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Call for Proposal Abstracts

Abstract Due Date: November 15, 2023

AP20 Conference Theme: How Do We Change America's Relationship with Alcohol?

The AP20 Planning Committee is pleased to announce its call for proposals for concurrent sessions and poster presentations for Alcohol Policy 20. The conference will be held May 14-16, 2024 in Arlington, VA.

 

Priority will be given to proposals that infuse equity into their presentation and that directly relate to the conference theme. Proposals should focus on one or more of the following topics: 

 

  • Research: Alcohol control measures addressing alcohol-related harms in the general population; alcohol consumption and the role of policy for prevention in priority populations.

 

  • Action: Community-based efforts (e.g., effective coalitions, community organizing campaigns, legislative work, enforcement) to address alcohol misuse and related harms; working with priority populations.

 

  • Translation: Translating research findings into usable information (implementation research) for action, including policy implementation strategies, capacity building best practices, evaluation, and more. 

 

  • Collaborations: International partnerships to reduce excessive consumption & related harm; relationships between local jurisdictions, state agencies, and federal government to support alcohol policy action; linkages between alcohol use and chronic diseases (e.g. cancer, diabetes), violence, sexual and domestic assault and other critical public health and safety harms.

 

Proposal abstracts should be submitted through the online system. All proposals will be reviewed and evaluated for acceptance based on sound and rigorous research or exemplifying excellence in public health practice. Priority will be given to submissions highlighting the progression from evidence to action in alcohol policy efforts. Further, abstracts will be evaluated based on: (1) how well it fits with the conference theme and focus, (2) quality of the presented evidence, (3) expertise and experience of the proposed presenters, and (4) likely audience interest.

 

The website for submission of proposals/abstracts will remain open until November 1, 2023 at midnight Eastern time.

Presentation Formats

There are three types of presentation formats for oral presentations during concurrent sessions from which to select when submitting an abstract, as well as an option for a poster presentation:

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  • Oral presentation –  a 20-minute spoken presentation accompanied by a Power Point presentation which highlights the research and/or findings of the accepted abstract. Proposals for oral presentations should include:

    • (1) goals/rationale for presentation

    • (2) methods/approach

    • (3) results/findings, and 

    • 4) conclusions. 

Conference organizers will attempt to group oral presentations into similar or related topics within a shared 90 or 60 minute slot. The organizers will prioritize pairing research abstracts with action-oriented sessions. There will be up to 4 presentations per session, with all questions saved for the end of all presentations. 

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  • Panel presentation – a 90-minute presentation convened and proposed by a primary organizer with an intent to moderate a panel of speakers engaged in discussion around a connected set of presentations. Proposals for panel presentations should include:

    • (1) goals/rationale for panel

    • (2) methods/approach

    • (3) results/findings, and 

    • (4) conclusions

The panel will be expected to allow time for questions at the end of the panel presentation.

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  • Interactive workshop presentation – a 90-minute workshop session that provides participants with the opportunity to develop new skills while engaging in deliberative discussion or action. An interactive workshop may be convened and proposed by an individual or a collaborative team. This may take the form of a combination of practical and/or instructional presentations combined with activities, interactive group or individual work. More than half of the session should be spent on hands-on learning activities. Proposals for interactive workshop presentations should include:

    • (1) goals/rationale for workshop

    • (2) outline/components of session

    • (3) expected learning objectives, and 

    • (4) examples of/strategies to make this session interactive.

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  • Poster presentation:  Poster presentations should illustrate prevention principles in research and practice. As a visual and interactive format, posters often focus on specific programs or recent findings. Presenters will illustrate their findings by displaying charts, photographs, diagrams, and limited text on poster boards while engaging in discussion with attendees who visit and observe the poster boards. Audiovisual (A/V) or special equipment will not be available for poster presentations.

Additional Information

Who Should Submit a Proposal?

The following are encouraged to consider submitting a proposal abstract: researchers and scientists, advocates, educators, evaluators, public health and safety professionals, law enforcement, alcohol regulators, pre- and post-doctoral students, faith community leaders, prevention specialists, community coalition organizers and members, people with lived experience, and civic and government leaders, and others who are using sound science and working to prevent the harmful consequences of excessive alcohol use. Presentation at AP20 is open to those who do not have conflicts of interest, including but not limited to funding from the alcoholic beverage industry.

 

Notification of Proposal Acceptance

You will receive an e-mail acknowledgement of receipt of your proposal submission within 48 hours. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please contact us at apconference@alcoholpolicy.org. You will be notified of your proposal’s status no later than December 1, 2023. Final acceptance of a session is contingent upon submission of applicant’s conflict of interest statement and registration for the conference.


Proposal Submission Directions

Potential presenters are encouraged to develop their abstract before cutting and pasting entries into the online proposal form. Abstract summary descriptions should be no longer than 250 words. It is important to remember that, if accepted, your proposal text becomes the basis for the conference program book.

 

Presentation Technical Guidance

  • Use regular case, capitalizing only lead words and proper nouns

  • Avoid acronyms unless initially spelled out

  • Exclude punctuation within degrees (e.g., MPA rather than M.P.A., PhD rather than Ph.D.)

  • Use spellcheck and do a word count in order to check the text of the abstract before submitting 

 

Elements of a Complete Proposal

  • Presenter contact information – name, occupational affiliation, e-mail and mailing addresses

  • Presentation title – please do not begin session title with ‘the’ or end title with a period.

  • Summary description of the presentation – this text should be ready for printing in the final program and/or the conference website and be no longer than 250 words. Conference organizers may edit this section if needed.

  • Citation – please identify any recent conference presentations you gave that are similar to this proposal.

  • Biographical sketch – each presenter must provide a biographical sketch of no more than 75 words. Please note that a co-presenter is someone who will register for the conference and be present to share in on-site delivery of the presentation and not serve merely as a co-author. Bios for co-authors are not accepted during the submission process.

 

Availability of Presentations

Following the conference, copies of presentations may be available on the AP20 website at the discretion of the presenter.  Available presentation materials will be posted by July 15, 2024.


Conference Registration

Each presenter must register for the conference and is responsible for paying registration fees and travel costs. Limited and partial scholarships are fully contingent upon available funding. Please click here for any updated information.


Audiovisual Equipment and Handouts

All session rooms come with the standard A/V room setup listed below. Please plan to provide an appropriate number of handouts to participants if desired. 

 

Standard A/V Room Set-Up 

  • One cart 

  • One projection screen

  • One LCD projector

  • One laptop (PC)

If your session requires additional A/V equipment beyond the standard set-up, you are required to note the information on your proposal submission. If your proposal is accepted, please communicate the information at least ten days in advance with conference organizers to ensure equipment availability at the conference.

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Flexibility Appreciated

Although proposal applicants are asked to indicate preferred presentation format (oral, panel, workshop or poster presentation), conference organizers reserve the right to determine final session assignment and format. Organizers may consolidate proposals to include as many relevant and science-based offerings with a focus on evidence to action as possible. Each proposal will be read, ranked and discussed with the aim of being inclusive, achieving balance in the substance of presented material, and striving to make AP20 as effective as possible in advancing prevention science and practice on alcohol problems.

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