(Revised June, 2004)

AMERICAS CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS

SITE SELECTION PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA

General Information

The Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) is an annual research conference in the information systems discipline held in North and South America. AMCIS attracts up to a thousand or more attendees principally from North America but increasingly from other regions of the world as well. It is conducted under the auspices of the Association for Information Systems (AIS). Colleagues from prominent local universities take responsibility for organizing and making local arrangements associated with the Conference. The AMCIS Executive Committee at its August meeting selects sites four years in advance of the date of each Conference.

AMCIS is held around the first or second week of August each year starting with an opening reception on the evening preceding the opening of sessions. The conference dates should be selected to avoid overlapping with Academy of Management meetings. A Doctoral Consortium is held in conjunction with AMCIS. Doctoral students are selected from nominations received from universities in the Americas. Universities are invited to nominate one student for the Consortium. Prominent academics are invited to act as faculty members for the Consortium. AMCIS also holds an MIS Camp designed to provide career advice for new MIS faculty.

The AMCIS Executive Committee is responsible for selecting the site of the Conference with reference to the AMCIS Site Selection Procedures and Criteria.

Site Advisory Subcommittee (SAS)

A Site Advisory Subcommittee (SAS) that usually comprises the following three individuals will (a) assist Bid Committees in developing a bid to host AMCIS, and (b) advise the AMCIS Executive Committee on the merits of each bid:

· Immediate Past Chair of the AMCIS Executive Committee (Chair)

· Immediate Past Program Chair or one of the immediate past Program Co-Chairs

· AIS Vice President (Meetings and Conferences)

· AIS Executive Director

If any of the individuals listed above are unavailable or decline to be members of the SAS, the Chair of the AMCIS Executive Committee will appoint a replacement with the experience and expertise to provide high-quality advice and feedback to Bid Committees and the AMCIS Executive Committee.

A SAS member may not be directly or indirectly associated with any bid being considered by SAS. A SAS or AMCIS Executive Committee member may not accept any gifts, benefits, or other considerations from any party in connection with any bid being considered.

Site Selection Schedule

The following schedule for submitting bids and selecting the site to host AMCIS is firm but may be relaxed by the SAS Chair:

· By 1 March: Chairs of Conference Bid Committees notify the Immediate Past Chair of the AMCIS Executive Committee (SAS Chair) that they intend to submit a bid for the Conference to be held four years hence (notification in Conference Year X – 4).

· By 1 April: Bid Chairs prepare a Preliminary Bid and notify the SAS Chair of the URL where the bid can be accessed.

· By 15 April: SAS Chair provides Bid Chairs with feedback and bid changes requested.

· After 15 April: Inform all prospective bidders of the other sites that are competing for AMCIS. The information disclosed shall be confined to the names of the General Conference Chairpersons and the proposed conference city.

· By 15 May SAS informs AMCIS Executive Committee of Preliminary Bid URLs and the strengths and weaknesses of each Bid. Executive Committee selects up to three Bid Committees to prepare and present a Full Bid at the August meeting of the AMCIS Executive Committee.

· By 30 May AMCIS Executive Committee Chair provides Bid Committee Chairs with feedback on their bids. Each Bid Committee Chair is informed as to whether or not they are invited to prepare and present their Full Bid to the August meeting of the AMCIS Executive Committee.

· By 1 July: Bid Committee Chairs submit Full Bids and notify the SAS Chair of the URL where the bid may be accessed.

· By 15 July: SAS assesses each bid and SAS Chair provides feedback to Bid Chairs as to suggested changes.

· By 1 August: Bid Chairs finalize Full Bids and notify SAS Chair of the URL where the revised Full Bid is posted. SAS Chair notifies voting members of AMCIS Executive Committee that Full Bids are available for examination. The Secretary will also post the URLs on the AMCIS Executive Committee web site.

· At August meeting of AMCIS Executive Committee (Conference Year X – 4): Invited Bid Chairs formally present their Bid to the AMCIS Executive Committee. Twenty minutes maximum is allowed for the presentation with a question period of no more than 10 minutes. The AMCIS Executive Committee selects the winning proposal. The AMCIS Executive Committee Chair notifies each Bid Chair as to the success of their bid and provides feedback regarding the basis for the Committee’s decision.

Site Selection Criteria

When selecting a site for the Conference, the Site Advisory Committee and the Executive Committee will consider the following :

Preliminary Bid

The Preliminary Bid, accessible as a web site, shall not exceed the hardcopy equivalent of TWO PAGES and shall include the following:

· The site (city) proposed, including brief comments explaining why the city will provide an attractive setting for the conference.

· Proposed Conference Chair (or Co-chairs), Program Chair, and Doctoral Consortium Chair. For these chairpersons, please, list all significant AIS, AMCIS, ICIS, or other major Information Systems conference organizational or administrative experiences.

· Estimated attendance and the basis for the estimate.

· Location, banquet room capacity, meeting space, and hotel room accommodations available at the hotel options where the conference may be held; hotels proposed must have been contacted as to their availability during the proposed conference dates; brief comments with respect to how each hotel site option would provide an attractive setting for the conference. Two hotel options must be provided. Note that if a conference centre is proposed, only a single site option is necessary though the information specified above regarding capacity etc must still be provided in regard to both the conference centre and hotel sites proposed. Hotels proposed must be located such that shopping, restaurants, fast-food outlets, pubs, theatres and similar amenities are within easy walking distance for the convenience of attendees and partners.

· Location, meeting space, and room accommodations available at the proposed doctoral consortium site (or “sites,” if options are available) and MIS Camp.

For more detail on the above, see the Full Bid section which follows.

Full Bid (by invitation only)

The Preliminary Bid (with appropriate revisions) should serve as an “executive summary” for the Full Bid. The balance of the Full Bid will in turn describe, explain, and provide detail in support of the main elements above, and it shall include a budget. The information required for each element is indicated below. A Bid may also include detail on other bid-related matters that the Bid Committee feels will help the AMCIS Executive Committee reach a decision.

Conference Committee

The quality of the Conference Committee proposed in support of the bid is a critical factor in securing a favourable result. The Conference Chair, Program Chair, and Doctoral Consortium Chair should have extensive prior experience with conferences in some administrative or organizing capacity. As a group, they should be able to demonstrate experience with, interest in, and a commitment to AMCIS. The Bid need only “sketch” the experience of each member of the proposed committee. A paragraph on each of the above indicating significant conference administrative involvements, especially those which include AMCIS or ICIS, will suffice. Lengthy and detailed enumeration or lists of past conference administrative posts, scholarly activities, or academic administrative experience is neither necessary nor desirable. No Conference Committee positions such as Vice-Chair or Advisory Committee are recognized by AMCIS nor should these be included in the bid document.

No more than two persons may share a Conference Committee position (except for the position of Conference Finance Chair where only one person may serve). Where two persons share a position, they will be known as Co-Chairs. Each will assume all responsibilities and obligations of the position unless otherwise relieved from doing so by provisions herein. If a bid has Conference Co-Chairs, one must be nominated as the person who will be Chair of the AMCIS Executive Committee at the appropriate time if the bid is successful.

The Finance Chair should have an accounting background, experience with conference financial matters, and be capable of acting independently of all other Conference Committee members. The Finance Chair also accepts responsibility for (a) keeping authorized, accurate, and complete financial records relating to the Conference’s activities, (b) acting with probity, (c) providing authorized, accurate, complete, and timely financial reports to the Conference Chair and (d) providing timely notification of material financial matters that would be of concern to the Conference Chair and/or the AMCIS Executive Committee. Formally, the Finance Chair reports to the Conference Chair, and through the Conference Chair, to the AMCIS Executive Committee and the AIS Treasurer.

The Program Chair must be an established scholar in the discipline and be capable of judging the quality of scholarship in a broad range of relevant topics. Recognizing the regional nature of the conference, the Program Chair must be willing and able to build a Program Committee that draws strongly on the regional scholarly information systems community. The Program Chair must also be willing to serve as an AMCIS Track Chair (or Track Co-Chair) in the year preceding their conference, if so invited by the preceding year’s Program Chair. Similarly, the Program Chair (or one of the Program Co-Chairs) must be willing to serve on the Site Advisory Committee and on the AMCIS Executive Committee in the year following their conference. The Program Chair must agree to use the AIS-approved Web-based peer review system.

The Doctoral Consortium Chair must be an established scholar in the discipline and be capable of attracting and organizing a highly-competent consortium faculty with experience as dissertation supervisors. Ideally, the Chair will have served as a consortium faculty member previously and be well-acquainted with the objectives and consortium process. The Doctoral Consortium Chair accepts responsibility for organizing the doctoral consortium as a pre-conference event and for inviting respected scholars to serve as consortium faculty. Faculty will be required to assist in evaluating student applications. The MIS Camp Director accepts responsibility for organizing the MIS Camp as a pre-conference event and for inviting respected scholars to participate as presenters and facilitators. Camp faculty will be required to assist in evaluating junior faculty applications.

The proposed Conference Chair assumes the important responsibility of ensuring that every member of the Bid Committee understands and accepts their responsibilities as a member of the AMCIS Conference Committee, should their Full Bid be accepted, and subsequent responsibilities, should they become a member of the AMCIS Executive Committee.

Hotel and Conference Facilities

Two hotels should be proposed as options to enable the conference negotiator to obtain the best possible room rates and overall hotel agreement once the conference has been awarded. Ideally each hotel should have sufficient capacity to accommodate the estimated attendees. However a main hotel in combination with other nearby hotels may also be proposed. For attendees on a limited budget, conference organizers are urged to list on the conference website a few alternate hotels and hostels (though this is not required for the Bid). The conference hotel must be located in close proximity to amenities such as shops, theatres, restaurants, pubs and other amenities, i.e., generally “downtown”. Hotels requiring taxis, public transportation, or a long walk to reach such attractions should not be proposed. As noted in Preliminary Bid, in the event that the conference site proposed is a conference centre then only a single conference site need be indicated, however hotel options should still be provided as indicated if hotel accommodation is separate from the conference centre.

The Full Bid must provide evidence that the banquet room, meeting space, and accommodation available for the Conference are appropriate and adequate. Floor plans for the meeting space must be provided. At a minimum, the meeting space must accommodate full conference attendance at plenary sessions, up to twenty parallel sessions, exhibitor requirements, and placement requirements. In addition, space will be required to host ancillary meetings before, during, and after the conference. Pre-conference workshops may be scheduled (with or without additional fees charged) and suitable space and related arrangements must be made to accommodate them.

Doctoral Consortium Facilities

The Full Bid must also provide evidence that the meeting space and accommodation available for the Doctoral Consortium are appropriate and adequate. In addition, the Full Bid should provide details on the number of single-person and double-person rooms available to accommodate students and faculty and the cost to the Conference of renting the facility. The Doctoral Consortium site should be well removed from the conference hotel but in the general vicinity of the host city to simplify transportation problems that may arise if attendees arrive late. It must provide an environment in which students and faculty can work intensively yet relax from time to time. Facilities used for corporate “retreats” or off-site planning meetings which offer a somewhat rustic or natural environment may be especially suitable. Therefore, in addition to the operational characteristics of the Consortium facilities, recreation and other amenities are considered a plus in evaluating the locale. Approximately 25 students and up to eight faculty will attend.

MIS Camp Facilities

The Full Bid must also provide evidence that the meeting space and accommodations available for MIS Camp are appropriate and adequate. In addition, the Full Bid should provide details on the number of single-person and double-person rooms available to accommodate campers and facilitators. Approximately 40 junior faculty and ten senior faculty will attend.

Conference Budget

The Conference budget in the Full Bid must be comprehensive and realistic The Budget of a Full Bid is subject to approval by the AIS Finance Committee in addition to approval by the AMCIS Executive Committee. To assist in preparing the conference budget, the Finance Chair for the Bid Committee should obtain (a) the financial statements for the previous two AMCIS Conferences from the AIS Finance Chair, and (b) the Conference budgets for the current-year’s Conference and next year’s Conference from the Finance Chairs for these Conferences. Budget templates to ensure uniformity from conference to conference are also available click here. The Finance Chair should also use the same financial software as employed at the AIS Office. Conference budgets must highlight any line items that are exceptional relative to the two previous years’ Conferences.

AIS is very concerned about maintaining AMCIS as an affordable event enabling attendance and participation by faculty from schools with smaller travel budgets. Bidders should base their budget on an advanced member registration fee not to exceed $300 (does not include an $85 AIS annual membership fee if the attendee is not a member of AIS). Such a target will require bidders to exercise restraint in proposing receptions, coffee breaks, meals, etc. For example, a bid may propose that the social event, often a pricey item, be an optional, “extra cost” event. Alternatively the bid may commit to obtaining a sponsor for the social event so it is provided at modest cost. By the same token, a bid, in the absence of a sponsor may choose to eliminate the common attendee gift of a conference bag, a saving likely in excess of $10,000. In general, conference organizers should employ whatever ingenuity they can bring to bear which will deliver a successful conference at a registration fee of $300 or less and also meets the requirements which follow.

The Budget must include a fee of $15 per attendee which is remitted to the Association for Information Systems Office for conference registration services. A fee of $7.00 per attendee must also be included in the budget for credit card processing. Revenue and costs associated with Placement are not to be included in the Conference Budget as Placement is organized through the AIS Office. However, your budget may include a "profit" from charges for "private" interviewing tables at the Placement Service. The student conference fee, normally a reduced rate, must nonetheless cover all food costs.

The Budget should include a contingency fund of $30,000-$50,000 to provide for unanticipated expenses. Any balance in the contingency fund following the conference will revert to AIS to support the membership and member groups worldwide. While realizing a surplus is not an objective, each conference is expected to contribute a contingency fund balance in the above range.

The total cost that will have to be borne by individual attendees is also an important factor affecting the AMCIS Executive Committee’s decision on the winning bid. In addition to the registration fee, the bid should contain information on likely costs for accommodation, food, and travel. In the case of travel, the bid should contain estimates of travel costs to the host location from international destinations from which most international delegates are likely to depart.

Conference Program

The Full Bid should outline the nature of the Conference program that the Program Committee wishes to conduct. Given the very long lead time, the Full Bid need not propose a theme – which may be chosen a year or two prior to the conference. The Program Chair for the bid should examine the programs of recent Conferences and seek advice from previous Program Chairs on the strengths and weaknesses of various program options such as tracks, panels, speakers and the like. Program Chairs have some latitude in choosing the format for the Conference program but must receive approval from the AMCIS Executive Committee for any major changes from the traditional program (such as a significant increase or decrease in the number of tracks). Specific details such as track topics should not be specified. The AMCIS Executive Committee’s concern will be to evaluate whether the proposed program format is likely to attract attendees and whether it is likely to result in high-quality research and a diverse program being presented.

Ancillary Meetings

A bid should indicate whether facilities are available to support meetings of ancillary groups (such as the Information Systems Doctoral Student Association Conference supported by the PhD Project). . A list of ancillary groups and their likely needs is best obtained from the Conference Chairs of current and recent Conferences. The bid should indicate what levels of support, if any, will be provided to ancillary groups.

Conference Management and Administration

If a Full Bid has been invited, bidders must then utilize the AIS-retained professional negotiator to negotiate accommodation, meeting, and meal charges with the competing hotels. Past experience shows that employing the services of a professional negotiator results in major cost savings and enables bidders to present the strongest possible budget in their Full Bid. Bidders should contact the AIS Office who will engage the services of the negotiator.

Full Bid Document Specifications

A Full Bid (including the “executive summary”) must not exceed 20 pages of hardcopy equivalent (either international A4 or U.S. letter size) including appendices. The bid website should conform to the following general layout and headings (all on a continuous page) to facilitate bid comparison:

Introduction: Brief statement regarding dates, location, and hotel

City: a short promotional statement with links to some of the major attractions

Conference Chairs: proposed chair holders for each of the major positions with links to their biographical summaries

Attendance: a brief discussion of attendance “prospects” and factors likely to affect attendance

Hotel Location and Conference Facilities: capacity figures in brief with links to the hotels/conference center and their space layouts

Doctoral Consortium: location, description and capacity with a link to the consortium site(s)

Financial Model: Brief comment on the financial model with a link to the spreadsheets

Bid Leader Contact Details: e-mail, phone numbers, fax numbers, mailing address

In general, the above layout is designed to bring together on a single page links to each of the important elements of the bid, and in a common format to facilitate navigation for AMCIS Executive Committee members.

The Bid Committee agrees that their Full Bid, if successful, shall be made publicly available on the AIS Conferences Web site. It will be removed from the Web site by 31 December of the year following the year in which the Bid Committee is awarded the right to host the Conference (X+1).

Succession Considerations

Once a bid is approved to host the Conference, the Conference Chair, Program Chair, Doctoral Consortium Chair, and Finance Chair of the successful bid must attend the AMCIS Executive Committee meetings in the two years prior to their conference. AMCIS Executive Committee meetings are normally held each year at AMCIS in August but may also be held at ICIS in December. Where co-chairs are proposed for any of these positions, the bid must designate a Primary Chair who will agree to attend Executive Meetings or arrange to have their co-chair attend in their absence, i.e., only one representative for each position shall attend).

At such Executive Committee meetings, the Conference Chair must provide a verbal and written report (including an up-to-date budget) on the status of preparations for the Conference. In addition to enabling the AMCIS Executive Committee to monitor the progress of preparations for each Conference, attendance by the Conference Committee keeps it apprised of matters that might affect the conduct of the conference.

The right of the Conference Chair to choose the makeup of her/his Conference Committee is acknowledged. However, each Program Chair can strengthen AMCIS by agreeing to provide training for the Program Chair and Track Chairs of the conference for the year following their own conference. This may be achieved by inviting the Program Chair for the year following to serve as a track chair, and by inviting track chairs of the year following to serve as “associate editors.” This vital form of “knowledge transfer” will help ensure that each Program Committee is knowledgeable regarding peer-review procedures and ready to assume this very important function.

In the same vein, the right of the Doctoral Consortium Chair to choose her/his Consortium Faculty members is acknowledged. However, for the reason explained in the previous paragraph, the Doctoral Consortium Chair may provide experience and training for the Doctoral Consortium Chair for the year following by inviting that Chair to serve as a member of their Consortium faculty.

Contacts

Additional questions on preparing a Preliminary Bid or Full Bid may be directed to the Chair of the Site Advisory Committee (Immediate Past Chair of the AMCIS Executive Committee) or the current Chair of the AMCIS Executive Committee. Bidders are also invited to contact the AIS Vice President (Meetings and Conferences), AIS Executive Director or the AIS Director at the AIS Office if assistance is required in preparing a bid.

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