There are a significant number of technical meetings held each year under the auspices of the IEEE. These meetings, whether large or small, entail a great deal of effort on the part of the organizing team of the conference or symposium. Some technical meetings are annual affairs with a long-standing organizational history, others are infrequent or one-time events that have no pre-established structure or routine to fall back on.

Most organizing committees, involved in either long-standing or infrequent conferences, consist of new people who may be inexperienced and may require some information, guidelines or tips for running a successful conference. The IEEE Canada Conference Advisory Committee.

CONAC provides such a service to its membership (Sections and Chapters). CONAC is an Operating Committee of the IEEE, reporting to the IEEE Canada Board of Directors, with a specific mandate to facilitate conference organization.

In order to provide leadership, encouragement, and support to Societies, Sections and Chapters, CONAC provides the following resources:

1. Literature on conference organization which includes information on local arrangements, the technical program, publicity, finances, registration procedures, and post-conference responsibilities.
2. A Distinguished Speakers list that identifies leading experts in the various Electrical Engineering disciplines.
3. Access to various CONAC Advisors who would be able to aid you in finding technical speakers/papers in the field of Electrical Engineering.
4. Limited funding for conferences. Co-sponsorship is provided in the form of seed funding.
5. Free advertising on the IEEE Canada Website.

How to apply for seed funding

If your Section and/or Society is planning a professional conference in the near future, the IEEE Conference Advisory Committee (CONAC) may be able to offer you some assistance both in how to plan and execute a successful conference and provide seed funding.

Limited funds are available. Each proposal is carefully examined and awarded seed funding based on the merits of the proposed conference and available resources. Typically, CONAC co-sponsorship is based on a profit sharing formula negotiated by all parties concerned. I strongly encourage you to utilize this channel of funding and conference expertise to ensure your conference is highly successful.