Program Proposal Guidelines
These guidelines are designed to assist you in preparing program proposals for the World Future Society’s annual conference. The proposal selection process will take place during November and December, and notification of final program decisions will be made during January and February of the conference year. The conference language is English, and submitted materials may also be considered for use in Society publications.
Target Audience
World Future Society conferences attract worldwide audiences. Annual attendance averages 1,000. Participants include persons from business, academia, research institutes, government, and others who have an interest in the future. They constitute an extremely well-informed and dynamic group and will be looking for serious thinking and new ideas. The Society strives to provide an open forum, and we encourage creative and cutting-edge ideas that may not fit neatly into already-defined areas. Due to the size and scope of the meeting, participants will be given many choices of sessions and activities to attend. As a result, when designing your proposal, always make clear the tangible benefits the attendees will derive from your presentation. Please focus your presentation on your conclusions, not the introduction to or background of the topic. Our participants are extremely well-informed and can be frustrated by hearing information they have already heard or could read or hear in the news. Commercial presentations for products or services are not allowed.
Program Proposal Guidelines
Proposals must include:
- the "Proposal Submission Form";
- a 150-word description of the content and format of the proposal, which tells us what sort of audience you’re trying to reach, what they’ll learn, and how this new knowledge can be applied to one’s business, organization, or personal life;
- biographies of all participants; and
- recent photos (head shot) of all presenters (hard copy or digital).
Proposals may be submitted as follows:
Selection Criteria
- proposal submitted via the Society’s web site (www.wfs.org)
- proposal sent by e-mail in ASCII format, not encoded
- one original and one copy of the proposal sent by surface or air mail, including photo(s).
The Conference Program Committee will evaluate proposals on the projected outcomes and tangible benefits derived from attending the session/presentation. Successful proposals will meet up to three of the following.
The proposal should:
1. address new and innovative approaches or methods
2. supply new information, such as survey results, new technical research, etc.
3. apply new insights
4. create new strategic and collaborative linkages, such as cross-pollination of ideas between traditional sectors
5. deliver insights on current/projected trends or counter-trends
6. build new capacities for the World Future Society
7. contain innovative forecasts and projections
8. discuss futures-oriented projects and prospects for collaboration
9. share or generate original case studies or scenarios
10. share new best practices from an organization, project, or field.The Committee will judge proposals based on clearly stated theories, practices, methodologies, and results that participants can take away from the presentation. The presentation or session must be presented in a dynamic format that uses the best in adult education techniques and takes best advantage of the well-informed and diverse conference participants.
Organization of a Concurrent SessionConcurrent sessions are generally scheduled for 90 minutes. They will be organized in one of the following ways:
- Panel discussion
with moderator and speakers or resource people. The moderator should frame the topic and discussion and introduce the speakers. Each speaker should make a very brief presentation and then raise issues for brief discussion before moving on to the next speaker. For a 90-minute slot, no more than 60 minutes should be devoted to presentations and the other 30 minutes of the session should be interactive. Please explain your expected time line in your proposal.- Sequential lectures
, followed by questions from the participants. In this more traditional format, the session moderator introduces the speakers who make presentations. Traditionally, questions and comments are reserved until after all presentations or after each presentation. However, in order to increase interactivity, speakers at the meeting will be coached to ask questions or leave a few minutes for questions or discussion within their presentations, after each main point or set of points. Please explain how you will keep the program engaging and lively.- Facilitated discussions
, where discussion leaders provide introductory information and ask provocative questions, then facilitate a discussion; or participants break up into smaller groups to answer questions and report back to the whole group.- Experiential session
or simulation, where participants take part in activities that help them explore their own futures and stimulate their thinking. Please outline the expected exercises and explain what benefits participants will receive.Individual Presentations
Persons submitting proposals may not wish to participate on a panel and may wish instead to deliver their presentation in a 30-minute individual session. Time slots have been set aside for this purpose. For that format, speakers should make no more than a 15-minute presentation and leave the other 15 minutes for questions and answers and participant interaction.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:The Program Committee is encouraging panel presentations. We are striving for varied points of view and a balanced presentation of topic. Therefore, if you submit a proposal as an individual, you may be asked to re-submit a panel proposal OR be a panel participant on a related session.
Proposals may be submitted as follows:
- proposal submitted via the Society’s web site. Click here.
- proposal sent by e-mail in ASCII format, not encoded
- one original and one copy of the proposal sent by mail.
Arrangements for Speakers
The World Future Society is a voluntary organization. It cannot provide honoraria or expenses for speakers at conferences. Speakers benefit from contact with peers, media representatives, potential clients or employers, etc. While there is no charge for attending only your session, speakers who wish to attend the entire meeting will be allowed to register at the "Early Bird" rate.
Most sessions at the conference will be audio-taped, and cassette tapes will be available for sale during and after the meeting. You must contact the World Future Society headquarters if you DO NOT wish to have your session recorded.
Media Coverage
World Future Society conferences attract extensive media coverage. The Society distributes news releases announcing its major meetings, and a press contact is available on-site.
Book Exhibits
It is assumed that speakers who are also authors will not use the sessions to promote their own publications. The purpose of sessions is to share ideas and information, not sell products or services. Speakers who take unfair advantage of the situation to advertise will not be invited to subsequent World Future Society programs. For those presenters who do wish to sell books, the Futurist Bookstore will operate on-site and may carry presenters' titles. Book publishers may also make arrangements to have their books specially displayed in the table-top exhibit area. Please contact Vice President of Conference Operations, Susan Echard, to request guidelines and prices. Please include publisher name and phone number in your request.
Table-Top Exhibits
The people attending our meetings are influential and affluent individuals. Many are owners, partners, or presidents of corporations and are responsible for major purchases. These are the people who are actively creating the future. They are looking for books, computers, software, magazines, information, home entertainment products, new technologies of all kinds, and anything else of use to upscale, innovative decision-makers. This is the marketplace for innovative technologies and ideas. There’s simply no other way you can make so many high-quality contacts at so little cost. Exhibiting is a cost-efficient way to meet the people you want to sell to, face-to-face. Exhibitors will be offered 8’ draped tables with chairs to display their materials. The display area is designed to give maximum exposure of exhibits to everyone attending the meeting. Please contact Vice President of Conference Operations, Susan Echard, for guidelines, pricing, and hours of exhibit operation.
World Future Society Nonprofit Status
The World Future Society is incorporated in the District of Columbia as a nonprofit, scientific and educational organization and is recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c) of the U.S. Internal Revenue code. Attendance at the conference may be deducted as a business expense on U.S. income tax returns.
World Future Society
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450
Bethesda, MD 20814 U.S.A.
Tel: 301/656-8274 • Fax: 301/951-0394 • E-mail: sechard@wfs.org