June 2023, SIGCHI Executive Committee
All conferences that are sponsored or co-sponsored by SIGCHI must be led by a Steering Committee (SC). The SC, working with the SIGCHI Executive Committee (EC) via the SIGCHI VP Conferences, is responsible for the oversight and planning of a conference year after year, each with its own organizing committee. The responsibilities of a SC include the following:
The SC is expected to create and follow bylaws that govern the committee and conference series, and have been approved by the SIGCHI EC. These bylaws will specify the aims and objectives of the conference series, composition of the SC, commitment to diversity, criteria for membership, roles and responsibilities of serving members, terms of membership, frequency of meetings, requirements for attending, processes of documentation and voting, timelines for the conference, and processes for handling conflicts and appeals.
The SC is responsible for pursuing a transparent search and decision-making process for future conference organization, with bids for conference location and leadership, and open calls for recruiting the organizing committee, following guidance from the SIGCHI EC. Selection of sites and leaders are recommended to be in alignment with SIGCHI EC priorities, including equity, accessibility, sustainability, global inclusivity, hybridity, and safety. Site selection must also take place in coordination with ACM.
Before appointing volunteers as General Chairs (GCs) and Technical Program Chairs (TPCs), the Steering Committee Chair(s) must obtain final approval from the SIGCHI President. This approval is contingent on a number of factors including prior experience, diversity of leadership, and ethics and professional conduct. Thus, approval may be not granted for a host of reasons that may have nothing to do with the quality of the candidate. Further, towards upholding the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, the SIGCHI President may at any time confer with the SIGCHI EC, SIGCHI CARES, other SIGCHI volunteers, and the ACM (including the Sanctions Database) to check that any volunteers serving the conference are likely to have upheld the ACM Code of Conduct in the past, and are likely to do so in future. If this process results in the loss of confidence in an individual’s ability to serve, the SIGCHI President may, on behalf of the SIGCHI EC, decline or revoke an appointment.
The SC is expected to support its GC(s) and TPC(s) as they prepare the budget and technical program for their conference. The budget is then reviewed by ACM before the final approval from the SIGCHI VP Conferences.
The SC chair(s) and GC(s)/TPC(s)—once appointed—are strongly encouraged to participate in regular meetings hosted by the SIGCHI VP Conferences towards enabling the dissemination of knowledge relevant for the organization of SIGCHI conferences.
The SC is expected to work with the SIGCHI VP Conferences to ensure conference representation at SIGCHI EC meetings when issues relevant to the conference are under consideration in these meetings.
The SC must seek approval from the SIGCHI VP Conferences when a major change is planned for the conference such as a change in location, in leadership roles, or to the budget regarding individual items or more than 20% of the total submitted budget.
The SC is responsible for maintaining a dedicated website for its conference, listing its bylaws, the current and prior SCs, and links to current and prior instances of its conference.
The SC is strongly encouraged to communicate upcoming changes within the SC and its members, and in how conferences are organized, to its community in advance, such as at the town hall of the preceding conference.
The SC is strongly encouraged to conduct surveys to gather community input and feedback from year to year, to enable meaningful comparisons to be drawn longitudinally and shared with the conference community.