Policy Number: 04-008

Policy Title: Protocol for SASCI Committees, Working Groups, and Advisory Groups

Date First Passed: March 11, 2004

Date(s) Amended:  October 21, 2010

Committees, Working Groups, and/or Advisory Groups may be established by the Board to address a specific issue, project, or stakeholder need.

A Charter or Terms of Reference must be established for each Committee, Working Group, and Advisory Group, and approved by the Board.  The Charter or Terms of Reference must address:

• the purpose and goals of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group;
• the governance structure and membership of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group;
• the budget, including any SASCI resources and planned expenditures;
• signing authorities, which must include the SASCI Manager and/or a SASCI Board member, in addition to one or more members of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group;
• reporting obligations; and
• any rules, protocols, or principles governing the proceedings of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group.

Each Committee, Working Group, and Advisory Group shall have a Chair and Vice-Chair drawn from its members or, if the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group fails to establish a Chair and/or Vice-Chair, appointed by the SASCI Board.  SASCI staff may attend all Committee, Working Group, and Advisory Group meetings and act as Secretary on their behalf.

Annually or on a schedule appropriate to the mandate of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group, a workplan for achieving the objective of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group will be prepared and submitted to the Board.  The responsibility for ensuring a workplan is prepared lies with the Chair of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group.  The Board may request additional information or may require changes to the workplan to ensure it is consistent with the Charter or Terms of Reference.

The budget and funds of each Committee, Working Group, and Advisory Group will be administered by SASCI, unless otherwise approved by the Board.  Financial reporting for each Committee, Working Group, and Advisory Group will be provided to the Board together with regular financial reporting (i.e., at each regular Board meeting).  SASCI may levy an administrative fee against the budget of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group to cover the costs of administration.

All projects proposed by SASCI Committees, Working Groups, and Advisory Groups must be submitted for approval to the SASCI Board as per SASCI Policy 04-004.

A Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group properly constituted pursuant to this policy may use the SASCI logo for official correspondence and may describe itself as an entity of SASCI.  Further, a Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group may issue correspondence or other documentation using the SASCI name and logo, together with the name of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group.  Any such correspondence must be signed by the Chair or Vice-Chair of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group, and reflect the consensus views of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group members.  Further, any such correspondence must be consistent with the approved Charter or Terms of Reference of the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group, and with SASCI’s principles of respect, honesty, and integrity.  Notwithstanding the above, no Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group may speak on behalf of SASCI or any other stakeholder or stakeholder group, other than its members, without prior authorization. 

Membership in a Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group established pursuant to this policy does not confer SASCI membership on any agency, department, organization, company, individual, or group of individuals, not does it confer any right to purport to represent or to speak on behalf of SASCI or the Committee, Working Group, or Advisory Group, or to use the SASCI logo, other than as permitted above.