Virtual Workshops

Call for Session Proposals

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 and short courses, will be offered. If an in-person meeting is not possible, the meeting will be virtual, with all sessions held online.

About Virtual Workshops

We invite proposals for virtual workshops for the 2022 Joint Meeting. Workshops offer participants an opportunity to learn new skills through interactive instruction and hands-on training in a short, 90-minute format. These sessions are not appropriate for the presentation of formal research talks. Workshops are more interactive and informal than formal paper sessions, and they can involve extended discussion as well as hands-on training. Workshops may involve one or several leaders/presenters. A strong workshop proposal will make clear what knowledge, skills, tools, or insights participants might expect to gain from the session. You can browse examples of workshops from the 2021 meeting.

All workshops will be open to all registered meeting attendees without any advance signup required. Session organizers should plan for a potential range of attendance numbers since attendees can decide to attend any workshop without advance notice.

To propose an in person workshop, please see our call for in person workshops.

To propose a session for longer than 90 minutes, please see our call for in person short courses or our call for virtual short courses.

Logistical Considerations

Virtual workshops will be scheduled as 90-minute sessions. To avoid conflicts with scientific sessions, virtual workshops are not scheduled concurrently with oral or poster sessions. Accepted virtual workshops will be scheduled to minimize topic overlap and as meeting space and logistics allow. We are tentatively planning to schedule virtual workshops concurrently with the in person workshop schedule, during the traditional lunch time slots on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday as well as Friday morning; however, we do not yet have enough information about social distancing measures and virtual meeting constraints to specify potential scheduling slots. We will need to build the in-person schedule to accommodate deep cleaning of rooms between sessions and other safety measures that our venue is still in an early stage of developing, and then we would schedule the virtual workshops concurrently with those. We will follow up with organizers of accepted workshops once we have more information. For now, we are asking submitters to indicate their preference for scheduling date.

Each virtual workshop will be run as a Zoom meeting managed by ESA staff with closed captioning available. Workshop organizers will be able to randomly assign attendees to breakout groups. Virtual workshops will be recorded and made available to all registered meeting attendees afterward.

Career Track

All sessions included in the Career Track will be highlighted throughout the program and scheduled to minimize conflicts. Submitters proposing a session about career options, skills and development will be able to indicate that they would like to be included in this track.

Proposal 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. Proposals 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 a Proposal

• Session title (75 words max.) A strong session 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).
• Speaker(s) (Optional; name, institution, and email).
• Session description (250 words max., required)
• Diversity description (400 words max., required): 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: Monday August 15, Tuesday August 16, Thursday August 18, or Friday August 19. Please note that scientific presentations are scheduled on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Friday is dedicated to short courses, workshops, and field trips.
• Conflicts: 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?
• Would you like this session to be considered for inclusion in the Career Track? Yes/No.
• Virtual session setup: If there are any specific needs for this session beyond a typical Zoom meeting, please describe here. Options: None beyond a typical Zoom meeting, virtual breakout rooms (randomly assigned), other (describe in notes).
• Organizer demographics: The submission form asks a few questions about the session’s lead organizer to help ESA improve our services and monitor our efforts towards diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.  All information will be shared only in the aggregate to help us assess the diversity of our submissions. Proposal reviewers and the committee will not see this information for individual proposals. It is required to answer each question, but you can select “Prefer not to answer”.

Session and Presentation Rules

Workshops are required to have one organizer who will be the point of contact for correspondence with ESA and will be asked to make decisions regarding the session during planning. Co-organizers may also be listed, but the lead organizer is the point of contact.

To promote diversity of sessions and topics, no person will be permitted to serve as the lead organizer for more than two workshops, short courses, and/or special sessions at the 2022 Annual Meeting. A group of organizers may propose multiple linked sessions. Each session should be submitted separately, and it should be made clear which other proposals it is linked to, as well as its intended order in the sequence of the events.

Note that the One Presentation Rule does not apply to workshops, short courses, and special sessions. Anyone presenting in one of these sessions may also present in a scientific session (a formal talk or poster).

Other Important Information to Consider

Acceptance of your proposal does not obligate ESA beyond providing a virtual meeting space and including the workshop in the program. All session organizers and participants must register for the conference at the one day or full week rate. Organizers are responsible for making this clear to anyone they recruit to help with the session. ESA will not reimburse workshop organizers for expenses.

Evaluation Process and Criteria

The Program Subcommittee reviews all proposals for workshops and makes acceptance decisions. Proposals may be from any area of science related to ecology, but those that pertain to the overall theme, “A Change Is Gonna Come” are especially encouraged. We also welcome proposals that explore connections with the social or natural sciences or that are directed to ecological education at any level.

The primary criteria for acceptance include scientific merit, probable interest by meeting attendees, and a clearly written and compelling description. Limits of space and time may make it impossible to accommodate all worthy submissions. The Program Subcommittee has final authority for acceptance and scheduling for any proposed workshop.

If Your Proposal is Accepted

All submitters will be notified of acceptance decisions in February. At that time, organizers will be provided with instructions to begin preparing the session for the online program in the spring

Finalized information for all accepted workshops will be available in the online program when registration opens.

Cancellation Policy

Once a workshop has been accepted and listed online, cancellation imposes a serious burden. Do not submit a proposal if you are uncertain that you will be able to fulfill your obligation to organize and conduct the session. Once a session is accepted by the Program Committee, cancellation by the session organizer may preclude the acceptance of any sessions proposed by the organizer for the 2023 ESA Annual Meeting.

Important Dates

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Questions?