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IMPORTANT - BSPA 2020 Conference **Now Virtual** May 28-29

  • 1.  IMPORTANT - BSPA 2020 Conference **Now Virtual** May 28-29

    Posted 03-16-2020 12:19
    Dear Colleagues, 

    In response to COVID-19 (coronavirus), the 2020 BSPA conference is going virtual. There will be no in-person convening.

    All of the original programming-and new programming uniquely fit for digital-will instead be hosted online during the week of May 25th, with live streaming and interactive sessions from 11am-4pm (EST) on May 28th and 29th. 

    We have worked hard to ensure that this experience will be a great one for both participants and presenters by trying to take full advantage of the unique opportunities a virtual format provides, and by engaging a very experienced technical team to support the event.  While we will announce more of the details very soon, we wanted to inform those who planned to attend as early as possible so you can adjust your travel plans accordingly.  

    Be assured that most of the usual activities will remain on the program, including keynotes and panels, parallel sessions, audience participation, and networking opportunities-only they will be in virtual format.  Some of the advantages of the virtual format are:

    • Some speakers whose schedules prohibited travel to DC can now participate.

    • Participants will be able to attend all of the parallel sessions since they will be recorded and thus can be viewed asynchronously.

    • Q&A and other interaction with speakers can be more substantive since we will have an early release of their presentations and create discussion boards so that the live Q&A session (virtual but real-time) can facilitate more participant involvement.

    • We will create chat rooms and other forums for individuals and small groups to connect real time or asynchronously to foster collaboration and more in-depth discussion.

    • You can participate from your home or office, and view presentations at convenient times with live scheduled events being the only hard time constraint.

    • The conference fee will be greatly reduced from $500 to $125, and from $250 to $75 for students.  Credit will be given to those who have already registered – contact BSPA to learn about the options. Please CLICK HERE to register.

    We will announce further details in the days to come, but for now we ask that you reserve the hours of 11am-4pm (EST) on Thursday and Friday May 28-29 for this exciting event.  We doubt we will use all of that time block (how many hours can one sit in front of a monitor?) but want you to try to reserve to give us the flexibility as we work out the details to optimize the experience. 

    Although we were initially reluctant to go virtual, in shifting the design we've become excited about the novel opportunities provided by an online format. We're not going to simply stream the same event online, but this is a chance to unlock entirely new experiences and enhance our work together. We appreciate your support and look forward to your participation in this innovative event.  

    We look forward to seeing you all online May 28-29. In the meantime, please direct any questions to Kaye de Kruif (kaye@behavioralpolicy.org) in the BSPA administrative office. 

    Craig Fox, Sim Sitkin & David Yokum
    BSPA 2020 Conference Committee

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    Sim Sitkin
    Professor
    Duke University
    Durham NC
    (919)660-7946
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