2014 Things to Know Before You Submit

The APPAM Fall Research Conference is a multi-disciplinary annual research conference that attracts the highest quality research on a wide variety of important current and emerging policy and management issues. The submission deadline was April 18.

The conference invites five types of proposals: caucus, paper panels, individual papers, roundtables, and workshops. Some papers submitted either as parts of panels or separately may be considered for poster sessions. Here are details about the four proposal types and the poster sessions.

Caucus: This is a dedicated time for participants to gather informally to discuss new and emerging policy issues, to formulate new research questions, approaches to research and to form possible research collaborations. Similar to last year's Saturday Caucus, this year's sessions will be offered throughout the conference. [Download the Call for Proposals for Caucuses PDF] The deadline for caucus proposals is June 13, 2014.

Paper Panel: A proposals that bundles 3 or 4 papers together to propose a single conference session, and may also include a chair and one or two discussants. Usually, the organizer of a panel proposal is responsible for recruiting all of the papers and other components.

Paper: A proposal for a single research paper to be included in a session with other, separately submitted components. Usually, it is the responsibility of the Program Committee to find an appropriate session for a paper proposal. Alternatively, if you are constructing a panel and find a need for additional papers, we invite you to check the Single Paper Listing for Panel Creation on a weekly basis.

Roundtable: A proposal that bundles 3 to 5 speakers together who are experts on a topic and will speak on a session without presenting papers. A roundtable proposal also may include a session moderator.

Workshop: A proposal for an expository session that will seek to train the attendees regarding a research method, use of a data source, or other similar topic. Workshops often feature only or two presenters, and offer participants a packet of materials to take away for future use.

Poster: A research paper that is presented in a poster format, including the public display of the poster during their appointed poster session and an opportunity to make oral presentations to conference attendees. Often, APPAM offers poster sessions to new/emerging researchers.

Please note that the Program Committee reserves the right to alter, combine and even transform proposals as it builds sessions for the conference.
 
The conference has become the preeminent venue for the presentation and discussion of applied public policy research, attracting more than 1,600 attendees for 250+ sessions across three days of meetings in early November.

Each year, the APPAM president-elect appoints a conference program committee of approximately 50 people to review the proposals submitted for the conference and recommend sessions to be included in the meetings. The program committee members span a wide variety of substantive areas, and an equally wide variety of areas are supported within the conference.
 
APPAM has always included practitioners within the conference, and many non-academic researchers in public policy and management consider APPAM to be their primary professional meeting. APPAM is always seeking increased conference participation from policy makers at all levels of government and other practitioners who are directly involved in the areas of emphasis within the annual research conference.

Please read the following information before submitting your proposal.

• In order to submit you will need the names, phone numbers, email addresses and affiliations of all participants, including non-presenting authors.
  • For panels, we require the title of the panel and synopsis, all paper titles, abstracts, names, and organizations/affiliations of all presenters, and chair and discussant names and organizations/affiliations.
  • For roundtables, we require a synopsis of the session, moderator name and organization/affiliation, and presenter names and organization/affiliation.
• When submitting a panel, APPAM now requires a chair and at least one discussant in order to submit a panel. Please ask your chair and discussant about their participation prior to listing them as a part of your submission. If your panel is accepted, they will receive notice from APPAM; we do not want them to be confused about their participation. You can change these chair and discussants later if need be. Please make sure your chair and discussant(s) are aware that conference registration fees must be paid in order for them to participate.
• APPAM gives preference to diverse, fully formed, cohesive panels, over single papers, when reviewing submissions. Fully formed panels are easier to accept than single papers that need to be grouped into cohesive panels.
• Sessions that are not diverse or lack cohesion may be rejected or significantly altered, at the discretion of the program committee.
• Please note: It is our expectation that proposals submitted for inclusion in the conference will exemplify a range of perspectives and methodologies and include a diverse range of participants with respect to affiliation. No panel should include more than one presenting author with the same affiliation. Proposals that do not display organizational diversity are likely to be rejected or significantly altered, at the discretion of the Program Committee.
• APPAM is committed to promoting diversity in the association. To ensure the conference meets this goal, please consider the diversity of your panel, with respect to race and ethnicity. Proposals that reflect a commitment to diversity, it all its forms, are less likely to be altered.
• You may submit more than one proposal, however each person may only present once, so if you submit multiple proposals you must arrange for co-authors to present other papers if they are accepted.
• APPAM is only able to take into consideration scheduling requests for the following reasons: Medical/health, religious observances, and international flight limitations. We will not be able to accommodate schedule consideration for work/school schedules or family matters. If you require schedule consideration due to one of the approved reasons, please contact Jocelyn Mason (jmason@appam.org) with your proposal number and scheduling limitations.
• You do not need to be a member of APPAM to submit a proposal; however all accepted participants will need to register for the conference in the summer and members receive significant discounts on registration fees.
• As you are creating your submissions, we encourage you to check the Single Paper Listing for papers that might work well with your proposal to form a complete panel. While we will still encourage/will accept individual paper submissions, complete panels--three or four papers along a common theme, chair and discussant--have a much better chance of being accepted for the conference.
• Please only submit a proposal if you will be able to attend the conference in Albuquerque, NM. We understand that sometimes things come up, but APPAM has a 50% acceptance rate for submissions so each person that is accepted and cannot attend takes a spot from someone who can attend. When determining if you will be able to attend, please consider that all presenters, chairs and discussant will be required to pay for registration to attend the conference.