IEEE CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER 25 April 2007 (2007-04-25) - Vol. 6, No. 1 ************************************************************************ ANNOUNCING THE 2ND ANNUAL IEEE PANEL OF CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS IMPROVED TIMELINESS OF CONFERENCE PUBLICATIONS CONTENT AVAILABILITY IN IEEE XPLORE OFAC REMINDER - IRAN CONFERENCES HOTEL CONTRACTING - IT CONTINUES TO BE A SELLERS MARKET SUBMIT YOUR ATTENDEE LISTS TO IEEE ONLINE RESOURCES FOR CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS IEEE CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION IEEE CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER INDEX ONLINE ************************************************************************ ANNOUNCING THE 2ND ANNUAL IEEE PANEL OF CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS: Mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual IEEE Panel of Conference Planners (POCO) Event. This year's theme is Building Better Global Conferences. The conference will be held 13-14 July 2007 (2007-07-13 to 2007-07-14) at the Hyatt Regency, Vancouver BC, Canada. Back by popular demand, IEEE Technical Activities will be hosting this two-day event for all who are in the process of planning IEEE conferences. Learn what's new in event, financial, tax, and international planning from the experts. Meet with others who are planning similar events in other technical areas. And as international conferences continue to grow in popularity, this year there will be special focus on international issues. If you are interested in attending, please contact your OU's VP of Conferences or Region Conference Coordinator to obtain approval. Travel and lodging will be paid by each attendee's IEEE Organizational Unit. Prior approval by your IEEE OU is required before registering. Visit us at for updates. Plan early and reserve the date on your calendar now! If you would like to be added to the POCO distribution list please CONTACT IEEE Conference Services - telephone +1 732 562-3878; . IMPROVED TIMELINESS OF CONFERENCE PUBLICATIONS CONTENT AVAILABILITY IN IEEE XPLORE: Over the past several years, the growth of conference publications content in IEEE Xplore has steadily increased. In 2006, IEEE acquired 719 conference titles -- an 87% increase over the 384 conferences acquired in 2001. This growth has enhanced IEEE's position as a premier publisher of leading-edge research. As a result, new market segments, such as the corporate market, have expressed interest in new IEEE Xplore based subscriptions to access IEEE conference publications. This increased interest comes with increased customer expectations. In particular, customers require expeditious processing of content and prompt availability via IEEE Xplore. Timeliness has always been one of the major value propositions of conference publications content. However, the current average lead time for accessibility of conference content in IEEE Xplore is approximately 4 months from the end of the conference. This is due primarily to the amount of time it takes for conferences to submit content to IEEE and the stress on staff workflows and resources resulting from the increased volume of content. As such, an action plan is being developed to reduce the amount of time it takes conference content to appear in IEEE Xplore to be no more than 30 and 60 days. This is one of IEEE's major undertakings. Part of the plan will require your support in encouraging conference planners to take a proactive role in completing and submitting content to IEEE in a timely manner (submission of a CD with IEEE Xplore-compatible PDFs within 7 days of the conference end date). We are also taking steps to improve operational efficiencies so that content can be posted more rapidly once it is submitted to us. These steps -- with your support playing a major role -- will help us to achieve the 30 to 60 day goal in the 2nd quarter of 2007. If you have any questions about timeliness of conference publications content, please CONTACT Cheryl Sinauskas, Project Manager, Conference Publications or Mark A. Vasquez, Sr. Product Manager, Conference Publications . OFAC REMINDER - IRAN CONFERENCES: OFAC restrictions prohibit IEEE from sponsoring events in Iran. A ruling issued by OFAC in August 2000 provided OFAC's first guidelines for conferences, saying that U.S. persons and organizations cannot sponsor any conferences held in Iran and cannot sponsor events at conferences in Iran (whether with the Government of Iran or with private persons in Iran). From this guidance, IEEE can not be a technical co-sponsor of a conference in Iran. In the most recent letter from OFAC to IEEE in May 2005, posted on the IEEE website , IEEE can recognize the IEEE Iran Section and also the Iran Section may organize local activities. Specifically, the letter notes that the Iran Section leadership, under its own initiative, may organize local educational events within Iran such as meetings, conferences and educational symposia, however, must do so without any external direction, support or services from IEEE. For more information on IEEE and OFAC please see the IEEE and OFAC Information Page at ; . HOTEL CONTRACTING - IT CONTINUES TO BE A SELLERS MARKET: The meetings industry has been in a sellers' market for the past couple of years, with hotels raking in record profits. Occupancy rates and room rates in the U.S. will be on the increase at least until the end of 2007 or into early 2008, when additional hotel inventory will be nearing the end of the pipeline. Industry insiders predict that "Overall, hotels are in the driver's seat for 2007." Occupancies for the hotel industry are going to flatten out and rates are going to go up at double the rate of inflation, 6.5 percent. Room rate increases in first-tier U.S. cities are expected to come in substantially higher. In 2006, New York City, Boston and the Waikiki area saw the percentage of rate increase in the double-digits. As the pipeline continues to heat up, there will be more hotels coming into the market, especially in second-tier cites. Even though it may be difficult to negotiate on rate for most of this year, many properties may be willing to budge on adding amenities such as free high-speed Internet access and parking to the room rate. Hotels are charging more but they are giving more. For more information on conference contracting and negotiation please CONTACT Vita Feuerstein - Manager, IEEE Conference Contracting - telephone +1 732 562 6826; . SUBMIT YOUR ATTENDEE LISTS TO IEEE: IEEE has begun to request that conferences submit their post-conference attendee lists with Final Financial Reporting . But why? A quick look at IEEE's businesses in membership, publications, standards and conferences gives you all the answers you need - buyers of other IEEE products attend conferences that matter to them. While having a complete database of individuals who have interacted with IEEE is the primary benefit for IEEE, the benefits for conference organizers are much greater. Attendees establish long-term relationships with IEEE - they tend purchase subscriptions and books in their technical focus areas, as well as join societies in those areas. Conference organizers will now be able to request lists of similar topic conferences and purchasers of publications and societies that fit within their field of interest. IEEE is building a new business management system which will eventually allow conference organizers a complete look at who their attendees are, and where they invest their time and money. But in order to provide this comprehensive view, conferences will need to submit their attendee lists. IEEE will not be able to provide the ability to match your attendees to their interests without submitting your attendee list. It's as simple as that - submit your attendee list post conference and you'll be given an opportunity to target similar conference attendees and purchasers of products in the conferences field of interest. Take advantage of this opportunity - IEEE is working to help you improve your conference attendance and bottom line. Submitting your attendee lists is the first step. For more information, please CONTACT IEEE Conference Services - telephone +1 732 562-3878; . ONLINE RESOURCES FOR CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS: All volunteers are encouraged to refer to the IEEE Conference Organizers Web Site for current information regarding IEEE conferences, related policies, procedures and copies of required forms . IEEE CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION: The distribution of this newsletter includes all Conference Chairs, Conference Information Contacts, Conference Treasurers/Financial Officers, TAB, Society Presidents, Society Treasurers, and Regional Conference Coordinators. The distribution list is refreshed for each issue and includes only those volunteers involved with open conferences. Additionally, any volunteer wishing to receive continued delivery of this newsletter may opt-in at any time by sending a request to . IEEE CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER INDEX ONLINE: All back issues of the IEEE Conference Newsletter are available online in PDF format. The newsletter index can be accessed from the Conference Organizers Web Site , or directly at . ******************************************************************** Editor: John Wettlaufer IEEE Technical Activities telephone: +1 732 465 7809 email: (Note: This newsletter obtains information from a number of sources, including a pool of IEEE staff reporters. These reporters provide information for a variety of newsletters, and their articles may include extensive background information or results. We are trying to limit the length of each issue in order to make it quick and easy to read. Therefore, a summary of some information may be printed in this newsletter while a longer article is printed in another IEEE publication. In all cases, articles in this newsletter include a name and contact numbers for additional information. The postal address for most IEEE staff is IEEE, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854 USA.) 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