This paper lists the information that should be contained within a proposal for a Focused Meeting or Annual Symposium. Additional information and questions frequently asked by Meeting Organizers are included.
Agreement by the Meetings Board to accept a proposal as a Focused Meeting means that the organizer retains responsibility for the scientific content of the meeting. Organizers are expected to liaise very closely with the Conference Office staff to ensure the conference runs to schedule, and is within budget.
Please use the following online form to submit your proposal. If you would like to discuss submitting a proposal, please telephone Frances van Klaveren on +44 (0)207 685 2450 or email conferences@biochemistry.org.
On the proposal form, please complete each heading and fulfil the specified criteria. Please note the proposal form is generic, so please specify information relevant to the Focused Meeting format, as detailed below:
1. What type of conference are you planning? i.e. a Focused Meeting.
2. Full meeting title
Provide the working title for the Focused Meeting.
3. Suggested date
Organizers are asked to suggest a date for the conference which should not clash with other Life Science events on a similar topic. Please contact the Conference Office for more information. See the Conference Office home page to view agreed future Biochemical Society conferences.
4. Theme Panel
Please indicate which Theme Panel your proposal is relevant to. Please note that before formal online submission, proposers are encouraged to discuss their proposal with the relevant Theme Panel(s). Proposals that have not been discussed with the relevant Theme Panel(s) are more likely to be returned to applicants for revision. Theme Panels can be contacted directly to request feedback via email. Alternatively, proposers may contact individual member(s) of the relevant Panel(s).
I Genes
II Molecular Structure and Function
III Energy and Metabolism
IV Cells
V Signalling
VI Biological Systems
5. Venue
If you have a suggestion for a venue, please ensure that it is spacious enough to accommodate a poster session. If you do not have a venue in mind, the Conference Office will help to find possible sites.
6. Length/duration of meeting
State the proposed length of the programme, e.g. 1/2/3 days, etc. Please note that Annual Symposia should be three full days of science.
7. Commitment to publish manuscripts
Organizers of Focused Meetings are required to state a commitment to publish manuscripts in Biochemical Society Transactions.
8. Is full/partial secretariat support requested?
Conferences receive full secretariat services if requested. To discuss the services available in full, please telephone or email Frances van Klaveren on: +44 (0)207 685 2450 conferences@biochemistry.org.
9. Anticipated audience description and numbers.
Include an approximate number of delegates and also if they are likely to include Full/Student or Non Members of the Society.
10. Case for the scientific programme
State the case for the science programme (half page A4) in terms of:
11. Include details of the additional meeting programme, such as networking slots, oral presentations selected from abstracts and poster sessions.
Conference Organizers are asked to include time for networking opportunities and poster sessions at Focused Meetings. Networking opportunities can include structured events such as the scheduling of meetings between delegates. The Conference Office will organize these events, if time is allowed within the programme. Poster sessions should be attended by speakers, who should be asked to judge poster prizes where applicable. In addition to the invited speakers detailed below, slots should be included for oral presentations selected from abstracts.
12. Please list any additional suggestions for the programme that will allow for increased engagements with the audience.
These can include discussion sessions, 'Meet the expert/speaker' sessions, breakout groups, mini workshops, flash poster presentations, networking sessions incorporated with the poster sessions etc.
13. Competing/recent meetings
Give information, if known, about any competing meetings and the last known meeting on the topic in UK/rest of the world.
14. Speaker details
There is no prescribed invited speaker format, but for Focused Meetings a maximum of five invited Speakers per day is advised. Annual Symposia should showcase international research, and have a minimum of 16 invited speakers overall. Organizers are encouraged to invite as many talks from submitted abstracts as the programme allows - these 'elevated' speakers are not offered financial assistance.
Please note, the reimbursement speaker travel allowances is dependent upon the submission of a manuscript for publication in Biochemical Society Transactions.
The Biochemical Society will award travel allowances to invited speakers based on its recommended allowances.
Note the total speaker travel allowances per day should not exceed £1800 per day of science for Focused Meetings, and £2,500 for Annual Symposia.
Diversity guidelines
Appropriate representation of women as invited Speakers is required, and will be monitored by the Society. The Society aspires to 40% but recognizes that this target may be difficult to achieve in specific fields. At least 25% of the invited speakers should always be women.
Organizers must:
15. Organizers
Please supply full contact details for all organizers. If joint with another Society, please list details here.
16. Sponsorship and support
To cover costs and keep delegate fees down, Organizers are asked to seek financial support for the conference. Please include in the proposal a realistic level of predicted sponsorship – with details of the sources of sponsorship already confirmed.
Extra notes for Focused Meeting organizers
The Society provides full secretariat support if the proposal is accepted.
Registration fees will be based on the following costs PER DAY where the fees stated will contribute towards the science programme (speaker costs) only. Organizers should therefore be aware that venue costs will be included in the registration fees in addition to those fees listed below. As a consequence, venues which charge high delegate rates will result in high registration fees to attend the meeting. The Biochemical Society advises Organizers to consider educational venues rather than dedicated conference venues, which can be expensive.
Biochemical Society Members: £50
Biochemical Society Student Members: £25
Biochemical Society non-members: £100 Note: The final level of registration fees will be decided at the discretion of the Biochemical Society, in order to ensure that the meeting breaks-even financially.