Questions and answers about submitting a proposal:
Q: Who attends the Symposium?
A: Attendees represent primarily corporations, consulting firms, health care organizations, hospitals, banks, insurance companies, investment and administration firms, along with multiemployer and public employee benefit plans, and other organizations in the employee benefits space.
It’s helpful to be aware that many attendees have or are pursuing the CEBS, GBA, RPA or CMS designations in the U.S. or Canada. Overall, the Symposium audience is a very knowledgeable and experienced group that generally looks for mid-to-advanced level topics.
Q: When is the Symposium? Will it be in-person?
A: The Symposium is scheduled for August 20-23, 2023 in Seattle, Washington with all sessions offered in-person. The Society continues to follow federal, state and venue health guidelines and requirements to make the Symposium a comfortable and safe environment to focus on learning.
Q: Is ISCEBS or International Foundation membership required to submit a proposal?
A: We welcome proposals from any qualified presenters, member or non-member.
Q: Can I submit a proposal for another speaker, like my client, boss or colleague?
A: You’re welcome to submit a proposal on behalf of someone else. When doing so, it is important to remember that an educational session is an opportunity to share objective information, and the session description should not give the appearance of endorsing or promoting an organization’s service or product.
Q: My proposal is a case study that involves a specific vendor or service provider. What's the best way to describe it within the Society's content objectivity guidelines?
A: Case studies are a popular session format and usually give a great snapshot of how a team solved a problem and their takeaways, and often involve a specific vendor partner. Regardless if the speaker is the plan sponsor or the service provider, you're encouraged to approach your proposal as a "problem – solutions – lessons learned" structure and framing the service provider's role as a checklist of how the plan sponsor selected this vendor, how they partnered, and what other plan sponsors should do and consider when faced with a similar issue.
Q: I work for or represent a company with a really unique product that nobody else is offering. How can I reach this audience?
A: Like all industries, the benefits space thrives on innovation and new ideas, and the Symposium is a great forum to connect with professionals who may be looking for a new solution. If your proposal can meet the Society's content objectivity standard, we'd love to hear from you.
If you're not sure, another idea to consider is Symposium sponsorship. Many levels are available, with varying rewards, but all offer an avenue to get your company in front of experienced benefits professionals who are often decision-makers in their organizations. If you haven't attended the Symposium before, sponsorship may be a good fit for you to assess how your product or service may dovetail with the attendees' needs, backgrounds and experience.
Q: I am a CEBS graduate. Can I earn CEBS Compliance credit for presenting a session at the Symposium?
A: Yes. Click here for more information.
Q: What specifically are you looking for in a presentation proposal? Do I need to submit a full presentation?
A: A full presentation is not necessary at this time. The submission process does not support attachments. You will be asked to provide:
• Session title and category
• A brief session description, written in objective language not intended to endorse or promote a particular product or service. Speaker qualifications can also be included.
• three session learning outcomes or takeaways
• complete contact information.
Q: How long are the sessions? What should I focus on?
A: Total session time is 60 minutes, which includes introductory remarks and Q&A. Symposium attendees are very experienced and well-versed on the endemic issues and problems. With that in mind, the most successful sessions are generally ones that spend the majority of the time identifying solutions, how-tos or results, with just a quick overview of the foregoing issues and problems.
Q: I have a great session idea, but pending legislation or court rulings might change something. How does the Symposium proposal process allow for these possible changes?A: Should your proposal be accepted and then the content is altered due to legislative or judicial action, Symposium program staff will work with you to allow you time to make any needed adjustments to your presentation.
If you have a great idea based on regulations as they exist today, go ahead and submit it - we want to hear from you!
Q: Are speakers responsible for their own travel expenses?
A: Speakers receive complimentary conference registration and in most cases are eligible for travel expense reimbursement within Society policy. (Please note that ISCEBS does not reimburse expenses for a co-speaker.) Additional details regarding expenses will be provided should your proposal be accepted.
Q: May I add a co-speaker to my proposed session?
A: Yes. The submission form supports up to two speakers. Please note that ISCEBS policy limits expense reimbursement to one speaker per session.
Q: Where can I get additional information?
A: Visit the Symposium page for more details, including audience, registration, sponsorship and other special events. Or call the Society at (262) 786-8771.