Call for Non-Paper Sessions

For the past two years, we have held non-paper sessions as an experiment, hoping the community would embrace them as another avenue for participation and further enrich the SIGCOMM conference experience. Given the continued positive feedback, we will continue organizing and expanding the non-paper sessions for SIGCOMM 2026.

We encourage community members to submit proposals for exciting and edifying sessions that will help broaden the scope of ideas exchanged at SIGCOMM. The expectation is that these non-paper sessions will:

• encourage interactive exchanges among community members
• attract participants with diverse identities, ideas, and expertise, helping us reshape and reimagine the future of SIGCOMM
• facilitate the creation of special-interest sub-groups, catalyzing innovation in ambitious, unexplored, or underexplored research topics under the SIGCOMM umbrella

Session Format

We seek proposals for both technical and non-technical non-paper sessions to be presented in 30-minute, 45-minute, or 1-hour durations.

This is a chance to innovate new content into the SIGCOMM program that would not otherwise have a home in the traditional program. As such, these sessions should take a variety of formats with an emphasis on audience engagement and interactivity. Some examples of possible formats include, but are not limited to:

• debates
• live polling
• ask-me-anything talks from various perspectives throughout the community
• mini hackathons
• moderated panels

Proposal Submission Guidelines

Submissions are in the form of a 350-word abstract followed by answers to the following questions on HotCRP:

• Who is the proposal's target audience (100 words)?
• How does the proposal benefit the SIGCOMM community (200 words)?
• What is the concrete outcome you envision the session producing (200 words)? The specific outcome could take the form of a policy recommendation, a quantifiable metric on community sentiment, or community exposure to a new tool or technology.
• What are the specific logistical requirements for the proposed session and related flexibilities (200 words)? Sessions requiring substantial infrastructure may be difficult to support.

The submission must identify which format and duration is preferred.

• Interactive formats are preferred. If more than half of the session is allocated to traditional presentations, the proposal should justify why this is necessary.
• Moderated panels must be 1-hr in duration.
• Submissions should not pertain to topics that are more appropriate for this year's workshops or tutorials.
• Proposal submissions are not anonymous.

Review Process and Criteria

• Criteria: Submissions will be reviewed on the two following criteria:
  • the relevance and importance to the SIGCOMM community
  • the degree of structural audience engagement evident in the proposal, if applicable
• Session development round: Organizers of tentatively accepted sessions are asked to submit a short session design document that elaborates on details of the selected session, including but not limited to a more detailed session structure, concrete plans for achieving the proposed outcome, identification of panelists, and detailed audience engagement mechanisms, if applicable.
• Submissions that successfully develop their proposal will be presented as Non-Paper Sessions at the conference.

Important Dates