ProposalSpace Product Blog

New Tutorial: Updating Your Profile Photo

2011-12-13T12:30:00.002-06:00

We've just uploaded a new video tutorial that shows how to update the photo associated with your ProposalSpace profile. Check it out at http://youtu.be/kse4JmehA8k .

New Feature: Late Submissions

2011-12-12T14:15:00.003-06:00

Good news, call administrators: You no longer have to re-open a call just to create a late submission. Now, even if your call's submission deadline has passed, you will continue to see it on the Start a Proposal page.

A few important notes:

Only you and your fellow administrators can see the call on the Start a Proposal page. If you want to allow a non-administrator to start a proposal, you will need to re-open the call.
The call will remain listed on the Start a Proposal page until it is archived.
Proposals you create are attached to your account. If you want to create a proposal on behalf of someone else, you will need to add that person to the proposal so that he/she can have access to it.
Proposals you create after the submission deadline has passed will still need to be approved for review.

New Tutorial: Reviewing Submissions

2011-12-02T15:36:00.001-06:00

We've just posted a brief tutorial on YouTube that explains how to review submissions in ProposalSpace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTWIBReUifc. If you manage a call, you might want to have your reviewers view the tutorial before they get started so they know what to expect.

If you have any suggestions for how we can improve the tutorial—or would like to see us create videos for other topics—just let us know!

New Feature: Customizable Submission Labels

2011-11-28T14:12:00.001-06:00

If you are one of the growing number of organizations using ProposalSpace for managing award nominations, you might not have cared for the term "proposal" we use throughout the site (for example, "Start a Proposal" or "Edit Proposal").

Well, good news. Now you can customize the term. The default is still "proposal", but you can change it to "nomination", "abstract", "idea", or anything else that fits your needs. Just pull up the call and look in the General Settings page for a field called Submission Type.

Nice Call

2011-11-08T13:22:00.001-06:00

Global Equity Organization's call for their annual conference really stands out for its clarity and conciseness. Our favorite part? The "What Happens After You Submit Your Proposal" section. Check it out at http://www.globalequity.org/geo/node/3265 and see if you agree.

New Feature: Breadcrumbs

2011-10-31T14:00:00.003-05:00

We've made it easier than ever to find your way around ProposalSpace with breadcrumbs. Just check the top of any page to see where you are in relation to your Account Home page.

New Feature: Email Receipts

2011-10-21T17:39:00.000-05:00

Call administrators can now track the status of every email sent through ProposalSpace! Just pull up any message sent via the Messaging Module and click the new Delivery Receipts tab. There you can see if the message was:

Queued for delivery
Not delivered (because the recipient requested not to receive messages)
Rejected by the recipient's email server
Reported as undeliverable
Flagged as spam
Opened by the recipient

If you included links in your message, you can also see if the recipient clicked on any of them.

We're really excited about this new feature. We hope you are, too. As always, if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement, just let us know!

Data Export Improvements

2011-10-04T16:36:00.001-05:00

Our Data Export feature now has an option to limit reports to certain types of proposals. This means call administrators no longer have to weed out unwanted proposals after generating a report. Now, you can just pick the status(es) you want to include.

Next up: The ability to select specific items from the submission and role forms.

New Feature: Scheduling Module

2011-09-27T16:23:00.000-05:00

One of the most critical tasks for any conference organizer is building the session schedule. Not only do you have to figure out how to arrange the sessions so they tell a story, you also have to make sure you don't put someone in two places at the same time.

Unfortunately, we can't help you with the story-telling part (at least not yet). We can, however, help you easily check for scheduling conflicts with our new drag-and-drop Scheduling Module.

All you have to do is create a scheduling "grid" with your available dates/times and locations. Once the grid is built, you just drag and drop sessions onto it. If the system detects a conflict, it gives you the option to schedule the session anyway (ignoring the conflict) or to cancel the assignment. You can even move sessions around on the grid and the module will continue to warn you of any conflicts.

Where Is My Logout Button?

2011-09-27T15:33:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have noticed some changes to the design of the site. We've been working on new features and needed a little extra "real estate" in order to keep things from becoming overcrowded. Plus, the average size of monitors (even on laptops) has continued to increase, so why leave all that extra white space unused?

For details about what got moved where, see our Design Notes.

Crowdsource, Curate, or Combo?

2011-09-01T11:54:00.000-05:00

The most common model for selecting presenters for educational conferences is pretty straightforward:

Announce a call for proposals (or call for papers, call for abstracts, call for speakers, etc.)
Collect proposals
Have a committee of volunteers review the proposals
Select presentations based on the reviews
Build a session program that accommodates the selections

Although the process works for the vast majority of meetings, it's hard to argue that it can't be improved.

One suggestion we've noticed recently is to open the process up to crowdsourcing. Basically, the idea is to leverage the power of social media by turning over the selection (and possibly scheduling) tasks to attendees. For a more detailed explanation, see Michelle Bruno's post at TSNN.

Another suggestion, seemingly at odds with crowdsourcing, is to have a curator manage the selection and scheduling tasks. The idea here is that conferences, like museum exhibits or other curated collections, are far more effective if the content is carefully selected and organized to "tell a story" to attendees. For more information, see Jeff Hurt's post on Velvet Chainsaw's Midcourse Corrections blog.

So which is it? Crowdsourcing obviously works for larger conferences, like SXSW, but does it also work for smaller meetings with more focused content? And how about curating? Does it work for every type of conference or only for those that can be organized around a clear theme? How about a hybrid? Is it possible (or even desirable) to combine the two into a single model?

Review Groups Are Here!

2011-06-06T15:15:00.003-05:00

A lot of conferences—especially larger ones—need to split up their review tasks among different groups of reviewers. Up to now, the only way to do that in ProposalSpace was to set up multiple calls, each with its own set of reviewers. Now, call administrators can manage multiple sets of reviewers in a single call!

Our new Review Groups feature lets call administrators set up an unlimited number of groups and assign an unlimited number of submissions, review chairs, and reviewers to each one.

Say, for instance, that your call asks each author to select one of five topic areas. Previously, if you wanted to assign a different set of reviewers to each topic area that meant you had to set up five calls. Now, you can just create five review groups within a single call (one for each topic area), then assign submissions, review chairs and reviewers to one or more of the groups. Permissions are based on the review group, so a review chair may only work within his/her assigned group. Call administrators, of course, can work within any group.

Live Streaming via YouTube

2011-05-02T13:29:00.003-05:00

YouTube has announced a new feature (not available to everyone yet) that allows events to stream proceedings live:

http://sites.google.com/site/ytpartnercommunications/Announcements/youtubelive

It looks like YouTube is planning on rolling out the new feature throughout 2011. We're not exactly sure how it works, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on!

Strategies for New & Return Attendees

2011-03-28T11:26:00.003-05:00

Jeff Hurt recently posted something on Velvet Chainsaw's Midcourse Correction blog that caught our attention. Basically, he points out how past attendees and prospective attendees employ different criteria when deciding whether to attend your conference and recommends unique marketing strategies for the two groups.

Past attendees are already biased in your favor (assuming they found your event valuable). They know what your conference is all about. You just need to remind them of the experience and demonstrate how the next conference can build on it.

Prospective attendees, on the other hand, are typically biased against you. They need to know why your event is different from other conferences competing for their time and money. Your challenge with them is trust. And who better to build trust than past attendees? Make your previous attendees your "salespeople" by giving them the tools they need to promote your event and ways for prospective attendees to connect with them.

Something similar could be said of presenters. You have two audiences—past presenters and prospective presenters—with distinct sets of needs. Your communications strategy should reflect those needs.

Past presenters already understand the value of presenting at your conference. You don't need to sell them on the benefits. They are more concerned with the process. Make it clear to them that the process will be as easy—or easier—than the last time.

Prospective presenters don't care so much about the process. They don't have a point of reference, so it's all new to them. For them, your focus should be on the benefits of presenting.

You already understand that attendees and presenters have different needs and tailor your marketing and communications strategies accordingly. So why not do the same for loyal and prospective participants? Their needs may overlap, but they are not identical. As Jeff puts it, "Segmented marketing strategies work."

New Feature: Session Publishing

2011-03-10T16:20:00.000-06:00

Our new Publish Module lets you publish your conference's session information—including supporting materials—on any website.

Conference organizers can:

Assign dates, times and locations to sessions.
Select which information gets displayed for each session and for each person in the session.
Embed the session information in any website with a single line of code.

Authors can:

Attach documents to their sessions for attendees to download.

Attendees can:

Search for sessions by keyword.
Sort sessions by title, date/time, and location.

The best part? Any change you make in ProposalSpace shows up immediately on your website.

New Feature: Profile Photo

2011-02-14T08:20:00.002-06:00

User profiles can now include photos!

To add a photo to your profile, just log in to the site, click the "My Account" tab, then click the "Change My Photo" link. You can upload any standard image file (JPEG, GIF, PNG or TIFF) and even scale and crop your photo without the need for photo-editing software.

New Feature: Text Limits

2011-01-04T16:05:00.006-06:00

We're really excited to announce a new feature in ProposalSpace: text limits.

Call admins can now assign a word or character limit to any text field in a proposal submission form or role form. Just select "Word Limit" or "Character Limit" from the pull-down menu in the question settings, then enter the number of words or characters you want for the limit.

We designed the feature to follow Twitter-like rules, so responses are allowed to exceed the limit.

Extra text is displayed with ellipses, which can be clicked on to reveal the full response.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Ignorance is Bliss

2010-11-08T10:30:00.004-06:00

Call administrators: Have you ever come across a proposal that, for whatever reason, you just want to ignore? Now you can!

Simply select "Ignore" (from the Options menu) for any draft proposal or unapproved submission and ProposalSpace will treat it as if it never existed. To see the proposals you've chosen to ignore, just click the "Show Ignored" link. And to start tracking an ignored proposal again, just select "Don't ignore".

Tips for Effective Conference Proposals

2010-11-03T12:02:00.006-05:00

We just came across some excellent advice from Alessandro Angelini for how to create and present the best possible paper for an educational conference, including how to:

Find a suitable conference
Write a strong abstract
Write the paper
Prepare the presentation
Present the paper

You can find it at http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2010/11/03/angelini

Updated Data Exporting

2010-10-18T09:39:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we've updated the data export feature to accommodate the newly expanded, customizable role forms and to include review data.

Custom Role Forms

2010-09-28T10:27:00.003-05:00

ProposalSpace has always allowed call admins to customize the terminology used for roles people play in a proposal. You can configure your call to use whatever terms you want... "speakers", "presenters", "authors", "collaborators", etc.

Now, you can also configure what information you collect about each of those people. Using our drag-and-drop form builder, you can create a custom form to collect information like qualifications, disclosure statements, membership status, favorite football team... whatever you want! Questions can be optional or required and are unique to each role you've established.

To access the feature, just go to your call's configuration page and click on "Roles". You'll see a link there (under each role you've created) to "Customize Form". If you have an active call in place, don't worry. We've carefully moved the previous questions—name, organization and disclosure—over to the new feature.

Oh, and we've included this new feature in our core modules, so there's no need to ask for an upgrade or to pay extra to use it. It's available to everyone right away.

New Reviewer Assignment Feature

2010-09-14T14:35:00.003-05:00

We've just introduced a new feature in ProposalSpace that allows call administrators to assign submissions to individual reviewers.

Before now, every reviewer had access to every submission. If a call admin wanted to spread out the workload, the admin would have to contact reviewers outside of the system to let them know which submissions to review and which to ignore.

Now, admins can make individual assignments, either from the Submissions page (where reviewers can be assigned to a submission) or from the Reviewers page (where submissions can be assigned to a reviewer).

We designed the feature with a lot of valuable input from our users, but we never stop wanting feedback. So check it out and let us know what you think!

Submission & Withdrawal Notices

2010-08-11T15:04:00.009-05:00

We've just added a couple of features to the site that should make managing submissions a little easier for call admins:

The site now automatically notifies call admins by email whenever a proposal is submitted. Before, call admins had to log in to check on any activity. Now, that information is delivered right to their inboxes.
The site now automatically notifies proposal managers by email whenever a proposal is withdrawn. (A copy of the withdrawal notice is also placed in the manager's Message Center in case the email has problems making it through.) Plus, call admins have the option of including a message with the withdrawal notice.

New layout for Submission Tracker

2010-08-02T11:16:00.002-05:00

We've changed the layout of the Submission Tracker slightly to make navigation a little clearer.

Before, the navigation items for the three categories of submissions (Draft, Awaiting Approval, and Approved) were displayed at the very top of the page and were somewhat removed from the main content. Thanks to feedback from one of our users, we've moved the three categories closer to the content, making it much clearer that they are navigation elements.

We think it's a huge improvement. We hope you do, too.

Free software? Better budget for it.

2010-07-29T09:55:00.000-05:00

Thinking of using free abstract management software? It might be enticing, but consider the following:

Free software almost always has to be installed. If you install it yourself, it costs time. If you have someone to do it for you, it costs money. Either way, installations can fail for reasons beyond your control. Delays may or may not be what a conference organizer can afford.
Free software rarely comes with reliable, fast support. Even if you get it installed without any problems, you're still looking at configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting it without much assistance.
Free software often comes with limited functionality. If you find yourself in need of additional features, you either have to modify the software yourself or upgrade to the paid version. (This is known as a "freemium" model, where the free version is really just a gateway to the paid version.)
Updates for installed software come in the form of releases. In order to stay current with new features and bug fixes, not only do you have to regularly track releases, you also have to apply them.

Paid and hosted software avoids all these issues. There's nothing to install, nothing to maintain, and support is readily available whenever you need it.

At first glance free is attractive, but be careful: free can end up costing you a lot.

Why a hard deadline is better than a soft deadline

2010-07-13T12:52:00.000-05:00

We argued previously that a soft deadline for submissions is better than a hard deadline. Now we're going to argue the opposite: that a hard deadline can be preferable to a soft deadline. We're not doing this to confuse you, we're just trying to point out that each has its own benefits and that your choice should depend entirely on your own unique situation.

Unlike a soft deadline, which is nothing more than an initial target for authors to shoot for, a hard deadline is the absolute final date and time you will accept submissions. You always have the option of accepting late submissions on a case-by-case basis, but as a general rule, authors who miss a hard deadline are out of luck—at least until the next call.

A hard deadline is better than a soft deadline because:

It avoids confusion. You can publish one deadline and authors won't have to figure out if it has passed or been extended.
It forces authors to budget their time for unforeseen problems, which can lead to earlier submissions.
It shows you mean business. A hard deadline lets authors know that you are serious about the organization and planning of the conference.
It lowers your stress. Once the deadline has passed you no longer have to worry about submissions.

The key to a hard deadline, of course, is that you never extend it. Otherwise, you've just created a soft deadline.

Also, when setting a hard deadline, be painfully precise about the exact date and time of the deadline. It's true for any deadline, but especially true for hard deadlines: include a time—and time zone—along with the date. And if you're going to set your deadline for noon or midnight, don't use "a.m." and "p.m.".

Why a soft deadline is better than a hard deadline

2010-07-06T12:50:00.005-05:00

One of the most basic decisions about any call is whether to set a soft or hard deadline for submissions. Unlike a hard deadline, which is carved in stone, a soft deadline provides authors with a target date to submit their work, with the understanding that the deadline will be extended.

A soft deadline is better than a hard deadline because:

Authors get a date to budget their time for, while also getting a cushion in case of unforeseen problems.
You can get a gauge of the quantity and quality of submissions and fine-tune the call if needed.
The extension can be used to promote the call to authors who may have missed it the first time.

A soft deadline is set under the assumption that you will eventually extend it, so don't forget to budget for the additional time. Also, soft deadlines work best when you don't publicize the fact that they are soft deadlines. People often produce their best work when crunched for time, so don't ruin your authors' creative edge by hinting the deadline will be extended.

Lastly, don't confuse a soft deadline with accepting late submissions on a case-by-case basis. A soft deadline should be applied to everyone equally, regardless of their circumstances. If you're leaning instead toward accepting late submissions on a case-by-case basis, be sure you have clear criteria in place for determining which submissions qualify for an extension. (But that's a topic for another post.)

Why your conference needs an official Twitter #hashtag

2010-06-18T14:08:00.016-05:00

Attendees are going to tweet about your conference. You can either let them self-organize (bad idea) or you can help them in their efforts simply by creating and promoting an official hashtag (great idea).

Creating a conference hashtag is super simple. (So simple, in fact, you might want to take it a step further and create hashtags for individual sessions.) The best part? Hashtags are free and can be created without ever having to log in to—or even have—a Twitter account.

Attendees will benefit from an official hashtag by:

Having an easy way to collect and organize notes. (See our post about TweetNotes for a tool that makes organizing conference tweets even easier.)
Having access to everyone's tweets in one convenient location.
Continuing discussions after the conference (or session).
Being able to report problems in real time.
Receiving conference announcements in real time.
Receiving promotions or other announcements from exhibitors in real time.

Creating an official hashtag is a big help for your attendees, but to get the most out of it, you also need to promote it. So be sure to place it on the conference website, on signage at the venue, and on slides before presentations. Your attendees will thank you.

What to include in every call

2010-06-10T16:40:00.012-05:00

Wondering what information you should include in your call? Here's our checklist of the key pieces of information every call should have. (You can really never have too much information, though, so consider these the minimum.)

Submission deadline (Yes, we have seen numerous calls that neglect to mention the date submissions are due. If you don't have one, set one. People need to know how much time they have or they may never even begin to work on their proposals.)
Purpose / theme (Don't assume everyone knows exactly what the call is about. Assume instead that this is their first time to hear about it. At a minimum, give them a general description of what you're looking for. If possible, provide a list of specific topics.)
Qualifications (Let people know up front if there are any requirements they must meet—like being a member of your association—in order to respond to your call. If the call is open, be sure to mention that, too.)
Contact information (There will be questions. Don't make it difficult for people to get answers. Always include contact information so they can easily reach you with questions, comments, or concerns.)
Examples (This isn't absolutely necessary, but examples of previous submissions are a terrific way to show people what works—or doesn't work.)

For conferences, you should also include the conference dates and location. That way, people can determine whether they can attend.

Lastly, if the information for your call is on your Web site (which it should be), try to keep it all on one page. Not only does it make it easier to find information, it also makes it easier for people to print it all out.

New Feature: Test Mode

2010-06-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

Call administrators now have the option of testing a call in ProposalSpace before making it live.

Here's how it works:

Once your call is complete (has all the information required for activation), you simply click a button to place it in "test mode".
The system automatically generates a special URL, which you and your testers use to create and submit test proposals.
Administrators, review chairs and reviewers have full access to the call—as if it were active—for three days.
After three days, the call is automatically taken out of test mode. If you need more time, just let us know. We'll be glad to extend the test period.
Any data entered during the testing period is automatically deleted when you activate the call.

Word's Hidden Costs

2010-06-04T16:01:00.008-05:00

You should never distribute your call as a Word file for people to fill out and send back to you. It might seem like a fast, easy solution—especially for smaller calls—but it will end up costing you more than you think.

Here are just some of the challenges you face using Word:

Although Word is ubiquitous, different versions and platforms mean you can't be certain everyone who downloads your file is going to be able to open it, edit it and send it back to you without compatibility issues.
You can include pages of instructions and use highlighting and colorful text to draw attention to required fields, but you're still going to have to review every submission to make sure it was filled out properly.
You'll need an iron-clad organizational plan to track every submission you receive, including revisions.
Most authors expect an acknowledgment that their submission made it safely into your hands. You'll need to send a confirmation email for every submission you receive.
Any file you get back could be carrying something you don't want on your computer. You'll need to make sure you scan every submission for viruses and other malware.
You'll need to back up every file you receive on a regular basis in case something bad happens to your computer or network.

Using Word to distribute your call might make sense because it's easy to use, readily available and basically free (if you've already got a license). But once you start to receive submissions, the costs—especially time costs—really start to add up.

First Impressions

2010-05-12T11:04:00.005-05:00

How many times have you heard someone say (or have said yourself): "This food is terrible. Try it."?

Well, that's the impression we got when we came across a recent call for abstracts that included 25 pages of instructions explaining how to use their online submission system.

Think about the message that sends to potential submitters. How many are going to look forward to submitting an abstract when they're being told—quite clearly—that not only is the first bite going to be hard to swallow, but that if they're selected, the rest of the process is probably going to be just as bad?

No submission process should require reams of instructions. But that's beside the point. The real point is this: Your call is often your first impression with potential submitters. Don't waste it turning people off.

4 Tips for Getting Announcement Emails Noticed

2010-05-03T14:05:00.009-05:00

The most important part of any email is the subject line. Think of it as the "packaging" for your message. Not only should it summarize the contents, it must also pique the recipient's interest enough to make him want to open the message to find out more.

So why do so many conferences send out call notices with uninteresting subject lines like "Annual Meeting Call for Speakers Now Open" or "Call for Speakers - Annual Meeting"? Are call announcements an exception to the rule? Of course not. While it may be easy to get people who are already excited about speaking at your conference to open up an email from you, those aren't the people you need to worry about. They've already committed to action. Instead, you should be focused on people who don't know about your conference or who might be on the fence about responding to your call.

Here are some tips for engaging those people:

Keep it short. The more words you use, the more likely your message will be muddled. Keep the details for the body of the message.
Define value. Tell the recipient up front what he gets out of opening the message.
Convey urgency. People are far more likely to act when there's a deadline.
Personalize. Keep the focus on the recipient.

How Not to Write a Call for Papers

2010-04-30T15:55:00.004-05:00

Dr. Jody Byrne has received quite a few calls for papers over the years. One he received recently, however, really caught his attention... for all the wrong reasons.

As Dr. Byrne points out, "Calls for papers are supposed to inspire, encourage and explain. All this one does is bombard you with jargon, vague descriptions and non-explanations and then give you a bit of a headache."

Have you ever received a particularly bad call for papers? What stood out about it? What could have made it better?

Tweet Archive

2010-04-23T16:37:00.002-05:00

For anyone who wants to capture and archive tweets from a conference, you might want to check out TweetNotes.

What makes the app so special? For one thing, it's free. It also lets you:

Add context by incorporating content, like slides and handouts.
Organize multiple sessions under one meeting space.
Visualize participants.
Embed in blogs, Web sites, etc.
Archive activity for future reference.

The developers say they're planning a lot more features, including additional collaboration tools. We're not sure how they plan to monetize it, so it might not be the best option for mission-critical applications, but definitely worth looking into.

New Feature: Grouped Checkboxes

2010-03-30T11:20:00.005-05:00

Our drag-and-drop form builder now allows multiple checkbox items in a single form element.

Why is this important? Let's say you want to collect A/V requirements from your speakers. Before, you had to create a separate question on the form for each requirement:

Now, you can include all of those checkboxes in one element:

We've also added new requirement options for grouped checkboxes: You can make the checkboxes optional, you can require that at least one box be checked, or you can require all the boxes to be checked.

Usability Enhancements

2010-03-08T10:46:00.005-06:00

We've just released two enhancements that make the site a little easier to use...

For call administrators: We've made it easier—and faster—to view submission details from the Submissions page. Previously, when you clicked on a submission's title, you were taken to a new page. Now, the same information is displayed in an overlay.

For authors: We've added a tab to the top of the proposal screens that links to the call's submission instructions. Now you have access to that information throughout the entire submission process. (Previously, the instructions were only displayed when you first created the proposal.)

Let us know what you think!

New Feature: Late Submissions

2010-03-04T10:35:00.003-06:00

ProposalSpace now allows you to accept late submissions for a call without having to change the call's official submission deadline. The new setting (named "Late Submissions") is on the Submission Settings page right below the Submission Deadline field.

If you enter anything other than zero in the field, ProposalSpace will continue to allow submissions for that number of days without altering the official submission deadline. We'll also display a notice to users letting them know that although the submission deadline has passed, late submissions are still being accepted.

Introductory Pricing Extended

2010-03-02T15:01:00.002-06:00

We've extended our introductory pricing another month!

Just start a call in ProposalSpace before April 1, 2010 and you'll lock in the special pricing of $49.95 to activate the call and $4.50 for every submission. You don't have to activate the call before April 1, you just have to create it by then.

So hurry up and start your calls before this offer ends!

Standardized Guidelines

2010-01-11T11:48:00.007-06:00

We recently came across an article by Dr. Stuart J. Salasche in the June, 1997 issue of Dermatologic Surgery in which he suggested eight steps reviewers should take when reviewing journal manuscripts. We've modified them slightly to come up with what we think are valuable guidelines that should be at the core of any review process:

Read the material once through to gain a general familiarity with it.
Identify the author's main objective or hypothesis.
Reread the material as many times as necessary to gain a full understanding of it.
Determine if the main objective was satisfied or the hypothesis proven.
Determine if new or valid information was provided or if older material was successfully assimilated and clarified.
Decide whether the material should be accepted or rejected.
Suggest ways the material could be improved.

Are these guidelines sufficient? Are they too specific? Are they just right? Let us know your thoughts.

The Reviewer's Golden Rule

2009-12-30T15:47:00.006-06:00

Here at ProposalSpace we not only want to make peer review easier, we also want to provide a venue where best practices for peer review can be developed and promoted. As a first step, we want to pass along Dr. Stanley S. Siegelman's "Golden Rule" for reviewers from the February 1988 issue of Radiology:

"Most reviewers are also active authors. Referee the manuscript as you would like to have your own papers treated. Be thoughtful and helpful. Offer fair, thorough, and constructive criticism. The reviewer's tone should be friendly and supportive, never harsh or adversarial. Avoid derogatory, potentially offensive, or demeaning comments. We don't want to dampen the enthusiasm of budding young academicians. Test your critique for fairness and objectivity by asking yourself if you would be willing to sign it and send it to the author."

Reviewers in ProposalSpace are not only able to score proposals, they can also attach comments to them. The call administrator determines whether those comments are restricted (made available only to review chairs and administrators) or revealed to the proposal's authors. Regardless of how comments are handled, Dr. Siegelman's advice provides valuable guidance for making the most of every reviewer's effort.

New Pricing Announced

2009-10-28T14:56:00.008-05:00

ProposalSpace has always been the more affordable way to manage abstracts. We've worked hard to create a site that gives conferences all the tools they need to collect, review and select proposals for a fraction of the cost of traditional abstract management systems. But some of our users thought our pricing was a little too complicated and the base price for smaller conferences a bit too high. So we decided to do something about it. Starting today, you can manage a call in ProposalSpace for just $49.95 plus $4.50 per submission. That's it. No customization fees, account maintenance fees, upgrades or hidden charges to worry about. Just $49.95 plus $4.50 per submission. Compare that to the $10,000+ other abstract management systems charge. Our new pricing means the total cost for a conference with 20 submissions is under $140! Fifty submissions cost less than $275. Even a conference with 500 submissions can manage their entire collection, review and selection process for under $2,300. Pricing that's easy and fits any budget. That's the ProposalSpace difference.

New Software Release

2009-07-27T14:42:00.003-05:00

We've reorganized the My Calls, My Proposals and Call Settings pages to remove some of the clutter and to make things easier to find. All of the functions that were on the My Calls and My Proposals pages are still available, we just moved them to the Call Settings and Proposal Details pages. Call administrators will also notice a big change in the navigation for the Call Settings page, which now has the basic settings, tools and settings for all the major functions (submission, review, selection, notification) accessible via tabs across the top of the page. We also created a way for call administrators to archive completed calls so that they're not in the way but can still be accessed if need be.

Tip: Avoiding Junk Submissions

2009-07-14T16:38:00.006-05:00

Sometimes too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. If you're having a problem with individual users submitting too many proposals (usually so they can have better odds of being selected, but for whatever reason), you might want to try setting a submission limit. That way, users will have to pick their best papers to submit and won't be able to flood the selection committee with "junk". To take advantage of this feature, all you have to do is set the Individual Limit (under "Submission Settings") to the maximum number of submissions you want to allow from an individual user. For example, if you want to restrict users to three submissions, enter "3". (If you do not want to place a limit on the number of proposals a user may submit, enter "0" or leave the setting blank.) Once a user has met the submission limit, he will still be able to create proposals and collaborate with other users, but he won't be allowed to submit any more proposals for your call.

New Software Release

2009-07-02T15:25:00.009-05:00

Our latest software release fixes a number of issues for users with the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 8).

Tip: Link Directly to Your Call

2009-06-29T10:50:00.005-05:00

We designed ProposalSpace so that authors can find calls easily, using our Find a Call feature. Once a user is logged in, he/she just has to click a button to see all the calls in the system that are active and accepting proposals. There may be times, however, when you want users to be able to bypass this step and go directly to your call. To do this, just use the special link provided on the Call Settings page. Anyone who uses this link will be taken directly to your call's main page. (If a user isn't logged in, he/she will be asked to log in first, then be automatically redirected to your call's main page.)

Virtual Conference Tug-of-War

2009-06-19T14:48:00.015-05:00

For years now we've been told that virtual conferences are destined to replace traditional, face-to-face meetings. "Experts" (who usually work for companies that produce virtual conferences) keep insisting that people are clamoring for the chance to "attend" conferences without all the hassles of travel, pandemics, bedbugs, whatever. But despite the inconveniences, people have continued to flock to conferences, giving organizers little reason to make the switch. Until now. Thanks to the global economic downturn, conferences are seeing sizable drops in attendance. Could this be the tipping point? Has the audience for virtual conferences finally reached critical mass? Not yet, if you ask the attendees. The Winter 2009 Impact Study (PDF) from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) surveyed over 8,500 members from 97 associations and found that:

"...reports of a vast migration from face-to-face gatherings to online alternatives appear to overstate the case. Of people who only attended in-person events last year, only three percent say there's a high probability they'll only attended [sic] virtual events this year. In fact, if there's a migration at all, it's going the other way: Nine percent of people who only attended virtual programs last year say they're likely to attend only a face-to-face meeting this year."

So with virtual meetings becoming more attractive to organizers and attendees not yet willing to give up face-to-face meetings, who wins the tug-of-war?

New Feature: Public Calls

2009-06-18T09:56:00.001-05:00

At ProposalSpace, we don't just want to be the one place conference organizers can rely on to find great presenters, we also want to be the one place presenters can rely on to find great calls. So we've added a new feature on the public side of the site that lists every call for papers we can find for just about every type of academic conference—regardless of whether the organizers use us to manage their abstracts or not.