Engagement for the Public Good Conference
Building Capacity for Collective Impact
October 19 – 21, 2020
Call for Proposals – Due March 13, 2020

James Madison University is pleased to present Engagement for the Public Good – a conference for faculty, administrators, engagement professionals, staff, students and community members. Collaborate with peers by sharing strategies, research, and best practices related to learning through engagement, civic engagement, community-campus partnerships and global learning. Join us at Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center in Harrisonburg, VA for exiting keynote speakers, multiple learning tracks and abundant networking opportunities.

We invite submissions in a variety of formats covering themes related to engagement including:

Facilitating Learning through Engagement

  • Developing and measuring learning outcomes
  • Creating engaging learning environments
  • Integrating innovation and design thinking in engaged pedagogy
  • Preparing students to thoughtfully participate in the community
  • Developing a civic mindset

Striving Toward a More Inclusive Democracy

  • Voter education and engagement initiatives
  • Improving political discourse and addressing public issues
  • Integrating civic learning and democratic engagement opportunities into academic programs and courses
  • Cultivating dialogue on divisive issues through programs and in public spaces
  • Uplifting historically marginalized communities and under-represented populations

Community-Campus Partnerships

  • Design, maintain, and sustain partnerships
  • Telling stories informed by data
  • Innovation for social change
  • Characteristics of a successful partnership
  • Discussions of specific partnerships (K-12, health organizations, businesses, nonprofits, advocacy groups, legal organizations, student organizations, etc.)

Global Learning

  • (Higher) Education as global public good
  • Local problem-solving with global relevance
  • Global partnerships and engaged learning
  • High impact practices in global learning—evidence and lessons learned
  • Global learning curriculum design and assessment for public good

Proposals Session Types
The Conference Program Committee reserves the right to assign your proposal into a format that is different from your original submission (i.e.: an individual panel submission may be turned into a poster session or a workshop into a panel, etc.). The total length of each session is 75 minutes.

  • Workshops
    Workshops promote active participation for attendees in learning a new skill, technique, methodology or tool relevant to engagement. By offering practical, hands-on learning activities, participants are fully engaged in the learning process. Participants will leave sessions with new artifacts, documents or focused ideas/approaches for their local context. They can be led by a single presenter, or have multiple presenters providing different perspectives on the same topic. Ideally, there is time dedicated to discussion and Q&A.
  • Panels
    Panels are closely aligned with the conference theme and may be submitted as a full panel or individual submission.
    • Full Panel Submission
      A full panel proposal is a fully formed panel session related to one of the conference themes. You must submit all panel details, including panelist names, paper/topic titles, and abstracts. No more than 5 individuals are permitted to serve on any single panel. All panelists must be in agreement that they will participate if the panel is selected.
    • Individual Submission
      Individual submissions with a similar focus will be assembled into a single session by the program committee. Usually 3-4 submissions are included in a session.
  • Poster Session
    Poster sessions are a means to communicate and exchange ideas, programs, research, and engagement projects related to conference themes. Poster sessions may be solo or group presentations.
      Successful Proposals Will Demonstrate:
    • alignment between proposed session content and the conference theme
    • clarity of purpose and awareness of time limitations for the presentations
    • useful, provocative, informative and/or critical content.

    • Submitting Your Proposal
    To submit a proposal, compile the following information and submit via the online conference proposal submission form by midnight March 13, 2020.

    1. Primary Presenter Contact Information (email, contact phone number, professional affiliation)
    2. Co-presenter Contact Information – for up to five additional presenters (email, contact phone number, professional affiliation)
    3. Presentation Title
    4. Abstract – Include an abstract for use in the conference program. Limit of 50 words.
    5. Presentation Description (250-word limit)
      • Presentation format
      • Context for the presentation – How does this presentation fit in engagement scholarship, best practices, or critical discussion? How will this presentation contribute to ongoing discussion in this area? What will attendees gain from the presentation (knowledge, skills, models for action, etc.)?
      • Content to be covered and plan for how the presentation will be structured (activities, timeline, take-away for attendees, etc.)
    6. Audiovisual Needs – Will your presentation require a projector, internet access, sound or other technical support?
    7. Intended Audience – Is your session most appropriate for faculty, administrators, engagement professionals, staff, students, community partners, or a combination of audiences?

    Proposals are due by midnight Friday, March 13, 2020. Presenters may not serve in more than two roles (not including their position as panel moderators) during the conference. Acceptance decisions will be made by April 20, 2020.

    All presenters are required to register for the conference and are responsible for all travel expenses.

    Within six months of the conclusion of the conference, presenters are to submit their materials (poster, slides, paper, etc.) for inclusion in the conference proceedings. This does not apply to sessions without prepared materials, such as workshops.

    Conference proceedings will be archived in JMU’s institutional repository, JMU Scholarly Commons, and made available to the public using a Creative Commons license of your choice.