Call for Sessions Now Open for Virtual Plenary 16

Hello RDA Community.  It is that time again! We are excited to open the Call for Sessions for Virtual Plenary 16 (VP16).

As announced in prior weeks, we are unable to confirm a face-to-face plenary will take place in Costa Rica due to COVID-19 concerns.  Instead, a virtual plenary (VP16) is scheduled to take place from 9-13 November 2020.

VP16 will include all of the main elements of our typical in-person plenary event (breakout sessions, plenary sessions, poster event, networking events, etc.), but scheduled over an entire week to accommodate multiple time zones. For those new to RDA, breakout sessions are a large part of the event programme and include the following:

• Working and Interest Group Sessions
• Joint Meetings (including multiple working and interest groups)
• Birds of a Feather Sessions

For Working and Interest Group Sessions and Joint Meetings, the meeting format is typically interactive and informational, giving both group members and new RDA members an opportunity to learn about the groups’ objectives and progress to date and in achieving deliverables, while also collaborating to determine and implement next steps regarding adoption and other related activities.

Birds of a Feathers sessions provide members an opportunity to consider potential topics that could be recommended for the creation of new working and/or interest groups. Topics should be sufficiently distinct from the work of existing groups or BoFs held at recent plenaries.

For VP16, breakouts will be scheduled on each day of the meeting at set times. In your submission request, please select which time(s) you and your group will be available to present. Both live and recorded presentations are options, although for recorded presentations, we recommend a representative from your group be available for a live question and answer session.

The deadline for VP16’s Call for Sessions is 4 August 2020 at 23:59 UTC.

To submit your request for a breakout session, please complete the form below which corresponds to your meeting type.

Note, submissions for Working/Interest Group Sessions and Joint Meetings are accepted from group chairs only. For joint meetings, all group chairs must be notified prior to submission.  

• Group Session Application form
  https://www.rd-alliance.org/node/add/plenary-section-page
   
• Joint Meeting Application form
  https://www.rd-alliance.org/node/add/joint-meeting-application-form
   
• BoF Session Application form
  https://www.rd-alliance.org/node/add/bof-session-application

Upon submission, the Technical Advisory Board will review all requests to ensure they align with RDA’s mission and principles, and are written to attract both existing group members and individuals new to the RDA community. Submissions should include a component of interactivity with the audience so that the meeting is not solely a slide-based presentation.

Notifications of Session Acceptance will be sent out by 26 August 2020. The schedule will then be created, and the final programme will be available by the middle of October.

Questions or concerns related to the Call for Sessions can be sent to enquiries{at}rd-alliance.org.

Thank you. and we look forward to virtually seeing you in November for VP16!