Introduction
The National Water Quality Monitoring Council (NWQMC) was established in 1997 as the successor to the Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality. The overall purpose of the NWQMC is to champion and support water quality information to inform natural resources management and environmental protection. The Council is a nationwide partnership of water monitoring and information management organizations from federal, state and tribal agencies, municipalities, business and industry, academia, agriculture, environmental groups, volunteer scientists and others with expertise in environmental monitoring. The NWQMC is charged with fostering dialogue and encouraging collaboration for the collection, management, and use of water-quality data and information needed to assess status and trends, to identify and prioritize existing and emerging problems, to identify research needs, to develop and implement management, stewardship and regulatory programs, and to evaluate compliance with environmental requirements and the effectiveness of programs and projects. We are currently transitioning our informational website from our previous server hosted by the USGS to an EPA hosted server but future information on the NWQMC can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/awma/national-water-quality-monitoring-council.
The Council is committed to promoting Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) within all aspects of water quality monitoring and assessment. Our success in achieving water quality goals depends on learning from people of all backgrounds. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful culture for all participants and actively improving JEDI throughout Council activities by working aggressively to remove systemic and institutional barriers that add layers of disadvantage and environmental injustice to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other minoritized groups. We acknowledge that our initiatives are a work in progress and commit to training and educating our members on implicit biases and historical environmental injustices, so that we may continuously improve how we amplify underrepresented voices and support opportunities for the broader water quality monitoring community.
If this is your first time submitting a proposal for the National Monitoring Conference, the Council always welcomes new contributors to the conference program and participants.
Information for (co-) Chairs of Concurrent Sessions
The NMC 2025 program development will include two solicitations for program materials. First, we are requesting proposals for four types of Sessions for the 2025 National Monitoring Conference: Concurrent Sessions, Panel Discussions, Facilitated Round Tables and Workshops/Trainings. A second solicitation, which will consist of a Call for Abstracts for the Concurrent Sessions (15-minute oral presentations) and posters, will occur in the summer of 2024.
Sessions are 90 minutes in length and are organized into one of four formats:
Concurrent Sessions are defined as a block of four 15-minute presentations within a 90-minute period, with all presentations revolving around a similar common conference theme or topic. Each presenter is given a 20-minute speaking slot, 15 minutes for the presentation with 5 minutes reserved for introduction and questions. At the end of each session, a 10-minute time slot is reserved for general session questions. A separate Call for Abstracts (oral presentations and posters) for the Concurrent sessions will be issued in the summer of 2024.
Panel Discussions bring together topical experts in a short presentation format followed by a facilitated discussion where attendees can explore topics in more detail. Attendees should come away with a more complete understanding of the topic, as well as associated challenges and opportunities. (Typically, 3-6 lightning presentations followed by discussion and Q&A).
Facilitated Round Tables give attendees an interactive opportunity to discuss and provide insights on an important science topic. Attendees should contribute their expertise and experiences to a challenging topic that requires input to develop solutions. (Typically, one 15-minute presentation, or so, with the remaining time for facilitated discussion).
Workshops/Short Courses provide an interactive, hands-on training opportunity for attendees. The focus should be on the latest field, analytical or data analysis techniques related to the conference themes or science topic. Attendees should walk away with an introduction to a new skill set.
For more information on submitting a Session proposal for a Panel Discussion, Facilitated Round Table and/or Workshop/Short Course, see the Sessions Guidelines for those here.
The following information is provided to inform Concurrent Session chairs on the organization of the meeting, the role of the Committee and expectations for them. Specific information on submitting Concurrent Session proposals can be found below. The application to submit a Concurrent Session Proposal can be found here.
Please send any NMC 2025 program development questions to nwqmc@epa.gov.
Guidance on Submitting a Concurrent Session Proposal
- The Concurrent Session submission deadline has been extended to June 21, 2024. Concurrent Session proposals will be evaluated by the Program Committee according to the NMC 2025 themes and/or alignment with the wide range of NMC participants. By mid- to late-July 2024, NWQMC will notify session chairs if their session proposal was selected to be included in the Call for Abstracts. A separate Call for Abstracts (oral presentations and posters) for the Concurrent Sessions will be issued in late July 2024.
- Concurrent Session proposals shall include a title, limited description, justification for the session, keywords, anticipated number of 90-minute session blocks, and the interest groups you would expect to receive abstracts from.
- The NMC Conference will be held in-person in Green Bay, Wisconsin as well as a limited virtual event. While our planning is still ongoing, our intention is to provide the following elements for our in-person and virtual attendees:
- Live-Streamed – the Plenary Sessions and a limited number of additional sessions (selected panel discussion) will be offered to virtual attendees. Virtual attendees will not be able to participate in discussions in real-time. However, virtual attendees can communicate with presenters through the conference app, as well as participate in discussion boards.
- In-Person concurrent sessions – 4 presenters in a 90-minute time block, will be available real-time to in-person attendees. Presenter approved recordings of the session will be posted to the conference app soon after the conference for in-person and virtual attendees to access for a number of months.
- Pre-recorded asynchronous presentations – It is generally expected that concurrent sessions will be in-person and all presenters will be attending. If we receive a quality abstract related to a session from a presenter who cannot attend, we will link that presentation to a theme related session for viewing asynchronously (i.e., not set for a specific time slot during the conference) by those interested. In these situations, pre-recorded content will be submitted ahead of the conference and be available through the conference app to in-person attendees and virtual attendees.
- Recorded Sessions – With presenter permission, and as technology and volunteer staffing allows, In-person Panel Discussions, and Facilitated Roundtable sessions will be recorded during the conference, and made available through the app, to in-person attendees and virtual attendees post-conference. We will not have the capacity to record the in-person workshops or short courses given their interactive nature, but we may invite popular sessions to provide a virtual NWQMC webinar or meeting post conference.
- Posters – Presenters will be able to upload their poster as a pdf and/or a recorded presentation, which will be made available through the conference app to in-person attendees and virtual attendees.
- Live-Streamed – the Plenary Sessions and a limited number of additional sessions (selected panel discussion) will be offered to virtual attendees. Virtual attendees will not be able to participate in discussions in real-time. However, virtual attendees can communicate with presenters through the conference app, as well as participate in discussion boards.
- The Program Committee encourages session organization by more than one person. If a co-chair (one or more) is not identified in the session proposal, the Program Committee may facilitate the identification of a co-chair following submission or merge proposed sessions with similar topics. This will greatly enhance the abstract review process. If your proposal is selected as a Session at the NMC 2025, you will be considered the point contact unless you note otherwise on your session submittal form.
- Commercial Session proposals will not be accepted, although the Conference Planning Committee welcomes the participation of vendors, suppliers and service providers as part of our Exhibitor Hall.
- Concurrent sessions may also be grouped to form tracks within the conference (e.g., 2 concurrent sessions on biological monitoring with one session block discussing methods and another session block discussing index development). Although limited space exists within the conference program, Session Chairs may propose multiple sessions under a unifying topic, and the Conference Program Committee may choose either partial or full acceptance.
- Please note that a session included in the Call for Abstracts DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE CONCURRENT SESSION WILL BE PROGRAMMED AT THE CONFERENCE. Depending on the number of quality abstracts received, the Program Committee will decide to accept, merge, expand or cancel the proposed Concurrent Session.
- We encourage you to contact colleagues to participate in your session. However, all abstracts for placement into a session MUST be submitted through the conference abstract submission process outlined in the Call for Abstracts. The online abstract submission system will open during July 2024 with the Abstract submission deadline in late summer/early fall of 2024.
- After a session is accepted, session chairs will be asked to review all abstracts that were submitted under your session and to return your reviews in October 2024. Session chairs and co-chairs will rank abstracts according to the criteria provided by the Program Committee and organize the session, including the selection of papers for presentations or posters. Alternate presenters should be identified to fill program gaps as needed. As this conference includes representatives from a wide range of sectors (e.g., academics, volunteer and community science, state, tribal, federal) and backgrounds (e.g., community groups, underserved communities, tribal nations, etc.), we expect the presenters in a session to reflect this diversity. During the review process, if a quality abstract is determined by a chair to not fit the general session or theme topic, it can be suggested to be included in another specific session or theme topic. The Program Committee will evaluate these suggestions and will pass the abstract to the recommended session block as deemed appropriate.
- THE NWQMC WILL NOTIFY PRESENTERS OF SESSION ACCEPTANCE by early December 2024. All finalized draft sessions proposed by the session chair(s) will be reviewed by the Program Committee. The Program Committee, in consultation with the session organizers, will set up the final program.
- If your proposal is selected as a session at the NMC 2025, we encourage the session chair(s) to also serve as the session moderator(s) at the meeting. If session proposals are merged, the principal chair(s) from the original sessions will be asked to moderate the merged session. In the event you are not able to moderate, or you are also a presenter in the session, the Program Committee may facilitate the identification of individuals that can serve as session moderator(s).
- The role of a session moderator is to give a short introduction at the start of the session, chair the session according to the general guidelines (available prior to the conference), provide a thank you to the presenters/attendees and mention additional recorded presentations, related topical sessions, and related posters available for view during the conference.
- Note that session chairs and session moderators are collaborating on a voluntary basis; their efforts are strongly appreciated and publicly recognized. However, the work does not include a free registration nor any other financial compensation. NWQMC never grants free registrations to session chairs, moderators or presenters. All session chairs, moderators and presenters MUST REGISTER for the meeting and pay the applicable registration fees, or they will be removed from the program.
- If you are concerned about costs of registrations, there are limited scholarship funds for members of the volunteer monitoring, JEDI, and student communities. Additional information will be available this fall on the conference website.