Members Ratify Amended Bylaws
March 5, 2021
Last month, in addition to electing vacancies to the Board of Directors, the International Secure Information Governance & Management Association® (i-SIGMA®) ballot asked eligible member representative voters to ratify amended bylaws. These amendments were ratified by a majority of the membership and the newly updated bylaws are being phased in.
Overview
The amendments, which had already been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors, fall into three categories: housekeeping, streamlining, and board structure.
Housekeeping: When NAID and PRISM International merged, the bylaws defined the structure and role of the Interim Board that would bridge to the elected Board of Directors. Since the i-SIGMA Board has now been elected and the association is no longer in an “interim” period, the extensive language surrounding the function of the Interim Board is no longer necessary and therefore has been removed.
Streamlining: The existing i-SIGMA bylaws create a divisional structure that divides member-companies into two constituencies; data destruction (NAID) and records management (PRISM International). This results in separate dues structures, with some member-companies paying dues twice, and underrepresents the addition of service providers who do not clearly fall into one or the other. Additionally, maintaining this division structure adds bureaucratic red tape that creates unnecessary expense. Removal of the divisional structure will not affect the continuing availability of NAID AAA Certification or PRISM Privacy+ Certification, and, in fact, will allow all i-SIGMA members to access those programs.
Board Structure: The proposed Board-approved bylaws include language instructing the Nominating Committee to produce slates of candidates for election to the Board of Directors that fairly and proportionally represents and responds to changes within the nature of i-SIGMA membership. This is designed to replace a highly prescriptive Board structure found to be impractical to maintain from year-to-year, while at the same time failing to account for the evolution of the types of service and geographic representation of the association.
Review the Current Updated Bylaws (approved by the i-SIGMA Board of Directors 11 November 2020; ratified by the i-SIGMA Membership 2 March 2021)