Time and Travel

SIGGRAPH conference volunteer work requires a considerable investment of time. Volunteers are not compensated monetarily for their time spent working on the conference. All of the conference content areas are critical to the success of the conference, so it is imperative that committee members not underestimate the time commitment required. It is also important that your employer and those in your personal life understand this time commitment and be willing to support you in this endeavor.

• All conference committee members are required to attend both the conference they are working on plus the previous year's conference. Depending on the position, this can be 8-10 days each.
• People chairing content areas must attend the jury and/or selection meeting of their program for the previous conference year, and they must plan and preside over their own such meeting.
• Over the 18-month active planning period for a conference, committee directors and chairs are required to attend six to eight committee meetings. Committee meetings are usually three days in length on weekends.
• Depending on the position, there may be a few other meetings that committee directors and chairs must attend.
• Following a conference, time is spent preparing a final report about planning, execution, and post-event activities. A wrap-up meeting occurs after the conference to share these insights.
• Outside of meetings, you must spend adequate time connecting with appropriate people in the computer graphics industry to stay abreast of the current issues that affect your program in particular and the conference in general.
• Committee members are also required to spend adequate time managing and/or supervising administrative duties, such as corresponding with their contributors, sub-committee, and/or jury.

Funding

The conference is sponsored by a not-for-profit organization, ACM SIGGRAPH. All conference committee expenses related to conference planning, such as travel, are paid for by the conference. Where possible, many companies allow volunteers to utilize phones, copiers, faxes, office supplies, administrative time, and even travel expenses. Expenses not covered by these contributions are budgeted and carefully managed by the Conference Chair, CSE, and individual committee chairs. Certain committee positions receive support to pay for administrative support.

Committee members are not directly responsible for generating income. They are responsible for creating an exciting program for conference attendees.

Reporting

Committee members are often asked to prepare status reports in preparation for committee meetings. A comprehensive final report is prepared for the wrap-up meeting which occurs after the conference. Outside of meetings, electronic mail, web communication, and phone calls are used extensively to keep everyone informed. Every committee member must allocate sufficient time for daily email processing.

Hardware / Software

All committee members must have access to either PC or Macintosh computers for conference related work. SIGGRAPH has a standardized software suite that it uses for word processing, spreadsheets, and database applications. SIGGRAPH will loan copies of the software suite to individual committee members. All committee members must also have reliable access to the Internet including email, ftp, and web access.

Accountability

It is important for volunteers to understand that they are ultimately responsible for all details of their program. SIGGRAPH has a wealth of resources available in several contracted service organizations to help execute the detailed planning; however, it is up to the chair of the program to be sure the tasks are organized in the most efficient and effective manner, and conduct oversight of their area. The industry, the conference, and the rest of the committee depend on each program chair to understand their entire process, evaluating previous years' procedures and determining which are wise to maintain and which ones need updating.