How to prepare a proposal to host a European Congress of DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology (ECDMFR)

Preamble

  1. Since 1987, professionals interested in DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology have been meeting regularly in Europe. In 2004, the EADMFR was founded in Malmö, Sweden, at the 9th meeting.
  2. At the biennial congresses, the venues for the coming congresses are selected, to give countries a period of four years to organize the congress they have been chosen to host.
  3. The constitution and bylaws of the EADMFR refer to the congress organization and can be seen in full on the website of the EADMFR.

Definitions and abbreviations

  • The Executive Committee (EC) of the EADMFR.
  • The Congress Committee (CC) of the EADMFR.
  • The Finance Committee (FC) of the EADMFR.
  • The Research and Scientific Committee (RSC) of the EADMFR.
  • The Secretary (SE) of the EADMFR.
  • The General Meeting (GM)
  • The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) refers to the committee in a region where the congress is organized. The LOC is led by the congress chair-person, who is responsible for application to the organization and implementation, respecting the approved bid book being transferred into the actual congress organization based on EADMFR congress guidelines.
  • The Professional Congress Organizer (PCO) refers to AIM.
  • The Congress Preparatory Committee (CPC) refers to a committee including members of the EADMFR board, the RSC, the CC, and the PCO.

Legal basis, Article 11 – Two-yearly congress

An ECDMFR, implying an assembly of the General Meeting (GM) of the EADMFR, will be held every two years, alternating with the ICDMFR (International Congress of DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology). Any European country can apply for the organization of the biannual congress. The applications should, four years beforehand, be submitted to the CC, whose decision will be discussed and ratified by the CB before being approved by the GM. The organization of the congress will be the responsibility of the host country. The host country will compose its own LOC that will be supported by the CC, the FC, and the R&SC. The financial regulations are set out in title XII. The RSC will support the LOC by having two members (or more if necessary) have a seat in the LOC to guarantee a proper standard of scientific content and to advise regarding the quality of presentation, including. The guidelines in this document are intended to be of assistance to members interested in submitting a proposal to host an ECDMFR.

The Bid Book

A digital copy of the written proposal and the application form must be submitted to the CCs chair-person. It should ideally be organized in the following sections:

  1. Location and date,
  2. Local Organizing Committeee,
  3. Scientific and Social Program,
  4. Venue and
  5. Costs (a tabular overview of all costs for the individual sub-items of the congress organization (including the main congress, venue, social events, etc.)).

The following points should be considered:

  1. City: The city should be well connected by air transportation to facilitate easy access from main European airports, and details of air, rail, and road connections should be provided. Describe the safety of the country and if a VISA application may be needed.
  2. Date: Traditionally the ECDMFR is organized in June. Avoid the period of the 21st–24th of June, as that is midsummer in the Nordic countries. Dates close to that period, however, are acceptable as late as the last week of June.
  3. Venue: The venue should preferably be in the same city as the chair-person and several members (if applicable) of the LOC.
  4. Main lecture room: The main meeting program will take place here. The room should have a minimum capacity of 250 seats. Indicate in square meters. It should be equipped with standard modern audio-visual technology and computer systems. There must be adequate blackout facilities. Hotel owners and conference hall managers sometimes do not realize that the presentation of radiographic images requires a darker room than traditional presentations. A controlled dimming mechanism for the room or selection of different lighting options is essential. The GM will also take place in the main lecture room.
  5. Secondary Room: At least one secondary lecture hall with a capacity of 75–100 seats should be provided to organize a parallel oral session. Indicate in square meters.
  6. Poster (paper/digital) presentation facilities: A poster exhibition area should be provided close to the lecture rooms or in the exhibition hall. Indicate in square meters.
  7. Exhibition space: A hall for the commercial exhibition and space for the demonstration of educational programs/equipment is required. It is desirable for this exhibition hall to be close to the main lecture hall so that delegates can circulate in the commercial exhibition at coffee/tea and meal breaks. It is helpful if coffee/tea and lunch are served in or very close to the exhibition space. Indicate in square meters.
  8. Office facilities: Facilities to enable printouts, supervised by a person with good English language skills, should be available to assist the LOC and the PCO.
  9. Internet: Wireless internet access should be available.
  10. Meeting rooms: The EADMFR will require meetings of the various committees, and a room should be made available for this throughout the congress, sufficient for approximately 12 people to meet around a table. The EADMFR will cover the costs of the room. The EC also requires meetings, and a room capable of taking at least 35 people is needed twice (beginning and end of the ECDMFR).
  11. Program outline: A written program outline should be presented and needs to take account of the following:
    1. Duration: Meetings should be 2.5 days in duration. Better hotel rates and airfares are sometimes only available if Saturday is included in the program, but this can be the final day or half day, giving delegates the option to extend their stay for the rest of the weekend.
    2. Scientific program: The scientific program includes oral presentations and poster presentations. The poster presentation should consist of both a display of the poster and the session where the authors present the poster orally. A program where time slots for many possible presentations are included will also mean many participants. This should be considered when keynote speakers are invited.
    3. Pre-Congress: There is normally a Pre-Congress course for one day, immediately before the ECDMFR. This should be of educational value and may therefore also be attractive to local dentists as well as congress delegates.
    4. Interactive case presentations: This session is dedicated to interactive case-based presentations. For this, a voting system will be requested. If wireless internet access allows, a smartphone version can be used. If not, a voting system with keypads needs to be provided by the local host. During the session, two juniors will present their experiences from the EADMFR’s Junior Meetings.
    5. Oral and poster award presentations: There should be at least one session for oral and poster award presentations, respectively, during the congress. These sessions must be scheduled without parallel sessions. The RSC will communicate the content and extension with the LOC.
    6. Industrial partners forum: There must be a dedicated non-parallel session (duration: one hour) for the presentation of EADMFR’s industrial partners.
    7. EACCME accreditation: The congress must be accredited by EACCME or a similar official organization. The LOC collaborates with the CC to fulfill this task well in advance of the congress (normally more than three months in advance for approval).
    8. GM: A period of two hours will be needed for the GM at the end of the second day of the congress and before the Gala Dinner.
    9. Social activities: There should be
      1. a welcome reception,
      2. an evening reception,
      3. a gala dinner after the GM, and
      4. a closing ceremony.
    10. Accompanying Persons: There should be a program for accompanying people.
      Support: The support from organizations, institutions, and national companies ideally should be presented, e.g., National DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology Societies, National Dental Societies, the local university, the local tourist board, or the convention bureau, in the form of letters.
    11. Accommodation: A wide range of hotels should be provided to accommodate all budgets. A minimum of 75–100 rooms should be assured by pre-reservation. It would be helpful to include a list of potential hotels, together with current prices. Please describe the distances to the main event.

The proposal should include a 2-page short presentation leaflet providing a nutshell overview of the bid with all crucial elements to allow discussing the bids during the EADMFR board meeting

Insurance

It is mandatory that the LOC arrange appropriate insurance for the congress for possible cancelations or other issues (natural disasters, etc.) with the help of EADMFR’s PCO.

The budget

  1. EADMFR has 2-year return partner contracts with individual organizations and companies. Hence, EADMFR gains sponsorship to use during the ECDMFR. The budget that will be transferred from the EADMFR to the LOC is dependent on the number of partners during the year of the congress.
  2. If the congress is making a surplus, 50% should be given to the EADMFR to assist with financial advancements for future congresses, and 50% to the LOC.
  3. In the case that the congress is resulting in a deficit, this shall be borne by the LOC.
  4. A preliminary budget for 230 attendees and 10 accompanying people should be provided in the bid book.
  5. Financing of the congress is the responsibility of the LOC.
  6. The chair-person of the LOC may approach the Financial Committee (FC) for an advancement to assist with initial expenditure. This advancement should be included in the LOC’s budget and business plan and should be repaid after the conference.

Contractual requirements between LOC and PCO

  1. The LOC is expected to work together with the PCO to maintain a certain standardization of the EADMFR’s congresses and should not involve a local PCO to avoid unnecessary financial expenses and double charging, unless there is a need to adapt to specific regulations in the organizing country.
  2. The requirements for the contract include:
    1. Registration.
    2. Management, design, and production of the online registration and hotel booking forms for pre- and on-site registration and hotel booking management.
    3. Administration and taxes: Responsibility for proper management of the payment procedures (related to registration and accommodation), including secured payment methods, payment reminders, and employing all means required to ensure that delegates pay the sums due. Regular detailed registration and housing reports, which should be sent to the PCO and the LOC summarizing the number of registered delegates, amount of registration revenues received, and number of hotel rooms booked with a specified time interval
    4. Scientific Program Management & Abstract Handling, Support EADMFR with the congress scientific program (pre- and on-site), Speakers & VIPs management
    5. Management of bi-annual EADMFR Industrial Partners
    6. Management of other exhibitors
    7. Congress website: content of the congress website

Guidelines for the LOC

  1. The guidelines are intended to provide more details on organizational requirements to be adhered to for congress preparations and ensure consistency in our processes in line with the unitary character of the EADMFR. These must always be read together with the EADMFR constitution and are standing guidelines for the purposes of a specific congress organization.
  2. All committees of the EADMFR are required to convene congresses at the end of their term of office as per the provisions of the constitution. Preparing for congresses is an important organizational process, which requires the involvement of all EADMFR members. However, the CC is responsible for the overall organization together with the LOC. The LOC, including the chair-person, should continuously be in contact with the CC and the Board of the EADMFR, starting from the approval of the proposal and in every step of the organization until the congress has been conducted, all financial issues are solved, and the books are closed.

Congress process and structure

  1. Congresses are regarded as important organizational platforms requiring maximum logistical organizational preparations.
  2. EADMFR is working with a representative company related to official representation as well as in the organization of the congress. The LOC is expected to work with this PCO.
  3. For that purpose, before starting any procedure, in the application form, the applicants of the biannual EADMFR congress must clearly indicate that they will work and also sign a contract with the PCO and the LOC, the latest 18 months before the congress starts.
  4. EADMFR will appoint a CPC to be chaired by the LOC chair-person. This task team will be expected to achieve the following:
  5. Ensure that the constitution and congress guidelines of the EADMFR are adhered to during the preparation for congresses.
  6. Communicate and collaborate with the EADMFR representative body (AIM) regarding all logistical and organizational preparations
  7. Coordinate the congress preparations and provide frequent reports and accounts to the EADMFR’s CC and the EC.

Partners and Congress sponsor management

  1. There are 2 types of sponsors of EADMFR congresses:
    1. The EADMFR Industrial Partners: These partners support the congress with a predetermined sum and are EADMFR contracted annual industrial partners. These partners are in a 2-year agreement, and they have several privileges for the ECDMFR such as:
      1. pre-booking of booths,
      2. larger booth areas,
      3. participation in the Industrial partners forum,
      4. tickets for social events etc.
      5. Further information about the privileges will be given to the LOC by the EADMFR representative body.
    2. The ECDMFR exhibitors: These will be identified and appointed by the LOC. However, there are several limitations regarding conditions for other exhibitors considering the privileges of EADMFR’s industrial partners:
      1. If the LOC has contacts with a local representative/distributor that is also one of EADMFR partners, they already/automatically have an agreement according to EADMFR’s contract with the partner, including all privileges mentioned above, and they should not be charged further.
      2. If the local industrial exhibitors of the ECDMFR are dental imaging companies, they have to pay premium rates on exhibition space (due to the agreements with EADMFR’s industrial partners that are dental imaging companies).
      3. Other exhibitors like US imaging companies, PACS companies, and companies selling other dental products are welcome as sponsors. The agreement, including regulations with the exhibitors attending the ECDMFR will be made between the LOC and the exhibitors (except for EADMFR’s industrial partners).
      4. An imaging company that is not an EADMFR partner would like to have the same benefits and conditions as an EADMFR partners, they should be encouraged to become “Industrial Partners” and referred to AIM.
      5. Please contact the PCO if you need clarifications or more information before approaching potential exhibitors.

Audit process

  1. According to the EADMFR constitution, Article 11: Any European country can apply for the organization of the two-yearly congress. The applications will, four years beforehand, be submitted to the Congress Committee of the Academy, whose decision will be discussed and ratified by the EC before being approved by the GM.
  2. Therefore, the CC and FC of the EADMFR will be internally first audit bodies, and the directors of the EADMFR will be responsible for audit action internally.
  3. A representative of the CC or a representative of the EADMFR’s PCO will visit the venue to ensure suitability for the congress at least one year ahead.
  4. The findings will be reported to the directors.
  5. If an external audit is necessary according to host country laws, the LOC must provide the necessary information to EADMFR’s PCO.
  6. Follow-up process:
    1. Meeting with the board two years ahead (during congress) to discuss individual points and present the budget
    2. Presentation of the updated budget, program schedule, including confirmed keynote speakers, at least one year before the conference
  7. The final recommendation of the EC will be presented during the GM for approval request.
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