World Meeting Planning Procedures 

Planning of World Meetings should start at least two and a half years prior to the meeting.  The following guidelines should be followed by anyone interested in hosting an ISBA World Meeting.  For questions, please contact the ISBA Program Council at program-council@bayesian.org

  1. Timing: The biennial ISBA World Meetings occur in even-numbered years. World Meetings are typically held during June or July at a time of year that is conducive to maximizing attendance, although timing may vary depending on the local circumstances of the chosen venue.  Please consult the ISBA calendar or other society calendars in advance to avoid conflicts with other meetings.
  2. Venue:  World meetings should be held in locations easily accessible to a large proportion of our membership around the world, and should rotate geographically.
  3. Requests for Hosting:  
    • A local organizing committee and chair needs to be in place before ISBA commits to a venue. This local organizing committee has primary responsibility for the usual organizational tasks and local funding of the meeting. Pre-Proposals for Meetings will be invited starting from 5 years in advance of the meeting and should provide as much detail as possible for meeting expenses (conference facilities,  A/V, excursions, receptions, refreshments, conference dinner, etc) broken down by fixed costs and per/participant costs, suggested registration fee, expected participant costs (hotels, shuttles), and sources of revenue (expected and committed).
    • Local organizers for accepted pre-proposals will develop plans for local institutional funding to provide some funds for the running of the meeting and will be asked to submit a Full Proposal to the Program Council.
    • The schedule for submitting proposals will be announced by the Program Council in due course. Roughly:
      1. Pre-Proposals for hosting the ISBA world meeting will be announced 4 years in advance.
      2. Full Proposals for hosting the ISBA world meeting will be invited at most 3 months after pre-proposals are received
      3. At most 3 months after receiving full proposals the Program Council presents a report to the Board of Directors, which takes the final decision about the ISBA world meeting.
  4. Budgets & Planning: 
    • Meetings should be planned to be revenue neutral; ISBA will provide backstopping in case of a loss, but will also keep any profits generated, unless a prior agreement is in place.  To control costs and because of financial liability, ISBA must approve all budgetary decisions and be involved in contracts. Please consult with the program council for the expected number of attendees.
    • Registration for the World Meeting will use the ISBA Membership system so that we can allow membership signup and membership discounts.  Please account for 3% of the registration fees to cover credit card/bank transaction fees in budgets.
    • Abstract submission and travel support requests will be handled through the ISBA website.
    • Conference website should be hosted on the ISBA server
    • ISBA Members must receive a discount in registration fees (suggested discount equivalent to the annual membership dues) which can be provided automatically using the ISBA Event software; discounts for local societies should be described in the budget.
    • Budgets or any major changes in budgets must be approved by the Program Council and Executive Committee
    • All contracts must be approved and signed by a member of the  ISBA Executive Committee or their designee
  5. Scientific Committee:  The ISBA Program Council will appoint a Scientific Committee to plan the invited program
    • Finance Committee:  The ISBA Program Council may appoint a Finance Committee to oversee fund-raising and meeting finances.
    • Travel Award decisions will be made by the Program Council
  6. Funding:  As World Meetings are the highest priority, ISBA will commit a budget to ensure junior participant travel awards via the dedicated categorized awards (Graduate Travel Award Fund, ISBA Lifetime Members Junior Researcher Award, Pilar Iglesias Fund) and with supplemental finance from general ISBA funds. In addition to the resources raised by local organizers, ISBA generates travel grant proposals to raise funds from institutions and government agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health in the United States. These grants assist with travel costs of student and junior researcher participants, especially those coming from developing countries. ISBA’s Program Council, through the chair and any organizing committees created for World Meetings, has the responsibility for generating proposals and soliciting funds from all possible sources. The Program Council has access to successful past proposals and successful strategies from one World Meeting committee to the next.
  7. Budgets & Planning: 
    • Meetings should be planned to be revenue neutral; ISBA will provide backstopping in case of a loss, but will also keep any profits generated, unless a prior agreement is in place.  To control costs and because of financial liability, ISBA must approve all budgetary decisions and be involved in contracts. Please consult with the program council for the expected number of attendees.
    • Registration for the World Meeting will use the ISBA Membership system so that we can allow membership signup and membership discounts.  Please account for 3% of the registration fees to cover credit card/bank transaction fees in budgets.
    • Abstract submission and travel support requests will be handled through the ISBA website.
    • Conference website should be hosted on the ISBA server
    • ISBA Members must receive a discount in registration fees (suggested discount equivalent to the annual membership dues) which can be provided automatically using the ISBA Event software; discounts for local societies should be described in the budget.
    • Budgets or any major changes in budgets must be approved by the Program Council and Executive Committee
    • All contracts must be approved and signed by a member of the  ISBA Executive Committee or their designee
  8. Scientific Committee:  The ISBA Program Council will appoint a Scientific Committee to plan the invited program
  9. Finance Committee:  The ISBA Program Council may appoint a Finance Committee to oversee fund-raising and meeting finances. 
  10. Travel Award decisions will be made by the Program Council