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Future Conference Hosts

We are regularly soliciting hosts for future conference editions of UbiComp, with regional preferences alternating between the Americas, the Asia Pacific region, and Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) on a three year schedule. Proposal deadlines are roughly 2 years prior to the conference. See below for details on the current solicitation round. The host proposal process is intended to be as lightweight as possible while allowing the SC to conduct an informed review, and need not be a "polished" document, but should include:

• Details of the city, including:
  • Brief introduction about the city,
  • Flight time and cost from major cities and access between airports and conference venues, and
  • Options and costs of accommodations near from possible venues.
• Details of at least one possible venue. Note that UbiComp and ISWC have been colocated for recent years, and we plan to continue this colocation. The venue is expected to be able to:
  • Accommodate 2 days workshops and 3 days of the main multi-track conference. Note the workshops have to be held in two consecutive days (i.e., two days before or after the main conference),
  • Accommodate 700 - 900 attendees,
  • Provide AV facilities and WiFi networking capable of handling 1000+ connected devices,
  • Provide space and facilities for ISWC-specific activities (e.g., ISWC Design Exhibition),
  • Provide space and facilities for lunch, coffee breaks, welcome reception and banquet. Note that welcome reception and banquet can be held in different locations, and
  • Offer accessibility features for attendees with impairments.
  • Note that UbiComp SC is exploring new format of IMWUT paper presentations. Accordingly, a possible venue must accommodate various types of presentations including plenary oral, posters, and panels. Please consult with the SC chair for more details.
• Multiple sets of possible dates when the conference could be held.
  • Our current preference is early October (i.e., after CHI paper submission deadlines), but bidders have freedom to propose other possible dates.
• Indications of potential collocation with other events if there is any (besides ISWC).
  • The SC actively encourages collocation as an opportunity for our community to exchange ideas with other research audiences.
• A possible schedule of the conference.
  • See recent programs to get a sense of the scale. Make sure you cover all tracks and events of both UbiComp and ISWC. Innovative ideas for other sessions or sub-events are very welcome, especially as the size of UbiComp increases. 
• Short bios of the general chairs for BOTH UbiComp and ISWC, and any local chairs or other community members who have indicated their willingness to serve.
  • Diversity (region of the world, gender, ethnicity, etc.) is important when considering the potential chairs for your bid. Technical Program chairs are not mandatory at the stage of bidding submissions.
• A rough budget estimation along with three different levels of attendee expectations of 600, 700, and 800 people.
  • Assume that 50%, 45% and 5% of the attendees would be professionals (non-students), students, and attendees with free registrations (e.g., invited guests). Please clarify where your break even point would be. You are also encouraged to describe potential local sponsors, both public bodies and local companies.
  • Include all major income and expense. Examples of income would be registrations, sponsorship, and financial support from the government. Examples of expense would be as follows. Please consult with the SC chair to make sure you cover all important cost before submitting your final version. You may also take a look at ACM TMRF instructions Section II (meeting budget).
    • room and AV at the venue,
    • food and beverage for coffee break and lunch (lunch can be optional.),
    • reception and banquet (banquet can be optional.),
    • credit card fee for registrations (this depends on the country or service you use, but assume 5% of the total registration income),
    • travel support, and
    • ACM overhead (16% of your total income).

Prospective hosts are encouraged to review the following materials before writing up a proposal.

• ACM Conference Organizers Manual,
• ACM SIGCHI's Guide to Organizing a Conference,
• ACM Conference Financial Management guide, and
• ACM sponsored conference TMRF Guidelines (though a TMRF is not necessary at this stage).

As an ACM-sponsored conference, the ACM takes on financial liability (e.g., signing contracts for the venue) and will assist the general chair(s) with negotiations with a suitable venue as necessary once the winning bid is selected.

As with previous conferences, it is important to keep the registration costs and other costs associated with attending the conference as low as possible, so that attendance is open to as many as possible. Please focus on keeping costs such as food modest, and on listing low-cost accommodation possibilities.

The conference has regularly moved around three regions: Asia/Pacific, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and the Americas. There is a strong intention to continue to do this in the future.

Deadline for 2025 proposals: TBD (regional preference: Europe)

If you are thinking of submitting a proposal for future UbiComp conferences, please email the chair of the steering committee to begin a conversation, receive examples of past bids, etc. You may also reach out to any other member of the steering committee. The SC is happy to help advise prospective hosts before a final bid is submitted. In general, UbiComp is a volunteer-driven community, and bids from convention bureaus or centers without the leadership of researchers for the community are likely unsuccessful.