Organization of the IASS

The Executive Council  is the governing body of the Association.  It consists of up to 24 members plus the Secretary of Association. 18 members are elected by the membership of the Association, 6 each year for three-year terms.  Up to 6 additional members may be co-opted by the Council itself for terms of up to three years. 

The Executive Council meets once annually, and this meeting is traditionally held one day prior to the Annual IASS Symposium.  All actions and decisions of the Council require a two-thirds vote of the quorum of members present, written proxies being allowed.  At each annual Council meeting, all Officers, Committees and Working Groups report, and plans for future Symposia, Colloquia and conferences are reviewed. 

Working Bureau

The Working Bureau is the day-to-day management committee of the Association.  Its membership consists of the six elected officers of the Association: the President, the four Vice-Presidents, and the Treasurer.  In addition, the Past-President and the Secretary of the Association serve on the Working Bureau.  The six officers of the Association are elected by the Executive Council from among its members.  The term of office for each is three years, although officers may be re-elected for successive terms. 

The Working Bureau meets at least once annually, and one such meeting is traditionally held two days prior to the Annual IASS Symposium.  Additional meetings are held as needed at the Secretariat, at a selected IASS Colloquium, or by internet conference. 

Secretariat

The Secretariat is the administrative organization and headquarters of the Association and, since the founding of the Association, has been the Laboratorio Central de Estructuras y Materiales of Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas (CEDEX) in Madrid, Spain.  A member of the administrative organization is one of the four IASS Vice Presidents, currently Eng. Pilar Alaejos, the Director of the Laboratorio Central de Estructuras.  In addition, the Secretary of the IASS is a professional staff member of the administrative organization and is appointed to the position by the Director of the Secretariat; the current Secretary is Susana Fernández. 

Advisory Board

The Executive Council is assisted in its work by the Advisory Board formed by former members of the Executive Council and other senior members of the Association.  The members of the Advisory Board are welcomed to meetings of the Executive Council where they may participate in discussion but do not have voting rights.

Annual Meetings and Reports

An annual general meeting of the membership is traditionally held in multiple sessions of the Annual IASS Symposium, including the opening and closing ceremonies, the Technical Activities Committee plenary session, and the various award-presentation sessions.  At these sessions, results of officer elections and committee chair appointments are announced, awards are presented, reports from key committees are summarized, and announcements of future events are made.  In addition, reports are published on this website, especially the Annual Reports of the Technical Activities Committee (TAC).  And each year in the December issue of the Journal, the President's annual letter appears summarizing highlights of the year past, current activities, and future plans. 

Statutes

The IASS is governed by the Association Statutes.  These plus other policy documents approved by the Executive Council indicate the rights and privileges of membership and the details of the operations.  For example, the Statutes stipulate how twenty or more members can nominate candidates for the Executive Council by written motion by January 15 of each year.  The statutes and various policy documents are either posted on this website or are available from the Secretariat.