ISHPSSB off-year workshops began in 2006 as a way for members of the ISHPSSB community to meet in smaller settings outside of the general meeting. Topics and themes have ranged from professional development to focused research topics.
ISHPSSB invites proposals for Off-Year Workshops taking place during 2022. These may be stand-alone workshops, or add-on workshops adjacent to or incorporated with other meetings. ISHPSSB will help publicize sponsored Off-Year Workshops, provide advice and consultation for organizers, and include a description of the Workshop on society webpages. Limited funding is available to help offset graduate student travel costs for ISHPSSB members.
Consideration for funded proposals will begin March 1. Funded proposals received after March 1 will still be considered on a rolling basis while funds remain. Proposals for unfunded sponsorship are accepted through 2022. Please submit your proposals at this link.
ISHPSSB Off-Year Workshops should aim to
- Drive new ISHPSSB membership;
- Engage and include current ISHPSSB members;
- Support and expand ISHPSSB diversity and inclusion goals;
- Promote professional development and mentoring;
- Pilot hybrid or other creative formats that might be used at general ISHPSSB meetings or other future off-year workshops; or
- Embody and support ISHPSSB’s commitment to interdisciplinary research and community building.
Modalities of Off-Year Workshop proposals we encourage
- Continuation of traditional off-year workshops: E.g., focused interdisciplinary ISHPSSB workshops that provide opportunities for members to continue engaging with each other in off-years, or aim to develop new interdisciplinary research communities.
- Add-on Workshops: Workshops adjacent to or incorporated with other workshops/conferences, especially meetings of cognate professional societies of biologists, historians, or social scientists. For example, invite biologists and other scholars attending that meeting to spend an extra day or evening at the meeting to focus on ISHPSSB topics, or work with meeting organizers to include an ISHPSSB session in the meeting. This is a great way to recruit new members to ISHPSSB!
- Professional Development Workshops: E.g., Grant Writing Workshops; Building Interdisciplinary Research Networks; How to Write Op-Eds and Other Effective Public Outreach; Teaching ISHPSSB-Style Courses; etc.
- Expanding ISHPSSB’s Reach: We are especially interested in proposals that focus on expanding (a) regional inclusion or (b) disciplinary participation in ISHPSSB, but welcome other outreach efforts that support ISHPSSB diversity and inclusion goals. Workshops of this sort could be theme-based, or geographically focused with the aim of connecting researchers in a particular region. Regardless, one aim of these kinds of workshops should be bringing new members to ISHPSSB. We welcome proposals in a variety of modalities, e.g., in-person, hybrid, or virtual.
- Experimental Workshops: We encourage proposals that aim to utilize technology or non-traditional formats to re-think what off-year workshops might be or look like. We also encourage workshops that aim to pilot or test innovative approaches or formats that might be incorporated in our biennial meeting.
Proposal Instructions
Proposals should include the following information be submitted online at this link: https://forms.gle/wmgZgmen4ZHMPLMs8.
- Name, Affiliation, and Contact Information for Workshop Coordinators
- Workshop website (if available)
- Proposed Workshop Topic (250 words)
This will be used to help promote your workshop, be included in ISHPSSB newsletters, and to archive your workshop on the ISHPSSB webpage. Write this to help us pitch your meeting to ISHPSSB members, e.g., what is the topic; are there elements of the organization that will be particularly unique or interesting; etc.
- Which Off-Year Workshop Goals Does This Target?
Workshops are not required to meet every aim listed above, but should meet some of them.
- How Does This Workshop Plan To Include Participation of Junior Scholars and/or Graduate Students?
- Program Information (if available)
- Proposed Site (if applicable)
- Proposed Modality (in-person, hybrid, virtual, other; please describe!)
- What Language or Languages Will The Workshop Be Held In?
- Proposed Dates
Organizers should consider whether there are conflicts with other meetings on similar topics. If so, they might consider proposing an add-on workshop.
- Funding Request
ISHPSSB funds are restricted to offsetting graduate student travel costs to your workshop for ISHPSSB members; ISHPSSB funds may not be used to fund other aspects of your workshop. Historically, funding has been limited to about US$1,000 per workshop. Funds are limited this year, but funding requests will be considered until the budget is exhausted.
Proposal Requirements
- Workshops may be organized around focused topics or broader themes, or have a clear professional development aim/audience. Regardless, the workshop should carry broad appeal to ISHPSSB membership and clearly meet the aims of Off-Year Workshops.
- Workshops should be open to all members of ISHPSSB.
- Workshops should be organized so as to foster the Society’s ideals of interdisciplinarity and international research collaboration, and should promote open interactions between members from graduate students to senior faculty.
Consideration for funded proposals will begin March 1. Funded proposals received after March 1 will still be considered on a rolling basis while funds remain. Proposals for unfunded sponsorship are accepted throughout 2022. Please submit your proposals online at this link. If you have questions about hosting a workshop we strongly encourage you to reach out to the Off-Year Workshop Committee by contacting its Chair,