Committee Procedures

Meeting Procedures

The goal is group consensus and the input and endorsement of imaging community stakeholders on major decisions.

• When participation at a given meeting is not open to all committee members, (e.g. it takes place at an “invitation-only” face-to-face event and remote access is not provided for the committee meeting), that meeting will not be considered an official meeting of that committee. No official decisions will be made and attendance will not count toward or against voting privileges.
  • Typically, Secretariat staff are present at meetings and capturing attendance. If staff is not present, the chair will need to ensure that attendance records are captured and submitted to Secretariat staff.
  • If possible, it is still desirable for minutes to be recorded, but the unofficial status will be noted

A record of committee decisions and rationale is necessary to be effective and learn.

• Secretariat (RSNA) records minutes (call summaries) for meetings of Committees (but not Task Forces)
• Chairs are strongly encouraged to support the Secretariat by reviewing/correcting the draft minutes circulated by the Secretariat
• Secretariat maintains rosters of the members of each committee and their participation. Those details are used to determine which members currently have Voting Privileges
  • Members who believe their attendance record is in error should contact the secretariat

Voting

Most committee work doesn't need a vote. At the discretion of committee chairs and members, however, decisions can be put to a vote during meetings. This also facilitates recording key decisions in the minutes.

• Chairs accept motions, seconds, discussion, and then call for a vote
  • At its simplest, the Chair asks for objections, then asks for abstentions, and the Secretariat notes those names. The rest of those present with voting privileges can safely be assumed to have voted in favor
• Members who have Voting Privileges count towards quorum and may vote
• Chairs resolve negative votes and large numbers of abstentions per the consensus process
  • details of the resolution discussion in the minutes is desirable
• Secretariat records the motion, the tally of those against/abstaining/in-favor, and the details of negative votes in the minutes
  • If attendance, eligibility and quorum cannot be determined during the meeting, vote results will be ratified after the call and entered into the minutes by the Secretariat

Email Ballot

Some decisions are put to ballot. This allows more deliberation on the subject material than a vote in committee.

• Chairs submit the ballot question and length of the ballot period to the Secretariat
  • The ballot period may be specified by the particular procedure that calls for a ballot
  • It is generally not less than 14 days to allow for members away on vacation
  • If reviewing lengthy documents or collecting feedback within member organizations is involved 30 days or more is better
• Secretariat emails the ballot to all members with Voting Privileges on the committee making the decision
• Secretariat emails a notification of ineligibility to the rest of the members of the committee making the decision
  • Members who do not have Voting Privileges will thus be aware of the ballot and are still permitted to submit comments
  • Members who believe their attendance record is in error can review of their attendance with the secretariat and if they are found to be eligible will be sent a ballot
• Secretariat compiles the ballot responses and comments for the Chairs
• Chairs ratify the resulting tally in the next committee meeting
  • this includes resolving negative votes and large numbers of abstentions per the consensus process
• Secretariat records resolution results/rationale in the minutes

Quorum

For a vote or ballot to be valid, at least 50% of those with voting privileges must have participated (by either voting in favor, objecting, or abstaining).

Consensus Process

As a group setting standards on behalf of a community, QIBA Committees actively seek to pursue Consensus.

• a vote/ballot passes with a quorum of votes and a majority of votes in favor, but
  • a negative vote or votes should result in subsequent discussion to
    • understand the reason for such (a) negative vote(s) and attempt to find a compromise or resolution; associated edits to the document under ballot do not typically require re-balloting
  • a large number of abstentions may also warrant discussion; it may indicate many people have:
    • misgivings
    • not been able to adequately evaluate the question

Committee Leadership

• Coordinating Committees, Biomarker Committees and Task Forces are encouraged to have 2 or 3 leaders who are preferably drawn from diverse backgrounds (Researchers, Clinicians, Physicists, Vendors, Regulators, etc.)
  • If not possible, committees are permitted to have some concentration but should discuss plans to expand the breadth of stakeholder representation at least annually

See Also

• QIBA Committees