The Selection Committee is a part of the ILC that meets during each meeting of the ILC. Its purpose is to review the proposals that have been presented by the Organisers. These proposals are then submitted to the ILC Secretariat for consideration. The Selection Committee will make the final decision if it is in its own discretion. It can either accept or reject the proposals.
In the past the Selection Committee did not take an active role in evaluating the proposals. This has changed in recent years with a greater number of committees reviewing proposals and more time available for candidates to prepare for interviews. The selection committee chairs are expected to have an in depth knowledge of the organisation as well as having had a successful career within it. The committee members must be capable of conducting a robust and objective interview. They must also have appropriate levels of negotiation skills to enable them to deal effectively with difficult interview questions and deal with awkward interview situations.
Once the Selection Committee has completed their interview they will provide a short report to the ILC Secretariat outlining their findings. The ILC Secretariat will consider the recommendations provided and will either approve or disapprove the proposal. The recommendation will then be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. The Selection Committee Chair must ensure that the process has been followed to the letter. If the recommendations are not approved, the matter will again be presented to the selection committee members for further discussion and consideration.
It is not uncommon for a Selection Committee to recommend a candidate to the ILC based on a written evaluation rather than an interview. I realise that some people may view an oral evaluation as being completely different to an interview and may not consider an oral evaluation to be as important. However, the ILC requires that all the relevant information is taken into account when reviewing an application for inclusion in the Selection Committee. Oral assessments may be relatively simple and a candidate can simply answer a few questions to narrow down their chances of being selected. However, if a Selection Committee has considered all the relevant information from multiple sources and has assessed the candidate in a detailed interview, then the oral assessment will be more reliable in terms of providing evidence to support a selection.
Selection Committee interviews are conducted in two formats; in-person and out-of-person. If a candidate wishes to attend an in-person Selection Committee interview they are advised to arrange it prior to submitting their application. If the candidate cannot attend an in-person Selection Committee interview they are recommended to send a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) so that the Selection Committee can return the completed interview document to the applicant. The SASE allows the Selection Committee to keep all the important documents including the Selection Committee Questionnaire and the Selection Report.
If a successful candidate cannot attend an interview due to illness or family commitments they are still eligible to be considered by the Selection Committee. In these circumstances the ILC will make reasonable arrangements for the candidate to be informed of their status. It is also possible that the ILC will choose not to invite a candidate to further interviews based on the information provided by the candidate. The candidate who receives a suitable invitation to further interviews is always asked to provide documentation supporting their application. This is undertaken in order to fulfil the obligations set out by the Selection Committee in their written criteria.