Guidelines for Hosting a LabPhon Conference

Making a bid

At each LabPhon conference, the Executive Council reviews bids to host the next conference. Anyone wishing to bid to host a conference is invited to submit a document describing the plan to the President of the Association for Laboratory Phonology as long before the meeting as feasible. The considerations to be taken into account in planning a conference are listed below.

Program

  • Conference themes. Themes are usually broadly defined in order to bring together speakers and commentators from different disciplines and theoretical backgrounds. Past conferences have had between four and six themes.
  • Possible invited speakers and commentators. There is typically one invited speaker and one commentator invited for each theme of the conference. Conference organizers will have the opportunity (but no obligation) to recommend invited speakers and commentators from outside of the LabPhon community for consideration for honorary membership by the Association.
  • Conference format. Previous conferences have adopted the format of grouping thematic papers in one session, including the invited paper and two or three regular papers, followed by a commentary with scope over the entire session. This format is not presented as a standard, but the bid should describe how papers will be organized into sessions, and if commentary papers will be included, for which sessions. The bid should also indicate the number of poster and oral sessions and the expected number of posters and oral papers in each session.

Committees

  • Organizing committee. Who will be involved in organizing the conference? How will the tasks outlined in Practical Details be shared?
  • Scientific committee. How many reviewers will be needed, and how will potential reviewers be identified?

Practical Details

  • Possible dates. What are the proposed dates for the conference? It's useful to check with scholars in Europe, the Americas, Oceania, and Asia to confirm that the proposed dates do not present serious conflict with academic schedules, major holidays, or other major conferences.
  • Venue and facilities. The bid should include evidence of a confirmed venue, such as a signed letter of commitment from the venue management or host institution. Make sure that the proposed venue can accommodate all participants in oral sessions, and that there is sufficient space in poster sessions to allow participants to circulate and view all posters.
  • Catering and social events. What social events will be organized for participants (e.g., welcome reception, banquet), and how will catering be provided? How will dietary restrictions be accommodated?
  • Accommodation. Identify the hotel or other accommodation options that will be available for the projected number of participants. Be sure to include low-cost options, especially for student participants.
  • Access to venue. Identify how participants can travel to the venue, with attention paid to ease of access and travel information for participants travelling from outside the host country. Include price estimates for transportation (air or rail, and including local transportation).
  • Guest editor(s). Which members of the organizing committee will be serve as Guest Editors for the special issue of Laboratory Phonology dedicated to papers from the conference?
  • Marketing. Where will announcements for the conference be sent? What are the plans for designing and printing posters and/or fliers? Be sure to include this expense in the budget.

Budget

  • Expenses. What are the projected expenses for the conference?
  • Registration. What will the registration fee structure be, and will there be reduced rates for early registration? For students or post-docs? For participants from developing economies?
    Note that a system was created in 2020 within Drupal for the integrated collection of registration fees and membership fees via each conference website, which links to the association membership database. Conference organizers are strongly encouraged to use this system for collection of fees.
    Note also that for any ALP non-members who register for the conference, the conference organizers should collect two-year membership fees and pass them along to the association. See https://labphon.org/content/membership for the current membership fees. Typically these fees are collected by setting the non-member conference registration fees to be equal to the member conference registration fees plus the applicable membership fee. If multiple non-student rates are offered (such as reduced conference registration fees for postdocs or unemployed people), each of these should still include the regular membership rate, unless the conference organizers are subsidizing the membership fees for these people. There can be a reduced conference registration fee for people from less wealthy countries, such as those who are eligible for the reduced membership fees.
  • Financing. What are the sources for financing the conference organization. Include a letter of commitment for contributions from the host institution(s), and state any plans for submission of proposal(s) to external funding agencies.