Conference Site Selection Information

The following information is made available to all interested potential hosts of AEESP Research and Education Conferences.  Conferences are hosted in odd-numbered years.  Proposals are typically due in early February of even-numbered years.  The next solicitation will be released by the Conference Site Selection Committee in Autumn of 2023 for the 2025 Biennial Conference.  For more information about the Conference Site Selection Committee, click here.

Conference Site Selection Committee Roles

The charge of the Site Selection Committee is to develop and disseminate the Request for Proposals to host the next AEESP Research and Education Conference; evaluate proposals from potential host committees; and to submit a recommendation to the AEESP Board in a timely fashion so that the Board may make the final site determination.  The Site Selection Committee's work is then complete until the next conference cycle commences.  This Committee is not expected to interact with the selected host committee during the actual conference planning proces; that responsibility rests with the current AEESP Board.
 

Conference Site Selection Committee Procedures

The Conference Site Selection Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Board will be in a position to award the next AEESP Research and Education Conference to a host Committee in a timely fashion.  This Committee is not responsible for the planning of the Conference itself, as those respinsibilities fall to the host institution(s) organizing committee.  Nonetheless, the Conference Site Selection Committee odes oversee the first step in preparing for the AEESP Conference, and following sequence of actions has been successful in completing this process.

  • Planning for the Conference typically begins two and a half years beforehand.  That is to say, six months before the most recently planned Biennial Conference.  During the winter prior to that Conference, the Chair of the Conference Site Selection Committee should contact the Committee's AEESP Board Liaison and request instructions/recommendations from the Board relative to revisions to the RFP to be used to soliciti proposals to host the next Biennial Conference.
  • In the months prior to the already-planned Biennial AEESP Conference, the Committee Chair shall review the membership of the Committee, contacting each each member to verify interest and availability to continue participation.  New members should be solicited from the general AEESP membership.
  • The Chair should contact the host Committee of the upcoming Biennial Conference to arrange for a time and place during the upcoming conference to hold a Site Selection Committee meeting, and those details should then be communicated to the entire Committee membership prior to the Conference.
  • The Chair should transmit to the Committee prior to the upcoming Conference the RFP used during the prior selection cycle so that each member can review that document.
  • At the Biennial Conference, the Committee will meet to review and discuss the RFP used during the previous selection cycle, consider instructions from the Board, and propose revisions to the document.
  • Soon after the Biennial Conference ends, the Chair will transmit to the Committee membership proposed changes to the RFP document, and solicit comments from those members not in attendance at the Committee meeting held during the Conference.
  • The Chair will consolidate changes to the RFP that represent the consensus of the Committee and send the revised draft document to the Committee for a final review.
  • The Chair will then send the revised draft RFP to the Committee's Board Liaison to be transmitted to the Presdent, Executive Committee, and/or the Board.
  • Once the Chair has received an approved RFP back from the Liaison, the Chair will cause the RFP to be published in the various AEESP communication venues: i.e. Newsletter and Listserv.  This should be accomplished no later than October following the just-completed Biennial Conference.
  • The Chair will respond to inquiries from potential host committees to aid in their understanding of the requirements and preferences expressed in the RFP.
  • Proposals will be submitted to the Chair by the end of January following the prior Conference.
  • Once proposals are received, the Chair will request that any Committee members with conflicts of interest recuse themselves from Committee deliberations.
  • The Chair will then transmit to the remaining Committee membership the proposals received, along with a scoring system to aid in ranking proposals.  This should be done as soon as possible in early February.  Members are requested to keep proposals and deliberations confidential.
  • The Committee members will be encouragedto discuss via email the merits and shortcomings of the various proposals in a confidential manner during the month of February.  The Chair will request that members submit a ranked list by date certain near the admonition that the results should remain confidential.
  • By early March, the Chair will transmit to the Boar Liaison the ranking of the proposals along with a summary of comments, and copies of all proposals received.
  • The Committee's work is now complete; it is not expected nor appropriate for the Chair or Committee members to contact any of those submitting proposals; that is the responsibility of the Board.