Bids to host ISIC 2026
The Information Seeking in Context (ISIC) conference is the academic home of the Information Behavior research community. The biennial conference focuses on contextualized information activities, expressed in different forms such as ‘information behavior’, ‘information practice’, ‘information seeking’, ‘information experience’ and others. ISIC conferences promote the interdisciplinary study of information research influenced by fields such as information science, information studies, library studies, communication studies, computer science, education, information management, information systems, management science, psychology, social psychology, sociology, and other disciplines. ISIC is a conference for research papers exploring information as a rich site of study, going beyond a sole focus on technological aspects and exploring a wide variety of contexts.
The ISIC Steering Committee solicits proposals to host ISIC 2026.
The ISIC Steering Committee expects the organizers to be recognized and active members of the information behaviour research community and active participants in current and past ISIC conferences. Bids may come from more than one institution within the same bid. For those interested in hosting ISIC 2026, please submit an email bid letter to the ISIC Steering Committee (care of [email protected]). Please see below for details on what the bid document should contain.
The bid should be submitted no later than June 14, 2024.
Guidelines and conditions of bids to host the ISIC International Conference
The ISIC Steering Committee (referred to as SC) will evaluate all bids in terms of their relevance to the needs of the ISIC Conference.
The SC may wish to discuss aspects of the bid with the proposers prior to making a decision on the success of the bid, and so a primary contact person should be identified, with contact information provided.
Anyone interested in bidding is welcome to talk informally with the Chair or Vice-Chair prior to the deadline date for bids.
The SC will normally meet virtually to review proposals and make its decision within six weeks of the submission date. Permanent Committee members who are named in the bid will not participate in the decision-making process. The SC will vote to decide between competing bids and the SC’s decision is final.
When submitting the bid, please, examine if your organization can meet the following requirements.
Scientific part of the conference
ISIC is a scholarly conference with an international Steering Committee ensuring the conference’s quality. In the past, the conference had the following conference tracks:
- Full papers (~5000 words)
- Short papers (~2500 words)
- Posters
- Panels
- Workshops
- Doctoral Forum
- We encourage submitters to reflect in their bid who may fulfill the different roles of the conference organization and list qualifying expertise.
- General chair: the mastermind behind the conference. He/she signs contracts and is the major contact person for the SC. The general chair can also fulfil additionally the roles below.
- Local conference chair: ensures that the physical meeting is organized, f.e catering, rooms, volunteers, sponsoring.
- Program chair: ensures the scientific part of the conference, f.e. call for contributions, reviewers’ assignment, program development, publication of the proceedings.
Location, venue, timing, etc.
Location
The location should be easily accessible via major international hubs. Good air, rail and road links are essential.
The bid should include a short description of the locality and any remarkable or outstanding features that would make it particularly attractive for potential delegates.
Venue
The host institution should have appropriate conference facilities for the different sessions during ISIC. Specifically, addressing the following points (where appropriate):
- Plenary sessions (one room for 120 people)
- Parallel sessions (up to three rooms for 40-50 people)
- Poster sessions: suitable and conducive area for display and interaction for approximately 15 posters.
- Doctoral workshop (or other additional workshops): multiple rooms to accommodate up to 30 delegates, divided into groups.
- Breaks and lunch: an adjacent area for coffee breaks and lunch are also desirable.
- Optional: sponsors display (an area for sponsors to display and promote their organization).
Time
Traditionally, ISIC is held in the autumn (mid-late August). It is important that the timing does not conflict with other important meetings. In particular, proposers should check to make sure that the proposed dates for the conference do not clash with other major information science events (e.g., ASIS&T, ALISE, iConference, and CoLIS). Your bid should state preferred dates to host ISIC 2026. The final date will be decided in agreement with the SC who can also offer advice before submission of the bid document.
The conference should be run over a course of two-three days. An additional day is encouraged for running workshop/tutorials or other related events.
Social events
A range of social events has become a common feature of ISIC, including a welcome reception and a more formal conference dinner. Proposers should include suggestions on a range of such events - with various price options - for consideration and approval (e.g. discos, sightseeing visits, unusual venues for evening meals). The cost of these activities should be reasonable and should not unduly affect the overall conference fee. It is often possible to arrange drink receptions and such like using corporate sponsorships.
Registrations
The registration process should be as easy as possible for delegates to use. Ideally, registrations would be performed electronically via the internet and payments processed online (via debit or credit cards) i.e., a point and click registration. Where this is not possible, a registration system which takes payment via credit/debit card payments is desirable.
Catering
To ensure that delegates can interact as much as possible during the conference it is important to ensure that lunches for delegates can be provided on site or near the conference venue. If this is not possible, the average cost of meals should be provided along with a list of establishments (takeaways, diners, restaurants) nearby where delegates can go for lunch. It is also desirable to be able to cater for delegates with dietary requirements (providing options for vegetarians, vegans, etc.).
A doctoral workshop is run prior to the start of the ISIC Conference. Space and lunch catering for this event need to be factored into the bid. In addition, light catering for the on-site SC meeting should be factored into the bid.
Accommodation for delegates
Proposers should demonstrate that they have suitable accommodation for delegates close to the conference venue, or easily accessible to the venue (e.g., ensuite rooms in student halls and/or local hotels), for a meeting of normally three days duration. The Steering Committee encourages the participation of students and early researchers. Thus, potential hosts must also demonstrate access to low budget accommodation, such as youth hostels or inexpensive student halls.
Conference web site
Proposers are expected to set up, organize and maintain a web site for the conference, providing all necessary information for contributors and potential delegates. Responsibility for obtaining an appropriate domain name rests with the host; alternatively they may choose to host the webpages on the ISIC website.
Budget preparation and costs
Proposers must produce an approximate budget for the conference. A list of expected costs (fixed and per head should be included) along with expected income and sponsorship. The budget should include provisions for the costs incurred by organizers and volunteers, invited speakers and possibly for the ISIC SC chair (or nominated representative).
Registration fees for students should be kept as low as possible in order to encourage young researchers to participate. Incentives for early registration are advisable.
It is expected that the conference should at least, break even, but should aim to make a surplus (where this could be used to provide additional student grants, accommodate any unexpected costs, and to generate a small profit for the organizers). There is no expectation that surplus is passed to the next conference organisers.
Additional information about previous experience with conferences, local arrangements, etc., would also be useful.
Support for the conference
Collaboration with various external organizations, such as universities, companies, and charities is encouraged, and their support can be provided in a number of different ways. The organizers of the Conference should duly note and publicize their support.
Promotion, publicity and schedule of activities
Proposers should provide a draft programme for the conference; a schedule of activities, indicating key dates; and their plans for publicizing the conference. Key dates that should be included (suggested dates are provided in brackets):
- Website launch (launched at the ISIC 2024 conference)
- Paper submission deadline (January 2026) and notification (March 2026)
- If applicable, workshop/tutorial submission deadlines and notification to follow similar dates
- Open registration (April)
- Early bird registration (late April/May)
- Conference Dates (August)
Conference programme/website
Generally:
- All papers are to be refereed through a double blind peer review.
- Accepted papers are normally published in Information Research: an international electronic journal.
- Submissions must be in English, which is the official language of the conference.
- The paper submission deadline should be set to January and notification around March.
