Ad-hoc Working Groups

Over 85 formal and ad-hoc working groups were organized as part of the meeting

Formal Working Group Proposals were accepted until 1 August 2012.  After this date, proposals were submitted as "Ad-hoc" Working Groups.

INTRODUCTION

The triennial All Scientists Meeting provides an opportunity for LTER researchers to meet and interchange ideas. The theme for this year’s meeting was "The Unique Role of the LTER Network in the Anthropocene: Collaborative Science Across Scales". One important part of this meeting was the development of working groups focused on specific topics and goals. These working groups were bottom up activities; anyone in the LTER Network can propose a working group.

MEETING STRUCTURE

The 2012 ASM took place from September 9-13, 2012, in Estes Park, CO. Working groups were scheduled in the afternoon on the 10th, during morning and afternoon sessions on the 11th and 13th and during the morning of the 12th. The open time on the 12th was used for ad-hoc working group and site coordination meetings. The duration of working groups was between one and six hours. Two hour working groups fit best within the scheduled time blocks.

TIMETABLE

Based on past experience, the Program Committee extended the submission timeline for the 2012 meeting and accepted most proposals for working groups. In a few cases, overlap between working groups resulted in a request to merge groups or modify content.

• 1 April 2012 - Opening date for submission of working group proposals
• 1 August 2012 - Closing date for submission of working group proposals
• 15 August 2012 - Confirmation of working groups sent to organizers
• Ad-hoc Working groups accepted at any time
• 1 September 2012 - Final program posted

GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSING A WORKING GROUP

Proposals for working groups must be submitted via a web-based form at http://asm2012.lternet.edu/node/add/wg

Proposals that do not include all required information will not be considered. The Program Committee will use the information you provide to determine which working groups will be selected and to schedule selected working groups. By submitting a working group proposal, you are making a commitment to attend the ASM and organize the working group you propose. In addition, you are making a commitment to provide information about the results, participants, and products of your working group after the ASM and in the future as requested. Tabs on the web form that is being used to submit your proposal will also allow you to provide this required information when it is available.

To submit, click on the "Submit working group proposal" link (Login is required). If you are not listed in the LTER Personnel Database, please contact tech-support@lternet.edu. When submitting a working group proposal, the principal organizer must provide full information on the working group as requested in the web form. In addition, the principal organizer must select from four working group formats that would best serve the working group theme. These formats are information exchange, brain storming, product oriented, and ancillary (see below). A tab on the web form also permits the organizer to add content in the form of ancillary URL web links, or attachment of files such as handouts, graphics, PowerPoint presentations or text material for use during the working group’s session. Organizers are encouraged to use this for information to participants before and during the meeting. A FINAL REPORT IS REQUIRED at a minimum from all working groups. This and all products resulting from the working group should be appended to the working group submission following the meeting. This material will be used for evaluation of any potential post-ASM follow-on activities.

All proposals submitted will be available on this web site, and all ASM participants are urged to review the proposals already submitted before proposing a new working group. If a working group along similar lines to your intended proposal already exists, please contact the principal organizer of that working group and offer to be considered as an official participant, rather than submitting a similar working group idea.

On August 1, 2012, the web site closed to further submissions. The ASM Program Committee reviewed all the proposals submitted, selected the topics to cover as many themes as practical, reduced overlap between themes, minimized potential conflict between concurrent sessions and maximized the usefulness of the ASM to the LTER participants. The number of concurrent sessions depended upon the number of working group proposals received, number of people who express an interest in attending a particular session, and room size and availability.

Working Groups held during the previous ASM are a good example for those planning meetings at the 2012 ASM. The 2009 meetings can be found at: http://asm.lternet.edu/workgroups

FORMATS FOR WORKING GROUP SESSIONS

1. Information exchange: These followed a symposium format and consisted of a variety of talks from researchers from different LTER sites describing current work on a particular theme, or research that might be incorporated in the LTER research in the future. The principal organizer solicited talks on the proposed theme and organized the schedule of talks within the overall program structure and the number of sessions available after the timetable is determined. The principal organizer included time for discussion etc. as they considered appropriate.
2. Brainstorming: General discussion group potentially with a mix of short introductory remarks and scene setting followed by brainstorming on the proposed theme. Principal organizers delivered introductory remarks and/or solicited others to participate in the initial development of the brain storming session and chaired the brain storming discussion as they deem appropriate.
3. Product oriented: Working group with the primary objective to produce a specific product which might include a paper for publication, proposal for cross site research, or policy document of recommendations for LTER, NSF, and ESA etc.
4. Ancillary meetings: Ancillary meetings were requested by specific LTER interest groups (e.g., data managers, graduate students, education representatives) that needed time to themselves. These meetings were scheduled outside of the regular meeting agenda.