Search
Close this search box.

Rules & Procedures

Part 1: I-INCE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Part 1 of the I-INCE Rules for Operation
I-INCE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
PDF version of Part 1
ARTICLE 1. COMPOSITION

The I-INCE General Assembly shall be composed of:

  • Corresponding members (representatives) of the Member Societies,
  • Members of the Board of Directors,
  • Representatives of Sustaining Members, Institutional Members, Affiliated Organizations, and other organizations in liaison with I-INCE may attend meetings of the General Assembly without vote, and
  • Any member of a Member Society of I-INCE may attend meetings of the General Assembly without vote.
ARTICLE 2: MEETINGS

Meetings of the General Assembly shall be held in conjunction with the INTER-NOISE Congresses at the call of the I-INCE President. The President shall normally chair the meetings of the General Assembly. The Secretary-General shall provide notice to the Board and General Assembly of the meeting date, time, and location at least two weeks prior to the meeting. Information regarding substantive matters to be discussed and/or acted upon at a meeting shall also be provided at least two weeks prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE 3: MEMBER SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVES

In accordance with Article 12.1 of the Bylaws, a Member Society shall appoint one of its individual members to serve as its corresponding member and representative at meetings of the General Assembly. This individual shall be involved with the control of noise and shall represent the Member Society within I-INCE. The corresponding member shall be the primary contact of the Member Society with the I-INCE Secretariat and shall be responsible for submitting nominations for I-INCE positions and for responses on voting issues and other matters on which the position of the Member Society is requested. This individual shall participate in correspondence on elections and other matters before and after the annual meeting of the General Assembly. The representative assumes the responsibility for informing the Member Society’s officers of actions taken at all meetings of the General Assembly. A Member Society shall notify the I-INCE Secretariat of such appointment by e-mail, and the I-INCE Secretariat shall be informed of any changes in representative at least two weeks prior to the next General Assembly meeting.

ARTICLE 4: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE

Directors-at-Large are intended to broaden the scope of representation from the General Assembly on the I-INCE Board, to increase the diversity of perspectives of the Board, and to provide opportunities for younger noise control engineering professionals to participate as members of the Board.

Every year beginning in 2017 the General Assembly will elect one Director at-Large who is a member of an I-INCE Member Society to the I-INCE Board of Directors for a three-year term. The election of the Board member shall be conducted as follows: 2

  • One member from each of three Member Societies from different geographical regions (Europe- Africa, Pan-America, and Asia-Pacific) will be elected to the Board on a staggered basis beginning with Europe-Africa in 2017, followed by Pan-America in 2018, and Asia-Pacific in 2019. The sequence will begin again with Europe-Africa in 2020. (During the transition period from 2017 through 2019, the current Director at-Large Board members from Pan-America and Asia Pacific will serve for an extended term until the respective elections occur.)
  • At least six months in advance of a meeting of the General Assembly, the Member Societies from the appropriate geographic region will be invited and strongly encouraged to nominate candidates who are involved with the control of noise from the appropriate geographical region for that year as noted below.
  • The corresponding member for each I-INCE Member Society will submit the names of candidates with a brief paragraph describing the background of each.
  • Each candidate should preferably be selected from among the younger individual members of the Member Society.
  • The compiled listing of candidates and background paragraphs will be circulated to the Member Societies and posted on the I-INCE website at least two weeks in advance of the General Assembly meeting at which the election will take place.
ARTICLE 5: MEMBER SOCIETY ANNUAL PAYMENTS

Each Member Society shall make an annual payment in response to an invoice received from the I-INCE Treasurer. The invoice shall normally be sent by February 15 and the deadline for payment shall be April 15.

ARTICLE 6: MEMBER SOCIETY CATEGORIES

A Member Society’s category shall be based on the number of individual members of the Member Society professionally involved in the engineering control of noise and vibration. Categories correspond to a small, medium, or large number of individual members who are professionally involved in activities related to the Institute’s field of interest (See Article 2 of the I-INCE Bylaws). The I-INCE Secretariat shall maintain a list of the categories assigned to the Member Societies.

A society applying to become an I-INCE Member Society may propose its category, subject to the approval of the General Assembly. A Member Society may submit a formal request to the I-INCE Secretariat to change its category if justified by relevant data. The request shall be acted on at the next following meeting of the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 7: UNIT ANNUAL PAYMENT

The amount of the annual payment for each member category shall be fixed by formal vote of the General Assembly at its meeting in the year before the year in which payments are to be made.

ARTICLE 8: DELINQUENCY IN ANNUAL PAYMENTS

A Member Society payment shall be considered past due if the annual payment is not received by the I-INCE Treasurer by April 15. If payment is not received by October 15, the Member Society shall be considered delinquent. The Treasurer shall inform the meeting of the General Assembly of any such delinquent members. A delinquent Member Society shall be suspended from voting in the General Assembly and participating in the technical work of the Institute including being ineligible to submit a proposal for an INTER-NOISE congress or I-INCE symposium. 3

The General Assembly shall require the Board to take appropriate actions during the following year to investigate such delinquencies, and to report to the following meeting of the General Assembly which will make the decision for reinstatement, further suspension or termination of the delinquent society’s membership in the Institute.

ARTICLE 9: VOTING

Member Societies have an obligation to vote on issues that are brought to the General Assembly. The corresponding member of a Member Society shall have the opportunity to participate in the oral discussion of issues considered at a meeting of the General Assembly.

A voting paper shall be prepared for an issue to be considered at a meeting of the General Assembly. On substantive issues, the I-INCE Secretariat shall post on the I-INCE website and email voting papers to the Member Societies at least four weeks in advance of a meeting of the General Assembly. If a voting paper is returned by e-mail or via web-based voting, it should be signed either by an officer of the Member Society or by the Member Society’s corresponding member. If a voting paper is not returned in advance of a meeting of the General Assembly, the Member Society’s representative may cast the Member Society’s vote during the meeting of the General Assembly. Reasons for a negative vote shall be indicated on the voting paper or stated by the corresponding member at the meeting of the General Assembly.

Approval of an issue by the General Assembly shall be by a simple majority or by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, depending upon the matter at hand, as described below.

Approval of a change in the annual payment and General Assembly initiated amendments to the Bylaws and Rules of the Institute requires an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all votes cast, with abstentions not counted.

Voting procedures for formal I-INCE technical reports are given in Part 2 of these Rules. All other actions by the General Assembly require a simple majority of the votes cast for approval, with abstentions not counted.

NOTE: Part 1 of the I-INCE Rules was originally approved by the General Assembly at its meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 1998 November 15 and revised on 2010 June 13, 2014, November 16, and 2017 August 27.

Part 2: I-INCE TECHNICAL STUDY GROUPS
Part 2 of the I-INCE Rules for Operation
I-INCE TECHNICAL STUDY GROUPS
PDF version of Part 2
ARTICLE 1: ACTIVITIES OF I-INCE TECHNICAL STUDY GROUPS, TASK GROUPS, OR COMMITTEES

The studies to be undertaken by technical study groups and/or other technical committees or ad hoc task forces (as appointed by the I-INCE Board or recommended by the General Assembly) are focused on noise control engineering issues of international or global interest. While these issues may involve important policy or public dissemination matters, they must all have a significant technological content and be directly relevant to the mission of I-INCE.

The activities of a technical study group, committee or task group may include the following:

  • assessment of current or new technologies
  • development of noise control policy, guidelines, or implementation plans
  • organization of special sessions or workshops at INTER-NOISE Congresses or I-INCE-sponsored events
  • organization of I-INCE Symposia
  • development of special issues of Noise Control Engineering Journal
  • presentation of papers at INTER-NOISE Congresses

The short and long term studies of technical study groups must be disseminated on a timely basis and may result in the preparation of:

  • informal white papers or web based articles
  • technical articles or presentations
  • formal I-INCE report(s) that require approval via formal vote by the I-INCE membership
  • results of a benchmarking or round-robin studies
  • information to be disseminated in other forms
ARTICLE 2: PROPOSALS FOR NEW TECHNICAL STUDY GROUPS, TASK GROUPS, OR COMMITTEES

Proposals shall be prepared and forwarded to the I-INCE Vice President of Professional Programs who will submit them to the I-INCE Board for approval. Each proposal shall contain the following information:

  1. The proposed title for the technical study group, task group, or committee
  2. The name(s) of the proposer(s), along with a recommendation of suitable conveners or chairs and members representing the I-INCE community
  3. The proposed scope and technical justification of the study, task, or committee
  4. The proposed program and milestones (including intended publications) of the study, task, or committee
  5. The proposed dates for completion of milestones and duration of the study, task, or committee
  6. If available, an initial working draft for consideration by the technical study group, task group, or committee.
ARTICLE 3: RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE I-INCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Technical study groups, task groups, or committees shall be established and dissolved by the Board of Directors who will inform the I-INCE General Assembly of actions taken. The Board shall:

  1. Consider for approval the proposals submitted by the Vice President of Professional Programs for new technical study groups, committees or task groups. This includes an approval of the scope, and work program, as well priorities and schedule for the milestones. The I-INCE Board may request the I-INCE Member Societies to nominate technical experts to serve as members (or observers) of the technical study or task group.
  2. Confirm the appointment of Conveners or Chairs of technical study groups, task groups, or committees.
  3. Monitor the progress of all technical work and take appropriate action if there are significant delays in the completion of scheduled milestones. If a group extends its work beyond the allotted time, it must seek renewal by the Board on a timely basis.
  4. Consider for approval, for submission to the General Assembly for approval via formal vote, a draft of an I-INCE report prepared by a technical study group, task group, or committee.
  5. Dissolve a technical study group, task group, or committee upon completion of its assigned tasks or upon failure to meet its objectives.
ARTICLE 4: RESPONSIBILITIES OF A TECHNICAL STUDY GROUP, TASK GROUP OR COMMITTEE CHAIR OR CONVENER

Management of a technical study group, task group, or committee is the responsibility of the convener(s) or chairs who must perform the following tasks.

  • Manage the development of the technical study group, task group, or committee and the preparation of documents for publication.
  • Organize and chair meetings of the technical study group, task group, or committee. Submit timely progress reports, publication drafts and information of any significant problems affecting progress to the Vice President of Professional Programs in accordance with the agreed schedule of technical study group, task group, or committee activities.
ARTICLE 5: MEETINGS OF A TECHNICAL STUDY GROUP, TASK GROUP, OR COMMITTEE

Technical study group, task group, or committee meetings shall ideally be scheduled to occur immediately before, during, or after INTER-NOISE Congresses. Between meetings, all business will normally be accomplished by e-mail or postings on the I-INCE web site. The Vice President of Professional Programs shall be informed of such meetings and their agendas.

The technical study group, task group, or committee should begin its work as soon as possible after the proposed initiative is approved by the Board. The immediate objectives as work is begun are the 6

following:

  • Obtain agreement on a precise wording of the scope to include the topics to be covered and those to be excluded.
  • Develop a plan of action with a tentative, but realistic, estimate of the time schedule for completion of major milestones.
  • Preparation of the voting draft of an I-INCE report should normally require no more than two years.
ARTICLE 6: VOTING PROCEDURES FOR APPROVAL OF FORMAL I-INCE REPORTS

A voting draft of an I-INCE report shall be submitted by the convener to the Vice President of Professional Programs in electronic form. (Note: Only formal I-INCE reports are subject to voting.) The Vice President may seek reviews by anonymous experts on the suitability of its contents before posting on the I-INCE website. (Secretariat: Note that technical articles or informal reports are not subject to any formal voting procedures.)

Two alternate methods for seeking votes of approval are possible. First, a formal voting draft may be posted on the I-INCE site, and voting shall then be via a secure link. A message shall be sent by the Secretariat to the Member Societies accordingly. The time limit for voting shall be about six weeks from the circulation date. Second, the ballot and draft may be circulated about six weeks before a meeting of the General Assembly at which the votes may be cast.

A vote to proceed with publication may be positive, negative with accompanying technical reasons for the negative vote, or abstention. Positive votes conditioned on the acceptance of substantive modifications to the text of the voting draft, as well as negative votes submitted without substantiating technical reasons, will not be accepted. A voting draft is approved for publication if a majority of the votes cast by the Member Societies is positive.

ARTICLE 7: I-INCE PUBLICATION OF FORMAL REPORTS

The VP of Professional Programs shall inform the I-INCE Board and the General Assembly of the voting results and action taken on I-INCE formal reports.

Before publication, the final version of a formal I-INCE report shall be assigned a reference number by the Secretariat. The reference number shall consist of the calendar year in which the document was approved for publication followed by a hyphen and an Arabic number assigned sequentially for that year, for example, “I-INCE Publication 2012-3.”

NOTE: This revised Part 2 of the I-INCE Rules was approved by the I-INCE Board at its meeting on 2012 August 18 and the General Assembly at its meeting on 2012 August 19 in New York, New York, USA. This version replaces the I-INCE Rules Part 2 that was approved by the General Assembly at its meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 1998 November 15. The most recent subsequent revision of Part 2 was approved by the General Assembly on 2023 August 20 in Chiba, Japan.

Part 3: I-INCE CONGRESS SELECTION COMMITTEE
Part 3 of the I-INCE Rules for Operation
I-INCE CONGRESS SELECTION COMMITTEE
PDF version of Part 3
ARTICLE 1: ESTABLISHMENT

A Congress Selection Committee (CSC) was established as a standing committee of the I- INCE General Assembly at a meeting of the General Assembly held in Fort Lauderdale, USA, on 1999 December 05. The purpose of the committee is to provide guidance in the selection of venues for future INTER-NOISE Congresses. These rules include subsequent amendments (See note below).

ARTICLE 2: MEMBERS

The CSC shall have thirteen (13) members. The members shall be the following: nine (9) individual members of I-INCE Member Societies from the three I-INCE geographical regions appointed by the General Assembly, the I-INCE President-Elect who serves as Chair of the CSC, and the three I-INCE Regional Vice Presidents. In addition, the I-INCE Secretary- General shall serve ex officio, without vote, as a member of the committee.

The I-INCE geographical regions of the world are Europe-Africa, Pan-America, and Asia-Pacific. Each region shall be represented on the CSC by preferably three but at least two (and no more than 4) of the nine members appointed by the General Assembly.

A nominating committee consisting of the I-INCE President-Elect and the I-INCE Vice Presidents of the three regions shall present a slate of nominees to the General Assembly for positions to be filled on the CSC. Each Vice President shall consult with Member Societies in the region when selecting nominees for CSC membership. The slate of nominees shall be approved by the General Assembly. Service as an appointed member of the CSC is contingent on the I-INCE dues of the Member Society (to which the member belongs) being current.

ARTICLE 3: TERMS OF SERVICE

Those members of the CSC who are appointed by the General Assembly shall serve for a period of three (3) years. Each three-year term shall terminate on a rotation schedule such that three (3) new members are appointed every year by the General Assembly.

The terms of service for the members appointed by the General Assembly run from January 1 following the meeting of the General Assembly in which appointment occurred for three years.

The terms of service for the other members of the CSC shall coincide with their terms as officers of I-INCE. A member of the CSC appointed by the General Assembly may serve no more than a total of six consecutive years on the CSC as an appointee of the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 4: OFFICERS

The officers of the CSC shall consist of a Chair and a Secretary. The I-INCE President-Elect shall serve as the Chair. If the office of I-INCE President-Elect is vacant or the President-Elect is temporarily unable to serve as Chair, the I-INCE President or their designee selected from the current 8

Board membership shall serve as the Chair. The Secretary shall be selected by the CSC from among the members of the committee.

The Secretary of the CSC shall prepare the minutes of meetings of the CSC, and in collaboration with the Chair, prepare and distribute communications to members of the CSC and those making presentations at CSC meetings. With the assistance of the I-INCE Secretariat, the Secretary shall maintain a record of the members of the CSC with e-mail addresses.

ARTICLE 5: PRINCIPAL TASKS

The principal tasks of the CSC are to receive and evaluate proposals for future INTER-NOISE Congresses and to submit the committee’s recommendation, in the form of a rank-ordered listing of the proposals, to the I-INCE Board of Directors, which has the responsibility for inviting a Member Society (or group of Member Societies) to host and organize an INTER-NOISE Congress. The CSC members must not agree to serve on any planned congress’s international advisory boards before the congress site is formally announced by the Institute.

ARTICLE 6: MEETINGS

The Congress Selection Committee shall meet at least once during, or immediately before, each INTER-NOISE Congress. The Chair of the CSC shall call each meeting and prepare the agenda. The agenda shall be emailed to the CSC members at least 20 days before the intended meeting date. The Chair presides at meetings of the committee.

If a member of the CSC is unable to participate at a meeting, they should consult with the Chair of the CSC and the I-INCE Vice President for their region to propose a deputy to participate on their behalf, for that meeting only. The name and contact email for the deputy must be forwarded to Chair and Secretary of the CSC at least 7 calendar days before the time of the CSC meeting. That deputy assumes all the rights and obligations for the member in relation to that meeting. A quorum for the conduct of business is 7 members personally present. No proxy voting is allowed at a meeting of the CSC.

The Chair of the CSC may only vote to break a tie vote, and not to create a tie vote. The chair is not obligated to vote to break a tie.

ARTICLE 7: PLANNING CYCLE

I-INCE operates on a three-year planning cycle for the organization of an INTER-NOISE Congress. The invitation of the Board for a Member Society (or group of Member Societies) to host an INTER-NOISE Congress is extended three years in advance, i.e., at the third annual meeting of the Board preceding the future INTER-NOISE Congress. If Y is the year of the future congress, the invitation is extended in year Y-3. Preliminary planning starts two years earlier in year Y-5 with the Board decision on the geographical region for the congress. Hence, a Member Society that is interested in hosting an INTER-NOISE Congress should be considering possible dates that are more than three years in the future, and preferably four to eight years ahead.

ARTICLE 8: REGIONAL DECISION

By no later than its annual meeting in the year Y-5, the I-INCE Board shall decide on the geographical region where the INTER-NOISE Congress will be held in year Y. The congress shall be held at least once in each of the three I-INCE geographical regions over a four-year period. Within two months of the regional decision, the I-INCE Secretariat shall announce the selection of the geographical region to the I-INCE Member Societies. A Member Society in that geographical region may express a desire to host an INTER-NOISE Congress in the year Y by submitting an informal proposal to the Secretary of the CSC by e-mail.

ARTICLE 9: INFORMAL PROPOSALS
  • The recommended city within the proposed host country with brief description of venue
  • Proposed dates for the congress
  • Names of persons who have agreed to be the President and Technical Chair of the congress
  • Names of available host hotel or conference center
  • International travel accessibility to host city

A Member Society (or a group of Member Societies) may express its desire to host a future INTER-NOISE Congress by submitting an informal proposal in writing to the CSC Secretary by pdf attachment to e-mail at least 40 days prior to a meeting of the CSC. The Secretary of the CSC shall distribute the informal proposal electronically to the CSC at least 20 days prior to the meeting of the CSC at which it will be considered.

During Y-4, the fourth year before an INTER-NOISE Congress is to be held in a geographical region determined by the I-INCE Board, the CSC Secretary shall inform all Member Societies in that I-INCE geographical region of the desired content of an informal proposal. This proposal should normally be 2-4 pages only and including the following

The presentation to the CSC will be allocated a maximum of 5 minutes.

ARTICLE 10: DETAILED PROPOSALS

After consideration of informal proposals, the CSC shall recommend to the Board those Member Societies to be invited to submit detailed proposals for presentation to the CSC. This shall be done at least six months in advance of the annual CSC meeting by the I-INCE Secretary who will, with Board approval, extend a written invitation to a representative of each of the Member Societies selected.

The Secretary of the CSC shall then inform the selected Member Societies of the minimum content of a detailed proposal and provide:

  • a copy of the agreement with I-INCE that the Member Society is expected to sign if the detailed proposal is accepted by the I-INCE Board
  • the I-INCE guidelines for hosting a congress
  • the two most recent Congress Evaluation Committee reports
  • a format/template for the budget
  • the evaluation form that will be provided to the CSC committee members to assist with their evaluation of the proposals.

A detailed proposal to host a future INTER-NOISE Congress shall include at least the following items:

  • a proposed budget detailing projected income and expenses;
  • the anticipated number of participants;
  • any potential sources of external financial support;
  • a description of the congress center, hotel, and university locations for the plenary and technical sessions and for the exhibition;
  • the availability and experience of noise and vibration control engineers who could serve as members of the Organizing Committee;
  • the names, availability, and experience of the proposed Congress President, Technical Chair and key members of the Organizing Committee;
  • if the services of a Professional Congress Organizer (PCO) are to be used, the detailed proposal shall state and justify the estimated cost of these services.

The proposal shall be sent as an email attachment to the CSC secretary at least 40 days before the CSC meeting. The attachment should be in the form of a pdf with file size not exceeding 10 MB. The Secretary of the CSC shall distribute the proposal electronically to the CSC and the Board of Directors at least 20 days prior to the meeting of the CSC at which it will be considered.

ARTICLE 11: ORDER OF BUSINESS DURING ANNUAL CSC MEETING

The first item of business at a CSC meeting is to evaluate the informal proposals which have been received in the year Y-4 from the geographical region where the congress will be held in the year Y. In advance of the meeting, the Chair of the CSC shall offer a representative of each Member Society submitting an informal proposal the opportunity to make a five-minute presentation to the CSC.

The CSC shall recommend to the I-INCE Board which Member Societies are to be invited by the Secretary-General to submit detailed proposals at the CSC during year Y-3 to host an INTER-NOISE Congress in the year Y. No more than three (3) Member Societies, but at least one (1) Member Society, shall be invited to submit detailed proposals.

The second item of business at a CSC meeting is to evaluate the detailed proposals received in the year Y-3 from the Member Societies invited by the Secretary-General to submit these proposals. The presentation shall be limited to fifteen (15) minutes which will be followed by typically 5 minutes for questions from the CSC committee members.

ARTICLE 12: VOTING

Voting on all informal and detailed proposals shall be by written ballot. Only those CSC members (or their approved deputy) who are present during the presentations as well as the question and answer periods may vote. Each CSC member shall have one vote, except the Secretary General who serves ex officio, without vote. The Chair may only (at their option) vote to break, but not to create, a tie. Proxy votes shall not be accepted.

Approximately 40 days prior to the CSC meeting, the President-Elect shall contact each member of the CSC to determine if he or she will be present at the forthcoming meeting. A CSC member who is also a proposed Congress President (or co-President), Congress Technical Program Chair (or co-Technical Program Chair), President, President-elect or Secretary General (or equivalent) of a host (or co-host) I-INCE member organization shall not participate in the discussion or voting of the CSC for the relevant selection. Other members of the CSC who consider they have a conflict of interest may voluntarily exclude themselves from the discussion and voting of the CSC for the relevant selection.

The detailed proposals received by the CSC to host an INTER-NOISE Congress to be held in the year Y shall be rank-ordered by vote. The rank-ordered voting shall be carried out during the CSC meeting, so that the results are available to the I-INCE Board immediately after the CSC meeting.

ARTICLE 13: REPORT TO THE I-INCE BOARD

After each annual meeting of the CSC, the Board shall receive the report of the CSC Secretary, or designated alternate, with the rank-ordering of the detailed proposals. The Board shall select the Member Society to be invited to host the INTER-NOISE Congress to be held in year Y. Only when the Member Society receiving the top ranking is not acceptable for reasons outside the knowledge or responsibility of the CSC shall the Board select the Member Society with the next highest ranking.

ARTICLE 14:INVITATION AND ANNOUNCEMENT

The I-INCE President shall announce the decision concerning the Member Society to host the INTER-NOISE Congress in the year Y no later than 90 days following the closing plenary session of the INTER-NOISE Congress in the year Y-3.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, the I-INCE President shall issue a written invitation which accepts the detailed proposal that was submitted by the selected Member Society to host the INTER-NOISE Congress in the year Y. This letter of acceptance shall be sent within 90 days of the announcement.

NOTE: Part 3 of the I-INCE Rules was drafted by the Board of Directors at its meeting in Berlin, Germany, on 1999 March 13, and subsequently posted on the web for review by the I-INCE Member Societies on 1999 April 27. The draft of the rules was further reviewed at the meeting of the General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, USA, on 1999 December 05, and approved by the General Assembly for adoption on that date (with minor editing). The rules were amended and approved by the General Assembly on 2005 August 7, on 2010 June 13, on 2012 August 17, on 2014 November 16, on 2015 August 9, and on 2017 August 27.

SUMMARY: (The year in which a future congress will be held is Y)

Y-5

    • Board determines geographical region where congress will be held in year Y.

Y-4

    • Six months before the INTER-NOISE Congress, the I-INCE Secretary General invites Member Societies in that region to submit informal proposals for year Y.
    • 40 days before INTER-NOISE Congress, last date to submit informal proposals for year Y.
    • At CSC meeting, CSC reviews informal proposals and selects one to three Member Societies to be invited to submit detailed proposals for year Y.

Y-3

    • Six months before INTER-NOISE Congress, detailed proposals invited by I-INCE Secretary General. Immediately after the CSC Secretary General sends documentation relating to the proposal. All correspondence from then till the time of the meeting is with the CSC Secretary.
    • 40 days before INTER-NOISE Congress, last date to submit formal proposal to host the congress in year Y.
    • At CSC meeting, detailed presentations given to CSC, rankings established by CSC and reported to Board;
    • Board invites host for INTER-NOISE Congress to be held in year Y.
Part 4: FUTURE CONGRESS TECHNICAL PLANNERS
Part 4 of the I-INCE Rules for Operation
FUTURE CONGRESS TECHNICAL PLANNERS
PDF version of Part 4
ARTICLE 1. SCOPE OF THE FCTP

The scope of the Future Congress Technical Planners (FCTP) includes at least the following tasks. Other tasks may be undertaken as situations evolve for future congresses.

The FCTP may offer advice on all aspects of a congress including the maximum number of parallel sessions, the type of Structured Sessions, the need for Poster Sessions, etc. The FCTP may recommend new concepts for future INTER-NOISE Congresses. The concepts may involve items that are specific to a particular congress and which depend upon local circumstances and local ideas. The FCTP holds two meetings at the INTER-NOISE Congress, a Technical Program Planning (TPP) meeting on the opening day of the congress, typically Sunday, and the full FCTP meeting on the final day of the congress, typically Wednesday. The TPP meeting is an informal meeting wherein the minutes of the previous FCTP meeting are discussed, and the technical plans for the next congress are explained. The full FCTP meeting discusses the technical plan for the next two congresses and the experience of the congress that is just ending. The principal task is to assist the Organizing Committees of future INTER-NOISE Congresses with planning for Structured (or Special) Sessions as well as Poster Sessions. The primary focus is on the next congress, but ideas may be considered for the next + 1 or even the next + 2 congress. The FCTP may recommend new concepts for future INTER-NOISE Congresses. The concepts may involve items that are specific to a particular congress and which depend upon local circumstances and local ideas.

ARTICLE 2. LEADERSHIP OF THE FCTP

Each meeting of the FCTP shall have two co-chairs. One co-chair shall be the I-INCE Vice President of Congresses; the other co-chair shall be the technical program chair of the next INTER-NOISE Congress. The I-INCE Vice President of Congresses provides continuity and a link to the I-INCE Board of Directors and the I-INCE General Assembly. The I-INCE Vice President of Congresses appoints 6 advisors to the Future Congress Technical Planners committee to ensure consistency among the technical programs of INTER-NOISE Congresses. Five of the six advisors are the technical program chairs of the past and future INTER-NOISE Congresses (typically the most recent past three and the upcoming two technical program chairs) while the sixth advisor is appointed by the Vice President as deemed appropriate; these appointments formally recognize the important contributions made by the technical program chairs to the noise control engineering community and to the body of knowledge via congress proceedings. The advisors appointed, with their terms (3 to 6 years) indicated, shall be published.

ARTICLE 3. MEETINGS OF THE FCTP

The President and the Technical Program Chair(s) for the current and next 2 INTER-NOISE Congresses, along with 6 FCTP Advisors and key I-INCE Board Members, shall be invited by the I-INCE Vice President of Congresses to attend the TPP and FCTP meetings.

The TPP meeting is by invitation only and it is held on the morning of the opening of the 13

congress, typically Sunday morning, for about 2 ½ hours. This meeting is used to examine and plan all aspects of the technical programs including poster and workshop sessions. Lessons learned from the current and past congresses are shared in an informal setting.

To provide sufficient time for the development and discussion of ideas and recommendations, the formal FCTP meeting shall be scheduled for a two-hour period in the afternoon of the last day of a congress; it shall end at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the closing ceremony. In the program for a congress, an FCTP meeting shall be considered to be equivalent to a technical session. The meeting shall be held in one of the technical session rooms of moderate seating capacity and equipped with the same audio-visual facilities as the other session rooms, as requested by the co-chairs of the FCTP. Attendance at FCTP meetings is open to all attendees of an INTER-NOISE Congress and the time and location should be broadly publicized during the congress.

The co-chairs of an FCTP meeting shall prepare the agenda for the meeting. Sign-up sheets shall be provided for recording names and e-mail addresses of the attendees at a meeting of the FCTP. After introductory remarks by the co-chairs, the agenda shall provide an opportunity for the Technical Program Chairs of the next two congresses to make presentations about plans for the technical program consistent with the chosen theme and including deadline dates for receipt of abstracts and manuscripts. Ideas and suggestions for technical sessions at future congresses may be offered by any attendee at a meeting of the FCTP.

ARTICLE 4. FCTP REPORT

Within 30 days after a meeting of the FCTP, the Vice President of Congresses shall prepare and transmit by email to the members of the FCTP a report to document the suggestions that were made for the next and future INTER-NOISE Congresses. The report shall list the names and e-mail addresses of attendees as well as those persons who are recommended as possible organizers for the structured sessions. It is the responsibility of the organizing committee for the next congresses to follow up and contact the persons suggested as organizers and then to develop the various structured sessions.

NOTE: This edition of Part 4 of the I-INCE Rules for Operation of the Future Congress Technical Planners was accepted by the I-INCE Board of Directors at its meeting on 2023 August 19 and by the I-INCE General Assembly at its meeting on 2023 August 20 in Chiba, Japan.

Part 5: I-INCE CONGRESS EVALUATION COMMITTEE
Part 5 of the I-INCE Rules for Operation
I-INCE CONGRESS EVALUATION COMMITTEE
PDF version of Part 5
ARTICLE 1. ESTABLISHMENT

The Congress Evaluation Committee (CEC) was established as a standing committee of the I INCE General Assembly at its meeting in Dearborn, Michigan, USA, 2002 August 18. The CEC for a current-year INTER-NOISE Congress is charged with providing a report with a frank and comprehensive assessment of that Congress.

ARTICLE 2. MEMBERS

Members of the CEC are individuals who are interested in assisting in the evaluation of the INTER-NOISE Congress they are attending.

The CEC shall have at least three, but no more than seven members. Each of the three I-INCE geographical regions of the world shall be represented by at least one member of the CEC. The I-INCE geographical regions are Europe-Africa, Pan-America, and Asia-Pacific.

The members of the CEC shall be appointed by the I-INCE Board and will typically include the presidents of the three most recent prior INTER-NOISE Congresses, but may also include the presidents of the next one or two upcoming congresses.

ARTICLE 3. OFFICERS

The officers of the CEC are the Chair, who is appointed by the I-INCE President from among the members nominated (typically the President of the most recent prior INTER-NOISE Congress), and any other officers that the Chair may wish to appoint.

ARTICLE 4. TERM OF SERVICE

The term of service is one year for the Chair and the other members of the CEC. The duties of the Chair and the members of the CEC commence immediately upon the confirmation of appointment by the I-INCE Board.

ARTICLE 5. EVALUATION REPORT

The principal task of the CEC is to prepare an evaluation report of the current-year INTER-NOISE Congress that shall include a statistical analysis section and a narrative section. A draft report shall be provided to the Congress President of the congress being evaluated for comment prior to the report being finalized. To the final copy of the evaluation report shall be appended the Congress President’s report on the congress.

The statistical analysis section of the report shall be provided by the Congress President to the Chair of the CEC within 30 days of the close of the congress, and shall include a table of detailed 15

information concerning the number of attendees, the technical program, the meeting facilities used, the proceedings published, the exhibition, the program for accompanying persons, and other quantitative data related to the congress.

The narrative section of the report shall assess the congress relative to the expectations contained in the instructions for the organization of Congresses. It should summarize practical problems that occurred during the planning and execution of the congress, determine how effective the I-INCE Instructions were in guiding the organization of the congress and the need for changes to the Instructions, identify errors and overlooked items in the planning and execution of the congress, and make recommendations, as needed, for changes that should be implemented for future INTER-NOISE Congresses. In short, the narrative section summarizes what worked well during the Congress as well as those features that need to be improved or modified in the future.

The report and recommendations contained therein shall be used as guidance to the I-INCE Board, the Future Congress Technical Planners, and to the refinement of the I-INCE Congress Guidelines.

ARTICLE 6. ANNUAL BUSINESS

The Congress Evaluation Committee may meet once a year on the final day of the current-year congress, subject to the call of the Chair. Alternatively, the business of the committee may be conducted by e-mail.

ARTICLE 7. BUSINESS TO BE CONDUCTED

The data to be included in the statistical analysis section are to be provided by the Congress President within 30 days of the close of the congress. The principal task of the members of the CEC is to provide commentary for the narrative section of the evaluation report. A draft of the evaluation report should be prepared and circulated by the Chair to the members of the CEC within 90 days after the close of the current-year INTER-NOISE Congress. The draft is also provided to the Congress President of the congress being evaluated for comment prior to the report becoming final.

ARTICLE 8. PRELIMINARY REPORT

It is expected that a typical CEC report will be six pages or less in length exclusive of statistical information. Within 60 days of the close of the INTER-NOISE being evaluated, a draft report is prepared and circulated to the committee members and the President of the Congress being evaluated for comment and suggested modification. Within 30 days of the circulation of the initial draft report, a second draft (preliminary report) is prepared by the committee Chair based upon comments received. The preliminary report is circulated to the committee, the President of the Congress being evaluated, the President of the next upcoming Congress, the Co-chairs of the FCTP, the I-INCE President, the I-INCE President elect, and the Secretary General.

ARTICLE 9. FINAL REPORT

The final report of the committee is prepared by the Chair, taking into account any comments or suggestions received on the preliminary report. The report includes statistical information about the Congress in the standard format that has been developed for the CEC report. The final report is provided to the Secretary- General at least 60 days in advance of the next I-INCE Board meeting for inclusion with 16

the agenda papers for the meeting. The CEC should also review the current version of the Congress Instructions, and if appropriate, recommend revisions based upon their report. The work of the CEC for the current-year congress shall be complete upon presentation of its written report to the I-INCE Board and General Assembly. The presentations shall take place at the Board and General Assembly meetings in the year after the current-year congress.

NOTE: Part 5 of the I-INCE Rules was approved by the Board of Directors at a meeting in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 2001 August 26, and subsequent revisions were approved by the General Assembly on 2017 August 27.

Part 6: I-INCE SYMPOSIUM SERIES
Part 6 of the I-INCE Rules for Operation
I-INCE SYMPOSIUM SERIES
PDF version of Part 6
ARTICLE 1. CONCEPT

To meet the expanding needs of the field of noise control engineering, the I-INCE Symposium Series will provide opportunities for the Institute to participate in the development of new and established disciplines within the field. Precedence will be given to the promotion of new topics that are relevant to the mission of I-INCE.

ARTICLE 2: GUIDELINES

In 2006 the Board adopted the following guidelines for I-INCE Symposia:

  • The timing of a Symposium or workshop shall not interfere with an I-INCE Congress.
  • The theme of the Symposium shall be focused rather than general.
  • Evidence shall be provided that the Symposium will be well-organized.
  • Designation of an event as an I-INCE Symposium shall include naming of an I-INCE Director or officer as the liaison to the Symposium.
  • When possible it is often desirable to schedule an I-INCE Symposium just before or immediately following an INTER-NOISE Congress in or near the same location as the congress.
ARTICLE 3: FOCUS OF SYMPOSIUM SERIES

The focus of the Symposium series shall be on the engineering aspects of noise control, including the measurement, prediction, reduction of noise levels, and relevant standards and policies.

To encourage participation by those interested in a specialized topic, the Symposium focus shall be limited to this topic so that the expected attendance can be accommodated in one room in which all Symposium papers are to be presented with no parallel sessions. Expected attendance should be typically no more than 100 persons.

ARTICLE 4: SYMPOSIUM APPLICATION PROCESS

The organizations responsible for planning an I-INCE Symposium shall be one or more not-for-profit organizations, governmental institutions, or universities. The I-INCE Member Societies are examples of not-for-profit organizations that can be expected to plan I-INCE Symposia.

An application to organize an I-INCE Symposium is limited to 2 pages (word or pdf file) and it must contain the following information: Symposium title, date(s), venue, expected number of participants, registration fee (if any), budget summary, contact information of symposium organizer(s), symposium web address, amount of grant requested, brief description of program, explanation of how the grant would be used and benefit to I-INCE. (Examples of previously sponsored Symposia can be found on I-INCE Technical Activity page.) The deadline for applications shall be posted on the I-INCE site; these may also be announced via emails to the I-INCE community.

ARTICLE 5: LIAISON WITH I-INCE

The I-INCE Vice President of Congresses shall be the contact between the Board and the organizing committee of the Symposium and shall appoint an individual to serve on the organizing committee to represent the Institute. This individual shall play an active role in the organization of the I-INCE Symposium. The organizers will discuss the proposed Symposium thoroughly with the I-INCE Vice President of Congresses who will normally present the proposal for approval by the I-INCE Board with assistance from the organizers.

ARTICLE 6: FINANCES

The financial arrangements between I-INCE and the Symposium organizing committee shall be the subject of a letter of agreement. The letter of agreement shall clearly define the responsibilities of the Board, the Vice President of Congresses, and the liaison person appointed by the Vice President of Congresses with respect to the preparation and fulfillment of the program for the Symposium. The Board may budget funding annually to assist one or two Symposium organizing committees to partially defray expenses. The organizing committee for the I-INCE Symposium shall have financial responsibility for the event.

ARTICLE 7: IDENTIFICATION OF SYMPOSIUM

Each event in the Symposium series shall be clearly identified in all publications and announcements of the Symposium as “An International INCE Symposium on (subject) organized by (organization name) or co-organized by (organizations’ names).” Any cooperating organizations shall be listed after the name(s) of the organization or co-organizations.

ARTICLE 8: FINAL REPORT OF SYMPOSIUM

The organizers must submit a final report to I-INCE within 6 months of the Symposium. It shall include the following: 1. Technical report (or a link to an open domain report) that may be posted on the I-INCE site. 2. Financial report that must provide details of income and expenses. If the full allocation is not used, the residual money must be returned to I-INCE within two months of the completion of the Symposium.

NOTE: Part 6 of the I-INCE Rules was approved by the General Assembly at its meeting in Chiba, Japan, on 2023 August 20.

Part 7: I-INCE NOISE CONTROL EVALUATION PANEL
Part 7 of the I-INCE Rules for Operation
I-INCE NOISE CONTROL EVALUATION PANEL
PDF version of Part 7

It was recommended by the I-INCE Board of Directors in August 2016 that Part 7 of the I-INCE Rules of Operation be deleted as the I-INCE Noise Control Evaluation Panel is no longer functional. This revision (deletion) was approved by the General Assembly on 2017 August 27.

ByLaws: I-INCE ByLaws
ByLaws of I-INCE
PDF version of ByLaws
ARTICLE 1. NAME AND SEAT

The International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (the “Institute”) is an international, non-profit, non-governmental, scientific and engineering organization established on the basis of Swiss Civil Law (Schweizerisches Zivilgesetzbuch, Art. 60 ff.). The date of establishment was 1974 October 01. The abbreviation of the name of the Institute shall be “I-INCE”.

The seat of the Institute is where the Swiss Acoustical Society (SGA-SSA) has its seat.

ARTICLE 2. FIELD OF INTEREST

The field of interest of the Institute shall be noise (unwanted sounds), and vibrations that produce such sounds.

Engineering aspects of the field of interest involve the application of physical means to analyze and optimize the levels of noise and vibration produced by structures, machines, products, systems, and processes. The means of achieving the optimum levels include control of the generation, transmission, and radiation of fluid-borne sound and solid-borne vibration. Optimization includes consideration of scientific and engineering principles as well as socio-economic aspects.

Scientific and socio-economic aspects of the field of interest relate the effects of noise and vibration on individuals and communities to the acoustical environment for human activities. These aspects involve psychological and physiological acoustics, social and economic studies of the response of people to sound and vibration, and cost-benefit analyses of technical options to control noise. Included within the Institute’s field of interest are international and national standards, health and safety regulations, ordinances, governmental strategies and policies, and promotion of noise control engineering on a global basis.

ARTICLE 3. KEY GOALS

Key Goals of the Institute are to:

  1. Serve as a federation of professional societies of the world that is dedicated to advancing technical developments in the engineering control of noise and vibration; and
  2. provide a leadership role in promoting the applications of noise and vibration control technology for the benefit of mankind.

The Institute does not pursue commercial purposes nor seek profit.

To achieve the Key Goals, the Institute recognizes the needs and responsibilities of noise control engineers in all countries. The Institute seeks to unite these engineers in common purpose through close cooperation with their national professional societies with interests in the engineering aspects of noise and vibration control.

ARTICLE 4. PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

The Principal Objectives of the Institute are international in scope and aim to:

  1. ensure the successful continuation of the annual international congresses on noise control engineering (the INTER-NOISE series) by selecting the venues and the Member Societies that act as hosts, and by overseeing the organization of each congress;
  2. sponsor an annual international congress (INTER-NOISE) via a well-defined process and provide funds to facilitate I-INCE seminars and symposia on particular subjects within the Institute’s field of interest;
  3. promote the international exchange of information related to the engineering control of noise and vibration through electronic and non-electronic publications
  4. define long-range noise-control policy goals; develop short and long term initiatives that provide an international consensus toward eventual achievement of these goals; and publish formal and informal documents reporting on technical work related to these issues;
  5. promote international cooperation in research, and in the application of engineering techniques for the control of noise and vibration;
  6. form a link between persons and organizations working on engineering aspects of noise and vibration control and related disciplines, including mechanics, and the psychological and physiological effects of noise and vibration;
  7. establish liaison with other international and regional organizations, as well as governmental bodies, to promote programs and activities that will reduce the harmful or annoying effects of noise and vibration;
  8. promote the recognition of noise control engineering as a technical profession requiring formal education,training and practical experience;
  9. organize workshops for young noise control engineering professionals and facilitate their travel to INTER-NOISE congresses;
  10. encourage the development of educational programs in noise control engineering at educational institutions around the world;
  11. attract qualified persons to the profession by publicizing the achievements of noise control engineers and their contributions to the public welfare;
  12. undertake appropriate programs and activities that advance professionalism in noise control engineering and protect the public health and welfare; and
  13. foster and support the development of public policy, legislation, and governmental practice pertaining to noise and vibration control engineering.
ARTICLE 5. MEMBERSHIP

5.1 Members

Members of I-INCE include: Member Societies, Institutional Members, and Sustaining Members. Member Societies are categorized according to the number of their individual members with interest in noise and vibration control. A member society category (size) determines its annual membership fee to the Institute. Criteria for categorization of the Member Societies shall be established by the I-INCE Board of Directors, and, after review and approval by the I-INCE General Assembly, shall be incorporated in the Rules of the Institute.

5.2 Eligibility

Eligibility requirements for membership in I-INCE are:

  1. Member Societies: Not-for-profit professional societies having goals and objectives that are consistent with those of the Institute, provided the societies in turn are open to membership by individual persons.
  2. Institutional Members: Not-for-profit educational institutions and research organizations whose goals and objectives are consistent with those of the Institute.
  3. Sustaining Members: Any organization, corporation, company, or person interested in the work of the Institute.

All applications for membership by professional societies and for changes in membership status by Member Societies shall be reviewed by the Institute’s Board of Directors and approved by the General Assembly.

5.3 Termination

Membership in the Institute may be terminated at any time by submittal of a written resignation to the Secretary-General or upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors and approval by the General Assembly.

5.4 Affiliated Organizations

International and regional organizations involved in acoustics and vibration, and in other fields of interest closely related to that of the Institute, may be admitted by the I-INCE Board of Directors as Affiliated Organizations of the Institute.

Each Affiliated Organization may appoint an observer, who may participate in the meetings of the General Assembly without voting privileges. The Board of Directors shall have the reciprocal right to appoint a nonvoting observer to the corresponding council or executive body of the Affiliated Organization.

An Affiliated Organization and the Institute are mutually obliged to keep each other informed when organizing international and regional meetings in order to coordinate such activities to the maximum extent possible.

Affiliated organizations are not required to make annual payments to the Institute.

ARTICLE 6. MANAGEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE

The Officers, the Board of Directors, and the General Assembly share responsibilities in the management of the affairs of the Institute in accordance with the Bylaws and Rules of the Institute..

ARTICLE 7. SECRETARIAT

The Institute shall establish and operate a Secretariat under the overall direction and supervision of a Secretary-General whose duties are described in Article 9.

The Secretariat shall maintain electronic copies of the records of the meetings of the Board of Directors and the General Assembly. Within six (6) months following a meeting, the Secretariat shall arrange for electronic distribution of the records of a Board meeting to the Officers and Directors and of a meeting of the General Assembly to the designated representatives of the Member Societies of the Institute.

The Secretariat is the headquarters of the Institute with responsibility for relations with the membership and with affiliated and other organizations. Virtually all communication will be via email or web based.

ARTICLE 8. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

8.1 Composition

The Board of Directors of the Institute shall be composed of: the Officers of the Institute (the President, the President Elect, the Immediate Past President, one or more Vice Presidents, the Secretary-General, and the Treasurer), three Directors representing the three most recent past INTER-NOISE Congresses, three Directors-at-Large elected by the General Assembly, and Distinguished Board Members. The number of Vice Presidents in office at any one time is not fixed and shall be determined by the Board. All Vice Presidents shall be members of the Board.

The minimum number of Directors shall be twelve (12): the President, the President-Elect, the Immediate Past President, at least one Vice President, the Secretary-General, the Treasurer, three Directors representing the three most recent past INTER-NOISE Congresses, and three Directors-at-Large elected by the General Assembly.

8.2 Vacancy

With the concurrence of the Board, the President may fill a vacancy on the Board, arising at any time and from any cause, with the appointment of a noise control engineer for the unexpired term of the individual vacating the Board. If the vacancy is one of the three Directors-at-Large elected by the General Assembly, the President’s appointee shall be from the same geographical region as the individual vacating the Board.

8.3 Distinguished Board Members

The Board may elect an individual as a Distinguished Member of the Board of Directors. The individual shall have made significant contributions to the Institute. Distinguished Board Members serve with vote, and are expected to attend meetings of the Board and General Assembly and/or provide service to the Institute during their term as Distinguished Member.

8.4 Responsibilities of the Board

The Board of Directors shall be responsible for managing and controlling the affairs and property of the Institute, and for specifying the policies of the Institute in a manner consistent with the Bylaws and Rules of the Institute. . The Board shall have the full power to interpret the meaning of any provision of these Bylaws and to adopt rules, not inconsistent with these Bylaws, governing actions that may be taken by the Board or the General Assembly. Rules relating to the responsibilities, operations and actions of the General Assembly shall be approved by the General Assembly.

8.5 Election

A Director representing a previously held INTER-NOISE Congress shall be elected by the Institute’s Board of Directors. Election of a Director representing an INTER-NOISE Congress shall be held during the Congress or within six (6) months after the Congress. Each year the General Assembly shall elect one Director-at-Large as described in Article 12 of these Bylaws.

8.6 Candidates

Acting upon the recommendation of the Nominating Committee (see Article 10), a candidate for election as a Director representing the most recent INTER-NOISE Congress shall be invited to serve by the I-INCE President and shall be selected from the members of the Organizing Committee that had primary responsibility for the INTER-NOISE Congress. If no suitable candidate is available from the Organizing Committee, the Board shall elect an alternative candidate. Each year one candidate for a Director-at-Large position shall be elected by the General Assembly.

The President shall request, and the candidates shall provide, written assurance that all candidates will make good-faith efforts to attend all meetings of the Board of Directors and the General Assembly, and to participate in the work of the Board during their term of office.

8.7 Terms of office

The term of office of a Director representing an INTER-NOISE Congress begins on January 01 of the year following the year in which the Congress was held and extends for three (3) years thereafter. The term of office of the three Directors at-large elected by the General Assembly shall be for three years beginning on January 01 of the year following election.

The term of office of a Distinguished Board Member shall be one year. The individual is eligible for re-election.

The longest period of continuous service as a Director, other than as an officer or Distinguished Board Member, shall be six years.

8.8 Meetings

The President shall call at least one meeting of the Board of Directors in every calendar year. This annual meeting shall be held on a date and at a time and place fixed by the President, in consultation with the Secretary General, in conjunction with, and preceding, an INTER-NOISE Congress.

Other meetings of the Board, in person or by telephone or web based means, may be held upon the request of either the President or a majority of the Board at such times and places as the President or the Board may determine.

The Secretary-General shall provide notice of the time, date, and location of Board meetings at least four weeks prior to the meeting. Materials pertaining to substantive matters to come before the Board for action shall be provided to the Board by the Secretary-General at least two weeks prior to the Board meeting at which they will be considered.

Directors must be present at a meeting of the Board to vote on matters before the Board. No proxy voting shall be allowed.

The President, or if the President is unable to be present at a meeting, the presiding officer, shall only vote to break ties. The President/presiding officer may not vote to create a tie vote on an issue before the Board, but may opt to break a tie (but is not obligated to do so).

With agreement by a simple majority of the Directors in office, the Board may conduct an electronic (email or web-based) ballot on a matter before the Board.

8.9 Quorum

A quorum for transaction of business at a meeting of the Board shall be a simple majority of the Directors then in office.

8.10 Volunteer status

All members of the Board of Directors work principally on a voluntary basis and may be reimbursed only for expenses and cash expenditures that they incur on behalf of I-INCE. Only exceptional services of particular board members may be compensated by reasonable, adequate remuneration.

ARTICLE 9. OFFICERS OF THE INSTITUTE

9.1 Officers

The officers of the Institute are the President, President Elect, Immediate Past President, the Vice Presidents, the Secretary-General and the Treasurer. Officers serve as Directors during their terms of office.

9.2 Election of Officers

The officers are elected, or re-elected, by a simple majority of the Directors present and voting at an annual meeting of the Board of Directors.

A person currently serving as a Director may be elected a Vice President, while continuing to serve out a term as Director.

9.3 Terms of office

The term of office of the President, the President Elect, and the Immediate Past President shall normally be three (3) years, The term of office of the Secretary-General, and the Treasurer shall normally be four (4) years. In special circumstances, the terms of these officers may be less than four years. The term of office of a Vice President shall normally be three (3) years. Newly elected and reelected officers take office on January 01 of the year following the Board meeting at which they were elected or reelected.

A Vice President is normally eligible for re-election by the Board for one additional term. In exceptional circumstances a Vice President may be re-elected for a third and final term.

The President shall not be eligible for reelection to the office of President, but shall serve on the Board as the Immediate Past President for one term of three years. Subsequently, the Past President may be elected to serve as a Distinguished Board Member, or as a Vice President.

The Board may arrange the terms of the Vice Presidents on a staggered basis, in which case the duration of a Vice President’s term may be less than three years. The Secretary-General, and Treasurer may be elected for shorter terms than four (4) years.

An officer’s term as Director of the Institute coincides with the term as an officer. The only exception is when a Director is elected a Vice President; then the term of office as Director of the Institute is that of the Director or the Vice President, whichever is longer.

9.4 Removal

Any officer or Director of the Institute may be removed, with or without stated cause, by majority vote of the Directors then in office at any meeting of the Board of Directors at which a quorum exists. The officer or Director under consideration shall not vote on the question of removal.

9.5 Duties of the President

The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute and shall be so identified as the “CEO”. The President presides at all meetings of the Board of Directors and the General Assembly. In the event that the President is temporarily unable to preside at a meeting, the President-Elect shall preside. The President works actively with the Member Societies to carry out the policies and objectives of the Institute with guidance from the General Assembly. The President exercises general charge and supervision of the affairs of the Institute, subject to the policies established by the Board of Directors, the Bylaws and the Rules of the Institute.

The President shall appoint the members of the Nominating Committee (see Article 10), subject to the approval of the Board. All agreements, contracts, and financial obligations shall be reviewed and approved by the President before they are signed by the Secretary-General or Treasurer acting for the Institute. The President shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Board of Directors, and shall be an ex officio member of all committees.

The President, Secretary-General, and Treasurer shall conduct the day-to-day business of the Institute with the assistance of the Executive Committee, (see Article 11). In the event the President is temporarily unable to perform their duties, the President-Elect shall temporarily act as the replacement for the President.

In the event that the President-Elect is unable to chair a meeting of the Congress Selection Committee, the President shall serve as the temporary chair of the CSC or shall appoint a current member of the Board to serve as temporary chair.

9.6 Duties of the President Elect

The President Elect is expected to take office at the conclusion of the incumbent President’s term. The President Elect also serves as chair of the Congress Selection Committee. Should the President be temporarily unable to perform their duties, the President Elect shall temporarily act as the replacement for the President until such time as the President is able to resume their duties. Should the President be incapacitated and unable to competently discharge the duties of the office of President as determined by the Board, the President Elect shall fulfill these duties for the remainder of the President’s term.

9.7 Duties of the Immediate Past President

The Immediate Past President facilitates the transition of Institute leadership to the next President at the beginning of their term, and continues to advise the President when requested. The Immediate Past President also serves as the chair of the nominating committee. In the event that the Immediate Past President is unable to serve as chair of the nominating committee, the President shall appoint a chair from among the current members of the Board.

9.8 Duties of Vice Presidents

Vice Presidents shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be assigned by the Board of Directors. The Vice President’s subtitle indicates the area in which duties have been assigned (e.g., Vice President – Communications).

As the Board has authorized the geographical grouping of Member Societies in regions, Vice Presidents shall be elected to represent each region. These regional Vice Presidents coordinate and facilitate communication and interaction between I-INCE and member societies within their region. The regional Vice Presidents serve as members of the Congress Selection Committee.

9.9 Duties of the Secretary-General

The Secretary-General, as the chief administrative officer of the Institute, acting under the direction of the President, is responsible for the general management and administration of the Institute.

The Secretary-General shall be responsible for the operation of the Institute’s Secretariat (see Article 7) and shall implement the policies and rules of the Institute as established by the Board of Directors and reviewed by the General Assembly.

9.10 Duties of the Treasurer

The Treasurer, as the chief financial officer of the Institute, acting under the direction of the President, is responsible for the finances of the Institute.

The Treasurer is responsible for all financial records of the Institute, maintains the Institute’s bank and investment accounts, prepares a budget for the Institute (see Article 16), and submits annual financial reports to the Board of Directors and the General Assembly. An annual financial report shall contain a balance sheet, a statement of the Institute’s income and expenses, a summary of cash receipts and disbursements, and other financial information that may be requested by the Board of Directors or General Assembly. Prior to submittal, annual financial reports shall be audited by an independent auditor.

ARTICLE 10. NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The Nominating Committee shall consist of one representative from each of the three geographic areas of the Institute (Asia-Pacific, Europe-Africa and Pan America). The Immediate Past President shall normally chair the nominating committee. The Nominating Committee shall recommend one or more candidates for each of the offices that the Board wishes to fill, and shall ascertain before nomination that a prospective candidate is willing to serve if elected. The members of the Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Board.

ARTICLE 11. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the President Elect, the Immediate Past President, the Secretary-General, and the Treasurer. The committee shall assist in the handling of administrative and financial matters of the Institute between meetings of the Board and the General Assembly. Actions of the Executive Committee shall be reported in summary form at each meeting of the Board and the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 12. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

12.1 Composition

The General Assembly of the Institute shall be composed of the Directors in office at the time of the meeting and the Corresponding Members representing the Member Societies. Both Directors and Corresponding Members have voting rights. Each Member Society shall appoint one of its members to serve as the Corresponding Member to the General Assembly.

Institutional Members, Sustaining Members, and Affiliated Organizations may be represented at meetings of the General Assembly as observers without voting rights.

Any member of a Member Society may attend a meeting of the General Assembly without vote.

12.2 Meetings

The General Assembly shall meet at least once a year, preferably in conjunction with and preceding an INTER-NOISE Congress.

The Secretary-General shall prepare an agenda and issue the call for a meeting of the General Assembly. The agenda and call for meeting shall be distributed by the Secretary-General at least two weeks prior to the meeting. The President shall chair the meeting.

12.3 Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the General Assembly are to:

  1. receive and approve reports from the President and Secretary-General on the activities of the Institute,
  2. receive and approve audited reports from the Treasurer on the financial status of the Institute for the preceding year,
  3. receive reports from the Vice Presidents of the Institute when substantive activities have occurred within their respective scopes of activity since the last meeting of the General Assembly,
  4. each year elect to the Board one Director at-Large on a staggered basis from each of three Member Societies from different geographical regions (Europe-Africa, Pan-America, and Asia-Pacific),
  5. monitor and approve the technical work of the Institute,
  6. develop recommendations for accomplishing the Key Goals and Principal Objectives of the Institute,
  7. approve any changes proposed by the Board of Directors in the amounts of the annual payments to the Institute by the Member Societies,
  8. approve all applications for membership by professional societies and for changes in membership status by Member Societies after the applications have been reviewed by the Board of Directors,
  9. approve all terminations of membership upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors, and
  10. review the Institute’s Bylaws and approve amendments to the Rules of the Institute.

12.4 Technical work of the Institute

The technical work for which the General Assembly shall be primarily responsible relates to the development and implementation of long term technical initiatives and short term tasks and to the publication program of the Institute.

Recommendations and formal I-INCE reports of the technical work of the Institute shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for implementation and publication. Procedures for publication of the Institute’s documents shall be established by the Board and incorporated in the Rules of the Institute.

12.5 Voting rights

A Corresponding Member of a Member Society shall have one vote at a meeting of the General Assembly. A Director of the Institute shall have one vote at a meeting of the General Assembly.

A Director of the Institute shall have one vote at a meeting of the General Assembly.

Only Directors and the Corresponding Members of Member Societies or their official substitute who are present at a General assembly may vote (no proxy voting).

ARTICLE 13. INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES ON NOISE CONTROL ENGINEERING

13.1 Continuation of the INTER-NOISE series

The Institute shall act to assure the continuation of the INTER-NOISE series of annual international congresses on noise control engineering in the countries of the Member Societies.

13.2 Organization

After due consideration, the Board of Directors shall invite a Member Society (or a group of Member Societies) to host an INTER-NOISE Congress by undertaking the organization of such a Congress. The organization of the Congress shall conform to those Guidelines of the Institute that prescribe the procedures to be followed. Such Guidelines shall be revised frequently to reflect improvements that have been made, or should be made, to the organization of an INTER-NOISE Congress.

To assist the Board in making its decisions, a Congress Selection Committee has been established. The chair of the Congress Selection Committee shall normally be the President-Elect. The membership and procedures of the Congress Selection Committee shall be specified in the Rules of the Institute.

All legal and financial obligations related to, and in connection with, an INTER-NOISE Congress rest with the Member Society (or Member Societies) that accepts the invitation to organize an INTER-NOISE Congress. A letter of agreement shall be co-signed by the I-INCE President and an authorized representative of the host Member Society. The letter shall detail all financial arrangements for the Congress, including payments to the Institute from the registration fees that are collected (see Section 15.3).

ARTICLE 14. INCOME

14.1 Sources of income

Sources of income to the Institute are:

  1. annual payments by the Member Societies, Institutional Members, and Sustaining Members;
  2. fees paid to the I-INCE Treasurer by the person responsible for the finances of an INTER-NOISE Congress. The fee shall be based on the total number of paid registrants at the Congress. Such fees are used to defray the cost of the services provided by the Institute;
  3. special gifts and grants;
  4. interest on the reserve funds of the Institute.

14.2 Annual payments

The annual payments for each Member Society, Institutional Member, and Sustaining Member shall be established by the Board of Directors and approved by the General Assembly. The amounts of the payments shall be as given in the Rules of the Institute.

In each calendar year, payments shall be invoiced to the membership of the Institute by the I-INCE Treasurer no later than February 15. All payments shall be in a currency specified on the invoice and shall be payable to the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering. The payments shall be transmitted to the Treasurer for deposit in the Institute’s bank account, or accounts, as ordered by the Board of Directors.

If the Treasurer does not receive payment for any year by April 15, the Treasurer shall issue a past-due reminder invoice. If payment for a given calendar year is not received by October 15 in that year, the membership may be terminated upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors and the approval of the General Assembly.

14.3 Fees from INTER-NOISE Congresses

The amount to be paid to the Treasurer from the registration fees collected at an INTER-NOISE Congress shall be established by the Board of Directors and reviewed by the General Assembly.

These fees shall be paid to the I-INCE Treasurer in the currency specified on the invoice within three (3) months after the close of an INTER-NOISE Congress.

ARTICLE 15. OPERATING EXPENSES

Operating expenses for the Institute shall be those incurred to operate the Secretariat and the Treasurer’s office, and support other initiatives of the Instiute.

The President and the Secretary-General may receive discretionary funds from the Institute to cover out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of the Board or the General Assembly. The Institute shall not reimburse any other expenses unless specifically authorized in advance by the Board of Directors.

The policy of the Institute is to not pay any salaries.

Retired members of the Board of Directors may request partial reimbursement for travel expenses incurred to attend Board meetings, and such requests will be considered and acted upon by the Board.

ARTICLE 16. ANNUAL BUDGET

The Treasurer shall prepare a draft budget showing estimated income and planned operating expenses (and any known exceptional expenses) for the fiscal year following an annual meeting of the Board of Directors.

The draft budget shall be submitted to the President not later than two months before the annual meeting of the Board of Directors.

The Board shall approve a fiscal year’s budget not later than December 31 of the prior year.

ARTICLE 17. FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of the Institute shall be the calendar year.

ARTICLE 18. INDEPENDENT AUDITOR

An independent auditor of the Institute’s financial records shall be selected by the President and approved by the Board of Directors for a specified term of engagement.

ARTICLE 19. LIABILITIES

The liability of a Member Society for the debts or other obligations of the Institute shall not exceed an additional one-year’s annual payment by the Member Society to the Institute. A Director or officer acting in the affairs of the Institute in good faith, and with ordinary diligence and reasonable discretion, has no personal liability for the debts, liabilities, or other obligations of the Institute.

ARTICLE 20. AMENDMENTS

The Board of Directors may amend these Bylaws, with revisions to be reviewed by the General Assembly. Action initiated by the General Assembly to change a Bylaw requires a two-thirds majority of the votes by the designated Member Society representatives present and voting on a proposed amendment.

ARTICLE 21. DISSOLUTION

At a meeting of the Board where a quorum has been established, the Board of Directors has the right to dissolve the Institute by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the Directors then in office. In the event of dissolution, any remaining assets shall be transferred to tax-exempt institutions seated in Switzerland and following equal or similar purposes. Distribution among board members and non-Swiss members of I-INCE (as defined by article 5.1) is excluded..

ARTICLE 22. RULES OF THE INSTITUTE

The Board of Directors shall establish and publish appropriate Rules for operating and governing the Institute. The Rules shall be separate from, but consistent with, these Bylaws. New and revised rules shall be reviewed and approved by the General Assembly. Action initiated by the General Assembly to change a Rule requires a two-thirds majority of the votes by the designated Member Society representatives present and voting on a proposed amendment.

The Rules of the Institute shall be maintained by the Secretariat. A copy of the latest issues of the Rules, Instructions, Guidelines, and Bylaws shall be posted on the I-INCE website and should be available at meetings of the Board of Directors and the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 23. EFFECTIVE DATE

These bylaws were approved by the Institute’s Board of Directors on 2021 July 27 and reviewed by the General assembly on 2021 July 31. They supersede previous editions dated 1974 September 20, 1978 June 23, 1989 February 01, 1997 August 24, 1998 November 14, 2003 August 24, 2005 August 7, 2010 June 12, 2012 August 18, 2014 November 15, 2017 August 27, and 2019 June 15.

Receive Noise News International
(no charge)

International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE)

c/o
Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Akustik (SGA-SSA) (1975)
Hochschule Luzern – Technik & Architektur
Institut für Elektrotechnik, IET
Technikumstrasse 21
CH-6048 Horw
Luzern
Switzerland

secretarygeneral@i-ince.org

Tax-Reg.-Nr. J0002213422

Facebook Twitter Youtube

© 2023 I-INCE. All Rights Reserved. Site by Web Done Well

Thank You