Thank you for the many interesting and thought-provoking discussions over the past few weeks related to IEEE/ComSoc conferences. It is good that we have the freedom to openly debate these issues on this IEEE mail list, in spite of some false, baseless accusations against ComSoc and the IEEE. (Anyone can join this TCCC list, without any restriction to IEEE or ComSoc membership.) The suggestions and feedback have been useful to your volunteer ComSoc officers (the current ones and the new group starting on January 1). Some progress has been made over the years in attempting to control conference costs, but more can be and needs to be done.
As VP-Conferences for ComSoc over the past two years (less than two weeks left in my term), I have had limited exposure to a large number of conferences. Most ComSoc conferences have "steering committees" (made up of hard-working volunteers) that I suggest you contact if there are specific issues you want to discuss related to a particular event (our events are quite diverse). And they also are the ones that I urge you to contact to please volunteer your assistance in making our conferences better, including bringing your site and cost-reduction proposals. We are a volunteer-driven organization. The conference steering committees make the decisions (including setting registration fees) and balance the various tradeoffs in an attempt to put on a good event for attendees.
Fred Bauer (ComSoc Director - Conference Development) recently posted an excellent summary of some answers to questions that have been raised in TCCC postings over the past few weeks. As I finish my term as VP-Conferences (and hand off the job to Khaled B. Letaief), I would like to summarize a few of my own observations from two years of service as an IEEE/ComSoc volunteer. I've certainly heard the whole spectrum of feedback (usually conflicting) relative to many of our sponsored events. Some of the items overlap with things already mentioned by others in the course of this discussion.
1. Location, location, location …
It is important to pick the right dates and location for a conference (including the particular facility within a city), since that has a major impact on the overall cost of a conference. I've noticed, however, that some conferences in the more expensive (and, to some people, more attractive) cities often have had the best attendance (and largest number of paper submissions). In addition, some of our events have done quite poorly during years that they were held in (often less expensive) "less attractive" cities. No, I'm not advocating having all our conferences in the most expensive locations. I'm just mentioning that some conferences have decided to occasionally hold their event in what turned out to be an expensive location and often with good success (for those able to attend). The steering committees that I'm familiar with do take into consideration the anticipated costs when selecting a site and picking conference dates. No surprise, their decisions won't please all the people all the time. Across ComSoc, we need to make sure there are a variety of options.
2. No free lunch.
Food and beverage costs are typically major components of a conference budget (impacting registration fees). For instance, when I volunteered to chair ICC2002, the site (New York City, Times Square) had already been selected. In many ways, it was an excellent location for a conference. However, I was shocked to see the "incredible" food and beverage costs at the hotel (way out of line with the conferences in less expensive locations before and after ICC2002). It was very difficult to manage. As I mentioned above, good conference steering committees are very important: they are usually an experienced source of valuable assistance in putting together conference budgets, planning for food&beverage, audio/visual and meeting room expenses, etc.
3. Escalation of expectations – on the part of both attendees and volunteers.
Often a particular event will one year do something or provide something for attendees, and the following years' events then feel obligated to match it or increase it. If a conference provides cookies one year during coffee breaks, we hear complaints from attendees the following year if there are no cookies. Likewise with many other conference items. Attendees probably won't realize that one year a conference might have been able to do/provide something because it was able to raise a lot of corporate patronage money (or maybe it was in a less expensive location). If the next year's event doesn't raise as much support, then they might end up raising registration fees in order to maintain a certain level of attendee expectation. This level sometimes escalates over time. In addition, there sometimes is an escalation of expectations on the part of conference organizing committee volunteers. For instance, if one year there is a "victory" or "celebration" dinner at the end of a conference for the organizing committee volunteers, then there will be some pressure to thank the volunteers similarly (or better) the following year(s). Recognizing this as a potential problem, we have been working on a set of "volunteer recognition guidelines" for ComSoc events (trying to make sure there is some consistency across events).
4. One size will not fit all.
We need different conferences for different markets and target audiences. There are different expectations across the community. There needs to be enough different alternatives available (including some "lean events"). Since there certainly already are enough events, hopefully we can make them diverse enough so that together they will meet the wide variety of needs and interests. Change is difficult. One of our sponsored events did move to a cheaper setting this year to help lower the attendee costs and there were lots of complaints from many of the attendees (the event didn't live up to their "standards" and "expectations" from previous years). Also, there sometimes are complaints when a particular conference tries to change its nature and attract other types of attendees (e.g., industrial vs. academic participation). In ComSoc, we have a group (led by a volunteer Director) that looks at various opportunities for "conference development" (including events on new topics and in new regions - to help address some of the travel-related issues). With the explosion in the number of conferences, though, perhaps we also need some conference "undevelopment."
5. Lower-cost (virtual) events; online conferences, etc.
We have started to take some small steps in this direction over the past few years. There are plans to do more. The quality needs to be very good in order for it to be successful. I'm sure there is expertise within the TCCC community that can help in this area.
6. What is a conference? What do we want it to be?
It is different and needs to be more than just publishing a collection of papers in a database such as IEEE Xplore. In recent years, though, many authors did view it as just a place to publish, which led to increasing numbers of no-shows for some events. Yes, I know there sometimes are legitimate reasons/excuses for not being able to attend a conference. From our experience at instituting a no-show policy this year, we learned a lot of lessons (and heard a wide range of excuses). We are still working on fine tuning the no-show policies/procedures (considering options such as requiring presentations to be by an author, as mentioned in this TCCC discussion). We recognize that the on-site presentations and networking are critical aspects of a conference.
7. Corporate patronage is a big help in managing a conference budget and lowering registration fees. Sometimes, though, the ultimate patronage support is hard to predict or guarantee in advance when conference registration fees are set. Even during these difficult economic times I saw that, with the right connections, some members of various conference organizing committees still managed to raise excellent amounts of sponsorship. Hence, again, the value of a strong organizing and steering committee.
8. Find ways to attract non-author paying attendees.
It would be great if the papers and presentations at our conferences were of such quality and interest that non-authors would actually want to attend and listen to them. Today, most of our conferences only attract authors. The more non-authors coming and paying registration fees, the lower fees for everyone. Yes, part of the problem is that many of us cannot get permission to attend an event if we are not presenting something. However, "high quality" technical events can hopefully attract more non-authors.
Over the past several years, I think we have made a number of improvements across ComSoc and the IEEE in the conferences arena. Much of it probably "behind the scenes." With lots of good suggestions (such as many in these TCCC postings), I am sure there will be (and I look forward to) further improvements in the coming years.
Happy Holidays to all,
-Mark Karol
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