call for proposals details

 
 

Anticipated Call for Proposals Timeline

Close the Call for Proposals: March 17, 2023 @ Midnight ET

Review of Submissions

Approved/Denied Notices Sent: May 15, 2023

Presenter Confirmations Due: June 1, 2023 @ Midnight ET

Schedule Announcement: July 3, 2023

Please note these are anticipated dates and are subject to change.

All links to presenter proposals and applications can be found on our PRESENTING page.



Be a part of AORE's 2023 Outdoor Professionals Conference!

This event for outdoor leaders and educators brings an opportunity for exceptional education that we hope sparks innovation and creates unique learning and quality networking opportunities for all attendees.

The Education Action Team are seeking conference proposals within the educational topics of the outdoor recreation and education industry that showcase the best thinking in the fields, informed by theory, research, and practice.

We invite proposals that:

  • Put the emphasis on participants acquiring skills
  • Reflect innovation and cutting edge content
  • Stimulate and provoke discussion and audience engagement
  • Introduce radical innovations, disruptive trends and provide entirely new approaches to problem solving
  • Provide diverse approaches for different types of learners
  • Use multimedia approaches to enhance attendee learning

Presenter and Workshop Provider Responsibilities

All presenters must register for the conference. 

Pre- and post-conference providers are not required to attend the conference and are therefore not required to register for the conference. 

All presenters and providers are responsible for their own travel costs. 

All presenters and providers must meet all posted dates and deadlines. 

All presenters and providers must accept AOREs Presenter and Provider Agreement for all terms and conditions.

Submission Process

Submit your proposal by Friday, March 17th at midnight, EST.

You will receive an automatic confirmation of your submission. Keep this confirmation in your files.

Each submission will be reviewed by a team of volunteers and staff. We intend to notify you on the status of your submission by May 15th.

Through a competitive selection process, we encourage innovative and creative presentations that are relevant and useful to the development of outdoor professionals and students. In an effort to increase the quality of the educational content presented at AORE, we encourage and will grade proposals based on the need for:

1. Every presentation to address a bit of theory, data, research, metrics, etc. in order to provide background to support their presentation.

2. Every presentation to address strategies, tactics, and success stories, etc. to help others implement and apply to their own programs.

3. Presentations to allow participants the opportunity to reflect, think, practice, and create action plans, etc. to bridge to their own programs/situations.

All submissions will be reviewed by a broad cross-section of AORE member volunteers and staff will act as peer reviewers, anonymously rating proposals within their area of expertise.

This group will use the following criteria when evaluating the proposals:

1. Relevance: Does the presentation address one of the strategic outcomes of; education, inclusiveness, stewardship, professionalism, advocacy, innovation, transparency?

2. Content: Does the proposal contain well-articulated and appropriate session learning outcomes Is the content clearly and thoroughly articulated with evidence based on research or experiential practice?

3. Organization: Does the proposal outline demonstrate a well-planned presentation and clearly fit the detailed presentation description including format style (e.g. experiential, lecture, etc.), time frame, stated goals/outcomes, etc.?

4. Ability to Inspire Action: AORE seeks content leaders who will inspire our audience to return to their own organizations after the conference and implement what they learned. Is transferable information present?

5. Overall Quality: Is this a high quality, professional proposal in which innovation, originality and creativity are fully demonstrated and integrated for an overall engaging presentation?

6. Qualifications: Does the presenter have adequate qualifications and experience with the content matter?


Submission Form Overview 

We encourage you to collect the information below BEFORE beginning the submission process. This ensures you have all information gathered and ready and can submit your information all at once. Please note: this outlines the form for general session submissions.  Additional questions for pre/post conference workshop submissions are below.

Presenter Information:
Name, Organization, Position Title, Credentials, & Email

Co-Presenter(s) Information:
Name, Organization, Position Title, Credentials, & Email

Please select the Knowledge Domain that most aligns with your proposal:

Career Development
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Environmental Justice
Leadership and Organizational Development
Management and Administration
Programming/Planning & Logistics

Risk Management
Technical and Outdoor Living Skills

Proposal Type Selection
General Education Session (60 minute general education session)

How many years of professional experience do you have?
<1, 1-5, 6-10, 10-15, 16-20, 20+

Presenters experience with topic: 
Please address your professional experience and expertise with the presentation topic. Do not exceed 300 words.

Please select at lease 2 target audiences that will get the most from your presentation:

Government (ex: parks and recreation, forest service)
Instructors (ex: professors, strategic events manager, guides, educators)
Leaders (ex: chief executive officer, owner)
Military (ex: morale, welfare and recreation program directors, community recreation chief)
Practitioners (ex: director of outdoor programs, facilitators)
Program Administrators (ex: associate director of programs, camp directors, director of wellness)

Audio Visual for Presenter Rooms

We will do our best to accommodate any A/V needs by presenters, but can make no guarantees on equipment available.  Traditionally, AORE has been able to provide a projector, screen, audio plug-in and VGA or HDMI (Mac users please bring your own dongle/adapter).  AORE does NOT provide laptops.

There is NO guarantee that wireless internet will be available

What A/V resources and materials are you bringing to your presentation?

Do you have any other A/V resources and materials needed for presentation that you expect will be onsite? We may be able to help locate these for your presentation, but cannot guarantee that we can provide them or cover the cost. 

Please indicate your preference for room set-up:
Theater/Lecture Style (unlimited attendees)
Chairs Around Perimeter (up to 25 attendees)
Classroom Style Setup (up to 100 attendees)

Do you have any other comments or concerns to share with the selection committee?

Agreements
All presenters are required to abide by the following guidelines:

1. In order to increase access to AORE, the association has always operated with a strong reliance on volunteers and with a lean budget. This means, all presenters and volunteers pay to attend the conference. If accepted, all presenters must register and pay for the attendance at the Outdoor Professional Conference (daily rates are available).
2. All presenters understand that they must be willing to present any day of the Conference, during any time slotted under the direction of the Conference Planning Action Team. Efforts will be made to avoid conflicts listed by the presenters at the time of submission.
3. All presenters will demonstrate high standards of professional conduct and will not discriminate against participants on the basis of gender, age, socioeconomic or ethnic background, sexual orientation, or disability. As the Lead Presenter, I verify that I have communicated with all other presenters. By Signing below, we acknowledge that, if accepted, our presentation will adhere to the requirements listed above.

To continue, type your initials in the box below.  This signifies that you agree to the above.

Presentation Title
Please provide the title for your proposal. No more than 120 characters.

Presentation Description
Please share the overall focus and goal fo the session, including key points and supporting topics.  Your description should build on your title and should attempt to persuade your target audience of the value of participation.  If selected, the description will be modified and used in the marketing brochure and website. NOTE: Please do NOT include speaker names anywhere in this description. (250 word limit)

Presentation Learning Outcomes
Objectives set the direction of the session and keep the presentation or training focused.  To help bring the content to life and make it actionable, please clearly define how your session will support attendees in implementing and applying their learnings.  Put the emphasis on participants acquiring skills, rather than simply receiving knowledge.  Provide 3 learning outcomes. (600 word limit)

Additional Submission Questions for Pre/Post Conference Workshops

Is the curriculum in compliance with industry standards?
Yes/No

List any participant prerequisites needed for your workshop.

What are your preferred dates for your workshop?
The conference will be held November 1-4, 2023 - your workshop cannot overlap these dates.

Is this workshop being offered on-site or off-site?

If off-site, where will this workshop be taught?

What is the minimum number of participants necessary for this workshop to run?

What is the maximum number of participants?

What is the price of the workshop to participants?
Please provide all pricing options (if applicable). Example: You can register for just a course, just an exam or both - indicate pricing for each option.

How do you plan to co-market this workshop?

Is this workshop adventure based?
Yes/No

If adventure based, are you able to provide evidence of adequate liability insurance?
Coverage listing should have AORE as additionally insured.

Plan Your Submission

We suggest that you first collect your thoughts for your proposal before going to the online form. Session and workshop proposals require clear and concise titles, succinct and persuasive descriptions, and well-thought-out learning objectives/takeaways.

Your title should capture, in 12 words or less, who your session is for and the topic that will be covered. Your description should, in 250 words or less, build on your title, focus on takeaways, and be as persuasive and concise as possible. Your learning objectives/takeaways should put the emphasis on participants acquiring skills, rather than simply receiving knowledge.

AORE will convene a diverse group who will assist in the final program design. To ensure that program content is timely, relevant, and optimally targeting our attendees needs, the group will select from the submissions received during the Call for Proposals and identify gaps, if any, which AORE staff will address though additional content development strategies. We receive many excellent proposal submissions for the Conference, so please understand that it is a difficult and highly selective process. As such, quality rather than quantity is always best when submitting proposals. We much prefer to receive your best ideas rather than every idea you might have, so send us just the ones you think would make the strongest sessions. 

Should you have questions, please contact the AORE National Office at nationaloffice@aore.org.



Research Symposium

View the full Call for Abstracts



All links to presenter proposals and applications can be found on our PRESENTING page.