Committees

Conference Program Committee: The president annually appoints a conference program chairperson to develop a program for the conference for review.

Local Arrangements Committee: The host program, in consultation with the president, appoints a local arrangements committee charged with arranging for and carrying out the responsibilities of the host program(s) are carried out. This committee handles hospitality, including spouses’ program; and provide transportation, administrative and logistical support, as appropriate, during the conference. Close coordination with the executive director and conference coordinator of NASPAA is essential.

Site Selection Committee: The president appoints a site selection committee biannually. The site selection committee chairperson will be appointed from among the members of the Executive Council.

Site Selection Criteria

1. Site selection for the NASPAA annual conference should be guided by the purposes of the conference (a) to meet the need for deans and directors to meet and confer on issues related to public service education; (b) to attract top level faculty researchers and public officials in the field to interact with faculty, deans, and directors on issues of mutual interest, and (c) to advocate for the public service.

2. In order to achieve the purposes in (1) above, the NASPAA annual conference will be held in Washington, D.C. every four (4) years. The Washington, D.C., conferences will be held in the year following the U.S. presidential election, beginning in 2001.

3. In the years that the conference is not held in Washington, D.C., it should be held in a variety of geographic locations, and, to the extent possible not favoring any particular geographic region and moving from region to region in successive years.

4. There should be adequate support from local member programs in the host city (see responsibilities for host programs).

5. The conference site should be accessible by public transportation, conveniently served by major common carriers.

6. Hotel room rates should be reasonable, and as low as possible, and other hotel requirements should be met (see hotel requirements).

7. Food and beverage costs should be reasonable.

8. The conference site city and accommodations selected should be consistent with non﷓discrimination laws and NASPAA values on diversity.

9. The conference site should be accessible for persons with disabilities.

Site Selection Process

1. The city to host the conference site must be selected at least 2 years in advance. It must be conveniently served by major common carriers, and provide an appropriate selection of restaurants and opportunities for recreational activities.

2. Proposals to host the conference must be presented by a NASPAA member program or preferably by a consortium of NASPAA programs. While the Convention Bureau will provide much of the documentation for the bid, the final proposal must come in a single package from the program(s) making the proposal.

3. The bid should indicate how the program(s) and city plan to carry out the responsibilities detailed in these criteria.

4. The city to host the conference is determined by NASPAA Executive Council, after the Site Selection Committee has prepared an objective summary of all bids received for the year(s) being considered and has given its recommendations as to the best site available.

5. Proposals submitted by programs desiring to host the conference should include a detailed statement on the hotel facilities available, including projected rates, as well as support facilities such as restaurants, recreational opportunities, etc. The selection of the hotel is determined by the executive director.

6. In years in which the conference is to be held in Washington, D.C., programs in other locations may propose to host the conference, including the local host reception and other host duties, according to the process above.

7. In the NASPAA business meeting at the national conference and in a written communication to the membership following each conference, there should be a formal call for proposals to host future conferences. The written communication should include at least a summary of the site selection criteria, the responsibilities of the host program, and the site selection procedures.

Dates

1. Approximately 250 sleeping rooms are required for the conference, for the peak night.

2. The following is a breakdown of meeting rooms necessary:

a. Rooms for at least 6 concurrent sessions with seating capacity of approximately 45 theater or approximately 30-50 conference, school room style or rounds of 6-7 persons (30).

b. A ballroom (or other general session room) with round table seating of 300. In addition to this room a reception area with a capacity of 200 is necessary.

3. Hotel meeting rooms must be made available to NASPAA at no charge, and NASPAA must have the right of first refusal on all such meeting rooms for the duration of the conference.

4. The complimentary room policy must be 1 room per 50 sleeping rooms picked up, or the equivalent in suites.

5. At the time of selection, the hotel must indicate its current rack rates, and its proposal for rates during the NASPAA conference. If rates cannot be quoted at the time of selection, the hotel may present an alternative proposal, such as deducting “X” number of dollars off rack rates existing one year prior to the date of the conference.

6. A convention center may be used for meeting space in cities not having adequate facilities in the headquarters hotel. The convention center must be within close walking distance to all hotels, and must be free of rental charges to NASPAA.

Detailed National Responsibilities

1. The executive director is responsible for coordinating the activities of all committees working on the conference, and for keeping the Executive Council fully informed on the development of the conference.

2. The executive director is accountable for all money received and spent related to the conference, with the exception of special events sponsored by the sponsoring program(s).

3. The national office will arrange for all meal functions taking place during the conference, except section and related organization meal functions, which will be the responsibility of the section or group leadership involved.

4. NASPAA will be responsible for the design and printing of all programs, forms and tickets used for the conference.

5. The executive director will send invitations to the main conference speakers, and to related organizations, international societies, etc., as appropriate.

6. The national office will be directly responsible for on-site coordination with the hotel staff.

Detailed Responsibility of the Host Program(s)

Much of the preliminary preparation for the conference, as well as the on-site work, is handled by the host program(s). While many of these functions may be provided by the Convention Bureau and host city, the host program(s) are responsible for seeing that all of these requirements are met. The national office will maintain a flexible approach to conference management to take advantage of the various strengths and skills of the host program(s). It is very important that the chairperson of the Local Arrangements Committee, the executive director, and the conference coordinator be in close liaison before and during the conference to insure its smooth operation.

1. The host program(s) will be responsible for providing hospitality activities and services such as sponsoring the spouses' tour, and other special events. The host program(s) will be responsible for providing a reception the evening of the day the conference opens. This reception may be hosted in conjunction with other programs or government agencies and/or may have outside sponsors arranged by the host program. When the conference is held in a city on a recurring basis (e.g., Washington, DC), the reception may be hosted or co-hosted by another program outside the immediate geographic region. The host program(s) shall also make available to conference participants information on the host city, including restaurants, entertainment spots, historical sites, etc. Details on all of these items should be included in the program's proposal to host the conference.

2. The host program(s) will recommend speakers form the city, state, region to bring official greetings and consideration for program participation, including the Pi Alpha Alpha lunch/dinner speaker. In all cases, decisions on speakers will be made by the Program Committee or Pi Alpha Alpha.

3. The host program(s) will provide staffing to assist NASPAA staff in the following conference functions:

a. Assembly of conference registration packets.
b. Registration – with NASPAA staff determining the hours and staffing needs for the registration area.
c. Conference headquarters – office equipment and skilled secretarial assistance for the duration of the conference, if needed

4. The host program will arrange for equipment for conference functions and program sessions to be donated for use during the conference at the request of the executive director.

5. If transportation is necessary, the host program(s) will facilitate this need in cooperation with the executive director.

6. The host program will encourage attendance at the conference by related organizations and institutions that are not NASPAA members.

Amended by the Executive Council
April 5, 1997