Meeting Site Selection and Planning

Request for Proposals to Host the Annual Meeting
Conference Years: 2011 or 2012

The Urban Affairs Association is seeking proposals from interested parties to host the 41st (in 2011) or 42nd (in 2012) Annual Meeting of the organization. The hosting of the annual meeting is an excellent opportunity to bring national attention to your academic program, faculty and students, research activities, institution, and local community. We encourage you to consider this unique vehicle for attracting funders, local policymakers, community leaders, and research colleagues.

1. Host Bid Process

The overall host bid process includes the following steps:

a. An initial letter of interest is sent by e-mail or fax to the Site Selection Committee. The Site Selection Committee consists of Bill Rohe (rohe@email.unc.edu) and Mara Sidney (msidney@andromeda.rutgers.edu).

Deadline for letter of intent: October 15, 2008

b. A formal proposal is submitted to the Site Selection Committee that includes more detailed information on how the site meets the UAA's criteria and three or four suggested hotel options.

Deadline for formal proposal: February 1, 2009

c. Formal proposals are reviewed by the Site Selection Committee. The Committee makes a recommendation to the UAA Governing Board, and a decision is made. The decision is conveyed to the institutional representatives (who submitted proposals) by the Site Selection Committee Chair.

Deadline for UAA Board decision: March 6, 2009

d. A letter of agreement is signed between the selected local host institution and the UAA Executive Director. Subsequently a site visit is conducted by UAA staff to select a hotel and negotiate room rates.

2. Site Selection Criteria

The Board of the Urban Affairs Association has established criteria for evaluating proposals for the Association's annual meeting.

Site selection criteria:

a. An institutional member, or members, of the Association must sponsor the annual meeting and create a local arrangements committee. Institutions may join the Association at the time their proposal is submitted. (The Institutional Member dues rate will be $345 in 2009.)

b. The proposed site must be able to attract sufficient attendees to maintain the meeting's expected contribution to the UAA budget.

c. The Association wants to maintain geographic balance in its meeting sites, and preference will be given to portions of the continent that have not recently hosted a meeting. A list of recent and upcoming meeting sites can be found at the UAA conference website (www.edel.edu/uaa/annual_meeting). If the meeting is held in a portion of the continent that does not have extensive membership, the host institution should indicate how the meeting would help build the Association's institutional and individual membership. The host institution should indicate how the meeting would be marketed to non-traditional attendees.

d. The host organization should describe relevant experience that demonstrates that it has the knowledge and capacity to host the event, engage in fundraising, organize a reception and tours, and contribute to the conference program content.

e. The proposed site should possess adequate air service at competitive prices to provide reasonable accessibility to likely attendees.

f. The proposed site should have adequate facilities to fulfill the meeting's requirements, which include adequate space for the plenary sessions, mini-plenary sessions, panels, receptions, hotel rooms in the host hotel, and tours.

g. The proposal should suggest ways in which the site will serve as a learning opportunity for attendees.

h. The proposal should specify sets of potential dates when the conference could take place. These dates should take into consideration both the availability of hotel space (see hotel criteria below), and potential scheduling conflicts with other major responsibilities of the local host committee.

Note: The annual meeting takes place in the spring but there are no set dates. It has been held between mid March to early May. May meeting dates, however, can conflict with end-of-term examinations and commencements and are not preferred. One consideration in setting dates is to avoid holidays and time conflicts with other major conferences (e.g., Association of American Geographers, Mid-West Political Science Association.) The meetings typically begin with an opening reception on a Wednesday, and end on a Saturday, with tours scheduled for the afternoon.

3. Formal Program Responsibilities of the Local Host

The local host committee is not responsible for general program planning. The Association will appoint a separate program committee. However, the local host committee does have the following specific responsibilities for programming:

• Planning and implementation of the opening Thursday plenary that focuses on a local or regional theme.

• Selection of the keynote speaker (20 minutes maximum) for Thursday's
  sit-down lunch.

• The local host committee may also wish to develop proposals for special sessions or tracks. However, these proposals must go through the normal review process.

4. Financial Responsibilities of the Local Host

The financial responsibilities of the local host vary depending on decisions made and in-kind contributions. The UAA Executive Office works with each local host committee to develop fund-raising strategies for the conference to help offset the financial burden to local host institutions.

The following items partially determine the costs:

a) Container (bag) for meeting program, city information, etc. At some meetings brief cases or tote bags have been provided. The cost of this item is borne by the local host committee.

b) Thursday night local host reception. This event is usually held outside of the hotel; it is one of two primary social events of the meeting (the other is the Wednesday Opening Reception sponsored by UAA). Costs have varied depending on site rental, if transportation is required to reach the site, number of bars that are set up, and the quantity and quality of food and drink provided. Costs have ranged from $10,000 to $25,000. Music is purely optional. If music is provided in any form it should be arranged so that UAA members wishing to have conversations will be able to do so without interruptions or loud distractions. Please note that it is preferred that the reception be held in a location within walking distance of the host hotel. The local host is expected to provide a map, directions, and any signage required to help attendees find the reception location.

Note: the Governing Board recognizes that the costs of such a reception may be difficult to cover for a host. Prospective hosts should contact the chair of the Site Selection Committee to discuss financial concerns and to develop strategies for addressing those concerns.

5. Other Responsibilities of the Local Host

Saturday Tours and Local Information Services

The annual meeting schedule includes a variety of city tours to be held Saturday afternoon (typically 1-6pm) after meeting proceedings are officially completed. All tours should be planned and priced to be self supporting.

Specific tasks include:

• Identifying destinations, recruiting tour leaders, and arranging for any relevant transportation.

• Processing pre-conference registrations for tours, collecting fees, and maintaining tour registration list (unless request is made for UAA Office to handle these responsibilities).

• Providing staff to handle on-site tour registration desk (located at main conference registration area).

• Staff must be available during conference registration hours (generally Wed. 1-8pm, Thurs. 7am-6pm, Fri. 7am-6pm, Sat. 8-10:30am). They are responsible for processing on-site tour registrations, collecting fees, and answering tourism-related questions.

• Arranging for site coordinators as people arrive for tours.

• Determining departure location(s) and time(s) for tours.

• Providing detailed tour descriptions (including tour costs) to UAA Office no later than November 1.

• Providing city tourist maps for participants.

Identification of Possible Hotel Sites

The local host is asked to identify 3-4 local hotels that might serve as the potential conference site. When suggesting hotels, institutions must keep in mind the requirements and guidelines provided below:

The host hotel should be centrally located--near restaurants, shopping districts, tourist attractions/cultural landmarks, and public transportation stops/depots.

Hotels that are able to accommodate the meeting and banquet space requirements provided below are given top consideration.

a) A minimum of 10 concurrently available meeting rooms for the duration of the conference

b) Hotels with adjacent meeting rooms and/or with meeting rooms on only one or two floors are preferred.

c) Banquet space large enough to accommodate 400 people for our seated luncheons and plenary sessions.

d) Space for book exhibitors (approximately 25-35 table tops) .

e) Enough sleeping accommodations to handle the minimum of room reservations: Wednesday (100rooms);Thursday (200 rooms);Friday (200 rooms);Saturday (50 rooms).