3.0 ADMINISTRATION

3.1     EWRI Governing Board

The EWRI GB has overall fiduciary, legal and strategic responsibility for the Institute. Its primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Representing EWRI interests to the ASCE Board of Direction (BOD), including support for EWRI policy statements, position papers, resolutions and recommendations for liaison appointments to other organizations,
• Providing interpretations of, and initiating changes to, EWRI Bylaws, EWRI Handbook, Memoranda of Understanding and related ASCE matters that impinge on EWRI activities,
• Establishing EWRI’s annual budget,
• Establishing and appointing members to GB s to assist the GB in carrying out EWRI business,
• Providing guidance and oversight to the EWRI Director and staff,
• Approving the appointment of EWRI Executive chairs,
• Setting membership dues and policies,
• Leading the Institute in a strategic direction by focusing on continuous strategic planning, determining desired outcomes, and developing initiatives to work towards meeting those goals,
• Negotiating on behalf of the Institute with ASCE for services ASCE provides to the Institute,
• Working closely with the ASCE Managing Director of Engineering Programs to select, supervise, and discharge the Director of EWRI,
• Operating the Institute with the intent of building and maintaining Institute reserves in accordance with ASCE Policy,
• Providing advice and consent to ExCom and Board chairs regarding council/ makeup and membership,
• Maintaining close liaison with the Technical Coordination ExCom and the Institute Operations ExCom,
• Assessing and evaluating ExComs and Board,
• Participating in the meetings and activities of the Technical Region Board of Governors (TRBG) as set forth in the Technical Region Bylaws.

3.2    EWRI Executive Committees

The ExComs are responsible for the coordination of EWRI activities through their respective councils and s. Each ExCom Chair is the liaison between the GB and the ExCom’s respective councils and standing committees. Their specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Ensuring that the GB is informed about EWRI activities, particularly those activities requiring GB approval,
• Implementing policies and procedures established by the GB,
• Assuring that all PAES forms are submitted in a timely fashion,
• Establishing new councils/standing s as deemed necessary to fulfill EWRI’s mission,
• Establishing and dissolving councils and/or reorganizing the council structure as deemed necessary to fulfill EWRI’s mission,
• Monitoring council/standing activity and initiating any actions necessary to encourage EWRI council/standing productivity,
• Stimulating the councils to explore new areas of technical, educational and professional interest,
• Encouraging councils/s to collaborate with other Institute and ASCE entities and external organizations to foster cooperation and avoid duplication of effort,
• Making recommendations and encouraging the implementation of inter-committee and inter-EWRI liaison where a particular topic overlaps the objectives of more than one council/standing.

3.3    EWRI Councils

The councils are responsible for broad areas of technical coordination and institute operations. Their role is to provide oversight, impetus, encouragement, and coordination to the s under their guidance. The councils, along with EWRI staff, carry the primary responsibility within EWRI for the accomplishment of EWRI products and activities.

Their specific responsibilities to the s they supervise include but are not limited to, the following:

• Champion the focused area of their responsibility,
• Evaluating and stimulating the viability of committees,
• Encouraging good leadership,
• Communicating EWRI policies and procedures,
• Assuring all PAES are submitted in a timely manner,
• Facilitating communications between various s within their council and across council and ExCom lines,
• Approving appropriate requests within their level of responsibility,
• Encouraging a strong nomination process for ASCE and EWRI award,
• Establishing rules of conducts regarding such items as membership numbers, terms, council liaison responsibilities, etc.

3.4    EWRI Staff

The staff provide essential administrative and logistical support to EWRI. The staff are also responsible for the record keeping necessary to ensure the institutional memory of an organization largely consisting of volunteer members. A listing of assignments is included in Appendix B of the Handbook. Responsibilities of EWRI staff include, but are not limited to the following:

• Facilitating the development of EWRI products and services,
• Acting as liaison between their assigned EWRI GB/councils/committees and other ASCE staff departments to assure expedited accomplishment of EWRI business,
• Administering requests for funding and reimbursement of GB/ExCom/council/committee member expenses,
• Maintaining up-to-date budget status records and providing periodic status reports to the EWRI GB/ExComs/councils/committees,
• Maintaining a record of GB/ ExCom/council/ actions and a list of ongoing activities,
• Compiling GB/ExCom/council/committee input to the ASCE Official Register and maintaining up–to–date membership rosters,
• Maintaining, updating, and improving the EWRI Website and other information resources in cooperation with the ASCE web team.

EWRI staff are vital to the work of the GB, ExComs, councils, committees, their chairs and their members. Staff possess the same skills and experience in handling EWRI and ASCE affairs as the Institute members do in managing their own full-time careers. Often, staff are overloaded and yet underutilized by volunteer leaders. They are overloaded in terms of administrative work that ought to be handled mainly by volunteers if it is truly worth doing. They are underutilized in that they can often contribute important perspectives and EWRI and ASCE “institutional knowledge,” including information on Bylaws, procedures, history, and individuals.

Some of the areas where EWRI staff and volunteer members share responsibilities:

3.5    Conduct of EWRI Business

There are three basic options for conducting EWRI business: face-to-face meetings, conference calls, and electronic communications. A four-hour meeting is required for travel expense reimbursement. Frequent communications between members of EWRI organizational entities is encouraged as a means of ensuring that business does not lag.

EWRI meetings are to be conducted in an efficient and orderly manner. To the extent appropriate, meeting chairs are encouraged to adhere to the good meeting practices found in Robert’s Rules of Order (Newly Revised). A simple majority of the core group members constitutes a quorum. EWRI business meetings are open to any member in good standing of an ASCE entity and others admitted by the meeting chair with the understanding that they may not vote on motions and may not interfere with the orderly conduct of the meeting. Under appropriate circumstances and upon a motion of any core group member and affirmative vote of the core group members present, a meeting may be closed to non-core group members.

The GB President or committee chair is responsible for the draft agenda of the proposed meeting or conference call. The draft agenda should be distributed to all entity members and EWRI staff no later than 45 days before the meeting. If approval of a document is proposed for the meeting, the document and all appropriate supporting information should be submitted with the agenda. The draft agenda should justify the need for the meeting by describing the proposed purpose of the meeting, anticipated action items, and actions that have occurred since the last meeting. The draft agenda should accompany any request for meeting authorization. An item proposed for balloting should be made available as soon as possible to those responsible for voting as well as to those having a direct interest in the outcome of the ballot, but only in exceptional instances less than one week before the vote is required.

The secretary, or alternate member designated by the GB President or chair in the absence of the secretary, is responsible for recording the minutes of all meetings and conference calls or disposition of ballots and distributing such as suggested in Section 3.6.

3.6    Distribution of Minutes and Correspondence

Minutes should be prepared and submitted within 30 days of any approved meeting. Copies should be distributed to:

• GB/council/ members;
• The appropriate EWRI staff;
• Other  council/ chairs, to facilitate the transfer of information; and
• The EWRI Newsletter Editor, if deemed newsworthy.

Copies of correspondence should follow the same distribution as minutes.

EWRI stationery may be obtained from the assigned EWRI staff. An electronic logo for insertion into electronic mail and facsimile transmissions is also available from EWRI staff.  

3.7    Reimbursement of Council/ Operating Expenses

Reimbursement is subject to prior written EWRI staff approval. EWRI may reimburse shipping, copying, and telephone expenses incurred by members subject to the availability of funds. Unless the EWRI GB makes an exception, reimbursement is limited to those persons who are EWRI members in good standing at the time the expense is incurred. EWRI members may request reimbursement for a non-meeting activity by submitting the Activity (Non-Meeting) Authorization & Reimbursement Request Form to EWRI staff.

EWRI members and their employers often absorb a portion of operation expenses.

 

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