Call For Site Proposals IMC 2020

The ACM IMC Steering Committee (IMC SC) is soliciting site proposals for the 2020 conference.

Please provide information as per the outline below. Depending on the pool of submitted proposals, the selection process will proceed in several “rounds,” with each round asking additional information and narrowing the set of candidates. This document focuses on what is expected in an initial proposal.

Site proposals should be less than 2 pages and should provide the following information:

• Site city: Locations generally alternate between North America and the rest of the world. Our initial preference for 2020 is therefore North America. However, depending on the submitted proposals the IMC SC may alter this rotation. See below for site city guidelines.

• Conference General Chair & organizing committee: A proposal is generally made by the proposed conference general chair(s). IMC conferences typically rely on a team of two general chairs, both of whom should be recognized members of the data networking community. One of the chairs must be local to the site where the conference will be held. For this chair, a statement of support from their home institution and possibly administrative support, may eventually be required.

  A proposal should also include a partial list of committee members that will play a role in organizing the conference. The PC chairs are NOT part of a proposal, as they are selected separately by the IMC SC.

• Potential dates: IMC is generally held during one of the last two weeks of October or the first two weeks of November. The exact dates will be selected by the IMC SC in consultation with the general chairs, program chairs, and the broader community. Proposals should indicate dates that may have major local conflicts, e.g., important local events, school holidays, etc., that would interfere with either the proposed site, hotel availability, travel costs, or the general chairs’ participation.

Site city guidelines

1. The city should be located near a major international airport, within 1-2 hours of regular train service and/or 45 minutes of cab/shuttle service. A major international airport should have at least two airlines with regular international service to the 4 major continents of IMC attendees: Asia, Europe, North and South America.

2. The city should have one or more venues for ~250 attendees, including side-venues for any concurrent workshops of less than 100. (IMC has occasionally one or two workshops a day prior to the main conference.) Each venue should support one or two large screens with unobstructed views. Auditorium room layout is preferred. The venues should also include ample space outside the conference room, to facilitate interactions among attendees. This space should be able to accommodate food and beverages for coffee breaks. In addition, it should be able to hold 30-40 student poster displays (either hanging on the walls or supported on easels) that would ideally remain for the entire duration of the conference (in order to give students several opportunities to attract an audience for their work).

3. Facilities capable of serving lunch for up to 250 attendees should also be available in reasonable proximity to the conference room(s).

4. The city should have hotels supporting ~300 people (attendees and their guests) within easy access to the possible venue (less than 15 minutes time, preferably within walking distance or at most 1 bus/subway/tram stop).

5. The city should have potential venues for a reception and banquet dinner. A sample list of possible venues with a 1-line description addressing logistics (time to get there, need for transportation) would be useful. Transportation to these events should be less than 30 minutes each way.

For items 2-4, what is required is general information, not necessarily a detailed financial proposal with specific venues already identified. There is no a priori preference for a university location, even if they often offer more affordable solutions. Convention center or hotel venues, when they provide an economical solution, are perfectly valid options. Submission instructions

Want to know what it’s like to organize IMC?

If you’re attending IMC 2019, why not come and talk to one of this year’s general chairs? They’d be more than happy to tell you all about organizing IMC!

How to submit

Send proposals to acm-imc-sc@sigcomm.org before November 15, 2019. If you do not get an acknowledgment within a week of your submission, you should inquire with the IMC SC.