Role and Purpose
The SAA Council establishes task forces to deal with matters of special concern to the Society and the profession. Task forces are given specific charges to study and evaluate certain issues, prepare reports and study documents, and, when deemed appropriate, make recommendations for action by the Council.
The work of task forces usually occurs within a prescribed period of time, such as from one annual meeting to the next. In some circumstances, the duration of the task force may be extended to allow the work to be completed. When a task force is terminated, existing SAA bodies such as committees, sections, and roundtables may continue attention to the area it addressed. In some instances, a new SAA body may be formed to follow up the work of a task force.
Members of task forces are appointed by the President, and generally serve for the term of the task force. Membership on task forces is open to all SAA members. A minimum of one half of the members of any task force are appointed from SAA members who are not currently serving on the SAA Council. In making appointments to task forces, the President gives special consideration to section and roundtable leaders who may have a particular interest in the matter of special concern.
Written reports are submitted to the Council annually and when the work is completed. Task forces are also expected to communicate with other SAA bodies engaged in similar undertakings. In the course of their investigations, task forces are ordinarily expected to communicate by direct means or to use the Society’s electronic announcement lists and website to alert section and roundtable leaders, or the membership when appropriate, of special matters that they are considering that may affect SAA policy, organizational structure, or new program initiatives. Member comments will be considered by task forces and reported to the Council.
To encourage participation by students and new members of the profession, persons who have been members of SAA for less than five years may serve as interns to task forces. Interns, who are appointed by the Vice President/President Elect in consultation with the chair, serve as non-voting members for a term of one year and are expected to attend the SAA Annual Meeting and assist in the work of the group throughout the year.
In summary, task forces serve an investigative and policy advisory role, and are armed with a specific charge to be completed in a prescribed period of time.
Format for Reports
When Task Forces submit reports, they should do so to the designated Council
liaison and to the SAA office at the same time. They should be asked to submit
the report in the following format:
1. Cover sheet with the name of the task force, its members, and date
of submission.
2. A statement of the charge to the committee, date of creation, and due
date.
3. An executive summary (when the report is lengthy enough to warrant
it) in the form of specific recommended actions or resolutions. It would
be helpful here that if the task force is recommending Council action that
the task force frame its recommendations as specific motions that it wishes
Council to adopt.
4. Brief background on the nature of the issue(s) as well as the frequency
of the meetings and method of gathering data and input.
5. Detailed findings and recommendations. All recommendations should carry
a fiscal note, estimating the resources required to implement the recommendations.
For all recommended actions the task force should identify the potential
SAA group (including SAA office) and non-SAA association or organization
that would be expected to implement the recommendations.
It is understood that not all elements apply to all task forces, but to
the extent that they do, task force chairs are bly encouraged to follow these
guidelines.
