26–24 months before
Secure the next host, or solicit host bids if needed.
The EC should confirm the host, city, proposed dates, local leadership, venue capacity, accommodations, and institutional support.
Section 01
Early History
In 2006, Derek Corneil, Pavol Hell and Daniel Panario discussed the possibility of having a Canadian biennial discrete mathematics conference, to take place in odd numbered years, and whose structure was to be similar to the SIAM conference in discrete mathematics. They consulted with discrete mathematicians across Canada. Their idea received overwhelming positive support. Planning for the first such conference took place in June 2006 at the SIAM Discrete Mathematics meeting in Victoria, British Columbia.
It was decided that this new conference series would be called the Canadian Discrete and Algorithmic Mathematics (CanaDAM) conferences. The executive committee (EC) for the first CanaDAM meeting in 2007 consisted of Derek Corneil (chair), Jason Brown, Pavol Hell, Ortrud Oellermann, Daniel Panario and Bruce Reed. The first conference was hosted by the University of Alberta and took place at the Banff Conference Centre.
Section 02
Aims and Scope
The general topic of the conference is the theory and application of discrete structures and algorithms. Its goal is to highlight the most salient trends in the field.
Particular areas of interest include additive combinatorics, algebraic combinatorics, analytic combinatorics, coding theory, combinatorial algorithms, combinatorial games, combinatorial matrix theory, combinatorial optimization, computational complexity, computational geometry, design theory, directed graphs, enumeration, extremal combinatorics, graph theory, hypergraphs, matroid theory and probabilistic combinatorics with applications to diverse areas including artificial intelligence, biology, chemistry, computer science, cryptography, information processing, large networks, physics and quantum information theory.
Each CanaDAM conference consists of plenary talks, a public interest lecture, other special events, and parallel sessions consisting of invited and contributed minisymposia and contributed talks. There are many ways to participate in this conference, including by attending, organizing or presenting in any of the events mentioned above.
Section 03
Organizational Structure
CanaDAM is organized jointly by the Executive, Local, Program and Funding Committees. This section provides a brief overview of each committee. A more detailed description of some of the tasks that each committee is typically responsible for is provided in the Suggested Schedule of Organizational Tasks section.
Note: Each CanaDAM committee is led by one Chair or multiple co-Chairs. Throughout these bylaws, the singular term "Chair" will often be used with the understanding that it may refer to either a solo Chair or one or more co-Chairs.
Executive Committee (EC): The Executive Committee provides long-term vision and continuity for the conference. They also oversee and help to coordinate the work of the other committees. The EC usually consists of university faculty members or research scientists based in Canada with expertise in discrete or algorithmic mathematics or their applications, but members who do not fit this description may be included when appropriate.
Each EC member commits to serve on the committee for a term of three CanaDAM Conferences. If an EC Member is unable to serve for their full term, then a replacement should be sought. Typically, after each conference, two EC members leave the committee and are replaced by two new members. The number of members on the committee or the number of new members added after each conference may occasionally differ from the numbers stated here due to exceptional circumstances; e.g. to compensate for cases in which there are members who do not serve for a full term. One or two members of the EC are designated as the Chair or co-Chairs. Under normal circumstances, a person serves as EC Chair for only one term. An EC member normally serves on the committee for two conferences before assuming the role of Chair. One member of the EC serves as a liaison to the Local Committee and one member of the EC serves as a liaison to the Program Committee.
One or more members of the EC serve on the Funding Committee.
Local Committee (LC): The Local Committee is usually composed of university faculty members or research scientists based in the host city or the surrounding region with expertise in discrete or algorithmic mathematics or their applications, but members who do not fit this description may be included when appropriate. The LC is responsible for dealing with the host university or conference centre and handling other local arrangements and related tasks.
One or two members of the LC are designated as the Chair or co-Chairs. In addition, one member of the EC is designated as the liaison to the LC. The EC liaison to the LC assists the LC in their tasks, when appropriate, and reports on the progress of the LC to the EC and vice versa. The LC should usually have at least four members including the EC liaison to the LC. One or more members of the LC serve on the Funding Committee.
Program Committee (PC): The Program Committee consists of members whose expertise spans a wide range of topics in discrete and algorithmic mathematics or their applications. The PC is responsible for the main scientific aspects of the conference, such as selecting and inviting the invited speakers and invited minisymposium organizers. They are also responsible for reviewing the proposals for contributed minisymposia and contributed talks, and deciding whether to accept or reject them.
They communicate with minisymposium organizers and speakers and collect information from them to include in the program booklet. The PC is led by a PC Chair or two co-Chairs. The PC Chair is invited to serve by the EC. In addition, there is an EC liaison on the PC who assists the PC Chair and the rest of the PC in their duties and reports on the progress of the PC to the EC and vice versa.
The PC Chair and EC liaison to the PC work together to compile the list of potential PC members and alternates and, once the list has been approved by the EC, to invite them to join the committee.
Funding Committee (FC): The Funding Committee consists mostly of members from the EC and LC. When appropriate, the FC may contain members from outside of the EC and LC, but at least three members must be from the EC or LC. One or two members of the FC are designated as Chair or co-Chairs. This committee is responsible for managing the applications for funding from the Canadian mathematical institutes, other Canadian or international funding bodies, and corporate sponsors.
They are also required to participate in budget preparations together with the EC and LC. They make decisions regarding student and postdoc funding and create, distribute and collect reimbursement forms.
In addition to these four committees, the organization of CanaDAM also involves the role of webmaster. The main responsibility of the webmaster is to manage, maintain and update the conference websites, the committee chair e-mail addresses, and mailing lists. Any member of the EC, LC or PC may serve in this role. This role can also be outsourced to a professional web developer if it is appropriate and economical to do so.
Optionally, there can be two or more co-webmasters, possibly from different committees, who are responsible for updating different parts of the website.
Throughout these bylaws, the term organizer refers to any member of the EC, LC, PC or FC.
Section 04
Minisymposia and Talks
Invited Speaker (IS): An invited speaker is defined to be a participant of a CanaDAM conference who gives a plenary talk or public interest lecture at that conference. No other participant at a CanaDAM conference is considered to be an invited speaker for the purposes of these bylaws. The plenary and public interest talks typically do not take place during parallel sessions.
Minisymposium (MS): A minisymposium is defined to be a set of talks that have been organized by one or more minisymposium organizers. The speakers in a minisymposium are typically invited by the minisymposium organizer(s) but are not considered invited speakers for the purposes of these bylaws. Typically, each minisymposium features talks which are focused on a particular theme related to discrete or algorithmic mathematics or their applications.
Some participants are invited by the PC to organize a minisymposium; these minisymposia are referred to as invited minisymposia (IM). There are also contributed minisymposia (CM), each of which is proposed by the organizers of the minisymposium to the PC through an application process. Talks in minisymposia (of all types) typically take place during parallel sessions.
- Contributed Talk (CT): A contributed talk is defined to be a talk which is not an invited talk and is not included in a minisymposium. These talks are proposed by the speakers to the PC through an application process. Contributed talks are typically grouped into sessions on related topics which take place during parallel sessions.
- Each minisymposium consists of between 1 and 3 parts, where each part is scheduled during a different parallel session. No minisymposium can consist of more than three parts. The number of speakers in each part of a minisymposium should normally be at least half of the total number of talks that takes place during a given parallel session. Exceptions can be made in special circumstances with the approval of the PC Chair; e.g. when a speaker cancels and no replacement can be found.
- Minisymposium organizers can invite any speakers that they wish, within reasonable limits. Members of the PC or any other CanaDAM committee may assist minisymposium organizers by suggesting replacement speakers (e.g. from the list of contributed talks) to fill gaps in a minisymposium, but they should avoid intervening directly in the organization of an accepted minisymposium unless it is strictly necessary.
- Minisymposium organizers are permitted but not obligated to give a talk in their own minisymposium.
- Minisymposium organizers may, with the approval of the PC Chair, include open problem sessions or similar activities within their minisymposium in the place of talks, within reasonable limits.
- Normally, no one will give more than one talk in the same minisymposium or to give a single talk that exceeds the length of time alloted to all talks of that type (invited talk, minisymposium talk, contributed talk, etc). Exceptions can be made in special circumstances with the approval of the PC Chair; e.g. when a speaker cancels and no other replacement can be found.
- No one is permitted to organize or co-organize more than one contributed minisymposium at the conference. Organizers of an invited minisymposium are allowed, but not encouraged, to organize a contributed minisymposium.
- Each minisymposium organizer is responsible for handling the main duties related to organizing their minisymposium. This includes, but is not limited to, submitting the title and description for their minisymposium, ensuring that each speaker in their minisymposium submits their title and abstract, and communicating with the speakers of the minisymposium, the PC Chair and other organizers, when appropriate, in a timely and effective manner.
- The PC has the right to remove any minisymposium from the conference at any time if they deem that it has not been responsibly organized, it is not likely to be successful, or its level of quality is does not meet the standards of the conference.
- Giving two talks at CanaDAM is allowed, but is not encouraged. Normally, no one is permitted to give more than two talks (of any types) at the conference. Exceptions can be made in special circumstances with approval of the PC Chair; e.g. when a speaker cancels and no other replacement can be found.
- No one is permitted to give more than one contributed talk at the conference.
- It is the responsibility of each speaker to communicate with the PC Chair or other organizers, when appropriate, in an effective and timely manner. This includes, but is not limited to, submitting the title and abstract for their talk on time.
- The PC has the right to remove any talk from the conference at any time if they deem that the talk is unlikely to take place (due to, e.g., a lack of communication from the speaker) or the quality of the talk does not meet the standards of the conference.
- CanaDAM committee members may participate in the conference by organizing minisymposia and giving talks, as long as the nature of their participation complies with all other policies of CanaDAM.
- CanaDAM is primarily an in-person event. Remote talks or other forms of remote participation can be considered when appropriate. The policies for approving or denying requests for remote participation should be created by the organizers of each CanaDAM conference and should be applied equally to all such requests.
Section 05
Code of Conduct
CanaDAM supports and values an open and diverse community. We strive to provide a supportive and safe environment that is dedicated to excellence, equity and mutual respect and to amplifying voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged in our field.
A strong and inclusive community is something that we all build together. Participants at CanaDAM are asked to proactively create an environment that is free from harassment, discrimination and intimidation. Steps towards an inclusive community include:
- Being conscientious of how our actions affect others.
- Contributing to an atmosphere in which everyone feels welcome and respected.
- Avoiding behaviours that could make other people feel uncomfortable, even when unintended.
- Maintaining professional behaviour throughout the event.
- Including people in conversations and listening respectively to their ideas.
- Refraining from any conduct that harasses, degrades, discriminates against, or excludes others.
We wish to emphasize that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. Sexual harassment is any unwelcome conduct or comments of a sexual nature that could reasonably be perceived to cause discomfort, offence or humiliation. It may involve any conduct of a verbal, nonverbal or physical nature, including written and electronic communications, and may occur between persons regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
Sexual harassment disproportionately affects minoritized and more junior participants, and we are committed to preventing and addressing it.
We are committed to providing an environment that is free from harassment, bullying, discrimination, and retaliation. Aggression, threats, intimidation, or violent behaviour of any kind will not be tolerated at CanaDAM.
Adherence to this code of conduct is expected of all conference attendees. Violations may result in disciplinary action such as dismissal from an event, or dismissal from the conference (with no refund of conference fees) as determined on a case-by-case basis by our leadership or representatives.
If you have any questions, or want to report a violation of this code, please inform any member of the CanaDAM Executive Committee (listed on the website for the current CanaDAM conference; a link to the current conference website can be found at canadam.ca), or email the Executive Committee Chair at ec-chair@canadam.ca. This inbox can only be accessed by the Executive Committee Chair and the conference webmaster. All reports will be handled in the strictest confidentiality.
Section 06
Funding and Expenses
All of the funding and registration fees received by CanaDAM are to be used for the purposes of funding CanaDAM conferences and activities related to organizing CanaDAM conferences. All organizers of CanaDAM are required to use these funds responsibly for the purposes of running the CanaDAM conference and benefiting the general participants of the meeting in accordance with our Conflicts of Interest policy.
The use of CanaDAM funding for the purposes of providing travel funding for invited speakers, students and postdocs or supporting special events at the conference, or similar purposes, is deemed to be for the benefit of general participants, even if these uses of funding do not affect all participants equally.
- The organizers of CanaDAM should aim to approximately balance the budget for each conference. In cases where there is a budget surplus, CanaDAM will use carry-over funds to support future CanaDAM conferences.
- The accommodation, economy airfare or reasonable travel expenses by other modes of transportation, local transportation costs, and conference registration of all invited speakers shall usually be covered.
- The expenses of the organizing committee members, invited minisymposium organizers and speakers related to attending or participating in the conference are usually not covered from CanaDAM funding.
- If adequate funding is available, then the registration fees for the invited minisymposium organizers or the PC Chair may be waived.
- The Funding Committee should develop unambiguous criteria for qualifying for travel support as a student or postdoctoral researcher, post this criteria publicly well in advance of the funding application deadline, and apply the criteria consistently to all applicants.
- All reasonable, necessary, and, where feasible, pre-approved out-of-pocket expenses incurred by conference organizers related to the organization of the conference (which does not include their participation in the conference) will be reimbursed. Such reimbursements require proof of payment and must be approved by a member of a CanaDAM organizing committee other than the person who is being reimbursed.
Section 07
Conflicts of Interest
CanaDAM organizers are expected to act in the best interests of the conference and its participants. A conflict of interest exists when an organizer has a personal, professional, financial, or institutional connection to a matter being considered by CanaDAM, and that connection could reasonably call their impartiality into question. Having a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply that the organizer has done anything wrong.
An organizer has a conflict of interest in a CanaDAM matter if they, or someone with whom they have a close personal, professional, financial, or institutional relationship, has an interest in the outcome of that matter that could reasonably be seen as competing with the interests of CanaDAM or its participants.
Examples of possible conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to:
- a decision about the organizer’s own talk, minisymposium, funding request, reimbursement, sponsorship proposal, or other application or request;
- a decision involving a close family member, partner, close personal friend, current or former student, current or former postdoc, supervisor, employee, employer, or other person with whom the organizer has a close personal or professional relationship;
- a decision involving a current or recent collaborator, or someone with whom the organizer has a significant professional conflict;
- a decision involving the organizer’s institution, employer, company, sponsor, or another organization in which the organizer has a role or financial interest that could reasonably affect their judgment.
Ordinary professional familiarity, working in the same research area, or having a distant or old professional connection does not by itself create a conflict of interest. However, organizers should disclose any situation that could reasonably appear to affect their impartiality.
An organizer who has, or thinks they may have, a conflict of interest should disclose it to the relevant committee Chair as early as possible. An organizer who believes that another organizer may have a conflict of interest may raise the matter with the relevant committee Chair or with the committee.
The relevant committee will decide how the possible conflict should be handled. When appropriate, this decision should be made by the remaining members of the committee, without the participation of the organizer whose possible conflict is being considered. Possible outcomes include:
- deciding that no action is needed;
- recording the disclosure but allowing the organizer to participate;
- limiting the organizer’s access to information about the matter;
- asking the organizer to leave the discussion for all or part of the matter;
- prohibiting the organizer from taking part in the discussion, vote, or decision;
- referring the matter to the Executive Committee.
If an organizer does not take part in a discussion, vote, or decision because of a conflict of interest, they must not try to influence that discussion, vote, or decision, unless the committee has explicitly decided on a limited role for them, such as answering factual questions.
If the possible conflict involves the Chair of a committee, another unconflicted member of the committee should handle the matter. If a committee other than the Executive Committee cannot resolve a conflict of interest issue, the issue should be referred to the Executive Committee. If the issue involves a member of the Executive Committee, it should be handled by the unconflicted members of the Executive Committee.
Decisions under this section should be handled fairly, consistently, and confidentially as far as is reasonably possible. When appropriate, the existence of the conflict and the way it was handled should be recorded in the committee’s minutes, without including unnecessary personal details.
Section 08
Relationship to the CMS
- Historically, the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) has provided logistical and administrative support to CanaDAM. The nature of this support varies from conference to conference, but typically includes holding CanaDAM carry-over funds, hosting the registration system, invoicing funding agencies and sponsors, and processing reimbursements. CanaDAM is grateful to the CMS for this support.
Section 09
Websites and Mailing Lists
The official websites of the CanaDAM conference are canadam.ca and canadam.org.
The main purposes of the CanaDAM websites are to provide information about CanaDAM conferences, maintain a public record of the conference series, and make the current bylaws and other relevant conference information available to the community. The websites are maintained by the CanaDAM webmaster. Some website-related tasks can be given to other organizers or outsourced, as appropriate.
The general CanaDAM mailing list is used primarily for public announcements about CanaDAM conferences, including calls for participation, important deadlines, and other information of broad interest to the CanaDAM community.
CanaDAM may also create a temporary mailing list consisting of registered participants in a particular CanaDAM conference. The main purpose of this list is to send announcements about logistical details that are relevant to the attendees of that specific conference. The addresses on this list are typically added to the general CanaDAM mailing list after the conference.
The CanaDAM mailing lists are maintained by the webmaster or by another organizer. E-mail addresses collected for CanaDAM purposes should not be shared or used for unrelated purposes.
Typically, one or more of the EC, LC or PC Chairs have the responsibility and permission to send e-mails via the CanaDAM mailing lists. This task may also be delegated to another CanaDAM organizer or to the webmaster if agreed upon by the relevant committee Chairs.
CanaDAM may occasionally post or distribute information about other conferences and satellite events which take place close in time or location to a CanaDAM conference and focus on topics related to discrete and algorithmic mathematics that are likely to be of high interest to the CanaDAM community. Information about other conferences or satellite events should only be posted to the CanaDAM website or sent to a CanaDAM mailing list after approval by the EC and LC. CanaDAM does not generally post or distribute information about events or conferences that are not clearly and directly relevant to CanaDAM participants.
Section 10
Suggested Schedule of Organizational Tasks
The following schedule is intended to help future organizers anticipate the main tasks involved in running CanaDAM. It is a guide rather than a binding checklist. The tasks, dates, and responsible people should be adapted to the host institution, conference format, funding arrangements, registration provider, and any unusual circumstances affecting a particular meeting.
The approximate dates below assume that CanaDAM takes place in late May or June. If the conference is held at another time of year, the schedule should be shifted accordingly. For each task, Primary Responsibility identifies the committee or role that would usually lead the task, while Supporting Roles identifies the other committees or roles from which coordination or substantive input is normally expected. Other organizers may assist whenever helpful.
Filter the schedule
Select one or more committees or roles to show the tasks that usually involve them. Selecting multiple filters shows tasks matching any selected filter.
The tasks below are shown as one chronological list. The time labels are approximate, and each task can be filtered by the committees and roles that are usually most directly involved.
No tasks match the current filters.
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Immediately after host selection
Identify the initial Local Committee.
Additional LC members can be added later.
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24 months before
Choose the new webmaster or co-webmasters.
Decide who is responsible for website content, e-mail addresses, forms, and mailing lists. The role may be held by a member of the EC or LC or outsourced when appropriate.
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24-22 months before
Transfer website, domain, mailing list, and chair e-mail access.
The outgoing webmaster should pass on login instructions, hosting/domain details, mailing-list access, and any information needed to keep the websites and e-mail addresses functioning.
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24–22 months before
Populate or refresh the general CanaDAM mailing list from the previous conference.
Do this in a way that complies with the mailing-list policy in the Websites and Mailing Lists section.
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22-20 months before
Identify the LC Chair or co-Chairs.
From within the LC.
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22–20 months before
Invite PC Chair candidates and select the EC liaison to the PC.
Produce a ranked list of 5 or more potential PC chairs and choose the EC liaison to the PC. The EC chair sends out invitations to the potential PC chairs on the ranked list, in order, until a chair is found.
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22–20 months before
Choose the EC liaison to the LC.
Local knowledge can help, but the main purpose is to facilitate communication and support between the EC and LC.
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22–18 months before
Form the Funding Committee and choose the FC Chair or co-Chairs.
The FC normally includes EC and LC members. Add outside members when useful, especially for local, corporate, or international funding opportunities.
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20–18 months before
Determine the conference dates and broad format.
Check conflicts with the CMS Summer Meeting and major discrete mathematics events. Decide the number of days, parallel-session structure, public lecture format, and any special local constraints.
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20–18 months before
Begin venue, room, accommodation, and catering discussions.
Identify plenary and parallel-session rooms, accessibility constraints, possible overflow plans, catering options, campus accommodation, hotel blocks, and institutional room-booking rules.
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20–18 months before
Prepare a skeleton website.
At minimum, include dates, location, committees, contact addresses, accommodation or travel placeholders, and a note that details will be added as they are confirmed.
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18–16 months before
Compile and approve the PC membership list.
The PC Chair and EC-PC liaison prepare a list with alternates; the EC comments or approves; the PC Chair sends invitations until the committee is complete.
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17–15 months before
Check funder deadlines and submit institute or agency applications.
Check PIMS, Fields, CRM, AARMS, TIMC, ICA, the Combinatorics Consortium, the host institution, and any other relevant funders early enough to avoid missed deadlines. Submit applications when appropriate.
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16–15 months before
Solicit PC suggestions for invited speakers, the public lecturer, and invited minisymposium organizers.
Aim for breadth across discrete and algorithmic mathematics, career stages, geography, backgrounds, and, where appropriate, industry or applied areas.
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15–14 months before
Approve the invited speaker and invited minisymposium lists.
The PC proposes a list with alternates. The EC approves it or suggests changes before invitations are sent.
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15–12 months before
Invite and confirm invited speakers and invited minisymposium organizers.
Inform invited speakers of travel funding policies.
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15–12 months before
Apply for a special event code from the IRCC SELU and decide who handles visa-support letters.
The responsible organizer should have access to accepted-talk and registration information and should know what can be stated in support letters.
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14–12 months before
Create submission systems for contributed minisymposia and contributed talks.
Set the required fields and determine the workflow for minisymposium organizers and the PC. Optionally, this task may be delegated to the EC.
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12 months before
Start thinking about Special Events.
Consider the logistics of holding and funding Special Events at the conference. Determine the process for finding organizers for the events. Consider having an open call for Special Event organizers.
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12 months before
Send the initial announcement and call for participation.
Announce the dates, location, themes, and a link to the website. Also include invited speakers, submission deadlines, and funding application details if available. Approval should be sought from the EC, LC Chair and PC Chair before sending.
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12 months before
Prepare a draft budget.
Use recent CanaDAM budgets as a guide, but revisit assumptions about room costs, catering, shuttle or local transport, registration fees, invited speaker travel, and student/postdoc support.
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12–10 months before
Set major submission, registration, funding, and refund deadlines.
Coordinate the deadlines so that funding notifications come before early registration and program information appears before key registration decisions.
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13–10 months before
Create the sponsorship prospectus and begin sponsor outreach.
Publish the sponsorship prospectus on the web if appropriate. Discuss the list of sponsors to target with the EC and LC. Coordinate with the webmaster so that sponsor names and logos can appear on the webpage, if appropriate.
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12–10 months before
Post travel, accommodation, and local information.
Include airport and ground-transport information, recommended hotels, campus accommodation, discount or booking codes, accessibility information, and parking if known.
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12–10 months before
Seek an airline promotion code (optional).
Confirm any restrictions on how the code may be advertised before posting it publicly.
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10–9 months before
Finalize registration fees, refund rules, and the registration timeline.
Make the early, regular, and cancellation deadlines clear. Coordinate with the CMS or other registration provider if one is being used.
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9–8 months before
Send a second call for participation.
Mention registration, submission deadlines, funding deadlines, the invited program, and any special events that are ready to advertise. Seek input from the PC Chair and LC Chair before sending.
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9–7 months before
Decide talk lengths, remote-participation policies, and scheduling principles.
These decisions affect abstract acceptance, room needs, and the eventual program layout.
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8–7 months before
Create and distribute the conference poster.
Post the electronic poster, send it to speakers and organizers, and decide whether printed copies should be mailed.
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8–7 months before
Finalize special-event plans.
Confirm organizers, descriptions, rooms, participant limits, registration requirements, costs, catering, and how each event appears on the website.
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7-6 months before
Launch registration.
Open early registration for all participants and post the prices and a link to registration on the conference website.
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7-6 months before
Publish participant funding policies.
The student/postdoc funding deadline, eligibility rules, application instructions, notification date, and reimbursement expectations should be public before applications open.
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7–6 months before
Collect invited speaker titles, abstracts, photos, and minisymposium descriptions.
Post public information as it becomes reasonably stable, while allowing speakers and organizers to revise details before the final program.
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6–5 months before
Complete sponsor invoicing and payment follow-up.
Confirm that each sponsor has been invoiced, track outstanding contributions, and follow up as needed to ensure that payments are received.
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6–5 months before
Finalize major venue, room, catering, accommodation, insurance, and accessibility arrangements.
This includes talk rooms, reception spaces, public lecture needs, coffee breaks, special events, insurance, accessibility information, and childcare or childcare-grant decisions if offered.
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6–3 months before
Arrange invited-speaker travel and accommodation.
Collect travel itineraries and accommodation requirements from invited speakers, make or confirm any bookings handled by CanaDAM, and ensure that each speaker understands the applicable reimbursement procedures.
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5–4 months before
Prepare the program-booklet template and data workflow.
Create a draft with placeholder content if needed, so that abstract formatting, sponsor information, local information, and schedule data can be tested early.
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4 months before
Close contributed minisymposium proposals and make decisions.
Notify organizers promptly, provide final-abstract instructions, and make clear what information is still needed.
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4 months before
Close contributed talk submissions and make decisions.
CanaDAM has traditionally accepted talks that are clearly within scope and can be accommodated, but the PC should use the current policies and capacity constraints.
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4–3 months before
Collect final abstracts and remind missing speakers or organizers.
Send accepted minisymposia and contributed-talk information to the webmaster for posting when appropriate.
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4–3 months before
Close student/postdoc funding applications and make funding decisions.
Notify applicants early enough that they can use the information before the early registration deadline.
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4–3 months before
Prepare and distribute reimbursement forms and instructions.
Use separate instructions when needed for invited speakers and for funded students/postdocs. State eligible expenses, receipt requirements, and submission deadlines clearly.
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3 months before
Group contributed talks into sessions.
Leave flexibility for cancellations, late changes, and minisymposia that need replacement speakers.
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3–2.5 months before
Create the draft schedule and assign sessions to timeslots.
Minimize overlap among closely related topics where practical and account for speaker constraints that the PC has agreed to consider.
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2.5–2 months before
Assign sessions to rooms.
Use the LC's room information and likely audience sizes; keep minisymposium parts in the same room where practical.
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2.5–2 months before
Publish the program.
Post the program and notify the CanaDAM mailing list and other appropriate lists.
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2 months before
Revisit the budget after early registration.
Update income projections, catering estimates, participant funding plans, and any commitments that depend on attendance.
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2 months before
Invite session chairs for invited talks, minisymposia, and contributed sessions.
Provide instructions about introductions, timekeeping, questions, and what to do if a speaker is absent.
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2–1 months before
Recruit helpers and prepare the registration desk.
Order badge holders, print badges after the registration deadline, assign helper shifts, and prepare supplies for the desk.
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2–1 months before
Prepare maps, AV information, parking information, and accessibility details.
Post or include room maps, local travel information, AV/chalkboard/whiteboard information, accessibility routes, and key local contacts.
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6–4 weeks before
Finalize and proofread the program booklet and/or online program.
Check names, affiliations, titles, abstracts, room assignments, sponsor acknowledgements, and local information.
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After regular registration closes
Create a participant mailing list for the current conference.
This list should be separate from the general CanaDAM announcement list and should be used only for information relevant to current participants.
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4–3 weeks before
Update the budget after final registration.
Use the final or near-final registration numbers to update catering, registration income, participant funding, and contingency plans.
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3–2 weeks before
Decide on opening and closing remarks and acknowledgements.
Include sponsor and organizer acknowledgements, code of conduct reminders, logistics, and any plan for selecting incoming EC members or the next host.
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3–2 weeks before
Determine the conference photo logistics.
Determine the location and the photographer for the conference photo.
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3-2 week before
Send final logistics to participants.
Include links to the program, maps, travel and parking information, registration-desk hours, social events, public lecture details, and the procedure for program changes. Optionally, send another e-mail 1 week before the conference.
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Conference week
Run the registration desk, track changes, and keep participants informed.
Have a clear way to announce cancellations, room changes, and urgent logistics. Keep the online program current when possible.
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Conference week
Hold an EC meeting at the conference.
Discuss incoming EC membership, the next EC Chair, the next host if not already selected, feedback from organizers, and any bylaw issues discovered during the cycle.
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Within 2–4 weeks after
Collect feedback from participants and organizers.
Use the feedback to identify improvements for the next CanaDAM, funder reports, and any bylaw or task-schedule updates.
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Within 1 month after
Collect and process reimbursement claims.
Work with the CMS or the appropriate administrator to approve eligible expenses and resolve missing receipts or unclear claims.
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Within 1–2 months after
Post conference photos, slides, videos, or other archival material when appropriate.
Post only material for which CanaDAM has the necessary permission or consent.
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Within 1–3 months after
Compile final budget information and financial reports.
Track actual income, expenses, sponsor payments, reimbursements, and any carry-over or deficit issues.
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Within 1–3 months after
Submit reports and invoices to funders and sponsors.
Include attendance statistics, supported participants, program highlights, financial information, receipts or invoices, and any funder-specific documentation.
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After reports are complete
Transfer records and lessons learned to the next organizers.
Preserve useful documents, passwords or access instructions, templates, budgets, timelines, and advice about what should be done differently next time.
Section 11
Amending the Bylaws
As the CanaDAM meetings continue to evolve, it will be necessary to modify these bylaws. Maintaining the bylaws is the responsibility of the EC. Each update should be approved by the EC and requires the support of a majority of EC members; preferably, each update should be supported by all EC members. It is recommended that major updates be made in consultation with multiple past committee members, and especially with past committee Chairs.
The EC may update each section of the bylaws independently from the others, or add or delete sections from the bylaws, but care should be made to maintain consistency between the information contained in different sections. For each section of the bylaws, the date and manner in which the most recent update was approved should be indicated at the beginning of that section. A record of past versions of the bylaws should be kept for posterity.