This guideline is to be respected by all persons and groups presenting to the Calgary Security Professionals Information Exchange (SPIE) Society.

1. Application

This guideline applies to all regular lunch meetings of SPIE, and may be extended to apply to other events as seen fit by the Board.

2. Objective

The objective of this guideline is to help presenters focus their material so as to be consistent with the SPIE charter, which states that:

2.1. SPIE is not a vehicle for product or service promotion, sales presentations, or other activity that is, or is perceived to be, of greater benefit to the presenter than to the group members.

2.2. It is not the intent of SPIE to impose unreasonable restrictions upon presenters, stifle business relationships, or discourage commercial activity. However, it is in the best interests of SPIE and its membership to encourage a focus on productive discussion of security matters. To support this goal, presentations to the SPIE association must meet a high standard of informative content. This guideline provides details to help presenters interpret this principle, as it applies to their presentation(s).

3. Exceptions and Exemptions

3.1. A Quorum of the Board may grant an exception to any of the presentation guidelines. However, the presentation sponsor should ensure that such an exception is requested well in advance of the proposed presentation.

3.2. Exceptions to these guidelines must be provided in writing. Electronic mail from an authorized representative of the Board is considered acceptable for the purposes of meeting this requirement.

3.3. Members should be provided advance notice of a presentation for which an exception has been granted, so that they can determine if they wish to attend the meeting in question.

3.4. Academic institutions are considered exempt from item 5.8 of this Guideline, for the purposes of recruiting applicants to an academic program of study only.

4. Failure to Comply

4.1. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in sanctions imposed by the Board, including but not limited to loss of current or future presentation privileges, loss of access to SPIE meetings or events, and loss of membership in SPIE.

5. Guidelines

5.1. All presentations must have a sponsor who is a SPIE member in good standing.

5.2. Meeting sponsors are responsible for reviewing these guidelines with potential presenters, and taking reasonable steps to ensure compliance with them.

5.3. Presentations must have a clear topic that has an obvious relationship to one or more aspects of Information Security or Privacy.

5.4. Presentations concerning a specific commercial product or service are not generally prohibited, since they can provide useful ideas and information to SPIE members. Additionally, it is to the advantage of SPIE members to foster constructive relationships with product and service vendors. However, anyone presenting this type of material must respect the following practices:

5.4.1 Presenters should focus on the product or service itself, rather than on any direct attempt to advertise or sell the offering.

5.4.2 Presentations should concentrate on one or more of the following aspects of the product or service being discussed:


Technical, Engineering, or Scientific;Theoretical or Academic;Educational or Instructive; orResearch & Development.
5.5. At least one of the presenters must be a subject matter expert (e.g. a product engineer, technician/technologist, designer, developer, analyst, or similar specialist) who can answer detailed questions about the product or service.

5.6. Presentations should limit sales or promotional oriented content to the lesser of:
10 percent of the material presented or10 percent of the time allotted.
5.7. Any sales and promotional content should include:
Company name;Company background or history;A summary of relevant products and services; andA list of contacts from whom further information can be obtained.5.8. At no time may any presentation attempt to conduct any sort of commercial recruiting activity. This includes presenting job openings, soliciting resumes, or providing job applications.

5.9. Presenters are permitted to provide promotional materials, subject to the following practices:

5.9.1 A passive distribution mode should be used, so that attendees can, at their discretion, acquire any promotional materials.

5.9.2 While a presenter is free to point out the existence of promotional materials, attendees should not be placed in a position where they would have to actively decline any such materials.

5.9.3 It is suggested that promotional materials be placed on a desk or table in the presentation room, where attendees are able to acquire them, possibly while speaking with a presenter after the presentation.

5.10. Presenters should plan their material in such a way as to be reasonably certain of completing the presentation in approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. If a longer time period is required, then the following practices should be followed:

5.10.1 An exception should be sought from the Board;

5.10.2 SPIE members should be provided advance notice of the estimated presentation length, so that they can determine if they wish to attend;

5.10.3 The presentation should be planned so that a break is made at the 45 minute to 1-hour point, to allow those people who must leave to do so without disrupting the presentation.