The National Adaptation Forum will convene practitioners and innovators (e.g. managers, policymakers, researchers) who are actively engaged or interested in climate change adaptation. The Forum will create a space for the professional adaptation community from across the United States to share strategies, lessons, tools, and information necessary to incorporate climate change into their work.  We are excited that you are interested in being an active participant in this important event and encourage you to submit a proposal for a symposium, an oral or a poster presentation, or to lead a training event or working group.  We are particularly interested in proposals that address multiple sectors and present innovative ways to advance climate change adaptation.

Please review the themes and participation options listed below and submit your proposal by November 30, 2012!

If you would like to read about ideas from other potential presenters, visit the Message Board.

SESSION FORMATS

• Create a SYMPOSIUM around a key topic related to the themes.
• Plan a TRAINING EVENT and design an interactive educational experience in which participants develop skills to take home.
• Convene and lead a WORKING GROUP around a key challenge or emerging issue that lays a foundation
  for future action.
• Is a session more planning that you are up for? Submit an abstract for an ORAL or POSTER PRESENTATION to be presented to your colleagues.

SYMPOSIUM
One of the best ways people learn is by example. Symposium sessions (1.5 hours) will allow for presentation of adaptation activities among peers so they can learn from each other. Like traditional conference sessions there can be formal presentations of case studies, methodologies and/or general adaptation findings, but we encourage you to design opportunities for audience involvement. So rather than having a session that is back to back talks with audience only listening, we encourage you to make the audience a participant in the process.

Required Information for Symposium Presentation Submission:

1. Organizer's name, affiliation, and complete contact information, including e-mail address
2. Symposium Session Title
3. Brief summary of Symposium Session Title for tweeting purposes (max 140 characters including spaces)
4. Length (1.5 hours or 3 hours)
5. Identify which theme your proposal corresponds with, or select "multi-theme"
6. Three key words related to the topic of your proposal
7. Proposed theme and abstract (200 words max)
8. Expected outcomes of your proposal and how you plan to communicate the results (200 words)
9. A list of additional presenters and their presentation titles, if applicable

If you would like to submit 2 or more Symposium Presentations, you will need to complete separate online submissions for each one.  You can use the same e-mail address to enter all of your submissions, simply select "Start a New Registration" instead of entering your password.
Deadline for submission is November 30, 2012

TRAINING EVENT
We are seeking experienced climate adaptation practitioners to lead professional development trainings (1.5-6 hours in length) at the Inaugural National Adaptation Forum. Each training session should provide attendees with an interactive educational experience in which they develop skills to apply to their own adaptation work, are introduced to tools and methods that can support this work, and have the opportunity to work with and learn from each other in an interactive setting.  Trainings should aim to be cross-sectoral in an effort to demonstrate the integrated nature of successful adaptation. As such they should engage multiple perspectives, either across sectors, geographies or stakeholders (e.g. national, tribal, regional, state, local, private, non-profit, educational). The sessions should be geared toward a diverse audience including managers, planners, scientists, engineers, sectoral interest groups, private sector and policymakers who are actively involved in developing climate adaptation strategies. Alternatively, technical trainings (e.g., GIS) gauged at a targeted audience will be also be considered.

Criteria for Training Event Proposal Submission

1. Organizer's name, affiliation, and complete contact information, including e-mail address
2. Training Event Title
3. Brief summary of Training Event Title for tweeting purposes (max 140 characters including spaces)
4. Length (1.5 hours to 6 hours)
5. Ideal number of participants
6. Identify which theme your proposal corresponds with, or select "multi-theme"
7. Three key words related to the topic of your proposal
8. Proposed Training Event description (200 words)
9. Theme and Justification: Why is your topic significant to the forum?  Which of the 3 forum themes relates to your training event? (250 words)
10. Expected outcomes of your proposal and how you plan to communicate the results (200 words)
    A list of additional presenters and their presentation titles, if applicable

If you would like to submit 2 or more Training Event Presentations, you will need to complete separate online submissions for each one.  You can use the same e-mail address to enter all of your submissions, simply select "Start a New Registration" instead of entering your password.
Deadline for submission is November 30, 2012

WORKING GROUP
Got a great idea that you want to implement, or feel the need to connect with other experts in your field to tackle a particularly challenging topic? Creating or convening a working group might be the answer!  Workgroup time could be spent furthering research proposals, developing policies or programs, or in structured information exchange about a particular climate change issue.  Working groups offer an opportunity for face-to-face interaction with colleagues you may not normally see every day to spend focused time developing tangible and actionable outputs such as a set of recommendations for a regional adaptation efforts or a white paper on a specific adaptation issue. These 1.5 hour sessions can take place on one day or on multiple days.  You are requested to share your findings and products with the National Adaptation Forum community. Proposals can be to create a new group or to convene an existing group from another professional society or organization.

Criteria for Working Group Proposal Submission

1. Organizer's name, affiliation, and complete contact information, including e-mail address
2. Working Group Title
3. Brief summary of Working Group Title for tweeting purposes (max 140 characters including spaces)
4. Length: (1.5 hours or 3 hours)
5. Ideal number of participants:
6. Identify which theme your proposal corresponds with, or select "multi-theme"
7. Three key words related to the topic of your proposal
8. Proposed Working Group description (200 words)
9. Theme and Justification: Why is your topic significant to the forum?  Which of the 3 forum themes relates to your working group? (250 words)
10. Expected outcomes of your proposal and how you plan to communicate the results (200 words)
11. A list of additional Working Group presenters and their presentation titles, if applicable

If you would like to submit 2 or more Working Group Presentations, you will need to complete separate online submissions for each one.  You can use the same e-mail address to enter all of your submissions, simply select "Start a New Registration" instead of entering your password.
Deadline for submission is November 30, 2012