• Initial proposals need not be lengthy and need not include all details. They should, however, show that all aspects of a successful conference have been thought through.
• Initial proposals should provide brief, insightful comments on all 9 content items requested in the Conference Guidelines: location, dates, key conference officials, conference plan, preliminary budget, suggested hotel arrangements, potential sponsors and supporters, banquet and other proposed social activities, and any anticipated problems along with proposed solutions.
• A simple statement of willingness to host the conference and prepare a proposal is not enough. On the other hand, it is enough to have only a two- or three-page outline of essential detail plus a spreadsheet containing basic budget estimates for low, medium, and high attendance expectations.
• Examples of how an initial proposal can be simpler than a full proposal:
  • Names of key conference officials can be presented without having contacted the individuals (the SC may suggest changes in any case).
  • Although the budget should show that most of the important cost items have been considered, estimates can be reported without having, for example, to contact publishers and vendors for exact prices.
  • Basic hotel costs should be known, but full details about meeting rooms and amenities may just be estimated.
  • Potential sponsors can be mentioned without having to obtain commitments.
  • Ideas for the banquet and social activities can be stated as possibilities without having to be fully committed to any of the ideas.

Notes about the Process

• Under normal circumstances, there will be initial proposals from several groups.
• At the ER meeting three years in advance, we will select two of these proposals to be written as full proposals.
• At the ER meeting two years in advance, we will choose between these two finalists based on full proposals presented at the meeting.
• Exceptions to the normal procedures:
  • If there is only one acceptable proposal, three years in advance, we will accept it as the only proposal and request that it be written as a full proposal for presentation at the ER meeting two years in advance.
  • If there are no acceptable proposals, we will search until we find one or more. If we find only one after a reasonable search, we will accept it as the only proposal and request that it be written as a full proposal for presentation at the ER meeting two years in advance. If we find only two, we will request that they both be written as full proposals and we will choose between them two years in advance. If we find more than two, we will have an ad-hoc email meeting to cut the number to two.