IFPA Meeting Guidelines [080904]

This revised document defines a number of issues that relate to

organising IFPA-designated meetings. Each item ends with a specific
recommendation. Some of these recommendations were adopted by
the Executive Committee in September 2001 at its meetings in
Sorrento. Others we would ask the IFPA executive committee to give
further consideration. For convenience our current recommendations
and action so far taken are summarized below.

Summary

This summarizes the recommendations in the body of the report and

action that has been taken or can be anticipated as the result of
ongoing discussions in the IFPA Executive Committee.

Recommendation Action taken or anticipated

1. that guidelines and Further discussion required.
recommendations for the
organisation of a meeting be
collected in a meeting manual

2. that printouts of the current Endorsed by the Executive

mailing list, by geographical area,
be made available to members of
the executive committee for
revision. The IFPA Executive
Committee may give approval to
share membership/mailing lists
with sponsors and professional
meeting organizers.
Committee. The executive pages
on the IFPA web site have the
following function: Membership
Data Base Lookup by Country.
Members of the Executive
Committee are urged to visit
these pages.

3. that the secretary should register Endorsed by the Executive

meetings attended in the Committee.
upgraded data base
The Secretary has this in hand.

4. that IFPA establish drop points for Endorsed in principle by the

mailing whenever possible Executive Committee. May
require further discussion.

5. that IFPA sets standards and Endorsed by the Executive

procedures for the abstract
reviewing process
Committee. Neil Gude has
undertaken to draft a set of
guidelines and submit them to
the President. Further, the
Executive Committee resolved
not to require anonymous
abstracts.
6. that IFPA ensure that the deadline Further discussion required.
for submission of reviewed
abstracts to the editorial office of
PLACENTA is known one year in
advance of the meeting

7. that IFPA advise meeting Endorsed by the Executive

organisers carefully to observe the Committee.
tax legislation related to
organising a scientific meeting in
their country. Channeling of
money through professional
meeting organizers or accounting
through an university
administration may overcome
some of these problems.

8. that IFPA express a preference for Further discussion required.

more basic venues whenever
involved in decisions about future
meetings

9. that IFPA advise meeting Further discussion required.

organisers strictly to limit the
number of fully funded invited
speakers

10. that the meeting organiser be Endorsed by the Executive

asked to collect a single amount Committee.
per delegate that would include a)
the PLACENTA subscription, b)
the cost of printing ¼ page of
abstracts, c) any additional cost
for supplying the abstract book to
participants, and d) the IFPA levy.

11. that the president of IFPA be Endorsed by the Executive

ultimately responsible for Committee.
providing the meeting organiser
with this information

12. that, if the final billing for items b) Further discussion required.
+ c) exceeds that estimated, the
levy payable to IFPA will be
reduced accordingly. In return the
meeting organiser should provide
a final account statement for items
a)-c)
13. that New Investigators entitled to
a reduced rate at IFPA meetings
be defined as graduate students
or 4 years after receipt of a
doctorate. Organizers should
require appropriate
documentation.
14. that IFPA provide a maximum of
Yen 510.000 (approx. AUD
7.800, EURO 4.660, USD 3.500)
15 months prior to the meeting
and repayable within one month
after the early registration
deadline
1. that IFPA through its president
actively seek longer-term
sponsorship for all IFPA-designated
meetings
Endorsed by the Executive
Committee
Endorsed by the Executive
Committee.
The amount will depend on
actual IFPA budget and will be
decided by IFPA president after
consultation with the treasurer.
In the first instance, the amount
to be made available will not
exceed USD 3,500. Further
discussion is needed of whether
the Meeting Organizer needs to
sign a legally binding contract to
repay the loan.
Endorsed by the Executive
Committee.
The President has appointed an
ad hoc committee to consider
these issues [Soma (chair),
Aplin, Clifton, Nelson].
 Planning Deadlines for IFPA-Designated Meetings

Establish Local Organizing Committee

3 - 4 years before
Select meeting site
Start looking for sponsors
2 years before
(before IFPA Establish Scientific Advisory Committee
Meeting) Develop main theme of meeting
Establish a web site with easy access to the
organizers

2 years before Participate in local organization of meeting to gain

experience – if possible bring along the head of
(during IFPA
your future secretariat
Meeting)
Distribute first announcement (dates, venue,
theme)
Report progress to IFPA executive committee
Give oral presentation/invitation at the Business
Meeting
Meet with members of Scientific Advisory
Committee
Announce the meeting in Placenta (contact the
2 years before
Editor of the Blue Pages)
(after IFPA Meeting)
Invite organizer(s) of the subsequent IFPA meeting
to join your local organizing committee
Indicate request for financial support to financial
officer if applicable
Develop an outline program with keynote
About 2 years
speakers, symposium themes and speakers, and
before
workshops
Post this on the web site
Send invitations to invited speakers

Send invitations to selected workshop organizers –

About 18 months
stress that workshops are not mini-sessions and
before
should deal with a specific question or questions
Develop a budget for the meeting – factor in IFPA
About 15 months
overheads (Placenta subscription, IFPA fee) and
before
abstract printing
 Receive loan from IFPA financial officer if
applicable
Report progress to IFPA executive committee
One year before
(during IFPA Repeat invitation at the Business Meeting
Meeting) Distribute flyer (dates, venue, theme)
Meet with members of Scientific Advisory
Committee
Meet with Trophoblast Research editor to discuss
contributors and deadlines for the volume
Finalize contract with credit card company
10 months before
Finalize budget and conference fees
Prepare final announcement with abstract forms,
registration forms, deadlines
Post these on the web site
Mail final announcement (mailing list from IFPA
9 months before
Secretary, who may be able to supply address
labels)
Bulk shipment to drop points if this entails a saving
Upgrade the web site with a downloadable flyer
and downloadable abstract and registration forms
Contact reviewers to ensure their availability to
7 months before
review abstracts
This will be a busy and labour intensive time
6 months before
Deadline for abstract submission is usually 6
months before meeting:
Send abstracts by email to reviewers
Collate reviewers’ replies and sort abstracts
- accept and print in Placenta
- accept and print in program
- reject
Select abstracts for oral or poster presentation
Send a letter or email detailing these decisions for
every abstract received
Send abstracts for printing in Placenta
Post titles of accepted abstracts on the web site
Recommended deadline for early registration
5 months before
 Mail abstracts not accepted for oral presentation to
relevant workshop organizers
Pay back IFPA loan if applicable
4 months before
Deadline for workshop organizers to present their
3 months before
programs with speakers and titles
Post these details on the web site
Deadline for organizers of future meetings to
provide material to be printed in the conference
program
Ensure that chairs have been selected and
contacted for all sessions
Recommended deadline for final registration
1 month before
Prepare conference program for printers
Finalize arrangements for accommodation and
technical equipment at meeting site, including
facilities for Power Point projection

Meeting
Pay the bills and close the accounts
Thereafter
Send final list of participants to IFPA secretary
Finalize the Trophoblast Research volume
Relax – you deserve it!
 IFPA AWARDS

General

1. The "IFPA Award in Placentology" acknowledges outstanding

contributions to the field of placentology in all its aspects, including
the relationship with fetus and mother.
2. Nominees should be within 15 years of receiving their doctoral
degree.
a) In exceptional cases the award can be split in half and
given to two investigators
3. Candidates may be proposed by established senior scientists.
4. The "IFPA Award" will be presented every two years at an IFPA-
designated meeting. If the IFPA Award Committee cannot find a
suitable candidate, the IFPA Award will not be given.
5. The IFPA Award consists of a certificate, signed by the president of
IFPA and presented during an award ceremony, and USD 1000 in
cash. The awardee will not be charged registration fees for this
meeting, but will need to cover his or her own travel expenses.
6. The awardee will be invited to present a lecture during a plenary
session of the same IFPA-designated meeting. The lecture will be
published in "Trophoblast Research" following normal peer review
procedures.

IFPA Award Committee

7. The IFPA Award Committee consists of seven members to be
appointed by the IFPA Executive Committee and to include
representatives from each of the regional organizations. The chair
of the Award committee will be designated by the president of IFPA.
No member of the IFPA Award Committee should participate in
more than two awardee finding campaigns.
8. The IFPA Award Committee is responsible for all organisational
aspects, including public announcement of the call for nominations
and setting the deadline for their receipt.
9. The IFPA Award Committee is free to establish its own procedural
rules. Votes are taken by simple majority. However, it must be
assured that the procedures for selecting the awardee are fair,
unbiased and appropriate to select the candidate with the highest
scientific merits. Nominated candidates must not be informed that
they are under consideration for the IFPA Award.
a) Standing nominations, with automatic inclusion of
unsuccessful candidates in the following round of
selection, are not permitted.
10. The secretary of the IFPA Award Committee is to inform the
awardee, the President and Treasurer of IFPA, the Editors of
Placenta and Trophoblast Research and the organizers of the
IFPA-designated meeting of the Committee's decision.