POLICIES ON NOMINATION AND ELECTION PROCESSES

What is a Nominating Committee?

The role of the Nominating Committee is to identify potential leaders for the affiliate, this includes
recruiting candidates for the board of directors’ positions, coordinating the affiliate election and
notifying candidates of election results.

Role on Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee will collect recommendations for new board members and assess their
skills and experience to determine if they meet qualifications for the position.
The discussions within the Nomination Committee should be confidential in order to ensure
openness in discussing candidates.

Committee Responsibilities and Duties

 Secure candidates for the ballot and present a slate of qualified, acceptable candidates to
the board for approval and to the membership for a vote.
 Committee members will recruit potential candidates by calling potential candidates and
other interested members to encourage interest in leadership.
 Specific discussions related to potential nominees are to be confidential. Committee
members are prohibited from disclosing potential nominees to the membership.
 Confirm with candidates their availability to accept any position for which nominees have
been considered.
 Explain rejected candidates – The nominating committee must be able to justify their
candidates’ selection, including those who are rejected.

Establishing a Nominating Committee

An affiliate’s bylaws should include guidelines on who is part of the nomination’s committee.
Ideally, there should be a committee of three to five members appointed by the Board of Directors.
The majority of these members should not be current Board members. The chairman of the
Nominating Committee is often the immediate past president, and for continuity, at least one
member should have served the previous year. The incoming President or a current President
eligible for re-election should not serve on the committee. The same premise holds for any other
candidates for the Board. It’s important that the Nominating Committee members are familiar with
the affiliate’s operations and have served on the Board or a committee.

Nomination Guidelines
The Board of Directors should provide the Nominating Committee with a guidelines outlining the
roles and responsibilities of board members, as well as a selection criteria. The criteria should list
the minimum qualifications that are required by a nominee, including any specific skills that are
necessary to fulfill the role.

Criteria Examples:
 Be an IIA member in good standing.
  Have expertise or experience in the area of service.
 Agree to comply with The IIA’s code of business conduct and ethics.
 Have access by email to facilitate communication.
 Members of the Board of Directors must be CIAs.

When reviewing a candidate profile it’s also suggested to consider criteria that includes:

Suitability
 Will he/she fulfill an important role on the board?
 Does he/she possess a degree of competence and experience needed on the board?
 Is he/she in a position of influence with others who are important to the success of the
affiliate? Is he/she likely to use that influence?

General Preparation
 Does he/she have a basic understanding of the operations of the affiliate?
 Is he/she well versed in the affiliate’s history, mission and vision and is he/she prepared to
stay on top of relevant trends?
 Does he/she understand the roles and responsibilities of board members

Specific Preparation for Action

 Will he/she come fully prepared for board meetings?
 Will he/she completely read all relevant background materials prior to meetings?

Ambassadorship
 Will he/she be able to accurately, enthusiastically and often speak on behalf of the affiliate?
 Will he/she use personal contacts on behalf of the affiliate?

Community Activity
 Will he/she serve actively on at least one board committee?
 Will he/she suggest new ways of enhancing/growing the affiliate?

Attendance at Board and Committee Meetings

 Will he/she commit to attending regularly scheduled meetings?

Nominations Process

 The call for nominations should be sent at least four months before an Annual General
Meeting.
 Nominations should be solicited from the general membership through a special call for
nominations.
 The call for nominees should be made public in affiliate’s website and the information
should be sent to all members by email or letter, social media or pertinent local
publications.
 The slate of candidates should be announced to all members at least two months prior to
the Annual General Meeting.
 Election Process

 The affiliate’s bylaws should provide the guidelines for candidate eligibility, selection as well
as board structure.
 Part of the election process is knowing when terms of office expire. Director terms can be
successive or staggered and ex-officio directors might not be subject to them.
 Bylaws should address not only how board members can be added, but also removed and
replaced.
 Similarly, the bylaws prescribe the officer positions, duties, and terms, as well as how
officers are added, removed, and replaced.