LMI Institute Annual Forum 2022 Call for Sessions

The Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute and the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) are currently soliciting proposals for the next annual conference and forum, which is currently planned to be a hybrid event June 13 – 17, 2022. Assuming in-person gatherings are safe, the in-person component will take place in Columbus, Ohio! The theme this year is The Road Ahead: Using Data to Pave the Way. Below is information on this year’s conference and details on how to submit your proposal.

Breakout sessions and individual presentations are a key component to the success of our conference. They enable our attendees to share, learn, converse, and interact with one another on topics of mutual interest and compare research methods, data collection practices, visualization tools, and lessons learned in the field. We invite members and non-members to submit session proposals by Monday, October 25, 2021.

Theme

The C2ER Annual Conference/LMI Institute Annual Forum theme for 2022 is The Road Ahead: Using Data to Pave the Way – we are interested in learning about the future of local communities, workforce research, and the larger direction of the field in general. What does a prosperous future for everyone look like? How do we use data to promote inclusive economic growth and support a diverse workforce? How does this create opportunities for local businesses, economies, and residents?

See session ideas (below) for other potential presentation topics.

About the Conference + Forum

The 2021 C2ER Annual Conference + LMI Institute Annual Forum included over 250 attendees and speakers who are primarily researchers from state labor market information, economic development, and workforce development offices; community colleges; workforce boards; and other organizations in the economic and workforce development fields.

Due to the evolving nature of future meetings and travel, the 2022 Conference + Forum will be held in a hybrid format (a combination of in-person and virtual attendees). This provides a great opportunity to expand your network and present your research to a large audience of your peers. The conference includes a variety of keynote and plenary speakers, and roundtables to offer extensive networking and the opportunity to see data-driven community, workforce, and economic development in action.

Structure & Format

Sessions will be a combination of pre-recorded, live-streaming content, and in-person sessions.  We are seeking to create unique learning opportunities for our attendees and encourage you to submit new and innovative ways to use this time to share new knowledge and approaches, facilitate panel discussions, and/or engage attendees in active conversation.  A hybrid environment allows us to offer a variety of session formats, including traditional sessions (individual presentations; traditional panels of three 15-20-minute presentations; facilitated roundtable discussions), but we also welcome proposals that utilize the unique advantages of virtual meetings (such as on-site visits to activities or developments of interest in your community that you bring to us virtually).

This year we will continue to include skill building workshops. If you host a FREE data tool, website, or have a skillset that you would like to share with business and community researchers, we want to hear from you! Please note that the session is expected to offer an introduction to your data tool or website and a “hands-on” experience to allow participants to gain practical experience with the data, walk away with new skills, and possibly access a new tool for their work going forward. Workshops should be a minimum of 45 minutes long and a maximum of two hours long.

We are interested in a variety of viewpoints; we encourage researchers and analysts from all diverse backgrounds to share their experiences.  If you are recruiting participants for a panel or developing a topic to share, please keep our mutual commitment in mind.  We also want to hear from our younger researchers. This could be your chance to make a mark on the community, workforce, and economic research profession for years to come!  We’re always looking for new leaders and a fresh set of contributors.

If any of the themes presented below resonate with the research you and your colleagues are doing, please submit a proposal!

Session Ideas

Proposals may address one or more of the following ideas as they relate to the theme of The Road Ahead: Using Data to Pave the Way. See the sub-topics below and related research questions and ideas. Please do not feel limited to the session focus areas listed below.

  • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in Data
  • Future of Work: What Does the Data Tell Us
  • The Virtual Economy – Power of Remote Work as Measured by Data
  • High Frequency Data – innovative real time data, unemployment insurance data, etc.
  • Technical Skills Workshops

Instructions

  • Please submit proposals via our survey tool. This helps keep the committee organized and ensures no one is inadvertently overlooked. Only proposals submitted via the survey tool will be considered.  If you’re having trouble with the survey tool or cannot enter the data, please let us know.
  • A full list of proposal questions is available below.
  • Sessions must be centered on economic and/or workforce development research or the use of data to make economic and/or workforce development policy decisions.
  • Vendors are eligible to propose “Vendor Sponsored Sessions.” They will not be considered for other sessions. To be accepted Vendor Sponsored Sessions should be topical and informative. Sales or marketing sessions will not be considered.  We would happily work with vendors seeking to make a proposal to ensure their idea meets our programming goals.
  • Proposals should reference how the proposal relates to the theme in economic and workforce development research.
  • Full panel Sessions (usually with three presenters) are approximately 60 minutes. Individual presentations are 15-20 minutes long.
  • Session proposals are due by 5:00 pm EST on Monday, October 25, 2021.

Guidelines

  • Proposal descriptions are limited to 200 words. Any beyond that will not be considered.
  • Limit of two proposals from each organization. The first two submissions will be the two considered.
  • Proposals may not be submitted on behalf of another organization.
  • There will be no compensation for speaking at the event.
  • Proposals are being solicited from C2ER and LMI Institute members and nonmembers alike.
  • If you are proposing a panel, you will be responsible for confirming that panel’s speakers, managing topics of focus, and organizing bios to submit to C2ER/LMI Institute prior to the event.
  • C2ER/LMI Institute reserve the right to edit or make changes to proposed session titles, descriptions, modes of presentation, panels, and moderators. This includes combining proposal ideas that complement each other into one session.
  • Speakers are welcome to present at no charge. If you are interested in attending the full conference, contact Spencer Abrams (sabrams@crec.net) for the prorated speaker registration fee.
  • C2ER/LMI Institute will provide a response to all submitted proposals no later than

January 15, 2022.

Questions Preview

  • Contact information
  • Are you currently a member of C2ER or the LMI Institute?
  • Are you proposing an individual presentation or panel?
  • Are you proposing to present in-person, virtual, or both?
  • Which session ideas does your proposal relate to? (see themes)
  • Presentation or panel title
  • Please provide a description of your proposed presentation or panel.
  • Please indicate who else is on your proposed panel (if applicable).
  • Please elaborate on how your proposal relates to the conference theme.
  • How will your proposed presentation or panel use data to inform economic and workforce development researchers?
  • What other information would you like to provide about your proposal?

About C2ER

Founded in 1961, the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) is a membership organization that promotes excellence in community and economic research by working to improve data availability, enhance data quality, and foster learning about regional economic analytic methods. C2ER’s 1,000+ members span a broad range of specialty skills and collectively touch all aspects of community and economic development in the U.S. and Canada. C2ER accomplishes this mission by:

  • Conducting training, advocacy, and research
  • Delivering innovative products and services for researchers
  • Developing professional networks

About the LMI Institute

The Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute is the pre-eminent resource for supporting the development, interpretation, and use of labor market information. The LMI Institute supports and promotes the production and use of high-quality workforce and employment information by:

  • Providing training and professional development to state and other LMI professionals.
  • Improving the knowledge, skills, and understanding of LMI customers.
  • Offering management, staffing, and coordination to support the nationwide LMI infrastructure.
  • Fostering and encouraging the use of local, state, and national LMI in decision-making related to workforce development, economic development, education, and other relevant policy areas.