Events planning with the Society – a new collaborative approach
20 May 2024
The Microbiology Society is a membership charity and not-for-profit publisher. We support and invest in the microbiology community for the benefit of everyone. To do this as effectively as possible; to seize opportunities as they arise and to meet the ambition of our strategy, we are evolving.
Our members will be aware of several changes happening across our activities, ranging from the delivery of our communications to the way we organise events.
We aim to deliver the widest possible participation in our programmes and ensure diverse representation from our global membership. This will ensure we live up to our values of being welcoming to all and amplifying the voices of all of our members.
We are changing how you can apply to run an event or meeting with us, to streamline the process, make it less onerous for you, and ensure we offer the widest possible range of events and meetings to appeal to everyone, irrespective of location, career stage or sector. The topic, the purpose and how the event meets the target audience's needs will help decide its format and how we manage our collaborative approach.
These changes will help to ensure we meet our principal goal to strengthen our culture of being a community-driven Society by amplifying our members’ voices, wherever they are in the world, and empowering them to embed the benefits of microbiology within wider society.
We particularly welcome applications for meetings and events aimed at individuals working in infection science, clinical and industry microbiological settings, as well as events looking to engage an international microbiology audience. Countries of focus include Canada, Germany and the USA and we also welcome proposals on core topics for the Society, including antimicrobial resistance.
The new application process: a collaborative approach
- You can apply to run a meeting or event with the Society via an online form.
- We have also reduced the amount of information you need to provide at submission. We encourage you to submit proposals at an early stage.
- We aim to develop a collaborative approach, working together to co-develop event formats and programmes to meet the needs of the microbiology community and the Society’s strategic objectives.
- Alongside an open call for event proposals, open all year round, we will also have targeted calls which address priority topics, along with communities and countries from which we would particularly welcome proposals.
New formats for meetings
- We are focusing on the purpose of events for the needs of our community, ensuring we select formats that best support the aims of each event.
- There is a wide range of formats available to you, from online to in-person, short webinars to Annual Conference sessions, to workshop-style events.
Publishing for the community
- The Society is not for profit – everything we offer our community happens thanks to the revenue generated by publishing.
- Our ability to deliver programmes and activities, including our events, depends on our ability to capture content for publication.
- We would like all applicants to consider how their proposal aligns with our publishing portfolio from the outset, which in turn can help benefit the entire community.
Other sources of grants and funding
- As a membership charity we ask that applicants consider how their proposed event could secure funding from other sources, including potential sponsorship from industry or commercial organisations and grants from other bodies.
- An example is grants available from the Federation of European Microbiology Societies (FEMS) – scientific meetings proposed by Society members to be held in the European Area are eligible for FEMS grants and we may ask you to pursue these sources as a condition of acceptance for your application.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the new process, please get in touch with Alex Price, Programme Development Manager ([email protected]).
Propose a meeting
You can propose a meeting online: microbiologysociety.org/events/event-proposals-and-conference-grants/events-programme-proposals.html
