CONFERENCE GUIDELINES:

European Conference for Social Work Research

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CONFERENCE GUIDELINES:   

European Conference for Social Work Research 

Introduction 

The European Conference of Social Work Research (ECSWR) is the major event of ESWRA. It has been taking place since 2011 and is highly regarded amongst social work researchers across Europe, as an important annual event for sharing, debating research findings and ideas as well as networking.   

There are certain elements of the programme and the nature of the ECSWR that the ESWRA Board view as essential for the identity and strategy of ESWRA, as well as maintaining the high quality of the conference.  The Board recognises, however, that every conference also has its own unique characteristics, ‘flavour’ and shape, to reflect where it is being held, its distinctive themes etc., and that this is a key strength of the ECSWR.   

This guidance, therefore, seeks to provide a useful outline of the ESWRA requirements for hosting the conference, together with some helpful hints based on the experience of previous hosts to help guide each Conference Committee in their task.  

The communication between the local hosts and the ESWRA Board is channeled through the ESWRA Vice-Chair, who is the main link and first person of reference.   

The ESWRA Board is very appreciative of all the efforts, time and planning that host Committees put into each ECSWR, and we firmly believe that social work research in Europe is made stronger by their contribution.  

The agreement between ESWRA and conference hosts will be formalised in writing, setting out the terms of the agreement. In addition to these guidelines and the formal agreement, conference hosts are bound to read the criteria set out in the Call for Bids for ECSWR and the ESWRA bylaws.  Hosts may also wish to find out about previous conferences on the ESWRA website www.eswra.org and may ask the ESWRA Administrator for additional information or advice at any time at info@eswra.org 

1. Local Organisational Committee Required

Every conference should be organised by a local organisational committee of not less than 5 people. The local organisational committee is responsible both for the research leadership and the practical leadership of the conference. The members of the local organisational committee must therefore have knowledge and experience of social work research, and capacity and commitment to plan, organise and deliver the conference. The local organisational

Committee will also put in place management arrangements to cover contingencies. The local organisational committee host Chair must be a person with significant experience of senior leadership, in order to take a strategic approach to conference planning.  

The local organisational committee is Co-Chaired by the local organisational committee host Chair and the Vice Chair of ESWRA. The ESWRA Vice-Chair is the main link and first port of call between the local host Chair and the ESWRA Board.

Another member of the local organisational committee, preferably the local host Chair, should attend part of the ESWRA Board meeting held around the time and at the venue of the preceding year’s conference, to discuss their plans and planning to date for the conference. A local organisational committee report on progress in preparation for the conference should be provided to each meeting of the ESWRA Board.  

Agreed arrangements for Co-Chairing the local organisational committee meetings need to take place, including the nature and frequency of local organisational committee meetings, setting the agenda, and a plan with clear allocation and sharing of responsibilities. It is expected that local hosts arrange for the local organisational committee to have strong administrative support throughout the conference planning and this needs to be estimated in the budget too.

1.2 Helpful hints

It is strongly advised that an initial task of the local organisational committee is to develop a timeline of key dates and actions (15 months at the latest) as this will contribute to the overall conference planning. Appendix 1

Workload for the local organisational committee in preparation for the conference is considerable and should not be underestimated. Therefore, it is suggested that hosts think carefully about how many people should be on the local organisational committee (8 or 9 people has worked well previously) and their capacity and commitment to play a role in the practical organisation. It is important that the local organisation committee can call on its own administrative support especially in the last 6 months before the conference.

In previous conferences, as well as the need to have excellent secretariat support, extra student support for registration and administration during the conference itself has been essential.  Free registration at the conference could be offered in return for some student assistance at key times.

2. Primarily face to face delivery of ECSWR

ESWRA conferences are primarily face to face events. Since 2020, some possibilities for online engagement with the conference have been developed including online access to the live streaming of: welcoming and closing ceremonies; keynote presentations; and the ESWRA General Assembly. The appropriateness of the online delivery of these components should be considered by the local organisational committee in discussion with the ESWRA Co-Chair and the agreement of the Chair of ESWRA when the speakers are not able to attend the full conference and/or live internationally where cost and environmental impact also need to be considered.

Online delivery of other conference presentations is only permissible in exceptional circumstances in discussion with the ESWRA Co-chair and the agreement of the Chair of ESWRA.

3. Venues and accommodation 

3.1 Required

 

The lecture halls and meeting rooms need to be of appropriate size and number.   One main conference hall with capacity for 500+ people is essential, along with rooms to accommodate at least 10 parallel oral paper or symposium sessions for up to 50 people each.  

 

All rooms must be physically accessible and of good overall standard.   Access for those with other requirements such as a hearing loop or specific mobility support - needs should also be available when requested.  

 

Approximately 12-15 rooms also need to be made available for the Special Interest Group programme sessions. Some of these could be the same rooms that are used for the parallel sessions during the conference, but they could also be slightly smaller (for up to 40 people).   

 

An appropriate venue for the ECSWR dinner needs to be considered at an early stage. The local organisational committee needs to ensure that the venue can accommodate at least two thirds of the participants.

 

Supplementary room requirements

 

• A room for up to 10 people is also required for a meeting of the ESWRA Publication Series Advisory Group at some point during the conference.  
• The ESWRA Board requires a room to meet the day before and after the conference; this Board room should accommodate up to 18 people.  The ESWRA Administrator will contact the local organisational committee to make the necessary arrangements for this and all costs for this meeting are paid directly by the Association, not from the conference budget.  
• SIG convenors' meeting: 1 room generally held during the 2^nd day.
• SIG meetings: to allow SIGs to deal with organisational matters within their SIG, 1 room per SIG, generally held during 3^rd day.
• SIG launch events: 1 or 2 rooms at most whenever is convenient.  

 

Catering must be provided at the conference and meet different dietary requirements.  In addition, hosts should provide information or links to a range of good accommodation options within a short distance of the conference venue.  

 

3.2 Helpful hints

 

In relation to potential uncertainties around travel participants should be advised to book their own accommodation; they will then be able to deal directly with the hotel should they need to cancel. Making early contact with hotels to arrange discount prices for conference participants is however very helpful.   Usually, it works best where participants can use a special code or link to then book with the hotel directly, to avoid the conference organisers from having to make any other hotel arrangements.    

4. Budget 

4.1 Required

The budget is crucial and needs careful planning. The ESWRA Treasurer in co-operation with the Vice-Chair has a key role in the development of the budget. The ESWRA Board must approve an outline budget one year before the conference; updates on the budget then need to be produced in continuous discussion with the Vice-Chair, Chair and Treasurer of ESWRA. The budget proposal should be agreed by the Treasurer, Chair and Vice-Chair.

The prices for individual participants are listed in the table below.  

4.2 Guideline Fees  

 

Guideline Fees	Early Bird	Normal
Main Conference
Participant from higher income country	€ 410	€ 460
Participant from lower income country	€ 200	€ 250
Student and emeritus member from higher income country	€ 225	€ 275
Student and emeritus member from lower income country	€ 125	€ 175
Suggested rate for service users	€ 125	€ 175
SIG Events Program
Participant from higher income country ½ day	€ 20	€ 20
Participant from lower income country ½ day	€ 10	€ 10
Suggested rate for service users - ½ day	€ 10	€ 10
Participant from higher income country full day	€ 50	€ 50
Guideline Fees	Early Bird	Normal
Participant from lower income country full day	€ 25	€ 25
Suggested rate for service users - full day	€ 20	€ 40
Conference Dinner
Conference dinner for participant from higher income country	€ 50	€ 50
Conference dinner for participant from lower income country	€ 35	€ 35
Conference dinner for service user	€ 35	€ 35

 

A list of countries and the category they belong to is attached in the appendix to these guidelines.

These fees could be adjusted in the course of time which it is up to the Board to decide. Regarding service user fees, it is recommended that the same reduced rates as for student and emeritus members from lower income countries should be offered, for the main conference, the SIG Programme (see below comments for SIG Programme) and the conference dinner.

The budget should be planned based on the above figures and a minimum of 450 participants. Conference arrangements should be made for this number.    

Please also see comments below in relation to sponsorship.

Budget headings must include:

1. Venue hire for main conference and SIG programmes
2. Catering costs for the main conference and the SIG programme  
3. Keynote speaker expenses
4. Printing costs of flyer, programme and other copy centre expenses
5. Conference website, App/Webapp development, abstracts management platform.
6. Local administration and administrative support to the local organisational committee
7. Cultural programme (if applicable)  
8. Other expenses (e.g. small gifts to keynote speakers if not offered by sponsors, etc)
9. Surplus of at least 20,000 Euros for ESWRA
10. Membership fees

 

ESWRA will bear all risks and upfront costs associated with the conference when these relate to the agreed budget and the successful administration of the conference. Over and above this, any surplus generated by the conference will belong to ESWRA.   

 

4.3.   Payment Responsibilities and Charging Policy

 

As the ECSWR may involve participants of differing status, the table below summarises the expectations related to charging registration fees and other payment responsibilities.

 

Who	Charging registration fee/ payment costs and by whom	Notes
Board Members	Own arrangements for registration fee, conference dinner, travel and accommodation.	However, ESWRA covers these costs where own institutional support is not available.
local organisational committee members	No registration fee.	However, the membership fees should still be paid to ESWRA.
Vice Chair	No registration fee Own arrangements for travel and accommodation.	However, the membership fee should still be paid to ESWRA. ESWRA covers costs where own institutional support is not available.
Keynotes	All costs paid by ECSWR Budget.
Exhibitors/Publishers	Not registered as participant, see specific related fees at the relevant section.
ESWRA Invited Guests on behalf of their Association (i.e. EC, IFW, EASSW) for brief welcome/introduction speeches	If attending the full conference: On a case-by-case basis, ESWRA may contribute to their registration cost/expenses 100-euro max. If not attending the full conference: On a case-by-case basis, ESWRA may contribute to travel and subsistence costs and 1 overnight if required - Not registered as a participant. Online delivery of speeches will be encouraged when they live internationally to reduce environmental and cost impact.
Award Winners	ESWRA reimburses or pays the registration fee.      Own arrangements for travel and accommodation.
ESWRA Executive administrator	No registration fee - Not registered as participant.
Volunteers	Organised locally, not registered as a participant.      (If presenting usual rules apply, given that they don’t have to volunteer).

 

4.4       Helpful hints

 

It may be helpful for the local organisational committee to compare its budget with previous conference budgets. The ESWRA Administrator can provide figures on previous conference participants to help with budget planning.

 

As far as a conference dinner is concerned, the Board suggests charging a reduced price for participants from lower income countries.

5 Sponsorship, publishers, and financial assistance 

5.1 Required

 

Hosts should make efforts to find sponsors for various elements of the conference costs (i.e., conference bags, printing, welcome reception).  

There needs to be space set aside at the conference for publisher exhibition stalls.  Publishers should be asked to pay a fee to have an exhibition stall at the conference.   

The total cost of participating in European conferences can be a barrier to the participation of some delegates, particularly doctoral students or those from low-income countries. Reduced fee rates are intended to mitigate this, and the Conference Committee should consider further ways to reduce this total cost. 

 

5.2 Helpful hints

 

Publishers pay 400 Euros for an exhibition stand and the participation of one representative at the conference. This price includes the welcome reception and food and refreshment during the day.  For further attendees, these are charged the normal participant rate. Publishers may also be asked if they wish to attend the conference dinner and charged the normal rate for this. When Conferences are held in a middle / low income country the fees could be lower for a local publisher, on a case by case basis, with Board approval.

 

It has been helpful to provide in advance for publishers a summary of exactly what is provided for them at the conference, times for set-up and take down, and the relevant addresses for materials to be sent from publishers to the host University. This information could also be placed on the conference website.

 

The local organisational committee could explore whether members of the host university can provide accommodation in their homes and whether any grant funding or sponsorship is available in the host country to support conference participants who come from low-income countries or are students.

6 Carers policy

Carers for participants are not required to pay any conference expenses. Different Universities and countries may have different carer policies, and the local organisational committee needs to ensure that an appropriate policy is followed for the ECSWR.

7 Signature Theme and ECSWR Series Themes

Each local organisational committee needs to consider and propose a Signature Theme, for approval by the ESWRA Board at an early stage (approx.20 months prior to the conference). This should be ready and approved in time to develop a flyer to publicise the conference at the preceding ECSWR.  The Signature Theme will be distinctive to each particular conference. There are three guiding principles for the selection of themes for the European Conference for Social Work Research:

 

1. This is a research conference and therefore the focus of all conference themes must be on research, including its relationship to, and concerns with, social work practice, policy, education etc.  
2. Each annual conference should have a distinctive identity but also be readily identifiable as part of ESWRA’s flagship annual ECSWR series.   
3. It is important to achieve a balance between the distinctive focus of each Conference, and the inclusive principle that most high quality European (and sometimes wider) social work research should be eligible for presentation at the conference.   

 

Accompanying the Signature Theme will be a set of Series Themes – these are decided by the ESWRA Board and are common across the ECSWR series.  From time to time these will change, by the decision of the Board, but broadly they remain the same from one conference to the next.  

The Call for Papers for each conference should invite prospective presenters to submit abstracts addressing either the Signature Theme or one of the Series Themes, or any combination of these. Conference hosts may also choose to divide the Signature Theme into a maximum of 3 sub-themes, to enable and encourage specific foci.  It should be clear that all themes and sub-themes are concerned with social work research. The combination of Signature and Series Themes should also provide structure for parallel streams within the conference programme.  

Therefore, the ECSWR Series Themes are research-focused contributions that consider:

• Challenges and opportunities for social work research, practice, policy or education in contemporary contexts
• Social work research, policy, practice or education across boundaries – including across national, social, cultural, disciplinary and professional boundaries
• Exploring the impact and effectiveness of social work
• Social work history and identity as profession and discipline
• Theorising social work and/or social work research  
• Connecting social work research and practice, including co-creation of knowledge
• Methodological development, innovation and capacity building in social work research

 

8 Keynotes

8.1       Required

It is expected that keynote speakers will be selected and invited specifically to speak to the Signature Theme (with the exception that one keynote per conference may be dedicated either to innovation in research methodology or to a social work research topic particularly relevant to the host country).    

There are normally four keynote speakers. Issues of social work research relevance as well as inclusivity (i.e., gender, nationality) and whether individuals have previously given an ECSWR keynote need to be considered. It is also important that keynote speakers and their presentations relate to the European context; normally therefore, at least two of the four people should be based in European countries.  

The local organisational committee needs to prepare a document with a list of potential keynote speakers providing the rationale for this selection, including their profile, relevance with conference theme(s) and provisional presentation titles. This document should also include a contingency for alternative keynote speakers. It is highly important that the Board approves prospective keynote speakers first rather than after they have been approached.

Permission should be sought where possible from keynote speakers to record their presentation for online dissemination after the conference. Keynote speakers are not paid but are reimbursed expenses of travelling within Europe. Online delivery of keynote presentations by speakers based outside Europe will be encouraged in order to reduce environmental and cost impact.

8.2       Helpful hints

Some local organisational committees have bought or arranged sponsorship for small gifts to give keynote speakers in recognition of their contribution e.g., signed books, pictures. If this is planned, then it should be included in the conference budget.

The Board can be asked for suggestions of keynote speakers from across Europe (and beyond, though see above).

9 Conference website, App and publicity

9.1       Required

The conference website should be set up at an early stage (-14 months) including theme, subthemes, and relevant dates (call for papers, submissions etc). This needs to be constantly updated throughout the conference planning process.   It also needs to be user-friendly with appropriate information on registration, travel, access, accommodation, etc.

examples of previous websites can be found on the ESWRA website here: https://www.eswra.org/conference_main.php The conference flyer should be available for dissemination at the previous year’s conference. A representative of the local organisational committee (preferably the host Chair) should speak for approximately 5 minutes to present and publicise the conference at the final session of the previous year’s conference.

The conference needs to be well publicised throughout the year, but especially on important dates such as the call for papers and deadlines for submission as well as registration dates. The local organisational committee holds the main responsibility, in liaison with the ESWRA Executive Administrator, to identify various ways to disseminate information in national and international networks.  

It is also expected that a conference App or a Webapp will be made available for delegates’ easy access during the conference. This is particularly important for supporting other measures to minimise the conference environmental impact, such as avoiding the publication of unnecessary hard copies of the programme.  

The use of an online conference platform or another appropriate software may also be necessary to allow for online engagement with the conference.

9.2       Helpful hints

It is helpful for the local organisational committee to prepare regular items for the ESWRA Newsletter and publicise through the ESWRA website and social media such as Facebook and Twitter by contacting the ESWRA Executive Administrator at info@eswra.org  

Any printed conference flyers should preferably be sent in advance to the previous year’s local organisational committee for these to be made available in the previous conference.

Also, it has proved very attractive to include a short video introducing the venue and theme of the next year’s conference at the final session of the previous conference. examples of previous conferences’ video can be found here: https://www.eswra.org/conference_main.php.

10 SIG Programme

10.1     Required

SIG programme events at ECSWR are suggested and planned by the ESWRA Special Interest Groups (SIGs) – details of these are available at www.eswra.org. The planning and organisation of these should start at an early stage (15 month, please check timeline at the end) as venue booking and cost implications need to be considered.  

Attendance, including catering (coffee/tea and a light lunch) is charged with an additional cost to participants. The local organisational committee needs to include these costs in the conference budget taking into account participants coming from lower income countries and students. In addition, the local organisational committee needs to ensure the option for participants to attend and pay SIG programme events without attending and paying for the main conference.

SIG convenors should be contacted to ask if they wish to have a slot in the SIG programme (see below for possible arrangements for doing this). They should be asked to provide the event title early enough to be included in the planning of the venue booking and finalising the programme etc.  

The SIG programme can offer slots on either the morning or afternoon of the day that the conference begins or the day before, in order to give opportunity to participants to attend more than one event. However, SIG convenors can be offered the opportunity to plan, if they wish, a whole day event on the day that the conference begins. It is also suggested to offer a common one-hour slot as a networking lunch, where participants of the SIG Programme can be welcomed.

The Doctoral and Early Career Researchers SIG, however, should be allocated an event slot within the main conference programme itself so that their members can attend the other SIG Programme events too. 

10.2    Helpful hints

The ESWRA Administrator can provide SIG Convenors’ contact details and/or contact the Convenors directly to make any arrangements for the SIG Programme. The work involved to deliver a successful SIG Programme should not be under estimated, therefore it is strongly suggested that a named member of the local organisational committee takes responsibility for the SIG programme.

SIG Programme events are very popular and need careful planning, for example:

Year	Number of SIG events	Number of participants
2022 Amsterdam	17	286
2021 Bucharest	12	243
2019 Leuven	15	290
2018 Edinburgh	10	210
2017 Aalborg	11	195

 

A suggested fee for the SIG programme is 40 Euro for participants from higher income countries and 20 Euro for lower income countries, which includes tea/coffee drinks and lunch The fee rate needs to be discussed and agreed with ESWRA Treasurer and it may be different from this overall suggestion. (See appendix 5 for the SIG programme process).  

11 Conference Programme

11.1     Required

The conference programme is built throughout the process, and it needs to be publicised as early as possible. It has been a commitment to the conference to ensure that oral presentations, symposia and workshops allow for some depth and discussion. Oral presentations should not be less than 15 minutes and the structure of the programme needs to include 5 minutes at the end of each presentation for discussion or grouped at the end of each session. In addition, the programme needs to plan in extra time for transfer especially where different buildings are used.  

The programme also needs to provide space for:  

• the ESWRA General Assembly (1 hour 20 minutes at least) with space for 100 people;  
• ESWRA Annual Awards presentation during the opening ceremony  
• SIG Convenors Meeting (during first lunchtime);  
• SIG business meetings (preferably during the last lunchtime);  
• meeting for representatives of national research organisations/learned societies;  
• meeting of the Advisory Board of the ESWRA Publication Series (1.5 hours for 10 people);   
• Meeting for the Advisory Board of the European Social Work Research journal
• and a social programme.  

The conference programme (showing the session slots, with title of each presentation and lead presenter, and room/venue) should be both available online and printed in hard copy. This should include the SIG programme too. There are different variations of conference programme as well as options for access to this, such as using an application in portable devices, online version, etc. Proposals for the conference programme design need to be considered at an early stage and discussed within the local organisational committee.

11.2    Helpful hints

The social programme has usually included a welcome reception on the first evening that is included in the overall price (often with sponsorship – see above), and a conference dinner on the second night at additional cost to participants.  These social elements often reflect the culture and entertainment local to the conference.

Ideas for a printed version of the programme can be obtained by looking at previous conferences. These are available online in the relevant conference website, whilst ESWRA Executive Administrator will be also able to provide you with these.

12     Call for Papers

The Call for Papers should be issued at least 10 months before the conference and should close 5 months before the conference, to give sufficient time for review, registration, and program planning.  Submissions for oral presentations, symposia and posters should also be accepted.  

It is important that the local organisational committee takes all appropriate measures to maximize the number of highquality submissions. It is anticipated that around 50% of abstracts submitted may be acceptable; therefore, for the target of (450 base line) 500 delegates, the majority of whom will give presentations, this should reach 800 – 900 abstract submissions.

The Call for Papers should set out clearly the main conference theme and sub-themes.   

The Call should invite oral or poster presentations, symposia or workshops, which are research focused or based. They may be based on empirical studies, theoretical and literature-based enquiry, or other practice, policy or educational knowledge sources, and they may include:

• studies or theoretical discussion of research-based knowledge for social work practice and education, the epistemology of that knowledge and the implications for social work research;
• studies or theoretical papers on developing research methods or that show novel application of methods;
• policy, training, funding or systems to support research in social work;
• research ethics and the development of research governance systems;
• meta-analysis and other evaluative processes that support research and its use through the synthesis of knowledge; and
• bringing knowledge from research into practice, including publishing, evidence-based practice, evidenceinformed practice, research dissemination, knowledge transfer, knowledge exchange, implementation science, etc.

 

The Call for Papers should actively encourage SIGs contribution by inviting them to submit proposals for symposia and/or workshops. It should also include submission instructions as well as rules on the number of abstracts that each author can submit to the conference.  

It is important that the local organisational committee prepares and sends regular reminders for the Call, especially approaching the deadline for submission across to all identified advertising networks.  

12.1    Helpful hints

For submission instructions and guidance to authors, it may be helpful to look at previous conferences’ policy and subsequent evaluation and hosts’ suggestions. The Vice-Chair will be able to offer local organisational committee such insights.

13 Abstract review process

13.1     Required

The ESWRA Executive Administratorholds a list of abstract reviewers; the list can then be added to by the local organisational committee to include others, particularly other researchers local to the conference. Whilst it is not mandatory for the reviewers to be ESWRA members or to have attended the ECSWR previously, it is important that the local organisational committee provides a frame of reference according to the ESWRA’s profile and the ECSWR’s identity.

Potential reviewers should be contacted early, to confirm their willingness to act as a reviewer, their particular areas of research expertise as well as the themes they would like to review the abstracts on. After the reviewing has been completed, all reviewers should be sent certificates to recognize their role on the review panel.

A blind scoring system should then be used by reviewers to assess individual abstracts or symposia based on quality. Symposia abstracts should be reviewed as a whole. Scoring should use a rating scale from 0-5 (rather than just accept/reject) to allow finer grained judgments to be made. Guidance to reviewers should clarify explicitly the meaning of scale points, for example: 1 = very poor, 2 = poor, 3 = satisfactory, 4 = good, 5 = excellent.  

The ESWRA Executive Administratorand Vice-Chair can provide previous review forms used in the ECSWR.

On completion of reviewing, it is important the Co-Chairs of the Conference Committee (local Chair and ESWRA ViceChair) review the final lists of accepted and rejected papers to take into account the whole picture of the abstract selection. They should consider issues such as social work research relevance, inclusivity and representation from countries that are under-represented in ESWRA (the ESWRA Vice-Chair will have details of these).

In addition, the local organisational committee needs to consider a) the maximum number of symposia and workshops accepted and b) the number of presentations included in the suggested symposia/workshops, taking into account their impact on the set of slots for oral presentations.   

13.2    Helpful hints

It is useful to consider the registration process and dates to ensure that those with an accepted abstract are given priority booking.  It is also useful to have a pool of abstracts that are on a ‘reserve’ list in case of cancellations; authors of ‘reserve list’ papers should be notified of this status and advised they will be invited to present should space in the conference program arise.

In case that a paper shows sufficient quality and promise but is not accommodated within the program, the local organisational committee may wish to consider offering a poster presentation instead.

Where the local organisational committee wishes to purchase an abstract review online system, it is strongly recommended by former conference hosts that they opt for the professional version of EasyChair or similar system. The free or cheaper versions of EasyChair have proven to be difficult to use. However, this may involve cost implications; therefore, the local organisational committee needs to consider their option and include it in the conference budget.

The ESWRA Administrator has examples of previous certificates sent to reviewers.

14     Book of Abstracts and Special Issue for the European Social Work Research journal

14.1     Required 

A book of abstracts (even a first version) should be available online before the conference which can then be finalized and publicized with an ISBN following the conference. The Board – on environmental grounds - actively discourages printing individual copies of the book of abstracts for the conference participants.

A special issue of the European Social Work Research journal is expected to be published, following the conference. This needs to be considered early in the conference planning and hosts need to send their proposal with the issue’s theme, guest editors, timeline, and other practicalities for Board’s approval prior to liaising with the journal

15      Registration

The conference website should have a link to the conference registration.  The local organisational committee will usually run the registration process either through their institution or a third party contracted to the local organisational committee The local organisational committee is responsible for managing the third party, (except when other arrangements have agreed) and will pass regular updates on participants to the local organisational committee

16 Cancellation policy

Cancellations are normally accepted until the early bird deadline, against an administration fee of EUR 100.  

After the early bird deadline, cancellations cannot be accepted, but substitutes will be accepted at any time provided that the local organisational committee is informed of the change, and that the substitute participant has not been previously registered.

In special cases refund may be possible at the discretion of the local organisational committee. If the paper is not accepted, then the conference fee can be reimbursed without deduction. However, at least one author for each paper must be registered at any time. The registration will be cancelled, if the local organisational committee has not received the payment by the latest two weeks before the conference.

17        GDPR Compliance

It is expected that the hosts and their institution will hold liability for GDPR compliance according to the EU regulations.

18       Environmental Statement In section  

It is expected that hosts and their institution will try to minimise the environmental impact of the conference as much as possible, for example:  reducing the amount of paper used; keeping to a minimum plastic bottles and food packaging; avoiding offering expendable items such as conference bags; encouraging more sustainable travel where appropriate.  etc.

19       Risk management process

It is recommended that a risk management process is developed, if required a draft risk management process is available from the ESWRA Executive Administrator.

 

 

 

Appendices  

                1          Required actions based on a timeline 

 

TIME	ACTION	To be discussed with Vice-chair	To be approved by BOARD	Comment
-24 mth	Board accepts conference bid and informs of decision (April Board)	/	/
-23 mth	Formation of a local organisational committee	/	/
-23 mth	Establish contact with vice-chair and set a provisional plan of meetings	YES	/
-23 mth	Conference dates: Set dates of the conference	YES	YES
-22 mth	Venue: Start securing an appropriate venue	YES	YES
-22 mth	Accommodation: Start negotiations with hotels etc and secure rooms	YES	NO
-21 mth	Services: Start exploring services related to the conference (catering etc)	YES	NO
-21 mth	Budget: Start drafting a detailed budget	YES	Not yet
-20 mth	Theme and subthemes: Start developing conference theme and subthemes	YES	Not yet
-18 mth	Conference and SIG programme: Start developing	YES	Not yet
-17 mth	Progress report: Present all progress at Board meeting (November Board) and receive comments and suggestions	YES	YES
-16 mth	Budget: Continue developing the detailed budget (with Board comments)	YES	Not yet
-15 mth	Theme: Develop conference theme and include association subthemes	YES	YES
-15 mth	Time plan: Develop a conference time plan (CFP, deadlines, early-bird …)	YES	YES
-15 mth	Keynotes: Suggestions for keynotes	YES	YES
-15 mth	SIG Programmes: Establish communication with SIGs on SIG programmes	YES	NO
-14 mth	Flyers: flyers of the conference set, printed and sent to the upcoming ECSWR	YES	NO
-14 mth	Website: Set an initial website of the conference including theme, subthemes, relevant dates (call for papers, submissions etc)	YES	NO
-13 mth	Start to develop conference App and other software (such as abstracts management platform)	YES	NO
-12 mth	Progress report: Present all progress at Board meeting (April Board). Board gives final green light on major issues, such as budget which is agreed and approved	YES	YES
-12 mth	Conference presentation: Present the upcoming conference	YES	NO
-12 mth	Website: Conference website published	YES	NO
-12 mth	Services: Detailed plan of needed services, contact and sign contracts	YES	YES
-11 mth	Sponsors: Start seeking for sponsors (including local governments and universities)	YES	NO

16

TIME	ACTION	To be discussed with Vice-chair	To be approved by BOARD	Comment
-11 mth	Advertising: Start advertising the conference, also together with ESWRA (website, newsletters etc)	YES	NO
-11 mth	Keynotes: Contact keynotes and have a final list of confirmed keynotes	YES	NO
-10 mth	SIG Programmes: start developing the SIG programme with SIGs	YES	NO
-10 mth	Call for papers: Publish and disseminate CFP  Disseminate regular reminders up to the deadline.	YES	YES
-10 mth	Website: Fully developed website published	YES	YES
-9 mth	Publishers: Start contacting the publishers and other bodies present at the conference	YES	NO
-9 mth	Reviewers: Establish contact with pool of reviewers	YES	NO
-8 mth	Conference and SIG programme: Develop a detailed programme plan	YES	YES
-8 mth	Conference practicalities: develop details in the program, such as awards, workshops with publishers etc.; as well as organization of the Board meeting ahead and after the conference, meetings of relevant groups etc.	YES	NO
-7/6 m	Reviewers: Distribute papers for reviewing	YES	NO
-6 mth	Conference practicalities: Organize practicalities, such as conference volunteers, keynotes’ plane tickets, social programme etc
-5 mth	Website: Registration available	YES	NO
-5 mth	Notifications: Send notifications to authors	YES	YES
-5 mth	Conference and SIG programme: Finalize the detailed program	YES	YES
-4 mth	Conference chairs: Contact persons to chair sessions	YES	NO
-4 mth	Book of abstracts: Develop book of abstracts	YES	NO
-3 mth	Conference practicalities: Continue to attend to conference practicalities	YES	NO
-3 mth	Finalise conference App	YES	NO
+ 1 mth	Notifications: Mail participants with thank you, stats about the conference, success of the conference, any publications and further events	YES	NO
+ 1 mth	Report: Prepare final conference report, including detailed budget and stats	YES	YES

 

-24

-22

-20

-18

-16

-14

-12

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

Board accepts conference bid and informs of decision (April Board)

Formation of a local host committee

Establish contact with vice-chair and set a provisional plan of meetings

Conference dates: Set dates of the conference

Venue: Start securing an appropriate venue

Accommodation: Start negotiations with hotels etc and secure rooms

Services: Start exploring services related to the conference (catering etc)

Theme and subthemes: Develop conference theme and subthemes

Budget: Start drafting a detailed budget

Progress report: Present all progress at Board meeting & receive comments etc

Budget: Continue developing the detailed budget (with Board comments)

Time plan: Develop a conference time plan (CFP, deadlines, early-bird …)

Keynotes: Suggestions for keynotes to Board for approval

Flyers: flyers of the conference set, printed and sent to the upcoming ECSWR

Website: Set an initial website of the conference

Progress report: Present all progress to Board. Board gives final ok on major issues

Conference presentation: present the upcoming conference

Services: Detailed plan of needed services, contact and sign contracts

Sponsors: Start seeking for sponsors (including local governments and universities)

Advertising: Start advertising the conference with ESWRA

Keynotes: contact keynotes and have a final list of confirmed keynotes

Pre-conferences: start developing the pre-conference program with SIGs

Call for papers: publish and disseminate CFP

Publishers: start contacting the publishers and other bodies present at the conference

Reviewers: establish contact with pool of reviewers

Develop details in the program, Board meeting, meetings of relevant groups etc.

Reviewers: Distribute papers for reviewing

Organize practicalities e.g. conference volunteers, keynotes’ plane tickets, social program

Website: Registration available

Notifications: Sent notifications to authors

Conference and pre-conference program: finalize the detailed program

Conference chairs: Contact persons to chair sessions

Book of abstracts: develop book of abstracts

Conference practicalities: Continue to attend to conference practicalities

Email participants

Report: prepare final conference report, including detailed budget and stats

 

2          Overview GDP economies 

EU classification based on Eurostat data (accessed on July 2018)

Higher income countries 

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, France, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Lower income countries 

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia,

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Greece, Italy, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania,

Hungary, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine

Other countries in the world classification based on World Bank data (accessed July 2018)

Higher-income economies (GDP per capita >20.000)

Australia, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Korea Rep, Kuwait, Macau, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, The Bahamas, United Arab Emirates, United States

Lower/ middle-income economies (GDP per capita < 20.000)

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,

Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile,

China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo Republic, Congo Democratic Republic, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti,

Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia,

Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica,

Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi,

Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco,

Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua

New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the

Grenadines, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South

Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

                 

3          Memorandum of Understanding  

Memorandum of Understanding between European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA) and  

HOST UNIVERSITY FULL NAME Purpose 

 

The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to set out our agreement around holding the XTH

European Conference of Social Work Research at UNIVERSITY, LONG DATE, hosted by the DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY   

 

The ESWRA Board will: 

 

• Approve the preliminary budget, and final conference budget, submitted by the Local Organisational Committee.
• Provide active support and guidelines throughout the conference planning and organisation, mainly through the ESWRA Vice-Chair who co-Chairs the Local Organisational Committee.
• Hold liability for the finances of the conference. The host university will not be liable for any losses from the conference that are the result of budgeting and other processes approved by the Association.  
• Approve the general conference theme, any subthemes and keynote speakers.  
• Agree with the host university arrangements for administering the conference registration process and act in accordance with the agreement.  
• Provide guidelines and generic criteria for the review of conference abstracts.

 

The University will: 

• Manage the planning and organisation of ECSWR 20XX under the leadership of the host University  
• Establish a local organisational committee in accordance with the ESWRA Bylaws and ECSWR Guidelines. The local organisational committee will be co-chaired by the Vice-Chair of the Association and the lead representative of the host University. In addition to the Co-Chairs, the local organisational committee will consist of at least four other members, comprising persons representing the university and qualified to manage the planning, programming and conduct of the conference. With the exception of the Association’s Vice-Chairperson, the members of the local organisational committee will be drawn from and appointed by the host University.   
• Administer the conference registration.
• Transfer to ESWRA a balance of at least 20,000 Euros as well as the membership fees of the conference participants.   
• Produce and provide to the ESWRA Treasurer a comprehensive conference budget in the form of projected income and expenditure.  The conference budget should be in accordance with the above transfer to ESWRA and the fee rates outlined in the Guidelines for Conference Hosts and should include any proposed honoraria payments. The budget must be submitted via the ESWRA Treasurer for the approval by the Association’s Board.
• Provide appropriate resources and make appropriate leadership, management and administrative arrangements to successfully deliver the conference, and to safeguard against any risks that may arise through changed individual or institutional circumstances.   
• Agree with ESWRA arrangements for administering conference registration process and act in accordance with the agreement.
• Make all necessary arrangements for hosting the conference, hiring of rooms, conference advertising, abstract submission and review process, programme development, book of abstracts, social programme, preconference room hire, and catering.
• Submit proposed conference themes, subthemes and keynote speakers to the ESWRA Board for approval.
• Transfer to ESWRA any remaining balance from the conference budget, by the October following the conference in this case [date]

 

Signed on behalf of the ESWRA Board	Signed on behalf of the University
Chair	Co-Chair
Date:	Date:

 

4          Process for managing the reviews of abstracts. 

 

Assumptions:

• There are usually 800 – 900 abstracts that need to be reviewed.
• The review process needs to be double blind.
• This means there will be a maximum (900x2) 1800+ reviews which need to be completed.
• Each reviewer is asked to review around 15 abstracts
• This means there needs to be a minimum of 120 reviewers identified and ready to review by the deadline for submission of abstracts.

 

Process	Task
The reviewers should be able to list their areas of expertise so that abstracts can be allocated to them. The areas of expertise are listed as the subthemes of the conference (e.g. methodology, history, not by topic areas such as adoption or mental health). The list of expertise should be set up on the conference management tool so that reviewers can select them.	Set up list of expertise on conference management tool so that reviewers can select these when they add their details. Should also include how many reviews they are willing to review (if not 15).
Reviewers should be contacted to see if they are willing to review abstracts for the conference.	Draft email for reviewers. Include link on email for them to accept. Link should take them to the conference management tool where they can enter their details and areas of expertise.
When reviewers agree to review, they need an (automated) email thanking them for agreeing to be part of the process.	Text of email to be prepared. Mechanism set up on conference management tool to send automatic email.
Ensure 80 reviewers are identified before the deadline for abstract submission	• Repeat emails and explore local and international reviewers for volunteers.
3-4 days before the deadline for abstracts – reviewers need an email to remind and prepare them that they will shortly be receiving the abstracts for review.	• Text of email to be prepared
Deadline for submitting abstracts – reviews automatically allocated to reviewers according to areas of expertise. Up to 15 reviews	• Mechanism set up on tool to allocate reviews automatically.
Few days before deadline for reviews to be completed. Reminder email to warn reviewers that deadline is approaching.	Text of email to be prepared. Mechanism set up on tool to send out automatically.
Email reminding reviewers of deadline for submitting reviews.	Text of email to be prepared. Mechanism set up to send out.
Some reviewers will need following up	• Identify person who will follow up for late reviews.
Some reviews will need to be reallocated to ensure they are completed	• Additional reviewers to be identified and ready to complete reviews at short notice.
Moderation meeting to agree which abstracts are accepted and rejected. Full committee. 2-day process. Example process: Separated papers according to theme. Worked in pairs for the hour to focus on one theme Arranged 60 titles per pair in groups of four for slots = draft schedule.	Arrange moderation meeting Ensure full committee are present. Have full reports from conference management tool.

 

5         Process for establishing a SIG programme (V2.0) 

 

Assumptions:

• The SIG programme is an important part of the overall conference.
• SIGs provide a vital means for researchers with similar interests to meet up and collaborate.
• The work of the SIGs also provides an important part of feeding into the main conference.
• SIG convenors represent a key point of contact for each SIG as they will be liaising with the SIG members and developing ideas in conjunction with them.
• With this in mind, it is assumed that some SIGs may need additional support to develop their events for the SIG programme.
• The SIG programme needs to be organised in advance of the main programme (so that the details can be included on the registration page of the website and delegates can select which event they wish to attend).
• The number of SIG events is growing an average of 15 SIGs a year with 230 plus participants.   
• If there are questions which relate specifically to the SIGs and which cannot be answered by the local committee, then the Chair of the SIG Development Committee on the Board can be approached for advice.

 

Process	Task
Establish leadership for SIG programme	• Identify a lead member of the Local Organisation Committee to lead on the SIG programme
Establish contact with the Board	• Contact the Chair of the Chair of the SIG Development Committee
SIG convenors should be contacted well in advance to find out their plans for events during the SIG programme	Agree text of invitation to take part in the SIG programme. Obtain list of SIGs, SIG convenors and contact details from Executive Administrator.
Set an early date for SIG convenors to submit proposals for SIG events. Allow additional time to support some SIG convenors to develop their ideas.	Set an early date for submitting proposals. Send invitation to SIG convenors.
SIG convenors will send their proposals to the SIG lead of the Local Organisation Committee,   Proposals should include: Whether their SIG wishes to have a half day or full day event; How many participants they expect to have; A proposed title of the event
Remind SIG convenors that the deadline is approaching	Text of reminder to be prepared and sent to SIG convenors: One month in advance of the deadline Two weeks in advance of the deadline
	• 3 days in advance of the deadline
The SIG programme should be prepared in advance of the registration date	Accept / reject proposals. Contact SIG convenors to inform them of the outcome. Book rooms that are large enough for each SIG event. Ensure SIG programme is uploaded to website. Ensure registration page includes the options and prices to register for SIG events.
Include refreshments in SIG programme	Tea and coffee included in price. Small additional fee for lunch
Include short welcome speech in lunch break of SIG programme.  The welcome speech was introduced at ECSWR 2019 Leuven and was well received and appreciated by those participating in the SIG- Program.	The welcome speech is delivered by:   Local Organisation Committee SIG lead and ESWRA Chair of the SIG Development Committee