1. Report to TAB Finance Committee May 12, 2005
Sensors Council
Report to TAB Finance Committee May 12, 2005
Christina Schober VP Finances
Bob Bannon Treasurer/ Secretary

2. Outline Sensors Council History Sensors Council Activities
Sensors Council Reserves
Sensors Council Net
Plans
Issues
FinCom’s Q & Council’s A
5/12/2005

3. History 1999: Formed under the leadership of John Vig
Purpose: Foster joint activities among Societies doing sensors
26 Societies participate
2001: Sensors Journal 1st published
2002: IEEE SENSORS conference initiated
5/12/2005

4. IEEE Sensors Conference Summary
5/12/2005

5. Conferences
Sensor Council goal is a Global rotation of locations, with a 3 year cycle
Americas
Europe & Africa
Asia
3rd Week October is target week
5/12/2005

6. Conferences 2005 in Irvine, California 2006 Daegu, Korea
2002 in Orlando, Florida
2003 in Toronto, Canada
2004 in Vienna, Austria
2005 in Irvine, California
2006 Daegu, Korea
2007 Venue Selection in Process
2008 Atlanta, Georgia
2009 Leece, Italy or Athens, Greece
2010 Sydney, Australia or Beijing, China
5/12/2005

7. Conference Financial budget summaries
2002 Orlando, Florida, USA
2002 Conf loss -$59.9k *audited
2003 Toronto Canada
2003 Conference loss -$43.6k US * audited
(2003 Hotel Attrition payoff was –29.1k US)
2004 Vienna Austria
2004 Conference gain k US ** in process of closing
2005 Irvine, CA, USA
2005 Conference gain +101k US *** current budget
5/12/2005

8. Publication income from Conference pubs
2002 Conf Proceedings Income +$69.3k
2003 Conf Proceedings Income k
2004 Conf Proceedings Income +51k
Budget
2005 Conf Pub Income budget $58k
2006 Conf Pub Income budget $59.7k
2007 Conf Pub Income budget $61.5k
New usage model in effect for 2004
5/12/2005

9. 2002/2003/2004/2005 Florida/Toronto/Vienna/Irvine Registration #’s
Attendees
# of students in total
~63 ~
Tutorials
5/12/2005

10. Sensors Conf 2004 What went right! Better Management
Committee managed budget & expenses (no management company)
Includes returning $15k Seed money to Sensors Council.
Two bank accounts set up one US, one Austria. Only US did get seed money (in Oct).
Multiple donations from Vienna University (meeting rooms etc)
Food & Beverages provided at lower rate from University services
Donation of city of ½ banquet costs
No exposure to hotel attrition, room block or food & beverage minimums
5/12/2005

11. IEEE Sensors 2005 Irvine, California
The 4th IEEE Conference on Sensors
Hyatt Regency Irvine
Irvine, California
Oct Nov. 3, 2005
Important Dates:
Abstract Submission: April 15, 2005
Author Notification: June 30, 2005
Full Paper Deadline: October 1, 2005

12. Sensor Conf Bids must include
Location & Date
Proposed General Chair
Experience in Org activities
Experience in IEEE CV
Location Description
Advantages/Disadvantages
How easy to reach by air
Visa needed?
Local transportation
Nearby City
Weather
Tourist facilities
Price Level
Other attractive items?
Facilities at Location
Conference Rooms
Hotels (availability, affordability)
Public Transportation
Cost Plan/budget
Pessimistic, Most Likely, optimistic
# of expected participants
Profit
Conf rooms & facilities
Food & Beverages
Financial backup (government, societies, industry)
Financial risks (guarantee that losses will be covered?)
Organizing committee
General Chair
Vice chairs are fixed (past & future general chairs)
Local Chair
Treasurer
Exhibition & sponsoring chair
Publications chair
Turorials chair
Publicity chair
TPC Chairs (concensus with VP of Conf)
Local Organizing Committee
Organizing agency?
5/12/2005

13. IEEE Sensors Journal Summary
5/12/2005

14. Sensor Journal as of Oct 28, 2004
Nonmember subscriptions: 37 print, 7 online as of the September month end
Member: print, 406 online, 271 print plus online (combo)
Pricing plan for 2006
Total paper costs are $48.9K. "Incremental" cost as defined in the budget is $
Using new guidelines, the 2006 price is $31 for full members.
e-subscription
There is no estimate for the cost of an e-subscription, as all Xplore costs are allocations of allocations of allocations. This journal’s flat-rate share of the expense is $10.1K.
What's ignored is a missing expense for set-up of a subscription, which averages around $5 but is applied to neither the print or online membership subscription variable expenses.
It was noted in budgets during prior year, but I don't see it being done now.
5/12/2005

15. Sensors Journal Pages Budget vs. Actuals
Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Budget
416
720
928
1200
976
1020
(nets $117K)
1110
Actual
400
732
888
916
Will meet
5/12/2005

16. Newsletter starting in 2005
Two issues per year (Jan & July)
Contacting each member society for appointing an Associate Editor who can provide short articles on sensor activity of his society.
Use newsletter for timely reports on conferences
Report on ten most popular articles published in the IEEE Sensors Journal viewed on line based on PDF views through IEEE Xplore
We could also include the most frequently viewed articles from the latest IEEE SENSORS 200X proceedings.
Editor
M. Nurul Abedin, Ph.D.
Passive Sensor Systems Branch
NASA Langley Research Center
5/12/2005

17. Reserves Initially 26 Societies contributed $2K each = $52k in 1999
TAB loan of $100K in 2000
2002 paid back $100K TAB loan
Reserves currently at $284K
Projected 2005 yr-end reserves = $430K
5/12/2005

18. Plans Begin fostering joint activities
Participate in Earth Observation Summit
Develop Web-based tutorials
Initiate joint workshops dealing with interface activities
Inaugurate joint Distinguished Lecturer programs
5/12/2005

19. Issues Journal Budget Increased infrastructure allocations
Increased publishing costs in 2004
Voluntary page charges increased in 2006 budget
Increased infrastructure allocations
5/12/2005

20. New 2006 Sensors Journal Pricing
Print -- $590
Online -- $590
Combo -- $720
5/12/2005

21. FinCom Questions
In what year is your S/C expecting to achieve breakeven or better, and what specific actions are you taking to do this?
2004 was positive.
Actually 2003 was positive k
Hotel attrition for 2003 paid in 2004
5/12/2005

22. FinCom’s Questions (Reserves)
What actions are you taking to increase the revenue line while decreasing the expense line?
Reserves > 50% of expenses
Adjusted Journal costs / pricing
Budgeting conferences for 30% profit to ensure surplus (vs. IEEE recommended 20%)
Positive Actions have been put in place; Sensors Council is OK!
5/12/2005

23. FinCom Questions (Business Plan)
We would also like to hear other elements of your business plan, such as:
Do your dues and member sub prices meet the incremental costs of membership and optional publications? Yes
Are conference fees high enough with respect to your competitors? Yes
Are expenses under control? Yes
5/12/2005

24. Summary Actual or budget operating accounts positive to date
Reserves are growing
Corrected Conference and Journal problems
Initiating new, joint activities
5/12/2005

25. Summary – cont’d. Sensors Council has a Strategic Plan
Sensors Council has a projected and sustainable growing reserves
Sensors Council has addressed all areas of financial concerns
Sensors Council should be removed from the watch list
5/12/2005