
ii. Separate by Types: The AMC should separate the proposals/sessions recommended for
scheduling from the TIGs and Conference Committee into four types: Posters, Roundtables, 45-
minute sessions and 90-minute sessions.
iii. Posters: The AMC should schedule all recommended posters during the reception on Thursday
evening.
iv. Roundtables Phase I: Set-aside the roundtable proposals for final review during the last step in
the process.
v. 45 & 90-minute Sessions: The AMC should schedule sessions based on the rankings of the
reviewing groups using the following steps. Treat 45-minute sessions and 90-minute sessions
separately:
• For reviewing groups who would receive more than one session per timeslot based on a
strict allocation of the space available to the number of proposals they reviewed, allocate one
slot per time and then allocate 50% of the remaining slots they would receive based on the
strict ratio.
• For all other reviewing groups, schedule sessions based on a conservative estimation of the
ratio of slots available. If by a strict accounting, the group would receive 6.5 slots, 6 should
be allocated in the first round.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page A - 2
• All TIGs, even those reviewing the fewest proposals, shall have at least three sessions
scheduled if they have three to recommend.
vi. TIGs That Reject Proposals: If a TIG has rejected more than 20% of the proposals it reviewed,
and all of its recommended sessions have not been scheduled, it should receive one extra slot if
available.
vii. Room assignment: When assigning a room, the AMC should consider the following:
• When possible, keep all TIG sessions in the same room on a given day
• Attempt to group like AV requests consecutively in the same room
• Consider the likely size of the audience based on topic and presenters
• Spread use of less desirable rooms across the TIGs
• Use a single room setup (theatre, classroom, rounds) throughout the day
viii. Timeslot Assignment: When assigning a timeslot, the AMC should consider the following:
• Do not schedule a TIG-sponsored session opposite its business meeting
• Do not schedule a TIG-sponsored session opposite a strand session it is sponsoring
• Spread sessions sponsored by any one TIG approximately equally across all days and times
• Spread highly ranked sessions approximately equally across all days and times both generally,
and in terms of each TIG
• Include at least two sessions in each of the last days’ timeslots with the most popular
presenters
• To the extent feasible, spread the types of sessions scheduled (Roundtable, Demonstration,
Panel) approximately equally across all days and times, given that 45-minute sessions tend to
have more demonstration/workshop presentations proposed
• Accommodate special scheduling requests whenever possible
ix. Remaining Slots: The AMC should return a list of unscheduled 45-minute and 90-minute
sessions, with supporting materials including proposal descriptions and recommendations, along
with a list of the number of slots available, to the Conference Chair for review. The Conference
Chair, in consultation with the Conference Committee as needed, should review and rank the
sessions based on the priorities identified in the following Board-endorsed statement of
priorities:
The American Evaluation Association’s Annual Conference is among its most important member benefits. The
conference is among our primary venues to showcase our work, acquire additional skills, and debate issues central
to our field. The AEA Board believes it is essential to the vitality of our field that the conference include
evaluators of diverse professional and personal backgrounds. Diversity is good for the Association and the
evaluation profession. It is our vision that the conference include the perspectives of evaluators working in diverse
professional settings and at all levels of experience. We are also committed to representing the voices of racial and
ethnic minority, sexual minority, women, disabled, and international attendees at the conference.
x. Final Scheduling of Full Sessions: The AMC should schedule the remaining 45-minute and 90-
minute sessions based on the rankings provided by the Conference Chair.
xi. Waitlisting: Identify two 90-minute and one 45-minute sessions to be put on the waitlist based
on the Conference Chair’s rankings. These sessions should NOT be multipaper sessions due to
the challenge of contacting multiple authors to confirm availability. Contact each of these three
and identify whether they would like to be waitlisted or would prefer to be rejected or scheduled
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page A - 3
definitely as a roundtable or poster. Those agreeing to be waitlisted should be scheduled, intact,
as part of the roundtables or posters and will be called should a space become available.
xii. Remaining Proposals: The AMC should separate the remaining proposals that are recommended
for scheduling, yet are unscheduled, into three categories. In order to do this the AMC will need
to dis-assembled the multipaper sessions and examine each component paper proposal:
• Proposals that refused poster or roundtable as backup: Reject all.
• Accepted only poster as backup: Schedule as posters
• Accepted only roundtable as backup OR accepted either as backup: The AMC should group
these with those that ORIGINALLY wanted to be roundtables and examine these as a
group. Treat them thus:
a. If there are no space constraints on roundtables, the AMC should group them into sets
of 5 or 6 under a common theme and schedule together. With any that remain, group
under a “Conference Committee choice” set.
b. If there are space constraints on roundtables, but not on posters (as will be the case for
the next few years), the AMC should schedule as posters all proposals that were not
originally roundtables, but for which posters were a backup choice. If there are still
space constraints on roundtables after taking this action, the AMC should divide the
remaining proposals in this group into recommended groupings by common theme and
return them to the Conference Chair along with recommendations and notes on how
many will need to be rejected.
c. The Conference Chair will make the final decision regarding which roundtables should
be rejected based on information from the TIG reviews, the priority statement endorsed
by the Board, and the number of times a presenter is already on the program
J. FINAL REVIEW: The AMC will return the completed schedule to the Conference Chair as a final
check and balance prior to notifying presenters of the status of their proposal. The Conference Chair
may request schedule revisions in a case where the above guidelines were not followed or where he
or she perceives significant overlap in content among two or more sessions scheduled in the same
timeslot.
AEA Policies and Procedures Manual – Page A - 4
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