Organisers' Guidelines

Seminar organisers please click here.
Guidelines for conference organisers can be found below.

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Budget Sheet (1 day conference)
Budget Sheet (2 day conference)

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE GUIDELINES

The Institute runs an extensive annual programme of academic conferences on a wide range of subjects, both general and specialised, within the broad area of English studies. It provides a prestigious venue in central London with excellent conference facilities and an efficient administrative team which takes care of publicity, registration, financing and the general running of events on the day. Recent conferences have ranged from a successful small colloquium on Jews and British Romanticism, to the Eighth Conference of the European Society for the Study of English (ESSE), the largest event of its kind so far hosted by any Institute of the School of Advanced Study, to the Ninth International Milton Symposium and a conference marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.

1. Proposal and Initial Procedure
The Institute welcomes proposals for new conferences, which should be directed in the first instance to the Academic Programme Coordinator, Professor Sandra Clark (email: sandra.clark@sas.ac.uk ). If you intend to propose a conference please first look at the existing Conference Schedule; note that we programme up to two years ahead, and a long lead-in time facilitates organisation, advertising and fund-raising. If you are a postgraduate student we will welcome your proposal, but we will want confirmation that you have the support of your department or school.

On receipt of the proposal, the Academic Programme Coordinator will want to discuss the following issues prior to a first meeting:

• The title and scope of the conference
• The length (how many days)
• The preferred dates on which the conference will run
• The names of your speakers
• Whether you are thinking of applying for funding or have already obtained it
• Whether you are thinking of inviting overseas speakers
• Whether you want to make a call for papers

Once a Conference has been approved, the Organiser must submit a pre-conference budget (templates may be downloaded via the links above) and will be invited to attend a planning meeting with the Academic Programme Coordinator and the Events Officer to confirm financial and practical arrangements. It may be necessary to schedule a second meeting prior to the event in order to confirm amendments and to finalise figures and arrangements. The Institute cannot undertake to run a conference without an agreed budget, and any subsequent changes to that budget must be also be agreed.

2. Engaging speakers
Organisers may recruit speakers by invitation or by a call for papers. In either case action should be taken well ahead of the planned event: a lead-in time of one year would normally be the minimum. Calls for papers will be posted on the Institute website. Please contact the Academic Programme Coordinator for advice about other relevant websites and e-lists. Please inform the Events Officer when speakers have accepted; the Institute will send out formal letters of invitation.

3. Speakers' expenses
The Institute has no fund to pay for travel and accommodation for speakers. Our expectation is that speakers from the Higher Education sector will apply for assistance from their own institutions. Organisers must make speakers aware of this fact. For conferences of two days or more it is possible to apply for outside funding to help with travel, but this should not be relied upon at the outset.

4. Seeking Funding
You may wish to approach your own or a partner institution for financial help towards, for example, holding a reception or helping speakers with their expenses. For a conference of two days or more application may be made through the Institute for a British Academy conference grant, especially if overseas speakers are to be invited. The Academy operates a strict set of deadlines for application, and would require the submission of a full programme, complete budget and an academic referee. Early application (six months or more before the date of the conference) will give the best chance of success. For details consult the British academy website (www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/index.html), or contact the Academic Programme Coordinator.

The MHRA offers a limited number of bursaries to support postgraduate registration. For details see the MHRA website (www.mhra.org.uk)

Publishers may also be willing to contribute to costs where their authors are involved. Please bear this in mind when approaching speakers.

5. Joint Conferences
The Institute welcomes collaboration with other academic institutions and is happy to run joint conferences. Please note, however, that the Institute must handle all financial arrangements associated with the conference.

6. Programming
When planning your conference programme try to avoid cramming too many speakers into the day, or having more than three parallel sessions at any one time (this may result in an increased Administration Charge). Where conferences begin in the morning we suggest a 10am start to allow travelling time. Please also make sure you allow sufficient time for refreshment breaks and lunch. If you are planning to invite publishers to display material at the conference, please also leave time in the programme for people to look at and buy the books.

If your conference is to take place on a Saturday please note that Senate House catering services do not operate a canteen or coffee shop during weekends, and that any tea/coffee and lunch orders will incur an additional weekend labour charge of £14 per person x a minimum of 4 hours.

7. Registration
The standard registration fee is currently £35 for a one-day conference (£25 concessions and members of the Institute) and £65 for a two-day conference (£45 concessions/members) . For conferences of three days or more registration fees are subject to negotiation, but the suggested standard rate is £80 (£60 concessions/members). Speakers and Chairs are normally expected to pay the concessionary rate, and should be so informed. Invited/plenary/keynote speakers are not expected to pay a registration fee but should be encouraged to complete a registration form.

8. Conference Venue
The Institute includes the cost of fully equipped conference rooms and technical support in the Administration Charge. There may be extra charges for technical support in certain circumstances. For conferences involving more than 120 people, it may be necessary to hire external accommodation at a significant cost. Please bear this in mind at the outset.

9. Administration Charge
The Administration Charge quoted in the budget template is a nominal representation of the cost to the Institute of hosting a conference. These therefore are our minimum internal costs which we aim to clear by conference income. The current rates are set at £500 for a one-day event and £650 for a two-day event, but may be subject to negotiation in cases where the organisation of the conference is significantly complicated. Conferences of three days or more (and those with a large number of parallel sessions) are considerably more time-consuming to organise, and for these a higher Administration Charge must be set. In accordance with the principles of fEC (full Economic Costing), which the Institute is expected by the University to observe, the Administration Charge takes account of the time taken by the Institute staff working on the conference. It also includes the provision of rooms for conferences of less than 120 people, standard technical support and the following responsibilities:

• The Institute will book conference rooms, equipment and catering where agreed with the organiser during the planning process.
• Conference programmes will be posted and updated on the Institute's website (http://ies.sas.ac.uk/events, accessed via the School of Advanced Study), and notification will be regularly emailed and posted out to the Institute's full membership and subject groups.
• Conferences will be listed in a rolling series of advertisements in the London Review of Books and the Times Literary Supplement. (Additional Press advertising may also be discussed and budgeted for.)
• The Institute will answer enquiries, receive and process all registration forms and income, and keep a record of conference attendance and income.
• The Institute will organise publisher/bookseller exhibitions and/or delegate-pack leafleting in response to the organiser's suggestion and/or direct approach by interested publishers/booksellers.
• The Institute will book hotel accommodation where agreed.
• The Institute will provide directional signage and registration facilities on the day of the conference, and be on hand to assist with any problems or queries during the event, including late registration and the issuing of receipts where requested.
• The Institute will conclude all financial arrangements of the conference, including the receipt of all financial contributions and the payment of expenses where agreed.

10. Financial Regulations
Organisers are asked to abide by the following:

• The Administration Charge cannot be waived.
• Financial commitments to participants in conferences (speakers, chairs, publishers, delegates, sponsors, etc.) must not be made without the Institute's agreement. A failure to do this can result in considerable inconvenience and embarrassment, as the Institute may be unable to honour such commitments.
• Accommodation for speakers, where offered (with the prior agreement of the Institute), will be in a local mid-price hotel, and only for the duration of the conference. In the event of speakers being offered alternative accommodation, reimbursement will be made up to the rate charged for a single room within the specified price-range (currently £95 per night).
• Where funding has been secured to support speakers' travel expenses, reimbursement will not be made to an amount greater than that quoted in the funding application and conference budget. Where a speaker's itinerary includes an engagement with another institution immediately preceding or following the conference, it is expected that any expenses will be shared with that institution.
• Lunch may be provided for speakers on the day they are speaking (NB: this must be anticipated in the initial budget). The Institute will not undertake to provide lunch for the whole delegation without appropriate earmarked funding or an additional cost per head.
• The Institute will not enter into the organisation of activities outside the principal academic schedule of the conference (i.e. drinks receptions, dinners, museum or library visits, coach tours, etc.) without appropriate funding. Such activities will substantially increase the amount of administrative time devoted to the organisation of the conference, and this will be reflected in an increased Administration Charge.
• The Institute must be consulted where circumstances dictate a revision of the conference budget. The budget must describe costs as accurately as possible in advance of the conference.

11. Summary of the organiser's reponsibilities:

• Choose and invite speakers, and subsequently deal with all correspondence with speakers. The Institute will correspond with speakers only in order to send an official invitation. The Institute may, as and when necessary, send the organiser standard letters to be forwarded to speakers.
• Select and approach Chairs for sessions where necessary.
• Complete and return the pre-conference budget sheet as soon as possible being sure to include any travel, accommodation, catering and equipment requirements.
• Arrange an initial planning meeting with the Academic Programme Coordinator.
• Provide the Events Officer with the title of the event, date, format and descriptive text for publicity purposes ahead of the initial planning meeting, followed at a later stage by the full conference programme.
• Inform the Events Officer of any changes to the conference programme and/or budget without delay.
• Apply for external funding where appropriate (e.g., sponsorship by institution, funding body, publisher), and assist the Academic Programme Coordinator with the preparation of an application to the British Academy if appropriate.
• In consultation with the Events Officer contact publishers to arrange bookstalls or leaflets.
• Organise any additional publicity (e.g. printed posters) where agreed with the Institute.
• Actively encourage registration for the event through personal contacts and departmental/ organizational connections.
• Ensure that all speakers, chairs and invited guests register in person.
• Senate House is a no-smoking building. Conference Organisers may be asked to help enforce this policy.
• Ensure that any events additional to the conference programme (trips, dinners, reception, etc.) will not be organised unless they have first been accurately costed and agreed with the Institute.

12. From Successful Conference to Published Proceedings
The Institute makes every appropriate effort to publish, in selected and revised form, the proceedings of its conferences, using a range of commercial and/or specialist publishers. (Reference should be made to various pages on our web site, to be found under http://ies.sas.ac.uk/Publications/index.htm).

The Institute therefore reserves its position in respect of the publication of materials derived from its own events, and expects that published proceedings will bear the words 'published in association with the Institute of English Studies' on the title page, with due acknowledgement of the originating event.

Under the Institute's leading publications agreement, Palgrave Macmillan has the first refusal of proposals emanating from the activities of the Institute, and pays the Institute a 'finder's fee' in respect of any titles thus eventually published in the Palgrave Macmillan/IES Series. In the event of publication by another publisher, the Institute will seek an appropriate consideration, but will otherwise leave the Editors (usually the Conference Organisers) free to pursue their own contractual arrangements with the publisher.

Two copies of volumes published must be deposited free of charge with the Institute, for publicity purposes, and the Institute is happy to advertise such volumes on its website, to establish links to the publisher's website to facilitate online purchase, and to sell such books at its own future functions.

Conference organizers should, in the first instance, contact the Institute's Deputy Director for advice when drawing up proposals for the publication of papers delivered at Institute events. Should the Institute be unable to arrange for suitable publication of papers first delivered at its events either with Palgrave Macmillan or with another publisher, the Institute's agreement that such papers be independently published will not be unreasonably withheld.

13. Checklist for organisers

Conference proposal approved by Institute

Title, date and format of conference agreed

Speakers approached/agreed

External funding secured

Pre-conference budget completed and approved by Institute

Draft c onference programme submitted to Institute

Accommodation requirements submitted to Institute

Room/equipment/catering specifications submitted to Institute

Additional publicity organised (where agreed)

Registration fee agreed

Registration opened

Publishers approached/agreed

Conference programme finalised

Institute Contacts

Deputy Director / Academic Programme Coordinator
Professor Sandra Clark
Institute of English Studies
University of London
Senate House
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HU
Tel: +44 (0)207 862 8645
Fax: +44 (0)207 862 8720
Email: sandra.clark@sas.ac.uk

(to discuss new conference proposals ahead of submission; to arrange initial planning meeting; to discuss funding applications to external bodies, possible targets for calls for papers, and publication of conference proceedings if appropriate)

Events Officer
Jon Millington
Institute of English Studies
University of London
Senate House
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HU
Tel: +44 (0)207 664 4859
Fax: +44 (0)207 862 8720
Email: jon.millington@sas.ac.uk

(room/equipment/catering bookings, conference programme details, web/press/mailing list advertising, arrangements for publishers, speakers' hotel bookings, expenses claims, budget review, enquiries and registrations, arrangements on the day)