Call for Proposals

Propose a session for the 2019 AER Conference!

The Call for Session Proposals in now closed.

Overview

Do you have an idea for a session that you would like to see featured on the AER19 agenda? If so, we invite you to contribute to the AER19 Call for Conference Session Proposals Program. Your input will ensure the Conference Planning Committees consider a broad and rich spectrum of topics and speakers.

Conference session proposals can be submitted for two categories:

1. Plenary Sessions:

  • Plenary sessions include: panels (three speakers plus a moderator), debates (two debaters plus a moderator), and living room conversations (three to four speakers plus a moderator, informal discussion format vs. formal lectures).
  • The plenary sessions are designed to cover the "30,000 foot" perspective on timely, important, complex, and thought-provoking issues in research ethics and human subjects protections. Proposals should seek to cover multiple perspectives on ethical, conceptual, and policy issues that will be of interest to a broad range of individuals involved in the human subjects research enterprise.
  • Plenary sessions run three at a time. Attendees pre-register for the session they want to attend.

2. Breakout sessions:

  • Breakout sessions are labeled in three ways: workshops (interactive), didactic sessions (presentation-based), or double sessions (longer session that runs over lunch; a mix of interaction and lecture). And, breakout sessions can be basic, advanced, or intended for all audiences.
  • Breakout sessions are smaller offerings focused on more narrow topics. They tend to be more hands-on; attendees are there to learn best practices, discuss examples and case studies, and leave with practical strategies.
  • There are five breakout session series and the breakouts are organized into thematic tracks. In a series, between 20 and 25 breakout sessions run on at one time.
  • Breakout sessions feature between two and three speakers per session depending on the topic, and we encourage a diversity of presenters on each session.

Submission Guidelines

  • To submit a conference session proposal, complete the online submission form by February 8, 2019. Ideas submitted after this date will not be considered.
  • Only completed submissions will be reviewed (i.e., all fields in the online form must be completed*).
  • Include as much detail as you are able so the Conference Planning Committees can accurately assess the proposal.
  • Ensure your proposal has a diverse set of speaker perspectives (i.e., proposals should feature speakers from different backgrounds, institutions, professional roles, etc. – attendees criticize sessions taught by people from the same institution or of the same background).

*If you have a fully-fleshed out proposal, but don't have speaker recommendations, the Conference Planning Committees will review your proposal and select speakers for you if they accept the idea.

Policies for Submission

  • The Conference Planning Committees will only review complete proposals submitted by February 8, 2019.
  • Sessions will have two to three speakers only. PRIM&R and the Conference Planning Committees will make every reasonable effort to invite the speakers listed on the proposal, but will recommend alternate speakers if there is a lack of diversity (see above; this will be discussed with the proposal author first). In most cases, PRIM&R will only allow for one person per institution to serve on a session, unless an argument can be made that the session needs more than one person per institution.
  • If a proposal is accepted, any speaker invited to teach is responsible for paying the speaker registration fee.
  • Accepted proposals will be labeled as such on the agenda with an icon.

Important Dates

Call for Conference Session Proposals opens November 14, 2018
Call for Conference Session Proposals closes February 8, 2019
Submitting authors informed of proposal status May 31, 2019
2019 AER Conference (Boston, MA) November 18-20, 2019

 

If you have questions about the submission process, contact Ayesha Nishtar, conference program assistant, via email at [email protected].

 

Register for AER19

Frequently Asked Questions

One of PRIM&R's top priorities is ensuring our conferences represent the topics and issues most relevant to our attendees. We, therefore, solicit agenda contributions from our community. By including the ideas of those involved in the field, we ensure a broad, rich, and relevant spectrum of topics and speakers are represented on the conference agenda.

No. However, if you are interested in becoming a member, please review the range of benefits that come with membership and contact Kayla Parker, membership and database coordinator, to get started.

Complete the online submission form by February 8, 2018. Your proposal will undergo review by the Conference Planning Committees, and we will notify you of the status of your proposal by May 31, 2019.

Plenary sessions cover the "30,000 foot" perspective on timely, important, complex, and thought-provoking issues in research ethics and human subjects protections. Proposals should seek to cover multiple perspectives on ethical, conceptual, and policy issues that will be of interest to a broad range of individuals involved in the research enterprise. Formats include: panels (three speakers plus a moderator), debates (two debaters plus a moderator), and living room conversations (three to four speakers plus a moderator, informal discussion format).

Breakout sessions are smaller offerings on more narrow topics, and attendees are there to learn best practices, discuss examples and case studies, and leave with practical strategies. Breakout session formats include: workshops (interactive), didactic sessions (presentation-based), and double sessions (longer session that takes place over lunch and is a mix of interaction and lecture). These are smaller sessions that address more narrow topics. Breakout sessions feature between two to three speakers.

Yes. You may submit more than one conference session proposal, but you must submit an individual submission form for each proposal.

Individuals asked to teach on sessions accepted from the program are eligible for the discounted registration rate offered to speakers. Proposal authors who are not teaching must pay the full registration rate, but their work will be acknowledged on the agenda with an icon.

Notifications will be emailed by May 31, 2019.

PRIM&R reserves the right to edit the session descriptors/learning objectives of accepted proposals so they're in line with PRIM&R's style, formatting, etc. In addition, PRIM&R and the Conference Planning Committees reserve the right ask proposal authors to slightly modify their session content to help address perspectives/topics not present, but that could benefit the session overall.

PRIM&R assigns two to three speakers per session depending on the topic. Session proposal authors may recommend up to three speakers per session idea (including themselves).PRIM&R and the Conference Planning Committees will make every reasonable effort to invite the speakers listed on the proposal, but will recommend alternate speakers if there is a lack of diversity as noted above (this will be discussed with the submitting author first). In most cases, PRIM&R will only allow for one person per institution to teach on a session unless an argument can be made that the session needs more than one person per institution.

Yes. We encourage submissions for sessions that would be of interest to our audience with or without speaker recommendations. For sessions that don't have speaker suggestions, the Conference Planning Committees will suggest individuals who can speak.

Reasons for why conference session proposals are not accepted include:

  • The conference session proposal is incomplete (i.e., the proposal does not include enough information for the Conference Planning Committees to accurately assess the proposal).
  • The conference session proposal does not apply to the audience.
  • The conference session proposal is similar to a session already in planning by the Conference Planning Committees (i.e., sometimes, proposals come in for sessions offered at previous conferences and that the Conference Planning Committee is planning to use again).
  • Each year, the Conference Planning Committees considers a wealth of ideas – both new ideas and ideas from prior conferences. Given space on the agenda, not all conference session proposals will be accepted for inclusion on the agenda.