We are very pleased to announce the Call for Session Proposals for ACA's 2013 International Conference in New England!

To be considered as a potential presenter for the ACA 2013 International Conference, please submit your proposal with the following in mind.

Conference Goal

To offer participants an opportunity to learn, observe, and engage in the art, craft, practice, and experience of creativity. Presenters and participants will learn from each other through interaction that has a focus on addressing the real challenges and opportunities facing our business, nonprofit, governmental, educational, and artistic/cultural sectors.

Conference Theme: Creativity for Sale

So you’re creative. Now what? How do you plan to pay the rent? This year's theme "Creativity for Sale" invites us to explore the role of convergence in creativity, the best practices and effective models of the creative process that have been developed over the years, and welcomes the opportunity to learn from each other. At ACA 2013 we will explore how creative people and their ideas can be branded more effectively, sharing insights on how creatives and the products of their efforts can be promoted to result in economic and other benefits. We are inviting proposals for sessions addressing what works, what doesn’t, and what questions remain to be answered when living a creative life.

Proposals should address the role of creativity in one or more of the following areas:

• Productivity in changing environments
• Defining problems in the context of change
• Creative identification of opportunities
• Selecting beneficial tools and techniques
• Advantageous team-building processes
• Applied creative leadership

Sessions are expected to appeal to creative professionals and present new information to conference attendees. Participants should be able to apply the knowledge acquired in the session to their work in areas such as business development, education, marketing, science, new product development, training, academia, and the arts. Sessions may demonstrate existing processes in new circumstances or may introduce original research in the field of creativity.

Seeking presentations reflecting conference theme and applicability to “Classic” and new models for creativity and problem solving (Osborn-Parnes, Synectics, TRIZ, lateral thinking, whole brain, Kepner Tregoe, Value Engineering, etc.) or the repertoire of practical strategies and techniques for creative problem solving and its application to real-world situations.

Additional Information

• Session length may be 60 minutes, 90 minutes, or 3-hour workshop.
• Sessions should be designed for information sharing—not as commercials for products or services.

The deadline for proposal submission to ACA 2013 in New England is April 15, 2013. Submit proposals electronically at http://www.aca.cloverpad.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1275778

Selection Criteria

• Received by proposal deadline
• Correspondence to the theme
• Potential to attract and stimulate conference attendees
• Clarity of proposal content and presentation methods, especially session’s learning objectives
• Originality and creativity in content and format
• Potential for practical application
• Relevance to current trends and issues and appropriateness for international audience
• Presenter’s expertise and experience

Benefits and Costs of Presenting

ACA expects presenters to benefit from sharing their expertise with a wide audience. To ensure that the conference is affordable for both presenters and attendees, ACA offers a lowest-possible price for all on a per-day basis: $125 for one-day, $225 for two days. This includes entrance to all general and concurrent sessions, conference materials, breakfasts, lunches, and breaks with great snacks. Friday evening’s lobster and wine reception, a great social and networking event, is included with a Friday one-day and the full two-day conference registrations.

Deadline for Submission

April 15, 2013

Notification of Acceptance

May 1, 2013

Conference Dates

July 26 & 27, 2013 at the University of Southern Maine.