The New Face of (ISC)² Elections

A Message from the Board Communications Committee on Board Elections

This year the (ISC)² Board of Directors election process emerges after a massive year-long facelift. Through the recommendations of last year’s Board of Directors and the tenacity of the (ISC)² Management team, this year marks an unprecedented shift as the organization adjusts election processes based on member feedback.

We really try to be problem-solvers, and with our emphasis on member service, making sure we aligned the election process to meet the changing demands of our membership was paramount this year. You asked, we listened, and we have some exciting changes to share.

This year’s election runs from November 16-30, 2014 and our goal is to have the highest number of members voting in history. Here’s what we’re doing to make that happen.

New official candidate forum.
First, you’ll have the opportunity to interact one-on-one with all the candidates through an open forum online. Members are encouraged to interact, ask questions and really engage with the candidates through this self-moderated platform. The forum is hosted on LinkedIn as a public group. With 260 million users across more than 200 countries, LinkedIn was an obvious choice for a professional discussion forum. You can access the (ISC)² Board of Directors Election Candidates’ Forum through (ISC)² Election Central or directly on LinkedIn. You told us seeing bios and profiles on a website didn’t provide enough background on the candidates, and we agree! This new forum offers the platform to dive in to tough issues and get more background on your Board of Directors candidates. You can subscribe to email digests for the group or specific discussions, and you can post directly on the group 24×7.

Election Central.
Second, you’ll have a central place to access all the relevant information for this year’s election. The team is pleased to present the first Election Central, a portal to access candidates’ bios, candidate social media links, details about the election process, and informative overviews of what it means to be a Board of Directors member at (ISC)². Instead of logging in and clicking through several pages and menus to find pieces of information, we’ve put it neatly in one central place for you. You can useElection Central as your primary resource throughout the election process.

New voting platform.
Third, the team has worked tirelessly to move voting to a hosted balloting system that provides end-to-end auditable voting. This change is no small task for an organization with 100,000 members! Although the integrity of the voting process in years past was extremely high, the Board of Directors and Management took the extra step to migrate to a fully hosted, auditable voting platform. Results will still be validated by a third party as they’ve been in the past. We believe this change adds an extra layer of security and transparency by distancing the organization from the ballots and adding yet another layer of validation. Not only is the platform hosted and secured, but it leverages single sign-on for a streamlined login and seamless experience for members.

You, the members.
Last, but most certainly not least, our secret weapon is you – the member. You have the power to transform the future and be an active participant in choosing your representation on the (ISC)² Board of Directors. We believe this year marks an unprecedented level of participation, care and attention to, from and by the members. It takes an active membership to make elections meaningful, and we hope you’ll find these new changes empower you to be an active participant this year.

Is our new system perfect? I’m sure it’s not. Theodore Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.” And so we are doing something, and we view this year as the first big step toward meeting member demand, increasing member engagement, and bridging the gap between you, the organization, and your Board of Directors. We hope you’ll take advantage of the new resources available to you during this year’s election and of course, we welcome feedback as we continue to learn and grow.

On behalf of the (ISC)² Board Communications Committee and your (ISC)² Board of Directors, we welcome you to the 2015 election and ask for your participation in helping us grow and transform the organization to meet the challenges of a new year!

Jennifer Minella, CISSP
Chair, Board Communications Committee
(ISC)² Board of Directors

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