Best in the West Conference 2011
Saturday June 25
San Francisco CA  
Fort Mason 9am – 4pm

Interested in speaking at the 2011 BAodn Best in the West Conference? The 2011 conference will be held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, CA. The submission deadline is May 27th (11:59 p.m. PDT).

Conference details

Important Dates: 

Tentative Speaker Time slots:
10:00am – 11:15am
1:20pm – 2:35pm
3:00pm – 4:15pm

What You Need to Know to Submit a Proposal!

BAodn’s ultimate goal is the quality of the education program in partnership with you as a speaker. The theme for this year’s conference is “The many interfaces of OD: The OD practitioner as an internal business partner, independent consultant and academic theorist.”

1. Conference Policies

• Limit of two proposal submissions per individual or company
• Proposals shall not exceed 3 pages each
• Maximum of one selection per individual or company
• Limit of two speakers per session
• One complimentary conference registration per session (additional speaker registers at own expense or receives a session-only pass) –we should include that they will receive a discount for additional attendees.  We will give them the member registration rate – if they are not members already.
• All travel costs are speaker's responsibility

2. Selection Criteria

The speaker selection committee will evaluate all proposals on the following key elements:

• Content that is current and practical, cutting edge or innovative as it relates to the OD practitioner
• Programs and initiatives that demonstrate a grasp of business acumen and measurable business impact and results
• Completeness, accuracy, and clarity of the proposal. Proposals that do not follow the instructions will be ineligible
• Clear, specific, and informative content which is directly linked to the learning objectives outlined in the proposal
• Application-focused objectives which can realistically be met in the time allotted
• A balanced slate of speakers representing diverse backgrounds, viewpoints and organizations.

While not required, you may include a short video link (60 seconds) which shows you speaking to a group or sharing more information with the reviewers about your session proposal.

3. Proposal Content Requirements

• All sessions are learning experiences (case study, experiential/interactive or focus on innovations/new trends in the OD field) and are non-commercial
• Ensure that the description clearly shows what the session is about; avoid editorials about the topic 
• Include some interactive or experiential elements in your design, as appropriate
• Learning objectives should show how the participant will be able to use your content back on the job (practical application) 
• Incorporate Learning Transfer in your design to ensure application
• Include title, description, learning objectives, target audience and learning approach.

4. Submission Instructions
Proposals shall be submitted to speakers@baodn.org no later than 11:59 (PDT), May 27th ; MS Word or PDF format double-spaced, 12-font and shall not exceed 3 pages.

Conference Topics
Note: Proposals submitted for the topics listed below will receive preference.

Internal OD

1. Be known to those needing you
2. Involve participants so they begin to own the process
3. Facilitate complex emotional patterns
4. Consider creative alternatives
5. Obtain commitment from leadership
6. Reduce dependency upon the consultant
7. Instill responsibility for follow through with your client
8. Solicit feedback from others about your impact on them
9. Energize others, maintain/increase change momentum
10. Collaborate with internal/external OD professional

External OD

1. Deal effectively with resistance
2. Help the client trust the process
3. Collaboratively design the change process
4. Build realistic expectations
5. Identify the boundary of systems to be changed
6. Quickly grasp the nature of the system
7. Determine appropriate decision makers and appropriate processes (formal and informal power assessment)
8. Distill recommendations from the data
9. Focus action that generates high impact at lowest cost
10. Co-create an implementation plan that is rooted in the data and results-oriented
11. Choosing an appropriate evaluation methods for your customer and the change effort
12. Plan for post-consultation contact

Academic OD

1. Innovations and evolutions in the OD field
2. Appropriate data to collect
3. Effective methodologies to assess the data
4. Recognize what is relevant when data is collected
5. Communicate implications of systems theory
6. Continuously assess the issues as they surface
7. Utilize a solid conceptual framework based on research
8. Be aware of the influences of cultural dynamics on interactions with others