Best Practices for Conferences

The IEEE Computer Society is committed to broadening participation in computing across all its sponsored activities, including conferences.

These are some ideas to promote and increase participation within your conferences and communities. Most are best practices already implemented at conferences sponsored by IEEE and other organizations. Does your conference already do some of these activities? Is there a super cool activity that we have not thought of? Did you try one of these activities? How did it turn out? Send an email to participation@computer.org with (1) a short description of the activity and (2) a link to a description of the event from the conference website that hopefully includes pictures! We will make sure to add your conference as an example on the list below.

Broadening Participation Chair

Conferences are starting to embrace the role of Broadening Participation (BP) Chair as an essential part of the organizing committee. The role of a BP Chair is to ensure that the conference is proactively working to broaden participation from all attendee segments and providing a welcoming environment for those individuals.

Program Committee Self-Nomination

It is important to renew and reinvigorate program committees over time. Create a form for people to self-nominate as members of the program committee. For early career committee members consider a mentoring or shadowing program to provide advice and ensure review quality.

IEEE Computer Society Committee to Assist in Reporting Ethics and Conduct Violations (CS Assist)

CS Assist is a volunteer-led program that acts as a resource to assist members of the conference community with referring misconduct concerns including harassment, discrimination, bullying, and other ethical policy violations to the IEEE Ethics Reporting Line or other authorities, as necessary. Organizers are encouraged to include a CS Assist committee at their conferences. More information on CS Assist can be found here.

The goal of these activities is to create spaces for attendee segments to meet in person to discuss plans for increasing participation, create collaborations, find support, or simply mingle with other people. These activities should be included as a part of the formal program so that people are aware of them and conference resources as assigned to ensure their success.

This is a very simple activity that is very easy to organize; for example:

• Breakfast, lunch, or meetup for an underrepresented group within your community
• Annual breakfast or luncheons for attendee segments
• Meetups for local attendees

There are many groups that exist but rarely get a chance to meet in person. These activities provide an opportunity for these groups to make stronger connections and plan activities for the future; for example:

• Face-to-face annual meeting of members of a mailing list of underrepresented groups with a technical community (e.g. people within a specific technical area).
• Workshops or symposiums for specific communities, organized by members of those communities

It is so much easier to connect when there is a topic of theme in common and you are in your group. These activities help to connect within those groups in a much more relaxed environment; for example:

• Dedicated 24/7 networking spaces
• Workshop or symposium associated with or sponsored by an established organization such as WIE

Many research collaborations and long-term friendships start at conferences. Provide spaces for people to connect. For example, many conferences have student lounges or small meeting rooms.

• Networking programs

It is difficult to become part of a community, especially when you are new. A program such as a mentor-protégé program is targeted at creating networking opportunities.

• Ad Hoc Meetups

Provide opportunities for groups to meet each other. For example, invite groups to gather at the end of the day to go out to dinner. Consider having sign-up sheets or notes at tables indicating where to meet.

• Meeting for discussion on a variety of specific topics

Schedule meetings for discussion of topics related to Broadening Participation such as finding support in academia or industry, introducing these topics in the classroom, mental health awareness, work-life balance, etc.

These are plenary events that the full conference participates in. They are targeted at showing their commitment to broadening participation within the community.

• Panel on a topic related to broadening participation in computing

Panels are great ways to create discussions around BP topics. Organize a panel around current events, experiences, activities for increasing participation, community challenges, etc.

•  Keynotes and Special Invited Talks by Community Members from a variety of backgrounds

Keynote speakers are the superstars of your conference. Commit to casting a wide net to recruit speakers and introduce role models for everyone in your community.

Sometimes it is difficult to attract from a wide variety of backgrounds to attend conferences due to family commitments, financial issues, disabilities, or simply lack of time. These activities can make it easier for people to attend.

• Child care

Child care at conferences would enable people with small children to attend. Consider offering child care at the conference venue for free or at a reduced cost.

•  Financial support for companions of attendees in need of accommodation

Traveling is very difficult for people requiring special accommodation and becomes very expensive if they need to travel with a companion.

•  Reduced registration rates for one-day passes for Industry

People in industry want to learn about the latest research but may not have five days to attend a conference.

•  Reduced registration rates for local attendees when conferences are help in countries that do not typically draw attendees from that country

Conference registration rates have increased over the years, which can make it challenging for people in some countries to attend. When conferences visit these countries, make an effort to provide them with the experience. Consider having reduced rates for local attendees.

•  Scholarship programs for registrants from countries that do not typically draw attendees from that country

Create scholarship programs for attendees who may have difficulty affording the registration fees or any other expenses associated with attending the conference.

The Computing community is representative of a spectrum of people. The following suggestions will guide your conference efforts to create a more affirming environment for professionals and students. In order to create solutions that are applicable to all, we must give space for others to show up authentically and contribute their own experiences.

1. Include pronoun identification as part of the event registration process.
   • Show pronouns on name badges, or offer stickers at the registration desk.
   • Ensure communications from the conference and conference representatives are mindful of pronouns (using they/them).
   • Ask for pronoun identification during the registration process
2. Be mindful of personal identity. If you track demographics in your registration, include the following options on your registration form:
   • Male/man
   • Female/woman
   • Prefer to self-describe
   • Prefer not to answer
3. Choose a conference location that is accessible to all target attendees.
4. Get perspective from your community.
   • Find out how any of the work your organization does might be affecting the communities you are targeting.
5. Provide a budget to run programs that exemplify, highlight, or connect participants within the conference.
   • Lunch and Learn for the community
   • Link to local resources for the communities you are targeting.
6. On-stage representation
   • Ensure a slate of speakers that is representative of the spectrum of your community
7. Use supportive vendors.
   • Research vendors and consider asking Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) if they know of any or have recommendations.
8. Broadening participation starts at the top:
   • Have a steering committee that is representative of the entire community it serves.
   • Ensure that the Conference Organizing Committee, Program Committee etc. are representative of the entire community it serves.
9. Community outreach
   • Conference representatives speak to local groups, highlighting computer science and engineering opportunities, career paths, etc.
   • Allow members within the local community to set up an informational booth, highlighting local support services.
10. Engage College Communities
    • Reach out to local college and high school campus resource centers to identify and recruit student volunteers.
11. Build a comfortable and respectful space for all conference volunteers and attendees, honoring their wishes when it comes to self-expression and identification.
    • Ask individuals how you can be respectful.
    • Remind organizers that tone and body language are important.

Keeping the backgrounds of your attendees in mind is an important consideration when selecting the site of your conference. While it is not always feasible to select a conference location that is guaranteed to align with all groups, it is important to support those who are not well represented from the technology ecosystem. These recommendations will assist you with the site selection process.

Choose a conference location that is welcoming to your attendees and community.

• Be aware of city and state policies, including laws that could be discriminatory, and select locations accordingly.
• The conference location should align with the principles outlined in the IEEE Code of Ethics.

Many resources exist that provide insight into the safety of various countries and territories for various groups. A sampling of resources is listed below:

• Most Dangerous and Safest Countries Index
• Countries and Territories Global Freedom Scores
• The 50 Worst (& Safest) Countries for Solo Female Travel
• The 203 Worst (& Safest) Countries for Travel in 2022

Consider partnering with an organization that provides an opportunity to balance local conference expenses in locations that don’t align with your values by making a donation to a non-profit that “offsets” the money you’re spending.

• SocialOffset helps individuals and conferences offset spending that does not align with their core values, by making it easy to donate to local charities and organizations that do.

Adding a virtual component to your conference expands accessibility for those who are not able to participate in person. Learn more about IEEE Computer Society hybrid event options.

Travel grants can help to offset some of the costs for underrepresented groups to attend the conference. Consider offering targeted travel grants, such as

• Travel Grants for Students from Countries that are not typically represented at your event
• Travel Grants for Students from Groups that are not typically represented at your event
• Travel Grants for Early Career Faculty

Many conferences and communities have awards for best paper, best reviewer, best project, and others.

Consider having awards for a variety of communities at your conference.

• Name awards after influential members of the community that come from a variety of different backgrounds

Show your support for broadening participation by naming awards after underrepresented members of the community who are committed to the issue.

• Award for Service in improving BP

Reward those members of your community that have contributed to BP in your community.

Attending a conference for the first time can be nerve-wracking, especially for students. Create events or special activities so that they can meet other people.

• First-time attendee reception

Many conferences have first-time or newcomer receptions, with activities to get new people involved. The goal is for new attendees to have people to sit with at the conference, network, or simply go out to dinner. One idea from our meeting planners is to have high tables and no chairs at the reception and for each table to have a sign that gathers people on what they want to do next such as “Want to have dinner after we are done?” or “Want to go to workshop X tomorrow?”

• First-time mentors

Offer to pair first-time attendees with someone that is known in the community. Mentors are assigned in advance based on areas of interest expressed by newcomers during registration.

• New industry attendee welcome event

For many of our conferences, industry attendees are a minority. A welcome event where industry attendees can get together and receive advice on how to make the most out of attending the conference is a good idea to welcome them to the community. Members of the Steering Committee and Organizing Committee should attend and engage in conversations about industry needs and interests, and perhaps invite them to take on bigger roles within the community.

For best practices about engaging industry visit https://www.computer.org/conferences/organize-a-conference/organizer-resources/engaging-industry

• Special first-time attendee tables at conference dinners

This would encourage people that do not know anybody to attend the conference dinner and meet new people.

• Special badges for first-time attendees

This would encourage other first-time attendees to interact. In addition, mentors in the community and organizing committee members should go out of their way to talk to them and introduce them to others.

• Special badges for trained mentors/hosts

First-time attendees may not want to self-identify by wearing badges or may not want to make an initial move for networking because of lack of confidence or experience. Trained hosts/mentors with visible badges that reflect the amount of mentorship, affinity groups, and research area, for example, have the job of looking out for first-time attendees and open to answering questions and making connections.

There are many actions that a conference can take to ensure accessibility for all attendees.

• Include accessibility evaluation of the conference venue as part of the criteria for location. Items to evaluate include wheelchair accessibility to conference rooms, elevators, accommodations for food sensitivities, ease of transportation from airports and nearby hotels to the conference venue, etc.
• With virtual and hybrid conferences, ensure that your virtual platform supports closed captioning and review the quality of the output. Similarly, having the option to increase the size of the speaker window is very important for attendees that are hearing impaired.
• Ensure that the conference website meets accessibility guidelines such as W3C’s WCAG 2.0.
• The conference website should include all accessibility information such that attendees can make informed decisions about whether they can attend.
• Download a checklist with suggestions for making your conference more accessible here.

This is a list of simple activities and ideas to promote BP at your conference.

• Broadening participation

Make badges, ribbons, or pins that show that you belong to group. For example, demonstrate languages spoken (e.g.”Yo Hablo Español”, “Parlo Italiano”).

• Code of Conduct and Broadening Participation Statement on a poster at the registration desk

Make both of these fully visible as people register for the conference so that there is a clear understanding of how people are expected to behave at the conference.

• Reporting participation numbers for conferences

Invite college students who may be interested in the field of your conference to attend a morning or afternoon of talks. Organize a special talk for the students and faculty on a hot topic in the field, industry experience, or the graduate student experience. Have senior members of the community come and meet them during the break.