Call for Proposals to Host the 2024 SIPS Conference
The Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS) is excited to issue a call for proposals to host its annual conference in 2024. We are particularly interested in receiving proposals for conference locations outside Canada, Western Europe, and the United States.
Background
To date, SIPS has planned its annual conferences exclusively in Canada, Western Europe, and the United States (see table below). As noted in the Global Engagement Task Force Report commissioned by SIPS, “When major conferences are held in only one or two geographic regions, less financially secure scholars are systematically excluded, which limits the exposure of their perspectives to an international community” (Steltenpohl et al., 2021, p. 8). The authors of the task force therefore recommended that “SIPS hold the annual conference in geographically diverse regions, including those traditionally labeled as ‘Global South,’ ‘Low and Middle Income Countries.’” Doing so will enable contributions by all international stakeholders, which will in turn allow us to generate the best ideas for how to improve psychological science.
| Year | Location | # Registered |
| 2016 | Charlottesville, VA, USA | ~100 |
| 2017 | Charlottesville, VA, USA | ~200 |
| 2018 | Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA | 271 |
| 2019 | Rotterdam, the Netherlands | 521 |
| 2020 | Remote/online | 1197 |
| 2021 | Remote/online | 1012 |
| 2022 | Victoria, BC, Canada | TBD |
| 2023 | Padova, Italy | TBD |
The Proposal
Brief proposals for hosting the 2024 SIPS Conference should focus mostly on logistics such as where the conference events would take place (hotel/institution and in what city and country) and roughly how much it would cost, whether the site has sufficient space to accommodate typical conference sessions, accessibility of the nearest airport, and accessibility of affordable lodging and meals. (To get a sense of typical conference sessions, please refer to programs from past conferences, available here.)
SIPS conferences are financed by SIPS in large part through registration fees, sponsorships, and donations; therefore, proposals for hosting the conference do not need to consider how the conference will be funded. That said, hosts are welcome to note sources of funding they could contribute or obtain to defray the costs of the conference. Similarly, the scientific program for SIPS conferences is coordinated by a program committee that works together with the logistics committee to plan the conference. The program committee evaluates submissions and creates the schedule of events. Therefore, proposals for hosting and handling the logistics of the conference do not need to address the scientific program.
Evaluation
The table below lists the criteria that proposals should address and how they will be evaluated.
| Criteria | Information about this criterion is scarce or not applicable. | This criterion is partially met. | This criteria iscompletely met. |
| Host Characteristics | |||
| The conference is hosted by an individual or group committed to SIPS and improving psychological science in general. | |||
| The host(s) have previous experience with this kind of event or have demonstrated skills that are relevant to doing so. | |||
| Conference Site | |||
| The conference site facilities are adequate for ~500 participants and typical conference session activities (universities or similar are preferred due to cost effectiveness). | |||
| The site has spaces that facilitate networking and informal exchange among participants. | |||
| The site is close to eateries, lodging, and transportation venues. | |||
| Approximate cost to reserve the site | |||
| Advantages & Limitations | |||
| The proposal addresses potential advantages of the conference location (e.g. accessibility, funding sources that can be applied for, local SIPS or similar communities in the area) | |||
| The proposal addresses potential limitations of the conference location (e.g., laws or local ordinances that target marginalized members of the SIPS community, potential travel/visa restrictions) | |||
| Financial, Travel, and Timing Considerations | |||
| The proposed costs are acceptable. | |||
| The proposal specifies the nearest airport and its distance to the conference site | |||
| The date proposed for the event is appropriate; it should occur in June or before. | |||
| Are the organizers interested in hosting the SIPS conference in a subsequent year if the proposal is not selected for 2024? (the answer to this question has no bearing on 2024 selection) | Yes | No |
Submission
Upload a single pdf of the proposal to the survey linked here by 1 May 2022. Complete proposals will be reviewed by the SIPS Executive Committee based on the criteria noted above. There is no formal word/page minimum or maximum but proposals are meant to be brief.
Please direct any questions to sips@improvingpsych.org. We are excited to discuss your ideas for a proposal prior to submission; feel free to request a conversation before investing effort in your proposal. Similarly, the EC reserves the right to request a conference call with potential hosts to address questions about their proposal before making a decision.