IAOA Assembly 2020 11

IAOA Executive Council Election 2020

This page comprises core information about the Executive Council Election 2020 of the International Assocation for Ontology and its Applications (IAOA) [1], located in Bern, Switzerland. Updates of this page reflect the development as the election process proceeds.

Nine (9) positions are open for election.

Quick Reference:

• [ Events and Time-table ]
• [ List of Candidates ]
• [ Election Results ]

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Events and Time-table

• Announcement (by the IAOA President) of Assembly and Election Process
• Candidature Phase -- Nomination and Discussion opens: October 28, 2020
• Nomination closes: November 9, 2020
• Candidates list published: Npvember 10, 2020
• Campaigning by candidates: continues from November 10, 2020 upon completion of the nomination-verification-acceptance of a candidate
• Campaigning and Discussion closes: November 16, 2020
• IAOA Assembly -- i.e., the 2020 IAOA ordinary assembly eBallot -- called to order (by the IAOA President): November 17, 2020
• Announcement of election results: before or on November 27, 2020
• New Executive Council takes office: January 1, 2021

Terms of Reference

Please refer to the IAOA Statute as of Jun 23, 2016, as linked at [2], especially Art. 11 (Voting and Decisions), Art. 13 (Assembly) and Art. 14 (Executive Council).

Process Details

Nomination: October 28 - November 9, 2020

• Starting from October 28, 2020 you can nominate and second any individual (excluding yourself) as a candidate for membership in the next IAOA Executive Council (EC).
• While any person who is a current member of IAOA may nominate or second a nomination (excluding self), only an individual who is verified as an IAOA member may be a proper candidate to go on the ballot.
• To make a nomination, send an email to the [iaoa-member] mailing list <iaoa-member@ovgu.de> (if you are already an IAOA member) providing:
  • (A) your name/affiliation/email-address,
  • (B) the nominee's name/affiliation/email-address, and
  • (C) a citation stating why your nominee would make a good candidate for the IAOA EC.
• To second the nomination, send an email to the [iaoa-member] mailing list <iaoa-member@ovgu.de> providing the name of the nominee you are seconding.
• The individual making a nomination (and those who second the nomination) should be responsible for communicating with the nominee, see to it that the nominee meets the membership requirement, and get the nominee to send his/her acceptance (on the nomination, seconding, and candidacy) in writing to the [iaoa-member] mailing list <iaoa-member@ovgu.de>.
• The nomination period closes at 23:59, November 9, 2020 (AoE = UTC-12). The list of candidates is published in completion on November 10, 2020.
• Nominated candidates are deemed to have been elected if the number of candidates is not larger than the number of vacant positions. In that case no ballot is required.

Campaigning and discussion: November 10 - November 16, 2020

• Once a nominee has been verified to be a member of IAOA, and has accepted the nomination, and the nomination has been seconded, he/she should send to the [iaoa-member] mailing list <iaoa-member@ovgu.de> :
  • a brief "position statement" (between 200~250 words) describing his/her view on the Association, goals as Executive Committee (EC) member, activities they want to pursue if elected, ... etc.
  • this statement will accompany the candidate's listing when the list of all candidates on the ballot are published prior to voting
• after that, the candidate can start his/her campaign activities on the [iaoa-member] mailing list <iaoa-member@ovgu.de>.
• Candidates are encouraged to make position statements and plans they have if elected to the EC.
• Other IAOA Members are invited to ask questions, seek clarifications on the candidates' plans etc.
• Other items to be voted on by the Assembly might also be introduced and discussed during this period (in line with Art. 13 of the Statute).
• The mailing list is not moderated for subscribers and IAOA members are encouraged to interact freely.
• Campaigning and discussion will close on November 16, 2020 at 10:59 AoE = UTC-12 / 23:59 CET.

Official start of the 2020 IAOA Assembly: November 17, 2020

• The President shall call the Assembly to order (virtually, in an email message) and points out the list of candidates that may be elected to the next IAOA Executive Council membership, along with any other items that will be on the (electronic) ballot.
• All members are expected and asked to respond to this message by going to the voting page to confirm their presence at this virtual assembly (as the ballot outcome will be the stronger, the more members have participated, even although no quorum applies).
• Any error or discrepancy found on the list of candidates (and other ballot items) should be reflected to the IAOA President and the Executive Council < iaoa - council [at] ovgu . de > on the same day for rectification.

Ballot: November 17 - November 22, 2020

• IAOA members can vote online from 00:01, November 17 (CET) till 23:59, November 22, 2020 (AoE = UTC-12).
• The web address and access details will be distributed before the opening of the ballot.
• Each member can cast one vote on each topic.
• A vote for the IAOA EC means the selection of up to 9 members from the list of candidates.
• A vote for an item means the selection of one among the provided options for that item.
• All votes are anonymous.
• A member may cast his/her electronic vote by going to IAOA Member Area: https://iaoa.org/index.php/member-area/ and there to the Utilities area.
  • You will need your membership password to get into the voting site
  • If you have lost your password, you can request a new one via the "Lost your password?" link on the login page to the Member Area.
  • If there is additional trouble with your authentication or membership, write < info [at] iaoa.org > for help.
  • Should you have any doubt or problem relating to this election, don't hesitate to contact the President Laure Vieu OR the Secretary Frank Loebe < secretary [at] iaoa . org >

Voting outcome

• Immediately after voting is closed at 23:59 November 22 (AoE), raw results of the votes shall be available by going to IAOA Member Area: https://iaoa.org/index.php/member-area/ and then to the Utilities.
  • Note that these are only "raw" votes ... the official election and ballot outcome will need to be confirmed and will need to be announced later.
• The 9 members that receive more votes among the candidates for the EC are elected and will join the new IAOA EC.
• In case of a tie, the length of continuous membership by candidates in the Association will be taken into account, with longer membership ranking higher. If there is still a tie, then age will be used to break the tie, with younger candidates taking priority.
• The members that are elected will join the new IAOA Executive Council and will take office on January 1, 2021.
• Unless we run into complications (such as technical issues, etc.), the outcome of the voting will be officially announced to the [iaoa-member] mailing list by November 27, 2020.
• Any and all reports of concern (including especially, complaint and/or objection) to the officially announced voting results should be brought to the attention of the Executive Council in writing (via email to <iaoa - council @ ovgu . de>) within 48 hours of the official announcement. Each item of concern received will be individually and openly handled. Past this window, no further report of this nature on the matter will be considered.

Q & A and Clarifications

• ... (to be added as they arise!)

• Question: Since only IAOA members may vote, when (before what date) must I join IAOA to be able to vote in this Election?
  • Answer: ... PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR MEMBERSHIP IS UP-TO-DATE as soon as possible.

If you have not renewed your membership during 2020, then your membership has elapsed; please apply for renewal before making a nomination or otherwise participating in the election.

• Question: What is quorum for the Assembly where this EC Election is held? Please also clarify when and how should members 'confirm their presence' in the Assembly so as to be properly recognized in the quorum count.
  • Answer: According to the IAOA Statute (Art. 13) the Assembly is validly constituted without a quorum, unless there are motions on Statute changes or the dissolution of the Association. Nevertheless, a high participation rate is very desirable! Your presence will be counted if you are a member of IAOA and you cast your electronic vote (including abstentions!) directly during the ballot period.

• Question: What is the term of office for the newly elected IAOA Executive Council (EC)?
  • Answer: It will be 2 years, as recorded in Article 14 of the Statute.

• Question: What should I do if I have questions (not covered here) or run into problems with the Election or voting process?
  • Answer: Just send a message to the Executive Council (via email to <iaoa - council @ ovgu . de>), stating clearly who you are, and what is the issue (please also provide some context where applicable) ... we will try to respond to you promptly.

List of Nominations

(chronological order of nominations, within each entry chronological order of secondings)

• Nov 03, 2020:
  • nominee: Laure Vieu (IRIT-CNRS, University of Toulouse, France and LOA, ISTC-CNR, Trento, Italy)
    • statement of acceptance
  • nominator: Nicola Guarino (message)
  • seconders:
    • Anthony Cohn (message)
    • John Bateman (message)
    • Diego Calvanese (message)
    • Riichiro Mizoguchi (message)
• Nov 03, 2020: current EC members who are ready to continue and pre-accepted their nomination in EC meeting n.251, held on Nov 02, 2020 (cf. message):
  • nominees:
    • Ken Baclawski (Northeastern University, Boston, USA)
    • Oliver Kutz (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy)
    • Frank Loebe (University of Leipzig, Germany)
    • Fabian Neuhaus (Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany)
    • Amanda Vizedom (Credit Suisse, Raleigh, North-Carolina, USA)
  • nominator: Laure Vieu (message)
  • seconders:
    • John Bateman (message)
    • Diego Calvanese (message)
    • Paul Brandt (message)
    • Riichiro Mizoguchi (message)
• Nov 03, 2020:
  • nominee: Torsten Hahmann (University of Maine, USA)
  • nominator: Laure Vieu (message)
  • seconders:
    • Anthony Cohn (message)
    • John Bateman (message)
    • Diego Calvanese (message)
    • Paul Brandt (message)
    • Riichiro Mizoguchi (message)
• Nov 05, 2020:
  • nominee: Emilio Sanfilippo (LOA, ISTC-CNR, Trento, Italy)
    • statement of acceptance
  • nominator: Roberta Ferrario (message)
  • seconders:
    • Laure Vieu (message)
    • Riichiro Mizoguchi (message)
• Nov 06, 2020:
  • nominee: Megan Katsumi (University of Toronto, Canada)
  • nominator: Laure Vieu (message)
  • seconder: Frank Loebe (message)

List of Candidates

• Ken Baclawski (Northeastern University, Boston, USA)
• Torsten Hahmann (University of Maine, USA)
• Megan Katsumi (University of Toronto, Canada)
• Oliver Kutz (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy)
• Frank Loebe (University of Leipzig, Germany)
• Fabian Neuhaus (Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany)
• Emilio Sanfilippo (LOA, ISTC-CNR, Trento, Italy)
• Laure Vieu (IRIT-CNRS, University of Toulouse, France and LOA, ISTC-CNR, Trento, Italy)
• Amanda Vizedom (Credit Suisse, Raleigh, North-Carolina, USA)

Election Results

< to appear >

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This page is maintained primarily by the Secretary of the Association (Frank Loebe).

Please do not edit or modify this page yourself; send any editing request to the Election Committee list or to any of the individuals named above.