Guidelines for Workshop and Plenary Session Organizers

Workshop Coordinator (agendas, rooms): Jane Andrew, jandrew@aps.anl.gov, 630-252-0909 (email preferred)
Workshop Assistant (travel, budget): Alesia Gant, lisa83@aps.anl.gov, 630-252-4460

Organizer Responsibilities

• Prepare workshop abstract (for web and program book)
• Enlist speakers
• Determine speaker reimbursement
• Set agenda
• Communicate travel & reimbursement requirements to speakers (see speaker guidelines)
• Collect abstracts
• Provide information for publication
• Write summary

Send material to Jane Andrew unless noted

February 15 -- Workshop descriptions
March 15 -- Preliminary schedule and budget (to Jane and Alesia)
March 31-- Final schedule, titles, and abstracts
April 12 -- Registration for non-U.S. citzens
April 16 -- Late changes--program book to print
April 16 -- Registration without late fee
May 31 -- Expense reports (to Alesia)
May 31 -- Workshop summary

Determine Reimbursements

Alesia Gant will coordinate all travel and reimbursements. By March 15, send Alesia and Jane a list of your speakers, their citizenship, and proposed reimbursements so we can alert you to any problems. You can use this workshop budget form if you wish. Inform both Jane and Alesia about any changes to your speaker list.

• The budget for each full-day workshop is $6500 ($3250 for half day). This budget may be applied to speaker travel, housing, and/or registration.
• Registration fees must be paid for all speakers, either from the workshop budget or by the speaker. (The budget for this self-supporting meeting is calculated on the basis of all participants paying the registration fee.) Thus, for example, if you schedule 10 speakers for a full day and they do not pay for themselves, if registration is $200, then you have spent $2000 of your budget, leaving the remainder for travel reimbursement.
• It may work best not to mention the registration fee when communicating with the speaker. The special speaker registration page does not ask for payment of the fee. If you have a speaker who will be paying the fee themselves, please contact Jane.
• See the Reimbursement Guidelines below for more details, especially regarding air travel.
• You may, if you wish, secure additional external support for the workshop as long as it does not conflict with the participation of a vendor in the regular exhibits. Check with Connie Vanni (vendor@aps.anl.gov) to determine which vendors usually attend the meeting.

Communicate Requirements to Speakers

• Refer speakers to the speaker guidelines at URL http://www.aps.anl.gov/Users/Meeting/2010/Workshops/Guidelines/speakers.php
• Every speaker must register through the web, so that we have their correct contact details and citizenship/visa information.

Set Agenda

• It is recommended that you start at 9:00 a.m. and conclude before 5:00 p.m. if possible.
• Consult the overall meeting schedule to avoid conflicts with poster sessions, tours, other meetings, etc.
• Incorporate coffee breaks in the morning and afternoon and a lunch break (at least one hour). Coffee will be available 10:15-10:45 and 3:00-3:30. Lunch is served from 12:00 to 1:30.

Announce and Publish

Please do not create separate flyers or posters for your workshop; this practice dilutes the overall identity and impact of Users Week.

You can and should send a meeting announcement with a link to the meeting web site to a discipline-specific mailing list. We will also have the poster PDF linked at the meeting site.

If you obtain external support for your workshop, we encourage you to provide an acknowledgment on your workshop web page (which will also appear in the printed program) and in your opening remarks at the workshop.

By the deadlines listed at the top of the page, send the following information to Jane Andrew:

1. Workshop description: Send the workshop title, preliminary descriptions, and any early confirmed speakers. Promptness is important: workshop descriptions need to be on the web when the meeting is formally announced to help create early interest in the meeting.

2. Preliminary schedule: As soon as possible, submit a preliminary schedule for posting on the web. Include speaker names and draft titles or topics. It's a good idea to wait until you have a pretty solid idea of at least half the schedule before posting it; some gaps are OK and the User Office will accommodate occasional changes, but daily updates aren't feasible.

3. Final schedule, titles, and abstracts: This text goes in the program book and the final meeting web pages. Abstracts should be sent in text form, not PDFs. Please make every effort to have it as complete as possible by the deadline specified to avoid errors and inconsistencies caused by late changes. Changes may be accepted until the late-changes deadline at the discretion of the Workshop Coordinator, depending on the print schedule. Errata can be prepared at the time of the meeting, but this practice is strongly discouraged.

Wrap Up

• Write a ~200-word summary of the workshop and send it (by the deadline above) to the Users Meeting Chair, David Tiede (tiede@anl.gov) for publication in the APS newsletter and Synchrotron Radiation News.
• Work with Alesia to resolve any reimbursement issues.

General

• Original receipts are required for all expenses to be reimbursed.
• If an "honorarium" is given instead of reimbursement, the amount will be taxable.
• Typically, reimbursement is not offered for meals. (If you feel you must reimburse meals, please contact Alesia Gant for guidance on per diem reimbursement.)

Housing & Meals

• Lodging is available at the Argonne Guest House. Rates are approximately $60.00 per night for a single. Speakers make their own lodging arrangements.
• Speakers must pay for meeting meals (lunches and banquet) as part of registration. If funds remain in your authorized total after travel is paid, the speaker will receive a per diem according to General Services Administration guidelines.

Air Travel

• Speakers must use a U.S. carrier for air travel. If a foreign carrier is used, airfare cannot be reimbursed. (An exception is travel on a foreign carrier that is booked through a domestic carrier, e.g., through a code share.)
• Original receipts are required.
• Before purchasing a ticket, the traveler must obtain a price quote through the User Office. The purpose is to confirm that the lowest reasonable fare is chosen. Here's the procedure:
  • The speaker contacts Alesia Gant, lisa83@aps.anl.gov, 630-252-4460, with desired itinerary.
  • Alesia obtains a price quote from Argonne's travel office and communicates it to the speaker.
  • The traveler purchases his or her own ticket by whatever means desired.
• Air travel will be reimbursed to the amount quoted by Alesia, or to the reimbursement amount authorized by the organizer, whichever is lower. (If the authorized reimbursement exceeds the airfare quote, the remainder can be applied to other authorized expenses.)

Other Travel Modes

• Car rentals: Rentals between Chicagoland airports and Argonne National Laboratory are reimbursable. Cars rented from other locations are reimbursable to the extent the cost does not exceed the cost of airfare. The type of rental car must be a compact size and at the most economical rate possible. Gasoline must either be pre-purchased or the vehicle is to be returned full. For vehicles returned that require gasoline, the reimbursement will be limited to the pre-purchase rate.
• Personal cars: Mileage, gasoline, and tolls are reimbursable to the extent they do not exceed the cost of airfare.
• Train: The expense of train travel is reimbursable to the extent the cost does not exceed the cost of airfare.
• Taxi: Taxi expenses are reimbursable provided they are reasonable.