SIG Rules and Regulations

Part I: Preliminary

1. Definition

“Coordinator” means an SIG Coordinator.
“Director” means the Director of Special Interest Groups (“SIG”), Mensa Singapore. All communications with the Director shall commence in email form. Subsequent correspondence may be in any medium of communication.
“IT Director” refers to the directors of the ICT Division.
“MAS” means member’s activity subsidy in accordance with Part IV.
“MC” means the Management Committee of Mensa Singapore.
“Meetup” is an ad-hoc activity for a group of people that is created whenever a Mensan proposes an activity and may form part of a SIG’s activity requirements as appropriate and the person responsible for the meetup activity is known as the “Organiser”.
“Member’s area” refers to the website “http://www.mensa.sg/”.
“MP” means meetup points.
“Relevant period” refers to a period of one year starting from 1 January of any given calendar year.

2. Interpretation

Unless otherwise stated, reference to Mensans means current Mensa Singapore members who have paid the membership fees. At the Director’s discretion, Mensa members from other countries who are visiting Singapore may be allowed access to SIG/meetup activities.
A Mensan may act as coordinator for more than one SIG.
Where appropriate, references to the singular form may also refer to the plural form and references to either gender may be taken to refer to the other/both genders.

Part II: Meetup group

3. General
  1. A Mensan may propose an activity by creating a thread for the intended Meetup group on the “Meetup” forum found in the Member’s area.
  2. The Mensan who proposed the activity is considered the Organiser for that activity.
  3. Meetup group activities may be funded by the MAS, in accordance with the provisions in Part IV.
4. Meetup points (MP)
  1. At the end of each Meetup group activity, the Organiser may apply to the Director for the MP to be added to his/her account.
  2. The application should be accompanied by proof of activity, e.g. a short report or a photograph. The Organiser may use the template referred to in Clause 17.
  3. MP is calculated by the following method:
    i. 3 points for submission of photos and/or writeup on the activity to Menews
    ii. 1 point for every 5 Mensans who participated (rounded down)
    iii. 1 point for every 10 non-Mensans who participated (rounded down)
  4. MP is reset to zero on 31 December of each year.
5. Promotion of Organiser to SIG Coordinator
  1. Where an Organiser has accumulated 15 MPs within the relevant period, the Organiser may apply to the Director for promotion to be an SIG Coordinator.
  2. The Organiser may choose the nature of the SIG, subject to the provisions on SIG creation and MC approval.

Part III: Special Interest Group

6. Privileges

  1. An SIG may be given its own forum on an opt-in basis. Coordinators may apply to the IT Director for creation of the particular SIG forum in the Member’s area.

  2. SIG activities may be funded by the MAS, in accordance with the provisions in Part IV.

  3. An active SIG will be listed in Menews and such other appropriate public/members’ fora.

7. Obligations of SIGs

  1. The Director will monitor the percentage of members against non-Mensans in each SIG activity. If the tendency to engage more non-Mensans than Mensans is found to be persistent, the SIG may be terminated

  2. All SIGs must organise at least 2 meetups per year. If a SIG is unable to attract enough members for meetups or is unable to organise meetups successfully, it may be terminated.

8. Coordinators

  1. There must be at least 3 Coordinators in an SIG. The duties of the Coordinators are joint and several.

  2. Coordinators have the duty to organise SIG meetups.

  3. Coordinators have the duty to make the following reports to the Director in the following manner and frequency:

    i. Event reports – A simple report with a separate page for member comments

    ii. Half yearly updates – The requirements are set out in the next Clause.

  4. When a Coordinator steps down, the SIG member with the next highest MP may take the place.

9. Items for half yearly updates

  1. 1) Basic information: Name of the SIG, purpose of the SIG, activities that the SIG aims to carry out.

    2) Particulars of Coordinators and their contact information: Email/phone/membership number of the Coordinators, so that the MC can contact them when necessary.

    3) Membership Register: This would also serve as the list of potential Coordinators for the SIG, Should any current Coordinator step down. A Mensan is considered a member of the SIG if the person signs up for the SIG in the Member’s area.

    i. Name of SIG Member

    ii. Mensa Membership Number

    iii. Contact information

    4) Frequency and type of SIG activity and prevalent mode of communication between SIG members

    5) Current status of the SIG: Date (or at least the month and year) of the most recent activity and of the activities over the last 6 months

10. Calculation of MP for SIG Coordinators

  1. MP will be calculated for SIG Coordinators. Coordinators have a duty to maintain a minimum MP.

  2. The Coordinators within the SIG will all be granted the MP generated by a given SIG activity if all of them agree, even if any or all of them cannot attend.

  3. Where there is no unanimous consent, the coordinator must show proof of participation, whether by direct participation/attendance and/or event-related efforts, to the Director to be granted the MP.

    i. Coordinators will be demoted only if they do not have the minimum MP at the end of the calendar year.

11. SIG Creation

  1. To create an SIG, the prospective Coordinator must recruit two more Mensans with sufficient MP.

  2. The prospective coordinator should apply to the Director with the following information:

    i. Basic information: Name of the SIG, purpose of the SIG, activities that the SIG aims to carry out

    ii. Particulars of coordinators-to-be and their contact information: Email/phone/membership number of the Coordinators, so that the MC can contact them when necessary.

  3. Where there is overlap of interests between SIGs, the matter shall be discussed first between the coordinators of the existing SIG and the prospective coordinators for the new SIG and the Director may participate in such discussions. If the matter is not resolved within one month of the start of the discussion, the Director shall decide on the arrangement (or re-arrangement) of SIGs.

12. SIG for Improper Purpose

  1. The Management Committee reserves the right to reject or revoke registration of any SIG that is created and/or operated for improper purpose.

  2. “Improper purpose” includes, but is not limited to the following:

    i. Pursuit of political, religious, or any other partisan agenda, especially where it may create undesirable or socially unacceptable effects;

    ii. Promotion of commercial product/services, whether for personal gain or otherwise; and

    iii. Any other purpose which violates the wording and/or spirit of the Constitution of Mensa International, Mensa Singapore and/or of the relevant organisation under consideration and/or the laws of Singapore.

  3. The MC shall be the final arbiter on what constitutes Improper Purpose.

Part IV: Sponsorship for Meetup group/SIG activity: Member Activity Subsidy

13. Eligibility

  1. Subject to compliance with the conditions in this Part, SIG/meetup activities may be subsidised on a reimbursement basis.

  2. Meetup group activities may be subsidised for up to 40% of their costs, subject to a cap of $ 200 per activity. Expenses on refreshments, meals and transport shall not be included in calculation of costs.

  3. SIG activities may be subsidised for up to 60% of their costs, subject to a cap of $ 200 per activity. Expenses on refreshments, meals and transport may be included in calculation of costs, subject to MC’s prior approval.

  4. Costs incurred in respect of non-Mensans shall not be reimburseable.

  5. The approval and quantum of any subsidy is subject to MC’s prior approval. If the actual costs turn out to be different from the approved estimated cost, the MC has the discretion to determine the amount to be reimbursed.

14. Activity Proposer

  1. The person who proposes an activity must be a SIG coordinator a Meetup group Organiser.

  2. There may be more than one person who makes the proposal for the activity.

15. Publicity, etc.

  1. Activities must be opened to all Mensans.

  2. Activities must be publicised through at least two of the official channels: Mensa Singapore Facebook Group, Mensa Singapore LinkedIn Group, Member’s area, or official email blast.
    i. For official email blast, the Activity Proposer shall make an application to the MC or MC’s authorised representative.

16. Application procedure

  1.  Application for the MAS must be made by completing the prescribed form on the Member’s area and submitting it to the Director for evaluation. All required fields must be completed with sufficient detail for processing.

  2. Please allow at least 10 working days for processing of application provided sufficient detail has been provided.

17. Reimbursement procedure

  1. Upon completion of the activity, the Activity Proposer shall submit the Reimbursement Form and original receipt(s) to the Director.
    i. Submission may be via email or in person.
    ii. The Reimbursement Form can be found in Member’s area (click here).
    iii. In completing the Reimbursement Form, the Activity Proposer must set out the breakdown for cost of the activity.

  2. After complete evaluation of the submission, reimbursements will be made by cheque to the Activity Proposer in due course.

  3. If there are more non-Mensans than Mensans, or if the activity is found to have attracted too few people, the activity may not enjoy funding/subsidy from the society.

Part V: General

18. Disclaimer

  1. Meetup groups/SIG are voluntary groups created by Mensans. Their purpose is to promote interaction of Mensans. As such, Mensa Singapore does not endorse any particular activities or views of any one Meetup group/SIG or the Organiser(s)/Coordinator(s) therein.

  2. Misrepresentation of Meetup group/SIG activities as being officially endorsed by/representative of the views of Mensa Singapore is strictly prohibited.

19. Powers of the Director

  1. The Director has the discretion to adjust MPs to the Meetup group Organiser(s) and the SIG Coordinator(s).

  2. The Director can grant exemption from these provisions to a Meetup group or an SIG on a case-by-case basis.