Submit a Proposal

Please list the individuals on your host committee. Write a short paragraph for each member, including a description of each person’s relevant experience and a general statement how she or he will participate in conference planning and management up to and during the event.

Provide a list of sources of potential candidates for local student volunteers. Do not list individuals’ names—only their affiliation and academic background. Student volunteers assist with logistics during the event in exchange for free attendance.

Describe in detail your suggested roles and responsibilities of the host committee. Include information about who will be responsible for what tasks, and who will be a liaison with the OpenMRS events team.

List two options sets of suggested dates for the event—a primary date and a backup date should the venue be unavailable or for any other unforeseen circumstance the primary date should be unfeasible. Designate dates for both the conference and a community hackathon.

Describe generally in 1-2 paragraphs the proposed venue for the event. Specific details will be provided in later sections of this document. Include information about the location of the venue with respect to any surrounding cities, villages, or communities, airports, roads, etc.

Describe in 2-3 paragraphs the goals of the host committee in hosting the OpenMRS Implementers Meeting. What are the expected outcomes for the local, regional, or national communities?

Provide a list of named potential local sponsors. It is not necessary to have contacted these sponsors at this time. Potential sponsors may support the event with cash donations or in-kind services or products.

Name any strategic attendees from the local, regional, or national level who might participate in the event. Explain their roles, what they could contribute to the event, and what they stand to gain from participating in the event.

Are there specific strategic initiatives or projects that the host committee would like to see develop as a result of hosting the event?

Describe your an initial timeline for approaching and securing local sponsors no later than 6 months before the event.

Please describe the capacity and availability of the host committee to raise and manage funds for “petty cash” which may be used to float costs locally. Describe how any funds received via local donations will be collected and accounted.

Each year, the Implementers Meeting includes visits for event attendees to experience the local health care system. Name and describe candidate venues for these site visits, ensuring enough venues are provided to support a visit to one of the locations by each conference attendee (as many as 150 people).

Describe the locale (e.g., city, village, rural) and locations of each of these site visit venues in relation to the event venue.

Provide travel and logistics details about the site visits: How will participants reach the site visit locations? What is the duration of travel to and from the venues and the proposed time of day of the visits? What is the duration of the on-site visit?

Describe all rooms available for both plenary (large group) conference sessions, breakout sessions, meals, side meetings, and “hacking space”. For each room provide physical dimensions, seating capacity and layouts (e.g., theater style, small tables, etc.).

Internet capacity for technology-related events is of prime importance. What is the overall bandwidth available to the venue? Is additional bandwidth available, and if so, at what cost? How many wireless routers are available throughout the venue and each room, and how many devices can each router support? Plan on each attendee having several wireless connected devices.

Describe any audio-visual equipment and electrical equipment available generally at the venue and in each specific meeting room (e.g., LCD projectors, projection screens, wired and wireless microphones, loudspeakers, power strips, fans or air conditioning).

Is on-site accommodation available at the venue? If so, describe the capacity, styles, and costs of available rooms. Also provide distance, capacity, and costs of nearby hotels and transportation options between those accommodations and the event venue. The total accommodations describe should be able to support up to 150 event attendees.

Describe any food service available at the venue and general cost estimates per meal for between 100 to 150 attendees. What type of food would be served? Will the meals be plated or buffet-style? How will specific dietary requirements (e.g., vegetarian/vegan, Kosher, Halal, etc.) be managed?

Describe the availability of dedicated 24-hour hacking space. This room should not be shared with other conference events and should provide capacity for 50-75 people each with several wireless Internet-connected devices.

What mobile phone networks are available at the event venue? Are the networks CDMA or GSM-based? Is 3G or other data service available?

Describe some food options and shopping are available for participants near the event venue.

What options are available for transportation from the nearest international airport to the event venue? Include ground transportation and regional air transportation, if necessary, and provide a cost estimate for this transportation.

Is any on-site logistical support available at the airport for event attendees? This may include travel agents or others to assist with immigration, customs, money conversion, and travel needs. If so, describe what assistance is available and any costs for this service.

Provide a short list of local vendors for conference consumable materials, such as paper, pens, tape, bags, etc.

We prefer to produce event t-shirts locally. If available, list one or more screen-printing vendors in the local area. It is not necessary to commit to a vendor at this time.

How will informational, promotional, and directional signs be produced for the event? Signs include welcoming attendees, navigating attendees throughout the event venue, notices and notes, as well as supporting the un-conference session management (“schedule wall”).

Describe several options for local entertainment by cultural, music, or other performance groups and approximate cost for an on-site performance at the venue. These often occur during or after a meal. It is not necessary to arrange any specific performance at this time.

Describe the availability of a specific room for an OpenMRS hackathon. Because the hackathon occurs before or after the Implementers Meeting, this room may also be used for conference events. It should provide capacity for 50-75 people each with several wireless Internet-connected devices, have ample power outlets available, and provide some space for snacks or rest.

If applicable, describe any specific ideas the host committee has for the hackathon, or goals for conducting a hackathon in the local community.

If applicable, describe potential local attendees to be specifically invited to the hackathon. This may include students, developers, project staff, etc.

The hackathon should be scheduled to run between 1.5 and 2 days and runs overnight between those days. Describe meal, beverage, and snack options available for attendees, and any costs associated.