Request for Proposals

10th Annual oSTEM Conference + Out to Innovate™ 2020

“The Magic of Tenacity”
November 12-15, 2020, Virtual

Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM) and National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) are now accepting program proposals for the virtual 10th Annual oSTEM Conference + Out to Innovate™ 2020. For more information on why we decided to go virtual, read the full statement. 

We welcome proposals from all members of the LGBTQ+ and/or STEM community - especially proposals which explore intersections of identities and highlight marginalized perspectives. We encourage our students, sponsors, professionals, and all interested in furthering our mission to submit a proposal for our upcoming virtual Conference this November.

Benefits of Presenting

• Direct interaction with stellar LGBTQ+ STEM students and professionals
• Opportunity to influence future LGBTQ+ STEM leaders
• Visibility for your organization or cause

Submission Milestone

• July 15: RFP Released
• August 28:  Deadline for Submissions
• September 21:  Acceptance Notifications

Program Topics

oSTEM and NOGLSTP are dedicated to providing programming that is directed at both LGBTQ+ students and professionals in a variety of STEM fields. Programs that highlight the following have been requested by conference attendees: 

• Sharing Technical Experiences and Expertise
  • Data science, applied mathematics, industry and academic research, environmental sciences
• Chapter Development and Student Leadership
  • Engaging sponsors, campus programming, chapter development
• Intersectional Identities
  • Issues impacting LGBTQ+ people who also identify as racial/ethnic minorities, gender minorities (including trans and non-binary communities), people with disabilities, etc.
• Career and Professional Development
  • Career pivots, branding yourself, academic careers, business skills
• LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness
  • HIV/AIDS, queer health topics, LGBTQ+ and healthy mental living
• Professional and Advisor Enrichment
  • Employee Resource Group best practices, roles and responsibilities of advisors, LGBTQ+ mentorship
• Other Various Topics
  • Advocacy, faith & reason, and additional topics that address the needs of the community

Presentation Format

When designing your proposal, please keep the following in mind:

• Sessions that are able to be recorded will need to be pre-recorded
• Interactive activity/presentation or panel discussion will occur live between 8 am and 12 pm PST
• Program assessment will not be provided by oSTEM or NOGLSTP

Successful Program Characteristics

Successful programs will:

• Actively engage with the audience in some way
• Honor oSTEM and NOGLSTP's values and commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Support inclusion of gender and/or racial/ethnic minorities within the LGBTQ+ and/or STEM communities
• Empower underrepresented communities to thrive despite hardships
• Provide valuable takeaways to attendees
• Present unique topics or present topics in a unique perspective
• Provide in-depth submissions that show intention and organization of content

Successful programs will NOT:

• Directly highlight a company or organization for recruiting purposes
• Propagate or encourage stereotypical representations of gender, sexuality, and/or racial/ethnic communities

Program Evaluation Criteria

All programs will be reviewed based on the following characteristics. Provided are also suggestions on how to achieve favorable marks in these categories:

Program selection for our conference is highly competitive; please follow the guidelines that have been outlined here to improve your chances of being selected.  Each submission is worth 75 points. Prior to submitting your proposal please ensure you have provided the following information:

• Session Title: 5 points
• Summary (150 words max): 5 points
• What is the value of this workshop to the LGBTQ+ STEM Community (300 words max): 20 points
• How will the proposed program engage the audience? Be specific (300 words max): 15 points
• Specific workshop objectives OR specific panel topics (300 words max): 15 points
• Presenter Identity and Experience matches proposed topic: 10 points
• Clarity and Grammar: 5 points
• Total: 75 points

In addition to the above criteria please ensure you have provided the following information:

• Is this session intended for a specific community only? If so, specify
• Pre-recorded sessions: How long will your session need for Q&A (10 min, 15 min, or 20 min)
• Presenter names/titles/emails/demographic info
• Presenter bios 

For an editable version of the submission form to gather your thoughts and collaborate with other presenters, download a Word version here. An online submission will still be required.

NOTE: DOCUMENT AND EMAIL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED BY CONFERENCE CHAIR APPROVAL ONLY. Contact conference@ostem.org.