ARTICLE 6 – COMMITTEES

6.01 Standing Committees of the Society, shall consist of the following:

a. Executive Committee;

b. By-Laws Committee

c. Membership Committee

d. Nominating Committee

e. Meetings and Program Committee

f. Website Committee

g. Industry Committee

h. Finance Committee

i. Awards Committee

j. Research Committee

k. Artificial Intelligence Committee

6.02 Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall have the general management and control of all the powers of the Society, except such as are conferred upon other Committees by these By-laws or upon the members by the law, the Articles of Incorporation, or by these By-laws.

6.03 By-laws Committee. The By-laws Committee shall consist of the Chair, the President, and three to five Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair. The By-laws Committee shall be responsible for evaluating proposed amendments to the By-laws of the Society as provided for in Article 7.

6.04 Membership Committee. The Membership Committee shall consist of the Chair, the President, and three to five Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair. The Membership Committee shall be responsible for recommending nominees for election to membership in the Society as provided for in Article 2.

6.05 Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consist of the Chair, two members of the Executive Committee and one to three Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair. The Nominating Committee shall nominate such person for the positions as Officers and Committee Chairs of the Society for election by the Individual Members. The nominated slate shall then be forwarded to the Secretary of the Society. The Chair of the Nominating Committee and the Secretary of the Society shall send electronic or written notice of the nominations to the Individual Members at least 60 days prior to the annual meeting, at which the Officers and Committee Chairs are to be elected. Members of the Nominating Committee shall recuse themselves from any vote wherein they are the nominee.

6.06 Meetings and Programs Committee. The Meetings and Programs Committee shall consist of the Chair, the President, and three to five Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair. The Meetings and Programs Committee shall be responsible for planning and conducting scientific meetings, symposia and conferences held under general sponsorship of the Society and shall be responsible for establishing the date, time and place of the annual scientific and business meeting, and for notifying the Secretary who shall then notify the membership.

6.07 Website Committee. The Website Committee shall consist of the Chair, the President, and three to five Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair. The Website Committee will be responsible for contact with the web designer of the Society website and will work toward updating, expanding, and tailoring current and future applications so that they are consistent with the mission of the Society.

6.08 Industry Committee. The Industry Committee shall consist of the Chair, the President, and three to five Individual Members or representatives of Corporate Members of the Society appointed by the Chair as endorsed by the Executive Committee. The Industry Committee will be responsible for creating opportunity for industry collaborations, setting terms for Industry memberships and interactions with the society, and suggesting new initiatives with industry Member companies to the Executive Committee.

6.09 Finance Committee. The Finance Committee shall consist of the Chair (Treasurer of the Society), the President, and three to five Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair as endorsed by the Executive Committee. The Finance Committee will be responsible for managing the financial resources and obligations of the organization, establish a budget, and make recommendations on financial matters for the benefit of the Executive Committee and the Membership.

6.10 Awards Committee. The Awards Committee shall consist of the Chair, the President, and three to five Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair as endorsed by the Executive Committee. The Awards Committee will be responsible for creating awards, determining dollar amount of awards or selection of gift, and developing criteria for selection of award recipients,

6.11 Research Committee. The Research Committee shall consist of the Chair, the President, and three to five Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair as endorsed by the Executive Committee. The Research Committee will be responsible for proposing and developing clinical, research, and consensus-building initiatives and suggesting allocation of available research funds. Research ideas may be proposed by anyone in the Society by submitting a synopsis of the project to the Committee. Research proposals then will be evaluated for feasibility and desirability. The group decision will be presented to the Executive Committee by the Research Committee Chair for approval. The Research Committee will be responsible for overseeing the execution of these approved initiatives including recruiting Members as needed to achieve these initiatives.

6.12 Artificial Intelligence Committee. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Committee shall consist of the Chair, the President, and three to five Individual Members of the Society appointed by the Chair as endorsed by the Executive Committee. The AI Committee will focus on the evaluation of commercially available AI systems which are used in the diagnosis or treatment of retinal disease. The AI committee will also evaluate non-commercially available AI system when such systems are in widespread use among the retinal imaging community. Evaluation will focus on “machine behaviour” - a process of empirical observation and experimentation with these systems, in line with the image interpretation expertise of the society. Using this approach, the committee will highlight biases and limitations of retinal AI systems, and thus help to determine areas in which new training data is required or where there are broader implications for safe implementation. AI systems for evaluation may be proposed by anyone in the Society by submitting details of the system and a proposed project plan. Proposals will then be evaluated for feasibility and desirability. The group decision will be presented to the Executive Committee by the AI Committee Chair for approval. The AI Committee will be responsible for overseeing the execution of these approved initiatives including recruiting Members as needed to achieve these initiatives.

6.13 Committee Chairs will serve a three-year term and may be re-elected once, except for the Chair of the Finance Committee which will be served by the Treasurer for one year and Chair of the Awards Committee which will be served by the Past-President for one year.

6.14 Vacancies. In case a vacancy shall occur for any cause in any Committee, such vacancy shall be filled by appointment of the appropriate authority. Any person so elected or appointed to fill such a vacancy shall serve only until the office or Committee Membership would regularly be filled or until a qualified successor is chosen.

6.15 Resignation. Any Committee Member or Officer may resign his/her Committee Membership or office at any time by delivering his/her resignation electronically or in writing to the President or the Executive Committee. A resignation shall be effective upon receipt or upon such later date as shall be specified in the resignation, and acceptance of the resignation by the Executive Committee shall not be necessary to make it effective unless so stated in the resignation.

6.16 Committee Meetings. The Executive Committee shall meet at such time and place as may be fixed by the members of the Executive Committee. All other Committees shall meet at such time and place as may be fixed by the Chair of the respective Committee or by direction of the President or Executive Committee.

6.17 Quorum. A majority of the members of any Committee present at the Committee meeting shall represent a quorum. In the absence of a quorum at any meeting, the meeting may be adjourned to a future date without further notice.

6.18 Standing Committee Members. No Individual Member of the Society may serve on more than two standing Committees at any one time except the members of the Board of Trustees. If an elected Officer of the Society also serves as Chair of a standing Committee, he/she may cast only one vote on Executive Committee matters.

6.19 Special Committees. Special Committees may be created by the Executive Committee for an expressed purpose until the specified function of the Committee is accomplished or is dissolved by action of the Executive Committee.