How to Participate

As a Section Chair
As a Panel Chair
As a Discussant
As a Paper Presenter

GUIDELINES AND DEADLINES

As a Section Chair

How to take part

Each Section should have one Chair and one Co-Chair. Section Chair must be from an ECPR Full Member institution. Only Section Chairs may submit a Section proposal.

You'll be expected to:

• Evaluate all Panel and individual Paper proposals in their Section.
• Consider the quality of each proposal and the fit with the Section theme.
• Allocate individual Paper proposals to Panels and, where appropriate, form Panels out of individual Paper proposals.
• Allocate Chairs and Discussants for Panels in a Section.
• If necessary, accommodate new Panels/Papers to their Section, or reduce the number of their Panels and rearrange Papers accordingly.
• Reallocate Papers in cases where multiple withdrawals may cause Panels to collapse.
• Inform our Events Team should they receive notification of a withdrawal directly from a participant.

Section Chairs do not have to attend the Conference.

Should they wish to participate, a link to register for the Conference will appear in the right-hand side menu when registration opens on 18 April 2022.

As a Panel Chair

How to take part

There are two ways to participate as a Panel Chair:

After the proposal deadline, Section Chairs approve/decline/reserve all Panels and Papers submitted. Approved Papers not submitted as part of a Panel will be allocated by the Section Chairs to an appropriate Panel.

Alternatively, Section Chairs may form additional Panels from individual Papers on a similar subject. Once this has been done, we will email all proposers to let them know the outcome. 

At this point, we may need volunteer Panel Chairs. If you would like to volunteer, get in touch with our Events Team.

You'll be expected to:

• Register for and attend the Conference. 
• Read each Paper* ahead of the Conference.
• If necessary, accommodate new Papers or rearrange Papers within their Panel.
• Inform our Events Team should they receive notification of a withdrawal directly from a participant.

During the Panel session:

• Keep introductions brief.
• Start and finish the session on time.
• Make sure that Papers are presented in the order of the programme unless requested otherwise.
• Allocate sufficient time to each Presenter, but keep them to time.
• Be prepared to adjust timings at short notice, in case a Presenter does not attend.
• Allow the final third of the session for questions and divide the remaining time evenly between the number of panellists.
• Have several questions prepared, in case the audience take a while to warm up.
• If there are many questions, avoid asking any yourself.
• Don’t hesitate to interrupt to refocus the discussion.
• Always end the session by inviting the audience to thank the Presenters.

A link to register for the Conference will appear in the right-hand side menu when registration opens on 18 April 2022.

*Paper Presenters will upload their Paper to the ECPR website or share them with the Panel Chair and Discussant.

As a Discussant

How to take part

There are two ways to participate as a Discussant:

After the proposal deadline, Section Chairs approve/decline/reserve all Panels and Papers submitted, and form new Panels from individually approved Papers on a similar subject.

At this point, we may need volunteer Discussants. For guidance, read. If you would like to volunteer, get in touch with our Events Team.

You'll be expected to:

• Register for and attend the Conference.
• Read each Paper* ahead of the Conference, taking time to understand their contributions, strengths and weaknesses, and what the audience needs to know about them.
• Help the audience understand the Papers better.
• Generate conversation about each Paper.

During the Panel session

Learning how to read other Papers with the critical eye of a good Discussant will help you write Papers that appeal to the profession.

• Summarise briefly the Paper’s main message and its contribution.
• Provide an assessment of the Paper: does it make its case convincingly?
• Suggest constructive ways to improve the Paper.
• Highlight the relevance of the Paper to academia and society.
• Stimulate conversation among the audience by posing questions for discussion.

A link to register for the Conference will appear in the right-hand side menu when registration opens on 18 April 2022.

*Paper presenters will upload their Paper to the ECPR website or share them with the Panel Chair and Discussant.

As a Paper Presenter

When proposals open on 5 December a link will appear in the menu on the right hand side for you to propose a Paper. You must submit your proposal to a Section before the deadline of 18 February. Papers submitted as part of a Panel do not need to be resubmitted individually. If your Paper has more than one author, the person making the proposal will be listed as the Paper presenter.

To make a proposal, you and your co-author(s) must have My ECPR profiles. If you don’t already have one, it takes just a few clicks to create. Alternatively, your Paper can be part of a pre-formed Panel proposal, co-ordinated and submitted as a complete Panel by a Panel Chair (see above). 

After the deadline, Section Chairs approve/decline/reserve all Papers proposed. Approved Papers not submitted as part of a Panel will be allocated by the Section Chairs to an appropriate Panel. Alternatively, Section Chairs will form additional Panels from individual Papers on a similar subject. Once this has been done, we will email all proposers to let them know the outcome.

Once you know the outcome, you can decide whether you want to attend the Conference. If you do, you need to register and pay online before registration closes in mid May (TBC). A registration button will appear in the menu on the right hand side when registration opens on 1 April.

If your Paper is accepted and you cannot attend, please email the Events Team immediately so we can reshuffle Papers if necessary. If one of your co-authors can attend and present in your place, email the Events Team to let us know they should be listed as Presenter.

Please upload your full Paper to the ECPR website via your My ECPR profile or email it to the Panel Chair, Discussant and fellow Paper givers before 10 August to give your fellow Panellists time to read it. And that’s it – we look forward to welcoming you to the Conference!

Questions?

Email the Events Team.

Dates and deadlines