What Are IEEE Entities?

IEEE entities are the constituent organizational units of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: the societies, councils, regions, sections, chapters, boards, and affiliated corporations through which the association conducts its work. The term is used administratively rather than technically, and it matters because almost everything IEEE produces (a journal, a conference, a standard, a local meeting) is formally owned by one of these units and governed by its operating rules. The organization of IEEE follows a dual structure, one axis defined by technical interest and the other by geography, so that a single member typically belongs to both a technical entity and a geographic one at the same time.

Entities differ in how they are created and dissolved. Some, such as the Board of Directors, are established by the IEEE Constitution. Others, such as a student branch at a particular university, are chartered on petition and can be closed if activity lapses. Each has a defined reporting line, a budget relationship with IEEE headquarters, and a set of officers elected or appointed under its own bylaws.

Technical Entities

The technical axis is built from societies, of which there are roughly forty, each covering a field such as communications, power and energy, signal processing, or computing, and each with its own membership, publications, and conference calendar. The IEEE societies, councils, and communities structure also includes technical councils, which are groups of societies collaborating in a broad area that no single society covers alone, and technical committees that operate within a society on a narrower subject. Societies are grouped into divisions for the purpose of representation on the Board of Directors. Below the society level sit working groups and standards committees that produce specific documents.

Geographic Entities

The geographic axis begins with ten regions, six of which cover the United States and four of which cover Canada, Europe with Africa and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia with the Pacific. Within a region, IEEE regions and their subordinate units are divided into sections defined by territory, and sections are the primary unit of local member activity. A chapter is a technical subunit formed jointly with one or more societies, giving local members a venue for talks and workshops in a specific field. Affinity groups serve non-technical purposes, including Women in Engineering and Young Professionals, and are subunits of a section or council. Student branches at colleges and universities, and the student branch chapters formed under them, extend the same pattern to pre-professional members.

Governing and Affiliated Entities

Governance rests with the Board of Directors. The IEEE Assembly, made up of the region and division delegates who also serve as directors, elects the IEEE President-Elect, and major boards each hold responsibility for a functional area, including Technical Activities, Educational Activities, Member and Geographic Activities, and Publication Services and Products. Several entities are organizationally distinct from this hierarchy while remaining part of IEEE. The IEEE Standards Association operates with its own Board of Governors and standards board. The IEEE Foundation is a separate charitable corporation that funds programs through donations. IEEE-USA represents United States members on public policy, and IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu serves as the honor society of the institute.

Applications

The IEEE entity structure is used in a range of contexts, including:

• Assigning sponsorship and financial responsibility for conferences and publications
• Chartering standards working groups under a sponsoring society or committee
• Organizing local technical meetings, distinguished lecture programs, and workshops
• Allocating member dues, society fees, and volunteer budgets
• Determining representation and voting on the Board of Directors
• Administering awards, scholarships, and humanitarian projects