Guidelines for Proposals

5 Steps to Presenting in the MW17 Program

Before submitting your proposal, please ensure you understand these 5 steps in the process. Post any questions not answered below through the comments fields on this page so we can answer them for everyone!

1. Choose your proposal type carefully.

Multiple proposals from the same author(s) are rarely accepted. You can propose the following kinds of presentations through this website (find more detail on each in the Call for Proposals):

Deadline September 30 (acceptance of proposals will be communicated to lead proposers by Nov 30):

  • Formal Papers
  • How-to Sessions
  • Professional Forums
  • Pre-conference Workshops

Deadline December 31:

  • Demonstrations
  • Lightning Talk
  • Exhibitor Briefings

2. Submit your 500 word proposal on-line by the deadline above.

You must be logged in to the MW website to submit a proposal. If you have never had an MW account, create a profile and then log in. You can edit your profile information at any time.

You will be able to update your proposal until the call for that type of proposal closes (see the deadlines above). The person who submitted the original proposal will be able to update the order and email addresses of co-authors/-presenters at any time until February 1 before the conference.)

Required information for your proposal:

  1. Proposal title
  2. Proposal text (up to 500 words)
  3. Proposal type (e.g. formal paper, how-to session, demonstration, etc.)

Optional:

  • Website address for your project
  • Co-authors’ email addresses (if any) – if your co-authors create their own MW17 account with the same email address at http://MW17.museumsandtheweb.com/submit-proposal, their details and bio will link automatically to the proposal. Please note: co-authors are listed in the order you enter their email address after the name of the person submitting the proposal
  • Bibliography and/or reference materials to be used in the research for this proposal (optional, but hugely strengthens your proposal)

Tip: Be sure to explain in your proposal what benefit, knowledge or useable takeaway you expect attendees to gain from your session. This will help your reviewers understand the value of your paper and/or presentation to the community.

3. Agree to the MW17 terms and conditions for authors and presenters.

Submission of a proposal indicates your acceptance of the terms and conditions of participating in the MW conference if your proposal is accepted by the Program Committee.

These include:

  • At least one author of the proposal must register for the conference by December 31, if the proposal type is due by September 30 and by January 31 if the proposal type is due by December 31.
  • A written paper (required for formal and how-to sessions) must be submitted by January 31. Authors who fail to submit the required papers by the January 31 deadline will be removed from the conference program.

4. Register for MW17.

Early registration will open December 1. At least one author of the proposal must be registered for the conference by the appropriate deadline outlined above or the proposal will be removed from the program.

5. Submit your written paper by 31 January (if required).

If your formal Paper or How-to session proposal is accepted, you are required to submit a written papery by 31 January. Written papers are optional for Demonstrations.

Word lengths:

  • Formal papers: up to 5,000 words
  • How-to sessions: up to 2,500 words

Authors who submit their written paper by the January 31 deadline receive an honorarium in the form of a $150 credit against their bill at the Conference Hotel. The honorarium will not be offered in any other form and is, therefore, forfeited by authors who do not stay in the Conference Hotel. Authors who request an extension to the January 31 paper deadline forfeit the honorarium.

What Happens Next

1. Communications about your proposal:

  • You will receive an email acknowledging your proposal, sent to the address given in the profile of the lead author (the proposer); if you do not receive a reply, please contact us via email.
  • The Co-Chairs will email the lead author only for each proposal that has been accepted by the Program Committee. It is the responsibility of the lead author to communicate with co-authors.
  • Please make sure your spam filters deliver email from museumsandtheweb.com addresses.
  • Email is the preferred mode of communication and any questions about your proposal should be sent by email.

2. Proposal Peer Review

The Program Committee and the Program Co-Chairs review all formal paper, how-to session and professional forum proposals in October. Invitations are sent to the lead author only for each accepted proposal in November if not before. It is the responsibility of each lead author/proposer to notify any co-authors if the proposal is accepted for inclusion in the MW17 program.

Workshops, Demonstrations and Lightning Talks are selected by the Program Co-Chairs and presenters are notified by January if not before. Exhibitor Briefings are reviewed and accepted on a first come, first serve basis until February 28.

Acceptance of any proposal type may be conditional upon refining the proposal, and may require the submission of a revised abstract. The Committee may judge that a different format is more appropriate for the proposed content, e.g. a Demonstration rather than a formal Paper, and offer an alternative slot in the program.

The decision of the MW17 Program Committee is final.