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SAM conference 2025

Building bridges

shaping Europe's science-for-policy landscape

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Call for contributions

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We want the SAM conference to be as broad and inclusive as possible. If you would like your organisation to be involved, there are several options.

1. Propose a parallel session

The programme includes two 90-minute slots for parallel sessions. These take place in the main conference venue and are advertised to all participants.

We expect a large number of proposals for a relatively small number of parallel sessions. For this reason, we have put in place a process to assess proposals as objectively as possible.

To maximise the chances of your proposal being accepted, please note the following criteria, which are different from many other conferences:

  • Relevance: Proposals should be related to the overall topic of the conference, and ideally to one of the three main themes: (1) science advice in politics and society; (2) designing better institutions; (3) building skills and practices. We will not accept sessions that simply present specific scientific projects or results, even if they are highly policy-relevant in themselves.
  • Interactivity: Proposals should involve all the participants for the majority of the session. Some ideas for interactive session formats include: world café; fishbowl; broad debate; roundtable; ideas market. You can also adopt a different format or invent your own. We are not looking for sessions that are simply a series of presentations or a panel discussion with audience Q&A.
  • Problem-based: We are looking for proposals that address a specific problem or challenge, and either discuss interesting ways to address that problem or challenge, or work with participants to explore it further. Proposals should not simply be a showcase of past work or general good practice.
  • Contrasting perspectives: Proposals should bring together contrasting perspectives in a constructive manner. Debate, controversy and disagreement that stimulate critical reflection are welcome. A series of speakers all representing the same perspective is of limited value.
  • Multiple co-organisers: You do not have to partner with other organisations to organise your session, but we will look favourably on proposals that do.
  • Gender and geographical diversity: We are looking for an approximate balance across all parallel sessions. This does not mean that each session must be perfectly balanced in itself, but gender and geographical diversity (within Europe) will count in your favour.

Proposals will be grouped according to type and theme, then ranked by our academic oversight committee according to how well they meet the above criteria. We will select a maximally diverse selection from the highest-ranked proposals.

If there are many diverse highly-ranked proposals, we may also consider practical ways to include more organisations, for instance by:

  • inviting multiple organisations to combine their ideas into a single shared session
  • suggesting a change to your proposal so that it fits better with other proposals, for instance a different format

The deadline for submission is 14 February 2025. We will let you know by 14 March 2025 if you have been selected.

Propose a parallel session

2. Organise a side event

You could organise your own event, either before or after the main conference, in person or online.

Provided your event is related to the themes of our conference and meets our other criteria, we would be happy to advertise it to conference participants.

You would need to do the organisational work yourself, including finding a venue and meeting any costs.

Organise a side event

3. Feature in the ideas market

Before and during the networking dinner on the evening of 26 May, participants will browse an ideas market — a cross between an academic poster session and a business pitch — on the subject of science-for-policy.

Any conference participant, or a related organisation, can propose an idea for the ideas market. We are looking specifically for novel and creative ideas related to the design and delivery of science advice. They could be ideas that have already been realised, or proposals.

Selected participants will be asked to:

  • present a short pitch (1 minute, 1 slide) to the plenary of the conference on day 1
  • display a poster during the networking dinner on day 1, and present it to other participants
Feature in the ideas market

4. Participate in the conference

We plan for our conference to be highly participatory! So even if you don’t want to propose a special session, or you aren’t successful in your application, you can still attend the conference for free and take part in all our discussions.

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The views and opinions expressed in our publications, including on this website, are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, the European Commission, or any funding authorities.

Within the Scientific Advice Mechanism, SAPEA is funded by the European Union.

© 2025 European Union

Propose a parallel session

1. About you
Lead organisation *
This is the organisation which will lead in organising this session, if the proposal is successful.
Contact name *
The main contact person we should liaise with about this session (probably you!).
Contact email *
Your email address.
Partner organisations
List any other organisations you're partnering with for this proposal. (No need to include contact details. We will only contact the lead organisation.)
2. About your proposal
Title of the parallel session *
One-sentence description *
Quickly describe the session in a single sentence (max 500 characters).
Longer description *
Describe the session in no more than 2000 characters (about 300 words).
Names and genders of speakers and moderators *
Please list your intended speakers (including moderator, chair, host, whatever) and their genders. They don't have to be confirmed yet. We don't need full biographies, just name and job title.
Associated conference theme *
Interactivity *

When you click the button, this pop-up window will close. You’ll then receive an email confirming your submission within a few minutes. If it doesn’t show up, please check your spam or junk folder before contacting us.

We will store and use the details you submit in this form only for the purposes of communicating with you about your proposal, and for administering the event. We won’t use them for any other purpose.

Organise a side event

1. About you
Lead organisation *
This is the organisation which will lead in organising this side event.
Contact name *
The main contact person we should liaise with about this session (probably you!).
Contact email *
Your email address.
2. About your side event
Title of the event *
Description *
Describe the session in no more than 2000 characters (about 300 words).
Associated conference theme *
Date and time *
Tell us when your event will take place (not at exactly the same time as our conference, please!).
Location *
Tell us the approximate location (city, country) of your event, or if it's online, just type 'online'.
Web link
If you already have a webpage about this event, put the link here. If not, just leave it blank.

When you click the button, this pop-up window will close. You’ll then receive an email confirming your submission within a few minutes. If it doesn’t show up, please check your spam or junk folder before contacting us.

We will store and use the details you submit in this form only for the purposes of communicating with you about your side event, and for administering the event. We won’t use them for any other purpose.

Propose an idea

Name *
The main contact person we should liaise with about this session (probably you!).
Email *
Your email address.
Organisation
If you're associated with an organisation, enter its name here.
Your pitch *
Give us an outline of what your contribution would be, in no more than 2000 characters (about 300 words). You can be as specific as you like, but we won't hold you to this -- if you're selected, you can revise it later.

When you click the button, this pop-up window will close. You’ll then receive an email confirming your submission within a few minutes. If it doesn’t show up, please check your spam or junk folder before contacting us.

We will store and use the details you submit in this form only for the purposes of communicating with you about your idea, and for administering the event. We won’t use them for any other purpose.

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