Conference Contracts Guidelines & Templates

The following guidelines can help you navigate the review, approval, and execution of all IEEE event-related contracts and purchase orders. Additional details of the contracting policies established by the IEEE Finance Committee are available in the IEEE Finance Operations Manual.

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Contract Review

IEEE requires most purchases with a value greater than $1,000 US to have an approved purchase requisition prior to execution. You may refer to the following chart for guidance on the appropriate review process for your transaction.

Your Transaction IEEE Guidelines
Purchase Value? High risk? Contract Required Legal Review Required Purchase Order (PO) Required CEE Engagement Required
Under US$1000 No Recommended No No No
US$1000 to US$5000 No Recommended No Yes Yes
US$5001 to US$25000 No Yes No Yes Yes
Over US$25000 No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Any Value Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

High-Risk Contracts

The IEEE Legal department must review: 

(i) all agreements on non-IEEE paper;

(ii) all agreements over $25,000.00; and 

(iii) all agreements that are less than $25,000.00, but are “high risk”, i.e: related to data privacy, potential personal injury, government-affiliated entities, working with minors, burdensome contract terms (e.g., relating to financial exposure or obligations, indemnification, etc.), chartered transportation, or realty.

Professional subject matter experts assess risk when reviewing materials during the process.

Please see the Finance Operations Manual for additional details on this topic.

Contract Signing

Only an authorized signatory may enter into a binding contract on behalf of IEEE. Signatures are generally obtained through IEEE’s centralized electronic process. Please note that contracts signed by an individual without proper signing authority may result in personal liability for the person signing the contract. 

Business Decisions

Some proposed contracts may have provisions that the IEEE Legal Department is unwilling to approve and the vendor is unwilling to change. In such cases, the conference may be authorized by IEEE to make a “business decision,” to accept the risks and proceed without legal approval. In order to request such an exception, written approval from the leadership of the sponsoring society/OU is required.

Available Resources

  • IEEE Conference Application: Approved IEEE conferences may have contracts submitted for signature. We recommend starting the approval process early via the IEEE Conference Application.
  • Budgets: Conferences shall receive approval on their budgets in advance of incurring any financial liabilities. Help is available via your Business Analyst or the Business Operations Team.
  • On-demand training modules:
  • IEEE Legal and Compliance resources: Find information on non-hotel and other event-related templates and guidance on which template to use via the Template Selector. 
  • General conference assistance: Contact the Customer Relationship Management team.

IEEE Conference Contracting Quick Reference Guide

Download the IEEE Conference Contracting Quick Reference Guide for guidance on IEEE contracting processes, guidelines, and resources.

IEEE Event-Related Templates

The following event-related templates can be found on the IEEE Legal & Compliance website. If you have difficulty accessing any of the templates, please contact the IEEE Legal team at: contract-review@ieee.org.

  • Master Management Services Agreement (MMSA) – This template can be used for an agreement between IEEE, on behalf of a given IEEE organizational unit, and a given management company for services rendered related to an event.
  • Statement of Work Template (MMSA-SOW) – This template should be used in conjunction with the MMSA to create a detailed description of the work to be performed by a Management Company for IEEE. This SOW template may only be used with the MMSA.
  • Small Event Contract Template – This template can be used for small events (under 100 room nights).
  • Generic Standard Hotel Contract Template – This template can be used for an agreement between IEEE, on behalf of a given IEEE organizational unit/financial sponsor and a given hotel, in connection with an IEEE conference/meeting. The template can also be used for independent hotels and those that do not have specific legal-approved templates.
  • Specific Hotel Chain Templates – Standard agreements have been negotiated with certain major North American Hotel Chains. When doing business with the chains listed below, please use their specific contract template. The templates were negotiated to standardize specific legal clauses. “Terms of Sale” (i.e., number of sleeping room nights, room rate, meeting space, concessions) are to be negotiated with the hotel.
    • Hilton Standard Agreement Template
      • Representing Hilton, Conrad Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Embassy Suites, and DoubleTree
    • Marriott Standard Agreement Template
      • Representing Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Renaissance, Gaylord Hotels, and Courtyard by Marriott (All former Starwood properties will now utilize Marriott template)
    • IEEE National/Global Account Representatives will work with conference organizers to ensure national contracts are honored locally. Please contact the IEEE Conference Contracts Team for current contact information.

Visit the IEEE Legal & Compliance website to Download the Templates 

Suggested Courses

We recommend the following courses in the IEEE Center for Leadership Excellence (CLE).  First, use your IEEE Account to log in to the CLE and then click the View Course link to go directly to the recommended course.

Conference Contracting Overview

Step 1: Log In

Step 2: View Course

We Are Here to Help

If you have questions about contracts, please contact the Conference Contracts Team at conference-contracts@ieee.org