Conference ogranizers are calling for volunteers from our members and sponsors to deliver session content that will benefit attendees in addressing the challenges related to this year's theme.

2012 Theme: "Any Time! Any Where! Any Device! Any Worries?"

The Challenge for munipal government is to provision cost effective services while working within the contraints of contracting budgets and increasing demand. They need to:

• build capabilities to develop smarter solutions and services faster,
• deal with expectations created by the consumerization of IT,
• understand cloud computing opportunities and the impact of mobility, and
• leverage the strengths of partners and technology to meet stakeholder expectations.

Topics and messages that would be relevant under this year's theme include innovative strategies, industry trends and research, and innovative solutions or case studies that can help municipalities address current and future challenges. Each conference session is scheduled for 90 minutes. Speakers should allow time for and encourage questions and discussion.

MISA Prairies Audience

• MISA is an established Canadian association of municpal government representatives
• MISA Prairies includes members from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
• Mid-to-senior level Information Technology professionals
• Represent a wide range of technology disciplines
• The majority of the MISA Prairies members work for municipalities and deliver technology solutions to numerous lines of business units with broad business requirements.

How to Submit a Proposal

If you have an idea for a presentation or round table, please submit a brief outline for your proposal by March 9th, 2012, describing the information content and approach. You can do this by completing and submitting the online form provided.

Selection Process

Submissions will be assessed based on relevance to the theme and on interest expressed by members in a recent survey. The organizing committee will notify you of your proposal by March 14th, 2012.

Conference organizers will select content that best meets the needs and preferences expressed by the members in a recent survey.

Speaker Commitment

MISA Prairies conference speakers are asked to provide electronic submissions of their material by April 13th, 2012. This will facilitate a final review and distribution after the conference.

MISA Prairies does not offer remuneration or cover expenses for speakers.

Sponsor Guidelines

The Intent is for each session to provide an educational offering to meet municipal technology challenges with respect to the conference theme. industry speakers must maintain an educational focus, and eliminate all sales oriented messages. Sessions with a sales orientation typically recieve low audience ratings and are not considered appropriate for this conference.

Industry/vendor participants must be sponsors of the 2012 conference to qualify for a speaking engagement.