Creating a Committee or Task Force

SIGCSE’s Committee and Task Force initiatives encourage all SIGCSE members to participate in substantive discussions on areas of community interest, with the goals of investigating topics in depth, supporting a subset of the community, generating a report, or other deliverables.

The SIGCSE Board expects that SIGCSE Committees and Task Forces will emerge from ongoing discussions, interests, and concerns of the membership. To form a SIGCSE Committee or Task Force, a proposal is sent to the SIGCSE Board for approval.

The primary difference between a Committee and a Task Force is that Task Forces have a specified end date and conclude with a report sent to the SIGCSE Board. Committees have no defined end date or deliverable, but will be asked to provide updates to the SIGCSE Board. Finally, while Committees have traditionally emerged from the community, Task Forces may emerge that way as well, or could be initiated by the SIGCSE Board.

The main criteria are that:

• a Committee/Task Force addresses a need or issue expressed by several members of the SIGCSE community;
• the Committee/Task Force has a well-defined, clear focus, or charge;
• appropriate facilitators are identified to guide deliberations.

While the SIGCSE Board is flexible in the process leading to the appointment of a Committee/Task Force, the following are required for any proposal:

1. Name: The name should convey the purpose of the Committee/Task Force. To date, initial topics have come from individuals brainstorming at SIGCSE events, e-mail correspondence with the SIGCSE Chair, and SIGCSE Board discussions.
2. Goals: The goals of the Committee/Task Force should be clearly defined. Discussion with the SIGCSE Chair may help refine the main topic and clarify the issue(s) a Committee/Task Force might address, and indicate who might want to participate in it.
3. Leaders: Two to four SIGCSE members will serve as facilitators for a Committee/Task Force to help in discussions and (in the case of Task Forces) the preparation of the deliverable.
4. Membership: Membership on any Committee/Task Force will be open to any SIGCSE member, unless there is a reason for limiting membership specified in the application. Once facilitators are identified, the Committee/Task Force will be publicized to the SIGCSE membership through the SIGCSE LISTSERVs.

While Committees and Task Forces will be largely self-directed, some guidelines will provide structure and guidance:

• Meetings: While formal Committee/Task Force work would proceed electronically, members might meet informally at conferences (e.g., at Birds-of-a-Feather sessions), for those members who can attend.
• Task Force Deliverables: Task Forces are encouraged to present draft deliverables at conferences and/or to post their drafts on the Web to receive feedback. Their final deliverables may be presented at conferences and/or published in the SIGCSE Bulletin. After issuing their deliverable, a Task Force normally would dissolve, although a new Task Force might be formed (possibly with new facilitators) to address related matters.

Please send proposals to the SIGCSE Chair for the SIGCSE Board’s review and endorsement as a PDF, indicating answers to points 1-4 above.

This document approved by the SIGCSE Board on 2025-05-20.