William Ratcliff
Region 3 Communications Committee Chair
w.ratcliff@ieee.org
The cost of conducting face to face meetings and conferences is proving to be a limiting factor in many projects within IEEE, universities and some industries. In Region 3 we have proven that electronic conferencing can fill the gap. The e-Conferencing Project has achieved its' objectives and the capability is now integral to Region 3 operations. Although the e-Conferencing Project is closed...The journey of enhancing the tools and methodology in support of collaborative work continues.
From the e-Conferencing concepts derived in 1999 to the latest Region 3 ExCom meeting on 12 January 2004 the econferencing methodology continues to allow the Region 3 volunteers to work between face to face meetings. Over 400 meetings, involving groups such as the Region 3 ExCom, Councils, Sections, Committees (MDC, Conferences, Leadership Training, SPC, ...) have effectively utilized the methodology. The Region 3 ExCom has held at least six meetings that include voting and executive sessions.
The Guidelines are posted to the e-Conferencing web site ( https://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/e-conf/guidelines/ )and are available for use. Meetings can be held at no incremental cost since clients are available as either open source or freeware and the IEEE server is available to all IEEE units.
The set of tools continues to be expanded in Region 3 and the Institute but the real benefit goes beyond the tools ... it is the total methodology involved in supporting a collaborative working environment. The benefits of the current capability or a forecast of future enhancements could be enumerated but until you actually experience these techniques in action no amount of words will be convincing. Join us anytime and we'll be glad to involve you in one of our e-conferences. The
Region 3 Communications Committee among others meets on a regular basis. (the schedule is posted on https://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/e-conf/ along with the links to the agenda).
Let us know how we can help you get started.