Managing Board
The activities of the EURO Working Group on Continuous Optimization, shortly EWG EUROPT, are managed by a board with six or seven members. Once elected, the board appoints a coordinator and a treasurer among its members. The coordinator is generally referred to as the EUROPT chair and the board as the Managing Board. The chair promotes and supervises all the activities of the group with the assistance of the board, while the treasurer assists the chair and the board by running the accountancy. Other roles such as newsletter editor, website manager, etc. can be set up on a flexible basis according to needs and the way the board decides to structure its tasks. Duties of the chair include also maintaining the relationship with EURO, in particular by keeping in touch with the responsible EURO Vice President, by filling up the annual report of the activities, by submitting applications for grants to EURO and by attending the annual meeting of the EURO working groups. Once a new chair takes office, the (last) past chair is expected to provide the chair with support and advice for the first year of the term. Honorary and past chairs are not members of the board unless elected. They may be considered as a body of advisors for the board to question in case of need.
Elections
The Managing Board is renewed every three years. Eligible candidates must hold a PhD, have scientific interests and activities in continuous optimization meant in the most comprehensive sense. Previous experience in management and service to scientific communities, at least on a local basis, is desirable. Only self-nominations are allowed and applications have to be sent according to the call for candidates. The board promotes diversity of gender, geography and expertise in the nominations. The board validates the nominations accounting for diversity. Exclusions are possible only by an unanimous decision of the honorary chairs following an unanimous proposal by the board. If there are six or seven approved candidates, no voting procedure is needed and the new board is set with all candidates in. If there are less than six, then a new call is sent out and stays open until the missing seats up to six members are filled and no election takes place. If there are eight or more candidates, a voting procedure is set up and the six candidates with the most votes are elected. Ties are broken by gender balance, then by geography and finally by younger academic age (years from PhD). The passive electorate is made by all the subscribers to the EUROPT mailing-list. Each voter can give up to four preferences. The election takes place with an online tool that guarantees secret ballot and voters to cast their preferences only once.
The call for candidates is sent out during the winter and stays open at least for one month. The elections take place in the spring and the new board takes office at the closing session of the annual conference of the group. The election procedure is supervised by the EUROPT chair upon the schedule set up in agreement with the board.
Recommendation: a best practice to support broad participation is that individuals should serve on the Managing Board no more than two consecutive terms.
Next deadlines
Winter 2026: call for candidates
Spring 2026: elections
May/June 2026: first meeting(s) of the elected board with the outgoing chair
10 July 2026: the new board takes office