SPS Chapter Services

The IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) has more than 16,000 members worldwide – over 16,000 people’s worth of knowledge and ideas spread around the globe. While the conveniences of modern technology have certainly made worldwide communication easier, there’s great value in exchanging ideas face-to-face. To facilitate in-person involvement, IEEE and SPS utilize Chapters. Chapters are geographically-defined technical groups of 12 or more Society members. SPS has more than 150 active Chapters, bringing members together to fulfill IEEE and SPS missions at the local level.

Chapters are integral to building a signal processing community locally and globally. While establishing a new Chapter can be exciting, it takes a great deal of planning and organization to make a Chapter thrive. IEEE and SPS offer a number of resources to not only make Chapter promotion and communication easier, but to strengthen your Chapter through activities, member recruitment tools, and incentives.

Activities
Chapters are required to meet a minimum of twice per year. However, more frequent and involved Chapter activities are encouraged to promote the health, efficiency, and productivity of the Chapter. Some activities may include:

• Formal lectures delivered by Distinguished Lecturers or other invited speakers;
• Networking events with members and industry representatives;
• Workshops and tutorials;
• Social events such as pizza parties, barbecues, coffee breaks, etc.

Member Recruitment
Person-to-person interactions are not just a great way to connect with your local Chapter members, but they’re the ideal way to grow your Chapter’s membership and encourage involvement. Here are some recruitment best practices you may want to implement for your Chapter:

• Have membership brochures and applications available at Chapter events;
• Promote half-year dues to potential new members (half-year pricing for the 2014 membership year ends on 15 August);
• Use IEEE and non-IEEE tools to effectively promote and advertise Chapter events (vTools, Entity web hosting, newspaper advertisements, flyers, etc.);
• Bring a friend or colleague to a Chapter meeting;
• Include membership recruitment reminders in Chapter newsletters;
• Participate in a professional career/society event and have a table exhibit showcasing the benefits of Chapter membership;
• Share positive SPS Chapter experiences with colleagues during professional meetings.

Incentives:

Chapter Certification: SPS established the Chapter Certification Program to improve two-way communication with Chapters and assess their levels of activity, growth, and interest. Once certified, a Chapter’s certification will last for four years and include a variety of benefits, including:

• A certificate of merit plaque to the Chapter Chair;
• An appreciation certificate to each officer of the Chapter;
• Ability for a Chapter Chair to apply for a travel support grant (up to $500 per Chapter) to attend the next Chapter Chairs meeting;
• Visibility of the IEEE SPS webpage;
• A membership growth reward of $50 per new member (up to $500) in additional funding for Chapter activities.

Chapter of the Year Award: Certified Chapters are eligible for the Chapter of the Year Award, presented annual to the best-performing Chapter. The award will be presented annually to the winning Chapter’s representative at the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP). The winning Chapter will receive a certificate and a check in the amount of $1,000 to support local Chapter activities.

Looking towards the future, SPS plans to continue its work with Chapters – revitalizing Chapter tools, increasing membership development resources, and providing more meaningful ways to connect with your fellow members. If you have any questions about Chapter activities or requests for SPS Chapter support, please e-mail the SPS Chapters coordinator Sven Loncaric. Or, if you have questions or ideas about SPS and Chapter member recruitment and development, e-mail the SPS Membership team.