Call for Papers, Contributions, Posters and Showcase Pitches

Formats: panels, roundtables, workshops, combined formats

This conference has panels in various formats:

• Traditional panels: these can have up to five paper presentations per one 105-minute session, with up to two sessions allowable (max. 10 papers).
• Roundtables: here a group of people (usually no more than five) discusses themes/issues of general citizen science interest in front of (and subsequently with) an audience for the duration of a single 105-minute session. While a roundtable can include short (5-10 minute) contributions, the aim is to create a lively debate rather than focus on any one presenter. You may list/name contributors in your long abstract, or may leave the list open and take in ‘contribution’ proposals during the call for papers, selecting five of those to be in the roundtable.
• Workshops: conceptualised as practical events containing collective research activities, guided interactions and free-format exchanges leading to specific public outputs. A workshop may have up to two 105-minute sessions. They may include elements of performance, various collective activities, exhibitions, or interactive media displays, or innovative formats such as mobile (e.g. walking or outdoors) panels, laboratories, skills workshops, and open discussion forums. Proposals must list the practical requirements of the workshop at the end of the long abstract, such as specifications for required space, materials, maximum number of participants, etc.
• Showcase Pitch: this is a snapshot of your citizen science project, its goals, results, outcomes and learnings in a concise, visually appealing format. 3-minute pitch time limit (not including Q&A).

Rules

• The proposal must be submitted in English, as this is the conference language.
• An individual may hold each conference role only twice during the conference: i.e. convene a panel AND/OR a workshop AND/OR a roundtable twice; present a paper or a poster twice.

We cannot stop you from making several proposals, but would urge you to be prudent, as so much time gets lost in the subsequent processing of withdrawals, to say nothing of the potential upset to panel convenors. (See some advice below.)

Proposing a paper

Paper proposals must consist of:

• a paper title
• the name/s and email address/es of author/s
• a short abstract of fewer than 300 characters
• a long abstract of fewer than 250 words

All proposals must be made via the online proposal form. We do not accept proposals via email. There is a ‘Propose paper’ button in the title section of each open panel. Navigate to the panel you are interested in and click on this button to propose directly to that panel.

On submission of the proposal, the authors are sent an automated email confirming receipt. If you do not receive this email (check your spam box), please go to ‘Logged in’ in the toolbar above, select Conferences, and see if your proposal is there. If it is, it is just the confirmation email that was spammed/lost; if it is not, you will need to re-submit, as for some reason the process was not completed.

Proposing to a Workshop

When proposing a contribution to a workshop, please DO NOT propose a paper but instead write 3-10 sentences describing your research interests and motivation to participate in the workshop. These contributions are diffrent from simply participating within a workshop, instead it means taking part in a more active way in the workshop rather than simple attedance.

Contributions may include elements of performance, various collective activities, exhibitions, or interactive media displays.

Proposing a showcase pitch

We are inviting participants to present their citizen science project, result, or idea in a passionate, 3-minute pitch on stage. You can deliver your pitch solo or as part of a small team.

To add an exciting twist, this session will be a friendly competition. All presenters will go head-to-head, and the audience will vote for the best pitch, with a special prize awarded during the closing ceremony.

The rules are simple, but crucial:

• Time Limit: You have exactly 3 minutes to present any citizen science topic of your choice.
• No Tech: You cannot use notes, PowerPoint, other electronic presentations, audio, or video recordings.
• Props Only: You can only use props that you can carry onto the stage yourself.

How your pitch will be judged:

The audience will be your judge, evaluating your pitch based on these three key aspects:

• Content: Your presentation must be scientifically accurate. If your chosen topic involves controversy or uncertainty, your pitch must acknowledge opposing views. Ensure the scientific topic is well-chosen for our diverse audience.
• Clarity: Clear communication is critical. The structure of your presentation must allow the audience to easily follow your talk, ensuring they leave with a full understanding of your concept.
• Charisma: Inspire and enthuse the audience. Presenters who make their topic engaging, entertaining, and exciting, and who can truly share their passion, will have the best chance to win.

Proposing a poster

Poster sessions aim to allow more colleagues to present their work without overcrowding the programme, and can accommodate those who do not wish to present orally. Posters will be on display throughout the conference, with dedicated time slots when poster presenters will be available at their respective display to discuss their topic with colleagues. Junior scholars are especially encouraged to participate with a poster presentation.

A poster proposal must consist of:

• poster title
• the name/s and email address/es of author/s
• a short abstract of fewer than 300 characters
• a long abstract of fewer than 250 words

Finding out your results

Proposals are marked as pending until the Call for Papers ends (October 07 2025). Convenors are then asked to make their decisions over the papers proposed to their panel by October 22 2025 and to communicate those to the proposers, marking them up within the panel edit page (in the logged in environment).

Possible strategic advice

You may notice that alongside the ‘Propose paper’ button for each panel there is a statement as to how many papers have been proposed to that panel to-date. If you are proposing early, this statement will not be very instructive. However if you are part of the 80% who propose within the last 48hrs of the call, you might factor these statements into your consideration of where best to target your paper. If weighing up between two panels where one is heavily oversubscribed, you may have a higher chance of acceptance within the panel with fewer proposals. Obviously that’s not guaranteed, but it’s worth considering.

Good proposals not accepted in their original destination may be entered into a transfer process (below) which affords a second and third attempt to accommodate your paper.

Transfer process

Papers which are neither accepted nor rejected, but marked for ‘transfer’ (by the panel convenors), will be given an opportunity to be rehoused in other panels. The congress organisers will contact authors of such proposals asking them to modify their abstracts to fit another panel of their choosing. We will provide a list of panels containing fewer than the allowed maximum (10 papers) which may thus be able to include a few more.

Authors will be asked to suggest two potential panels in order of preference; the organisers then forward the title, short, and long abstracts to the convenors for consideration. If the first panel rejects the proposal, we contact the second choice. Transfers rejected by both panels are then set to ‘rejected’. We aim to resolve all transfers by November 28 2025.

Useful information for later in this process

Editing your paper

Clicking on your proposal title in the login environment allows you to edit the title and abstracts, add/remove co-authors – just remember to click ‘Save’ after any changes.

Adding more information about yourself

Select ‘Manage Account’ from the Logged in link in the top toolbar, to insert your TwitterID, ORCID, a short biography, links to your webpages (institutional, project, public big-tech networking sites, etc.), a photo/avatar and even upload a CV. This information allows those browsing the published conference content, to learn more about those involved.

Pre-circulation of papers

ECSA has no rule about this, but many convenors are keen to pre-circulate completed papers. To facilitate this and save on email traffic, if requested by convenors, authors can upload PDFs of their papers within the online system, which will then show as downloadable files beneath the abstract on the panel page. Initially the system is set so these PDFs are only visible to other panelists; they can be made publicly visible, if panel convenors request it.

Timing of presentations

Each panel/workshop session slot will be 105 minutes long, accommodating a maximum of five presenters. Convenors should allot each presenter a maximum of 15+5 mins for panels of five papers and 20+5 mins for panels of four papers.

Communication between authors/convenors

Convenor/author email addresses are not displayed on the panel pages but emails can be sent via the secure form accessed via the panel pages. If you cannot work that, please email info(at)ecsa2026.ngo to obtain relevant email addresses.

Any queries with the above please email info(at)ecsa2026.ngo.