Symposia Proposals
Instructions, Requirements & Criteria
Symposia
NACCB will accept symposia proposals for a minimum of 75 minutes and maximum of 2 hours.
Presentation length must be in multiples of 15 minutes:
We will accept both ignite talks (two 7-minute talks with 1 minute of transition between speakers) and regular length talks (15 minutes or 30 minutes) so that the timing of symposium presentations can be coordinated with contributed paper sessions. However, we recommend minimal use of 30-minute speaking blocks to maximize the variety of voices and increase participation among NACCB attendees. Time at the end of symposium may be left open for discussion and also should be coordinated with concurrent sessions (in multiples of 15 minutes).
Proposal Format
Proposals must contain the following information:
- Symposium title (150 character limit)
- Organizer(s) name, affiliation and complete contact information, including email address
- Confirmation of session moderator(s) with contact information provided
- Desired duration of session: 75 minutes, 90 minutes (e.g. four 15-minute speakers + 30 minutes discussion), or 120 minutes (e.g. twelve 7&7+1-minute speakers + 30 minutes discussion)
- Proposed theme and justification for why the topic is appropriate and significant for this conference with consideration (broad or specific relevance) to the theme, Crossing Boundaries: Innovative Approaches to Conservation (300 word limit)
- An abstract describing the session. This abstract will be used to advertise the session. (300 word limit)
- Detailed description of the session including a list of proposed topics and a list of confirmed speakers/presenters (with affiliation and field of work), and your presentation schedule.
- You will be asked to provide 3 keywords to assist in reviewing and placement of proposals
- Commitment on behalf of all session organizers, moderators, and presenters to participation policies.
Review Criteria
Criteria for Selection
All proposals will be peer-reviewed by at least two reviewers selected by the NACCB 2020 Scientific Program Committee. Applicants will be notified about the status of their proposals and any requested revisions by early winter 2019. We encourage proposals that prioritize diversity among invited speakers and organizers, from individuals or groups involved in cutting edge conservation science or practice.
To increase the probability that your proposal will be selected, please consider the following criteria carefully:
- Merit of the proposal: contributing to the field of conservation, quality of the work
- Overall coherence of the session and logical linkage between the individual presentations
- Broad or specific relevance to the meeting theme, Crossing Boundaries: Innovative Approaches to Conservation
- Relevance to North American conservation issues
- Novelty of the topic
- Diversity among invited speakers and organizers
- Demonstrated concordance with at least one of the four goals of the Society for Conservation Biology North America: science, management, policy, education, or a coherent linkage among these 4 areas, described below:
Conservation Science – The scientific research and knowledge needed to understand and conserve biological diversity is identified, funded, completed, disseminated and applied to research, management and policy.
Conservation Management – Conservation practitioners and managers are provided the scientific information and recommendations needed to conserve biological diversity at all scales.
Policy – Policy decisions of major international conventions, governments, organizations, and foundations, are effectively informed and improved by the highest quality scientific counsel, analysis, and recommendations so as to advance the conservation of biological diversity.
Education – Education, training, and capacity-building programs, including but not restricted to content focused on communications & behavior change are identified, strengthened, and developed to inform the public, education leaders, and support current and future generations of conservation scientists and practitioners.
Author Abstract rule: If your proposal is accepted, all symposium speakers will be required to submit an abstract during the call for abstracts; please coordinate with your authors, according to the call for abstracts and early registration deadlines.
We appreciate your flexibility in some cases as we may need to reduce the allocated time of a proposed symposium for scheduling purposes. We will communicate any anticipated changes as soon as possible to session organizers.
For additional questions, contact: megan.keville@scbnorthamerica.org