GENERAL INFORMATION
Symposia and workshops for the 13th International Mammalogical Congress (IMC-13) will be selected by the IMC-13 Scientific Advisory Committee. Organizers of symposia and workshops are encouraged to prepare a review or proceedings manuscript for consideration by the Journal of Mammalogy or a similar taxonomically focused journal. The guidelines below specifically cover proposals for workshops at the IMC-13 Meeting.
Workshops provide for focused instruction on a specific topic of more restricted interest than is appropriate for a symposium. The structure of workshops is flexible, with an emphasis on participatory learning; structured presentations and demonstrations should be balanced with time for discussion and questions. Workshops may be scheduled concurrently with contributed paper sessions, as a pre-meeting event, or during the mid-meeting break (i.e., the scheduled “free day”). Workshops scheduled in opposition to paper sessions will be limited to a 90- or 120-minute session. If workshops require more than two hours, they will be scheduled as a pre-meeting or mid-meeting event. Pre-meeting workshops have greater flexibility.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Proposal Deadline: To be considered for the IMC-13 Meeting, proposals for workshops must be submitted by 2 September 2022 (new, extended deadline) will be considered for inclusion in the meeting program.
Proposal Submission: The organizer(s) should submit workshop proposals electronically using the online application form (https://tinyurl.com/2p8b99cu). By submitting a proposal, the organizers are committing to overseeing the planning and execution of the proposed event if it is accepted by the IMC-13 Scientific Advisory Committee. Specifically, if a proposal is accepted, the organizers are responsible for ensuring that workshop instructors register in a timely fashion. The IMC-13 Scientific Advisory Committee has the authority to cancel a workshop if instructor registration is not completed by the published deadlines.
Proposal Review: Proposals received by the 2 September 2022 deadline will be reviewed by the IMC-13 Scientific Advisory Committee and final decisions will be made by 1 October 2022 (i.e., ~ 9 months in advance of the Joint ASM-IMC Meeting). Review criteria will include the broad appeal of the topic to meeting attendees, the potential to forward the science of mammalogy and the willingness of workshop organizers to pursue publication of the proceedings in the Journal of Mammalogy or a similar taxonomically focused journal. Workshop applications should promote inclusion, and thus proposals with instructors from diverse backgrounds will be viewed favorably during the review process.
PROPOSAL PREPARATION
Proposal Format: The organizer(s) must complete the “IMC-13 Application for the Proposal of Symposia and Workshops”. This includes the application form as well as a 1-2 page description of the proposed event (see Proposal Description below). The application form requires contact information for the organizer(s) and ALL proposed instructors, meaning that these individuals should already have been identified and contacted about the potential of participating.
Proposal Description: The proposal must contain a detailed description of the goals of the workshop and an explanation of the relevance of this topic to a broad range of mammalogists. Further, the organizer(s) should include a justification for the inclusion of each instructor, as well as an explanation of each instructor’s general background and contribution to the event (including a proposed title, if possible).
The preferred workshop length and format must be explicitly described in the submitted proposal (see the format descriptions in the Workshop paragraph above). The IMC-13 Scientific Advisory Committee might require changes to the length and format of the proposed workshop to meet scheduling needs.
A FEW TIPS FOR PREPARING A SUCCESSFUL PROPOSAL
Workshops are generally scheduled concurrently with contributed paper sessions. The purpose of a workshop is to provide a venue for hands-on learning or extensive discussion of a specific topic. Although a time limit of 2 hours is suggested, the format and time limits are flexible and limited only by the ability of the IMC-13 meeting planner to accommodate the needs of the workshop. Workshops may be coordinated with symposia to provide a more detailed discussion of ideas or hands-on experience with equipment or procedures presented in the symposia.
If a proposed workshop is of a suitable topic and the organizers would consider scheduling a pre-meeting event or an event during the mid-meeting break, please indicate this in the workshop proposal. Holding a workshop prior to the start of the meetings or during the mid-meeting break may allow for alternate formats (e.g., longer than two-hour workshops) that do not work well during the regular meeting schedule. Pre-meeting and mid-meeting workshops will include a small registration fee to help support meeting room, AV, and other expenses required to hold the workshop prior to the regular portion of the meeting. Workshops intended for the regular part of the meeting do not require a fee.
INQUIRIES
Please direct ALL symposium and workshop questions to imc-13-proposals@umich.edu.