We are open to contributions from people with solid and relevant ideas, including areas that may be considered ancillary or outside of Information Architecture. If selected, we simply ask that you put in the time required to create a solid and professional presentation for the conference attendees. 

We encourage submissions by students, developers and designers, work of
a specialized nature, work concerning new features, design elements, methods or processes, controversial topics, and work in progress.  We are especially interested in receiving submissions from speakers in our field who have not presented at the summit in the past, including academics, professionals in related fields and information architects who have not yet had the opportunity to share their knowledge. We want to invigorate our conference with new thoughts. If you have a solid idea and proposal, but aren't an expert speaker, we can help.  Our planning committee has experienced authors and presenters who can give a hand in fine tuning your ideas and presentations.

How do you know if you have an idea worth pursuing?  Imagine that you traveled out to Portland to attend the conference and sat in on your presentation?  Would it hold your attention?  Would it give you new focus or insight that you could apply to your work?  Does it provide fresh perspective to what you think?  If so, great.  Go ahead and send along your proposal idea.  Don't be shy. . .

Case Studies
Case Studies will demonstrate concrete information architecture solutions to challenging problems. The ideal case studies will place special emphasis on explaining and demonstrating the useful methods, tools, and metrics that were used to address the problem at hand. The guidelines for case study submissions are:

Supply a description of around 250 words or less.  If selected, you will need to whittle that final description down to 150 words for inclusion in the Summit's promotions (e.g., the Summit web site).  The description should concisely detail: 

a. type of site (e.g., entertainment, portal, intranet)
b. problem addressed (successes and failures in the process)
c. solution applied (e.g., method, tool, metrics for evaluation)
d. measurable improvement to the site, either in terms of business metrics or user experience
e. If possible, include the candidate site's URL and/or screen shots reflecting before and after versions of the site

MARKETING PITCHES FOR AGENCIES OR THEIR CLIENTS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED

Presentations:
The guidelines for presentations should follow a similar form but describe:

a. what core IA related issues are addressed
b. what the audience will learn/take-away from the presentation
c. how the presentation will reflect the theme of "Making Connections"
d. a brief bio including professional and speaking experience. 
e. If a panel is proposed, who you plan to invite to speak with you.