Call for Proposals
Proposal Review Process
Confirmation of Attendance
Registration
Traveling to Canada/Letters of Invitation
Audio-Video, Room Set-up and Presenter Materials
Scheduling
Conference Proceedings

Interested individuals are invited to submit a proposal to the annual International Conference on Imagination and Education during the applicable opening dates. (Please go to the main conference page for links to current conferences.) We encourage proposals from graduate students, retired and practising teachers of all levels, administrators, researchers and academic representatives, among others. Proposals are not accepted from entities or individuals who are representing or marketing commercial or other for-profit products or services unless the proposal clearly explains how new information will be presented that has been garnered from research based on accepted research practices. At the time of writing there are no plans for vendor tables or other types of commercial representation during our conferences.

Proposals are collected using an online submission system and acknowledgement is automatically emailed upon receipt. If you did not receive an acknowledgement within 48 hours of submitting your proposal, please email that year's Conference Committee for assistance. Late proposals are not accepted. Proposals should adhere to the requested format (ie. English, max 250 words, etc.) and we request that potential presenters review the Call for Proposal for the year in which they are submitting before they submit.

Proposals may be withdrawn by contacting the Conference Committee for the applicable year. If the proposal is withdrawn after registration has taken place, presenters have the choice to change their submission to a Virtual Presentation, otherwise refund policy and deadlines apply to complete withdrawals.

Proposals are blind peer reviewed and are generally completed within one month of the CFP closing date. All decisions are emailed within 2 months of the CFP closing date, unless otherwise stated in the CFP. The Conference Committee reserves the right to change dates as needed to ensure that proper reviews are completed.

Each year we receive more proposals than we can fit into our schedule and so regrettably, we cannot accept every submission. For proposals that are accepted, we ask that presenters confirm their attendance by registering, as described below. In the case that an approved presenter cancels and there is room in the schedule, the Conference Committee may invite someone who did not make the first round.

All accepted presenters are asked to confirm their attendance by registering for the conference before the end of the Early Bird Registration period for the applicable year. Those who do not register by the Early Bird Deadline will be withdrawn from the program unless they contact the Conference Committee.

For proposals that involve more than one presenter, at least one presenter from the session must register before the Early Bird Deadline. We recommend that all presenters meet this deadline so that they received the lowest rates. All group presenters must be registered before the closing of registrations or they will not be expected.

If for some reason a presenter cannot register by the stated deadline but still wishes to present at the conference, we ask that you please contact the Conference Committee at your earliest possibility to make arrangements.

All registration fees are due and payable upon registration and may be processed online or by fax or mail-in. Registration fees can by paid by Visa, Mastercard or cheque written in Canadian funds. Please go to the applicable year's conference for links to register online via a secured server or to download a fax/mail registration form. All delegates are responsible for their own expenses to, from and during the conference. There are no subsidies available from IERG for this event. If you require financial assistance we suggest you contact your home institution or employer.

If you are a resident of one of the countries listed on this Canadian Government website and you are planning to attend the conference in person, we ask that you please download this Credit Card Authorization form, complete it and either fax it (778-782-7014) or mail it to the address below, along with a copy of your completed registration form. If the authorization form is not received by June 30th, your registration is void and no refunds will be processed. We sincerely apologize to our international delegates for this added step. We hope to reduce fraudulent transactions through this verification process which will mean that we will not have to increase registration fees in the coming years. You may also be interested in reading the section on traveling to Canada.

Cheques should be made payable to "The Imaginative Education Research Group" and sent along with a copy of a completed registration form to:

The Imaginative Education Research Group
Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Canada

Cheques must be in Canadian funds. Regrettably we cannot accept post-dated cheques. If a cheque has not been received before June 30th of the applicable year, the registrant must pay cash or credit card on-site.

Cash will only be accepted during on-site registrations that are accompanied with a completed registration form for the applicable year. Please do not send cash in the mail.

For online credit card transactions, the secured credit card server issues electronic receipts immediately. Unless otherwise requested of the Conference Committee, those paying by cheque will receive their receipt in their delegate registration package, or in the mail if they do not attend in person.

To find out if the Canadian Government requires travel documentation from your country, please go to this Canadian Government website. If you are an international registrant, please use your receipt as proof of your conference registration if you need to apply for a Canadian visa.

Letters of Invitation will be sent to speakers whose papers have been accepted at the conference ONLY on a case-by-case basis. If you believe that you will need a letter, please contact the Conference Committee at your earliest chance with your request. We regret that we are unable to send Letters of Invitation to general conference registrants. Please use your receipt as proof of your conference registration if you need to apply for a Canadian visa.

If you are traveling through the United States on your way to Canada, please be sure that you make yourself aware of the rules for that jurisdiction.

The members of the Imaginative Education Research Group, the Conference Committee and representatives of Simon Fraser University may not advise you on traveling to or from Canada. Please refer to the Canadian Government website or your local Canadian Embassy/Consulate. You may also want to review the Tourism Vancouver website.

Overhead projectors and screens are supplied in each room. Unfortunately due to the high costs of renting equipment, the Conference Committee has made the decision that presenters are responsible for the costs of any other AV equipment that they need. Presenters may of course bring their own equipment if they so choose. If bringing your own equipment, we strongly recommend that you contact the Coast Plaza Hotel in advance to confirm technical requirements.

To help people understand the costs involved in providing AV equipment, we provide this example: to rent an LCD projector & screen, the cost is approximately $350-$500 per machine per room, per day. With 8 rooms in use, the cost to the conference over the three days becomes $8400 - $12,000, plus taxes of course. Technician charges are approximately $40 per hour on top of these charges. This equates to an additional $50 per registration fee.

To keep the equipment costs as low as possible for everyone, presenters are asked to identify their AV needs when they register. In this way, the Conference Committee will be able to group presentations by theme, format and by AV needs so that a minimal amount of equipment will be needed. Please review the deadlines for the applicable year of the conference you are attending to ensure that your request is received in time to get the best rate.

Rooms are set up in theatre style (rows of chairs), roundtables (round tables with chairs) and classroom style (rows of tables with chairs). If you would like a different configuration, we request that you notify the conference committee at your earliest chance.

Presenters are expected to duplicate any handouts at their own expense in advance of arriving for their session. We are unable to guide you on how many handouts to make since we cannot estimate how many people will attend individual presentations. There is a Business Service Centre in the Coast Plaza Hotel for those who wish to avail themselves of this service. Please contact the Hotel directly for costs. In addition, there is a shopping mall beneath the hotel with a business copy center.

Once accepted presenters have confirmed their attendance by registering, the Conference Committee meets to make up the schedule. Sessions are grouped by format, theme and by AV requirements. Workshops are typically scheduled in the larger rooms. Individual emails are sent to the presenters confirming dates, times, AV, rooms approximately one month in advance. A schedule is also posted online at about the same time. The Conference Committee does its best to meet this timeline, however, on occasion there are delays for which we offer our sincere apologies.

Due to the number of presentations and variables involved in creating the schedule, the Committee cannot consider special scheduling requests. If you believe that you have a circumstance that should be considered separately, you must contact the Conference Committee at your earliest possible chance. Please review the deadlines for the conference year that you are planning to attend.

Each year presenters have the option of submitted a paper or other document to the Conference Proceedings. These Proceedings are kept available via the World Wide Web. Presenters are not obligated to make a submission, but are encouraged to do so. Papers remain the intellectual property of the author and may be removed at the author's request. Proceedings are not reviewed. Please review the deadlines for the conference year that you are planning to attend.

See also Conference FAQ