Governance Structure: Proceedings of the ACM

Proceedings of the ACM is a journal Series parallel to ACM Transactions and the ACM Journals. Accordingly, the oversight of the Series lies with the ACM Publications Board, and the tenets of ACM’s Rights and Responsibilities in Publishing apply to the new Series.

Within PACM are individual journal Titles. A title is a particular themed journal in the Series that publishes the research articles accepted by a set of affiliated conferences. Each Title has a name beginning with “Proceedings of the ACM on” followed by the topical theme of the Title. Each Title will have its own ISSN and will be submitted separately for indexing, impact factor calculation, etc.

Proceedings of the ACM has a three-level Governance Structure:

• Publications Board
• PACM Steering Committee
• PACM Title Editorial Boards

PACM Governance: Publications Board

The Publications Board has ultimate authority over the PACM Series and each of its Titles, and delegates authority to the PACM Steering Committee (SC) and PACM Title Editorial Boards as specified herein. The Publications Board reserves to itself the authority to:

• Approve the creation of new Titles
• Remove existing Titles
• Remove an affiliated conference from a Title, including removal of such an affiliated conference without consent of the SIG, conference or Title*
• Set policy related to the PACM Series

*Removal actions would only occur after other alternatives have been explored and failed.

The Publications Board also reserves authority over issues common to all ACM journals or publications, including handling matters such as:

• Allegations of plagiarism or other ethical misconduct in publications
• Defining standards for publications, including publication templates
• Management and oversight of business models for publications and subscriptions
• Policies related to copyright, author-retained rights, and open access

PACM Governance: PACM Steering Committee

The PACM Steering Committee (SC) is a committee of the Publications Board charged with oversight and operation of the PACM Series. In particular, the SC is charged with:

• Promoting the PACM Series and soliciting proposals for new Titles
• Reviewing proposals for new Titles and making recommendations to the Publications Board on those proposals
• Making recommendations to the Publications Board on all suggested modifications to existing Titles, including modifications requested by the Titles and those initiated by the SC. Such modifications include, but are not limited to: adding a new affiliated conference, removing an affiliated conference (either with or without the agreement of the conference), changing the schedule or frequency of publication, and changing the governance structure of the Title.
• Conducting a regular review of the operation of each Title, and reporting to the Publications Board on the results of such reviews. When necessary, making recommendations to the Publications Board on the removal of a Title.
• Creating, maintaining, and promulgating such procedures as are necessary to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the Series.

The PACM Steering Committee shall consist of five members, three appointed by the Publications Board Chair(s) and two representatives of the Titles and their sponsoring SIGs. The SC chair shall be appointed (from among the appointed members) by the Publications Board Chair(s) and shall serve as a voting member of the Publications Board. The SC chair will have the title of Executive Editor of the PACM Series and shall not vote in committee matters except to create or break a tie.

Appointed members shall serve two-year terms with a limit of three consecutive terms. The Chair may serve up to three consecutive two-year terms in addition to any terms served previously as a member.

Representatives shall be nominated for two-year terms (renewable up to a three consecutive terms) by the Editorial Boards of the Titles except that in the case where a Title is limited to conferences sponsored by a particular SIG, the Title’s governance may designate that the SIG nominates the representative. When there are more representatives nominated than the slots available, the nominees shall be selected based on which Title has had the longest period without representation on the SC (at start-up, the representatives will be allocated to the earliest-approved Titles).

PACM Steering Committee Members
Chair: Philip Wadler

Members:  Maria Gini, Jessica Hodgins, Joseph Konstan, Jeff Nichols

PACM Governance: Title Editorial Boards

Each Title shall be governed by an Editorial Board structured according to its own proposed and approved governance system (note that this governance system can include an Advisory Board tasked with providing long-term guidance to the Title). Title Editorial Boards shall generally have representatives of each affiliated conference. Title Editorial Boards should have a chair who will have the title of Editor-in-Chief. Title Editorial Boards may have one or more Associate Editors and Senior Associate Editors who will responsible for papers selection.

Each Title Editorial Board is responsible for the management of its Title, including:

• Promoting the Title to the relevant community
• Establishing policies and procedures to govern the Title; such policies and procedures may supplement but not override ACM Publications policies
• Ensuring that the Title abides by PACM Series and ACM Publications policies and procedures
• Making recommendations to the PACM SC for changes to the Title, including:
  • Addition of new affiliated conferences
  • Removal of existing affiliated conferences
  • Structural changes related to publication frequency
  • Reappointing an existing, or nominating a new, Editor-in-Chief (see PACM EiC Assessment Workflow document for details)
• Providing a regular report to the PACM SC, on a schedule to be determined by the PACM SC, on the operation of the Title, including the review processes of the affiliated conferences and associated statistics (see PACM Title Assessment Workflow document for details)

Proposing a new PACM Title

PACM Titles shall be established through a proposal process, with proposals submitted to the PACM SC for review and eventual approval by the Publications Board. Proposals shall identify the Title, its scope, and a set of initial affiliated conferences. The proposal must document the conferences’ eligibility (including an established track record of quality). The proposal shall also include details on the operation and governance of the Title. Agreement of conference steering committees or sponsoring SIGs must be documented before a PACM Title can be approved.