2010 National Planning Conference

Local Host Committee Proposal Submissions

Saturday, April 10 – Tuesday, April 13, 2010 • New Orleans

Deadline: July 28, 2009

The Local Host Committee creates a conference track that consists of sessions focusing on local and regional planning initiatives and programs in New Orleans. Anyone can submit a proposal to the Local Host Committee for review. Any proposal NOT selected by the Local Host Committee will be automatically moved to the pool of general submissions for review by APA committee.

APA Members

APA members will need to use their ID number and website password to access the online submission area. Your ID appears on the mailing label of Planning. If you cannot remember your ID number or password, please click here.

Step 1

Before deciding to submit a proposal, it is very important that you read the Speaker Registration Policy. All speakers are required to register and whether you submit a proposal may be determined by your speakers' acceptance of this policy. When you recruit speakers, you must inform them of the registration policy, so they can give you an honest answer about whether they can attend and speak.

Step 2

Read Tips for Successful Proposal Submissions.

Step 3

Click here to begin a proposal to the Local Host Committee.

Non-Members of APA

Non-members of APA are invited to submit a session proposal.

Step 1

It is vital that you read and understand the Speaker Registration Policy before you submit. APA requires all speakers to register. Also, any session submitted by a non-member MUST have at least one APA member as a speaker. If selected, you will find that the APA member will help you shape your session for the audience and will help guide you through the preparation and presentation process.

We encourage session proposers to join APA. You will find APA membership provides substantial savings on conference registration in addition to many other benefits. Click here for information on joining APA.

Step 2

Sessions must be shaped for a planner and planning official audience. Here are some important tips:

  • Sessions are educational and cannot be a promotion of a product, service, or organization.
  • Familiarize yourself with the APA and the work of planners before you submit; study the APA website.
  • Sessions must offer multiple points of view to establish the value of the topic to planners.
  • Sessions will focus on issues and programs that have reached some level of maturation so that the lessons to be learned have been developed clearly.

Step 3

Read Tips for Successful Proposal Submissions to guide you in creating your proposal.

Step 4

  • If you have never logged into the APA website before, you will need to create a Non-Member record before you can continue. Once you create a Non-Member record you must return to this page to complete your proposal. It is necessary to create a login because we use your ID# to track your proposal.

    Click here to create a Non-Member login ID & password.
  • Even if you don't know your ID number, it is possible that we have information about you in our database, perhaps from past conference attendance. If you are not a member but were a speaker at one of the 2005-2009 National Planning Conferences, you already have an ID number.

    Click here to search for your ID and password.

Step 5

After you complete the profile please return to this page to log in with your new Non-Member ID number and password. After you begin working on your proposal you may complete the form now, or save it and return at a later date. If you plan to continue working on it later, hit the "save" button. You can return to your proposal by visiting www.planning.org/conference, clicking "View My Proposals," and logging in when you are ready to continue working. If you are finished with your proposal and are ready to submit it, hit the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page.

You cannot make changes to your proposal after you hit submit.

Click here to begin a proposal to the Local Host Committee.