Everything You Need to Know About Submitting a Proposal for #MACoCon

MACo’s Summer Conference, “Water, Water Everywhere,” will be held at the Ocean City Convention Center on August 15-18, 2018. Topic proposals will be accepted through April 13, 2018.

SC18 Brochure Cover - finalMACo’s 2018 Summer Conference will focus on all the ways counties work with water. From the health of the Bay and Maryland’s waterways to the infrastructure, treatment, and regulations that ensure safe and healthy water flows through our pipes, county governments are keeping our residents afloat. Conference sessions will discuss the Bay, water infrastructure, watermen and oyster/fishery/habitat issues, floods and other natural disasters, and ways to put the wind back in the sails of a tight budget.

Review the Call for Proposals – deadline is April 13, 2018.

 


SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL:

For your topic or session to be considered, please send the following information by email (vwhite@mdcounties.org) no later than April 13, 2018:

  • Topic and/or draft title
  • Brief abstract of information to be covered (MAXIMUM: 200 words)
  • Suggested speakers (individual names or generic titles, eg: county finance officer, Delegate, etc.)
  • Contact information for follow-up

 

SESSION FORMAT DETAILS:

MACo’s educational sessions are typically 1 hour in length and focus on issues of interest to county government officials and staff. A proposed session does not need to fit the conference theme, but it is strongly encouraged.

To ensure that we present a balanced presentation with varying viewpoints, MACo’s conference sessions will normally include 3, possibly 4, speakers; for example: a county representative, an academic representative, a state agency representative, and/or a commercial representative. We normally invite legislators to moderate the panels.

MACo’s conference planning group is very open to other formats. However, please keep in mind that if your topic is accepted, that is not a guarantee that it will be presented as submitted. MACo may need to add or substitute speakers to achieve our desired level of viewpoint diversity or adjust content to be broader or narrower, as appropriate for our audience. If your topic is selected, a MACo staff person will be assigned to coordinate that session and invite speakers.

We do not allow presentations that strive to sell a particular product or service as part of our educational session program. If a commercial representative is included on a panel, they are included as an industry expert and are asked to speak broadly about industry best practices with only minimal focus on their particular commercial entity and only as it relates to the topic or project being discussed.

If you represent a commercial organization and would like an opportunity to talk specifically about your product or service, we offer a special Solutions Showcase of 30-minute sessions on a topic of the sponsor’s choice. Contact Nicolette Querry at 410.269.0043 or nquerry@mdcounties.org for more details.

 

NOTIFICATION TIMETABLE:

MACo’s conference planning group meets at the end of April and makes decisions on a final slate of presentations in early- or mid-May. You will receive an email confirmation that your proposal was received right away, but notification of topic acceptance will not be until mid-May.

Please contact Virginia White if you have any questions: 410-269-0043 or  vwhite@mdcounties.org.

 

Learn more about MACo’s Summer Conference: