NOTE: As of Dec. 31, 2012, NIST no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource. Current information on this subject may be found at SGIP.org.

SGIP Membership Information
PAGE CONTENTS
Types of Membership Explanation of Individual Member Roles (as shown in the SGIP Membership Agreement) Member Relations Remaining in "Good Standing" Member Communications Membership Support How to Join Updating or Adding to Your Current Membership Changing Your Stakeholder Category Withdrawal Membership Questions and Comments	Designated Stakeholder Categories Guide to SGIP Voting Download SGIP Charter and ByLaws Current List of SGIP Member Organizations Membership Change Request Form

The Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) is a membership-based organization created by an Administrator under a contract from NIST to provide an open process for stakeholders to participate in providing input and cooperating with NIST in the ongoing coordination, acceleration and harmonization of standards development for the Smart Grid. The SGIP and its governing board are an open organization dedicated to balancing the needs of a variety of Smart Grid related organizations. Any organization may become a member of the SGIP.

Membership is by organization, with one vote per participating member. Divisions, subsidiaries, committees of organizations, etc. are part of their parent organizations, and are not considered organizations for SGIP purposes. Members will be required to declare an affiliation with an identified Stakeholder Category (twenty-two have thus far been identified by NIST and are listed here). Participating Members must participate regularly in order to vote on the work products of the panel. The number of individual representatives who engage in SGIP technical activities is not limited. Currently, the SGIP consists of over 780 member organizations with more than 2,000 individual representatives engaged in SGIP activities.

Types of Membership

Currently, there are two levels of membership designated in the SGIP.

Participating Member

Observing Member

No membership dues or associated fees required at this time. Provided one vote to cast on SGIP matters through one designated Voting Representative. Automatically subscribed to receive SGIP communications through email and provided a login to the Smart Grid Twiki. Must declare one stakeholder category. Voting Representative required to vote on all general and category-related ballots. Required to have one Member Representative in attendance (either in person or via remote web/phone access) at all Plenary meetings. All Member Representatives strongly encouraged to participate in the SGIP through PAP, DEWG, Working Group involvement.

No membership dues or associated fees required at this time. Does not have voting privileges on SGIP matters. Automatically subscribed to receive SGIP communications through email. May register for a login to the Smart Grid Twiki. Not required to be in attendance at any Plenary meetings. May participate in the SGIP through PAP, DEWG, Working Group involvement.

Explanation of Individual Member Roles (as shown in the SGIP Membership Agreement)

Signature Authority: Person has formal or apparent authority to sign for the member organization allowing third parties to reasonably assume that the signatory has the authority to bind the organization in membership. Unless the Signature Authority is also listed as a Member Representative, they will not be sent emails or registered on the TWiki. Along with the Voting Representative, they will be emailed on important matters related to the organization's membership.

Voting Representative (Participating only): The one representative from the organization that can vote on SGIP general and category-specific ballots. They are also considered the main contact for the membership. In addition, they direct which representatives should be added or deleted under the company membership. Along with the Signature Authority, they will be emailed on important matters related to the organization's membership.

Participating Member Representative: Named individuals within a member organization who wish to engage in SGIP-related working activities. They will count as an official attendee at SGIP meetings and will receive SGIP news and communications. Observing Member Representative: Named individuals within a member organization who wish to observe or engage in SGIP-related working activities. They will receive SGIP news and communications. All Member Representatives have the responsibility to review and understand the SGIP Charter and ByLaws as part of their membership obligations.

Member Relations

One of the SGIP Principles is Openness. The work of the SGIP, including all working groups and committees, will be open for public review as follows:

• All minutes of all meetings will be posted
• All documents and drafts under discussion will be posted
• All meetings are open to public attendance.

All SGIP outputs will be delivered to the public through this NIST Smart Grid Collaborative Wiki and the online Interoperability Knowledge Base (IKB) website.

Meetings of the SGIP will be announced not less than 30 calendar days prior to in-person meetings and not less than 10 calendar days prior to virtual meetings. Notifications will be communicated by email to SGIP membership and by posting to the "News & Events" section of this site.

Remaining in "Good Standing"

Only Participating Member Organizations in good standing may vote (see list). Any Participating Member who is (1) absent for two consecutive plenary meetings or (2) does not vote in two consecutive ballots, will forfeit the privilege of voting on any matter. A Participating Member whose voting privileges are suspended will have voting privileges restored upon attendance (either in person or via remote web/phone access) at two consecutive meetings.

New Participating Member Organizations must attend two consecutive plenary meetings (either in person or via remote web/phone access) in order to gain voting rights.

All SGIP plenary voting is conducted through electronic balloting for convenience and ease of access to Voting Representatives. A standard voting mechanism is used that logs votes for audit, verifies a quorum is attained and prevents “flooding” of votes by Member. To learn more, see our Guide to SGIP Voting.

Member Communications

SGIP Member News: All Member Representatives who have provided an email address to the SGIP Administrator will be subscribed to the SGIP Member News, an on-going email publication. To see past issues, visit here. Not receiving the emails? Send a note to the Administrator.

SGIP TWiki: This is the home of the majority of documents and information regarding the work of the SGIP. Meeting archives, upcoming events, PAP updates and more reside in this site -- all open for review and discussion. To contribute, you must be registered for a TWiki account. TWiki Registration Process.

SGIPWeb.org: In addition to this TWiki, a public-facing website was established to offer information about the SGIP in brief and gently guide first-time users into the TWiki. Visit here.

Membership Support

The SGIP Administrator is always available via email to answer questions and address concerns.

How to Join

First, please confirm your organization is not already a member by reviewing our Member list. If your organization already is a member, then your Voting Representative or Signature Authority needs to fill out our Change of Membership form (link can be found below) to add you as a representative.

If you would like to become either an Observing or Participating Member of the SGIP, please fill out our Membership Agreement (see below). You may email the file, fax it to the number included, or mail it to the address on the form. Email is strongly encouraged as the best mechanism for ensuring quick and accurate collection of your information. Note: SGIP membership applications will result in the automatic signup to the SGIP Member News emails and registration on the TWiki which is required for all your member representatives. Upon completion and submission of the membership agreement, your members can expect an email which confirms their TWiki login information to be used in interacting with the SGIP on the TWiki.

Please complete and submit the following form to become a member of the SGIP: Membership Agreement

Updating or Adding to Your Current Membership

Already a member organization but need to revise your Voting Representative or delete a representative?
Is your organization part of the SGIP but you are not?

Membership Change Request Form

Please Note: If you are seeking to revise your Voting Representative, the Change of Membership form must be submitted by the current Voting Representative or Signature Authority.

Changing Your Stakeholder Category

The SGIPGB has requested a method for a Participating Member organization to change its assigned stakeholder category. A method to do this is an operating procedure and does not require a change to the SGIP and SGIPGB Charter.

The Voting Representative or Signature Authority of a Participating Member organization may request a change to their designated stakeholder category by submitting the request with supporting justification via an email to the SGIP Administrator anytime during the year. The SGIP Administrator will review the request, make a decision and, if approved, will make the change 30 days after receipt of the request.

The Participating Member may not submit another category change request within the 12-month period following a category change.

Supporting documentation must include:

• Participating Member’s organization name
• Name of Voting Representative/Signatory Authority submitting the request
• Current designated stakeholder category
• Requested new stakeholder category
• A statement of justification for why the stakeholder category should be changed.

Withdrawal

Members can voluntarily withdraw from the SGIP at any time by stating their intention in writing to the Secretary of the SGIP or submitting an email to the SGIP.Administrator.

Membership Questions and Comments

Note comments actually on this topic page: SGIPMembershipInfoCommentPage

Comment or Question	Member	Date
This board is reviewed weekly and answers posted within a timely manner to questions and comments.	JenyDowlin	2010-05-06 - 13:26