What Is the Technical Activities Guide - TAG?

The Technical Activities Guide (TAG) is a reference document produced by the IEEE Technical Activities Board that consolidates the operational policies, governance standards, and procedural guidance applicable to IEEE's Societies, Technical Councils, and Technical Communities. It functions as the primary handbook for volunteer leaders who govern these communities, covering topics that range from how to form new technical committees and organize conferences, to the financial reporting obligations and publication oversight responsibilities that Society officers must fulfill. The TAG is closely related to, and often used alongside, the IEEE Technical Activities Board Operations Manual, which addresses the TAB's own governance procedures.

The guide reflects IEEE's reliance on a distributed volunteer model: the organization's technical work is carried out largely by elected and appointed volunteers who hold positions ranging from chapter chair to Society president. Because volunteers rotate through these roles on defined terms, the TAG provides continuity, ensuring that incoming leaders can quickly understand the rules, resources, and expectations that govern their responsibilities.

Purpose and Scope

The TAG defines the standards that IEEE member communities are expected to meet, and describes the processes by which compliance is assessed. It covers the rights and responsibilities of Societies and Councils in relation to the Technical Activities Board, including the criteria for Society formation and dissolution, the procedures for launching or discontinuing journals and transactions, and the rules governing sponsored conferences. The IEEE Technical Activities Board Operations Manual, which overlaps with the TAG in several areas, provides the parallel governance framework from the TAB's perspective, while the TAG addresses the same relationship from the Society and community standpoint.

Governance Documentation for Societies

A significant portion of the TAG addresses the governance instruments that each Society and Council must maintain: bylaws, operating procedures, committee charters, and financial controls. IEEE requires these documents to conform to specified templates and to be reviewed on defined cycles. The TAG explains how to draft and amend these instruments, what level of IEEE Board approval is required for material changes, and how to manage the transition of officer roles. This documentation function is especially important for IEEE's technical communities, which are described on the IEEE Technical Activities community overview as structures that serve emerging fields before they have achieved the membership and organizational maturity of a full Society.

Community Development Guidance

Beyond governance documentation, the TAG provides practical guidance on growing a technical community: how to recruit members, how to launch new technical committees within an existing Society, how to establish geographic chapters, and how to partner with other organizations on co-sponsored activities. This development dimension connects the TAG to IEEE's Technical Activities engagement programs, which offer templates, staff support, and training resources that volunteer leaders can use alongside the TAG's policy guidance. The guide is updated periodically to reflect changes in IEEE's broader governance structure, open-access publishing policies, and conference quality requirements.

Applications

The Technical Activities Guide serves practical purposes across the IEEE volunteer governance system, including:

• Orienting newly elected Society and Council officers to their governance responsibilities
• Documenting the procedures for launching, merging, or dissolving IEEE technical communities
• Providing bylaws and operating-procedure templates for Societies and Councils
• Establishing compliance requirements for conference sponsorship and publication management
• Supporting chapter formation and volunteer development at the local geographic level