Request a Social Event

In Person or Virtual
(Mixer, Reception, Business Meeting)

All ESA Annual Meeting proposal and abstract deadlines are 5:00 PM Eastern so that technical support and ESA staff assistance will be immediately available when submitters need it. If you begin your submission very close to the deadline, you are choosing to take a risk, and we will not make an exception if you don’t complete your submission in time. The form automatically closes at 5:00 EST / 2:00 PST whether you have completed your submission or not.

Proposals that are incomplete or received after the deadline will not be considered.

ESA meetings, open to ESA members and those interested in ecology, are among the most respected meetings of ecologists in the science community. ESA is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment. All participants including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, ESA staff, service providers and others are expected to abide by the ESA Meetings Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct applies to all ESA meeting-related events including those sponsored by organizations other than ESA but held in conjunction with ESA events, in public or private facilities. In addition, all ESA meeting attendees must agree to abide by the ESA Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy and the ESA Diversity Statement.

How To Submit

You must submit your proposal using the online submission form. Proposals sent by email will not be considered. Click the link below to begin by selecting which type of proposal you would like to submit. You will be able to return to the proposal to edit it until the submission deadline has passed. Information on how to do so will be included in two automated emails you will receive, first when you begin and then when you complete your submission.

About the 2022 Joint Meeting

This year’s annual meeting is a joint meeting with the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. Members of CSEE will be able to register for the meeting at the ESA member rate. CSEE members are welcome to submit session proposals and presentation abstracts through the usual ESA submission process and deadlines.

If public health conditions allow, the 2022 Joint Meeting will be an in-person meeting in Montréal, with all speakers attending in person. A few virtual sessions, including virtual workshops, short courses, and social events, will be offered. If an in-person meeting is not possible, the meeting will be virtual, with all sessions held online.

About Social Events

We invite event requests for in person and virtual social events for the 2022 Joint Meeting. Networking is one of the most important benefits of conference attendance. Whether it’s a small business meeting or a large evening mixer with food, beverages, and A/V, a little advance planning goes a long way. To help us provide the appropriate in person or virtual setup and meet your logistical needs, anyone planning a social event (mixer, reception, business meeting) as part of the meeting program is required to submit an event request in advance. Social events can be requested for Monday through Thursday. If you are requesting multiple social events, you should submit a separate request for each event. If you are holding an event offsite and would like us to include it in the online program, please submit an event request and provide the offsite location (including its address).

You can request an in person or virtual social event this year. Unless the event is ticketed, social events are open to all registered meeting attendees without any advance signup required.

Social events are not scheduled concurrently with oral or poster sessions. Social events will be scheduled to minimize topic overlap and as meeting space and logistics allow. We are planning to schedule social events for the traditional breakfast, lunch, and evening time slots. See the Event Request Format section for a complete list of potential timeslots.

Feel free to contact us (meetings@esa.org) if you have questions about planning your event. We can help you figure out what you need to request to plan the event you have in mind. If you are in charge of an event that ESA has hosted before, we can help you estimate how many attendees you might expect based on past years.

In Person Social Events

In person social events will be entirely person. We do not have the technical resources to support remote participants for in person events. If it’s important for this event to support remote participation, then you should request a virtual social event instead.

We will accommodate room set requests as much as possible within the constraints allowed by social distancing requirements.

We can only fulfill requests for food service, beverage service, or equipment that incurs costs if there is a source of funding available.

Virtual Social Events

Each virtual social event will be run as a Zoom meeting, with the option to choose a Zoom meeting managed by ESA staff in ESA’s Zoom account or a meeting that you manage yourself in your own Zoom account. Social events run in an ESA Zoom account will not be recorded. If you are running a social event with your own Zoom account, you should not record the event unless all participants consent to be recorded.

We encourage all social events to use the automated closed captioning feature in Zoom. If you use your own Zoom account to host the meeting, ESA will need the link and any information attendees will need to access the meeting (such as a password) in advance.

If you are planning to use a Zoom meeting hosted by ESA, please indicate anything we might need to know about your anticipated logistical needs. For example, do you plan to use breakout groups?

Event Request Format

The information listed below must be submitted through the online submission form. It is provided here to assist you in planning your submission. The form may differ slightly from the version listed here. Event requests that are incomplete or received by email will not be considered. You may begin a submission and then return to edit it up until the deadline.

Components of an Event Request

For any event request, you will need to provide the following information:

• Event title (75 words max.) A strong title is short and descriptive.
• One lead organizer (Required; name, institution, and email).
• Any number of co-organizers, including zero (Optional; name, institution, and email for each).
• Moderator (Optional; name, institution, and email).
• Name of group organizing the event.
• Event description (250 words max., required).
• Diversity description (400 words max., optional): Describe how this session involves diverse perspectives and voices as elaborated in ESA’s Diversity Statement.
• Broader benefits description (400 words max., optional): Describe how this session benefits broader society (for example through education, public policy, communication/public engagement, application to commercial technology, national security or international cooperation).
• Preferred date and time:
  • Monday breakfast (7:00-8:00 AM)
  • Monday lunch option 1 (11:45 AM-1:15 PM)
  • Monday lunch option 2 (12:00 PM-1:00PM)
  • Monday evening 6:30-8:00 PM
  • Tuesday breakfast (7:00-8:00 AM)
  • Tuesday lunch option 1 (11:45 AM-1:15 PM)
  • Tuesday lunch option 2 (12:00 PM-1:00PM)
  • Tuesday evening 6:30-8:00 PM
  • Wednesday breakfast (7:00-8:00 AM)
  • Wednesday evening 6:30-8:00 PM
  • Thursday breakfast (7:00-8:00 AM)
  • Thursday lunch option 1 (11:45 AM-1:15 PM)
  • Thursday lunch option 2 (12:00 PM-1:00PM)
• Conflicting sessions: Are there any other proposed sessions that this session should not conflict with?
• Linked sessions: Is there another proposed session or requested social event that this session is linked with?
• Anticipated number of attendees: How many people do you expect may attend this event? We are looking for your best ballpark estimate at this point in the process. If you estimate changes over time, please let us know. We will need a final estimate by June 23rd.
• Event request submitters must read and agree to abide by the Code of Conduct for ESA Events, the ESA Diversity Statement, and the ESA Code of Ethics.

For in person events, you will also need to provide the following information:

• Event location: Will this social event be on site (at the convention center) or off site (not at the convention center)? If you are organizing an event off site, you are responsible for making any needed arrangements with an external venue.
• Off site event location: If this event will be at an off site location, please give us as much information as you can at this stage of the planning process about what you are planning to arrange offsite, and where. Please finalize any offsite arrangements by June 23rd.
• Room set: You can refer to these Room Set Descriptions [PDF] which include helpful illustrations. We will accommodate room set requests as much as possible within the constraints allowed by social distancing requirements.
  • Reception Flow
  • Classroom
  • Conference
  • Hollow Square
  • Round Tables
  • Theater
  • Theater with a Panel Table on Stage
  • N/A – Off site event
• Requested equipment:
  • None
  • A laptop (with sound for videos), screen, and LCD projector (setup for speakers with slides)
  • Podium with microphone (setup for speakers without slides)
  • Wireless internet connection
  • Flip chart and easel (indicate quantity)
  • Wireless microphone
  • Other equipment (specify with a note)
  • N/A – off site event
• Beverage service: Please note all food and beverage is charged a 16% administrative fee and 15% for federal and local taxes. All bars that do not sell a minimum of $600 CAD of drinks will be charged a $174 CAD bartender fee for the event.
  • No Beverage Service
  • Coffee
  • Soft Drinks
  • Bottled Water
  • Iced Tea
  • Lemonade
  • Cash Bar (wine and beer only)
  • Open Bar (wine and beer only)
  • Drink Tickets (indicate number)
  • N/A – External Event
• Food Service: Bringing in outside food or beverages is strictly prohibited. Up to date menus will be sent to you in the spring for you to make your final food selections. In the meantime, you can look over the options that are available (as of February) for daytime [PDF] and evening [PDF] All prices are CAD.
  • No Food Service
  • Snacks
  • Reception
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • N/A – External Event
• Covering costs. We can only fulfill requests for food service, beverage service, or equipment that incurs costs if there is a source of funding available. If you are requesting any of these, please specify your budget to cover these costs and your source of funding. If there is someone we should invoice for these costs, please provide their name and email.
• Everyone submitting an in-person social event request must check a box to acknowledge the following:
  • I understand by checking the box, I do hereby agree to indemnify and to hold harmless the Ecological Society of America, its officers, employees, members, and agents, from and against any and all liability claims, actions, causes of action, demands, rights, damages, cost, loss of service, expenses, and compensation for all negligence whether active or passive arising out, of, or in any way connected or related to the ESA & CSEE Joint Meeting, August 14-19, 2022.
  • I acknowledge by submitting a request to host an event that all stated costs are my responsibility. If this event is a chapter/section/official ESA committee function, the costs will be deducted from the group’s budget at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting. If I’m an outside group, I understand that I will be invoiced after the meeting for payment for my event. I also understand that I can pay ESA by VISA, American Express, MasterCard or check within 30 days of receiving my invoice. If payment is not received, you will not be able to hold future events until full payment is made.

For virtual events, you will also need to provide the following information:

• Who would host this Zoom meeting? If ESA hosts a social event, it will be managed by ESA staff in ESA’s Zoom account. If you use your own Zoom account to host the meeting, ESA will need the link and any information attendees will need to access the meeting (such as a password) in advance.
• Note on virtual logistics (if hosted by ESA). If you are planning to use a Zoom meeting hosted by ESA, please indicate anything we might need to know about your anticipated logistical needs. For example, do you plan to use breakout groups?
• Who will be in charge of this event on the day it occurs? Please include the name, email address, and mobile phone number for the person we should contact if there are any issues right before or during the event. This could be the same person who is listed as the session organizer, but sometimes it is someone different.

After Submission

Everyone who has submitted an event request will be notified of their event’s status in May. All of the logistical concerns for the event will be handled through follow-up over email.

ESA may not be able to accept all event requests. Confirmation of an event request does not obligate ESA beyond providing a meeting space and including the event in the online program.

If you have questions during the planning process, please contact us (meetings@esa.org).

Cancellation Policy

If for some reason you must cancel your event, it must be cancelled in writing (email is sufficient) by June 23, 2022. Cancellations after this date may incur a cancellation fee, especially if food and beverages have been ordered.

Important Dates

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Questions?