World Congress

11th World Congress for NeuroRehabilitation

7th October 2020 - 10th October 2020 
Lyon, France
W: http://www.wcnr-congress.org

WCNR2024 Call for Bids 

BID SUBMISSION GUIDELINES       

 

INTRODUCTION 

The World Congress for NeuroRehabilitation (WCNR) is held every two years. The WFNR Federation Council chooses the host society on the basis of a bid proposed at the Council meeting at the World Congress four years proceeding to the bidding Congress. The organisation of the meeting is a shared responsibility of the host society and WFNR.

The host society is invited to not only host the meeting in 2024 but organize it as a joint meeting with between the WFNR and local society. The programs can be fully combined and presented in English or up to two tracks can be in the local mother tongue or, if financially applicable, certain tracks can be covered by simultaneous translation.

The association needs a local host to help run the event together with the Core PCO Conventus and also support marketing activities, as well as applications for government funds.

We would like to invite WFNR members to submit bid proposals for the location of the biennial meeting of the WFNR for the year 2024.  This document aims to present the different aspects and guidelines that the bid submitter should take into consideration.

The city and venue for WCNR2024 will be decided at the next WCNR in Lyon, France, being held from 7-10 October 2020.

 

PREVIOUS WORLD CONGRESSES

 Year        Location

1996         Newcastle, UK

1999         Toronto, Canada

2002         Venice, Italy

2006         Hong Kong, China

2008         Brasilia, Brazil

2010         Vienna, Austria

2012         Melbourne, Australia

2014         Istanbul, Turkey

2016         Philadelphia, USA

2018         Mumbai, India

 

2020         To be held in Lyon, France

2022         To be held in Vancouver, Canada

 

FORMAT AND SPECIFICATION OF CONGRESS AND DESTINATION

The bid submitter should take into consideration the following criteria whilst preparing the proposal.

• Time – usually October
• Length - 4 days long (including pre-congress workshop day)
• Expected number of participants – 2000
• Number of parallel sessions per day – 8 (6 parallel sessions + 2 parallel workshops)
• Exhibition – up to 500 square meters net
• Posters (in form of e-posters, area for 8-10 terminals at 5 x 5 sqm)
• Free Wi-Fi for all participants
• Preferably, the World Congress will not be held on the same continent for more than two consecutive congresses

Bids should be from medium to large cities serviced by an international airport and having a large number of hotel rooms in 3-5 star categories. A range of budget hotel accommodation is also an important requirement.

Bidding countries with strict visa/immigration laws must present clear and manageable structure to assist in the application of visas by potential participants. Bids must include lists of which countries receive free immigration for travel and what the visa process will be.

 

HALLS AND FACILITIES REQUIRED

• Plenary Hall for 2000 participants

• 8 Parallel Halls (50-1.500 pax)
• Offices / Secretariat Offices x 2
• Speaker Preview Room
• Smaller meeting rooms for national societies and special interest groups Exhibition/ Posters / Catering, preferably in the same area
• The budget should not exceed 150.000 EUR incl. technical equipment.

 

LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE AND MEETING CHAIR

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) is selected by the host society and approved by the WFNR Presidium. It consists of the members and one chair. The members of the LOC should be members of the local Neurorehabilitation community experienced in organisational matters. The chair of the LOC is the partner for WFNR in all discussions related to the meeting.

 

PROFESSIONAL CONGRESS ORGANISER

WFNR has appointed Conventus as the PCO (Professional Congress Organizer) to be responsible for the organization, administration and all financial aspects of the congress. WFNR together with the PCO has full executive responsibility for the administrative, financial and overall organisation of the meeting.

 

COMPOSITION OF THE PROGRAMME COMMITTEE

There shall be a WCNR Programme Committee that will be responsible for the scientific programme for the WCNR. The Scientific Programme Committee is chaired by the Secretary-General. Other permanent members of the Committee include the Chairpersons of the past and next world congress and the Chairperson of the SIG Committees. After nomination by the Council, the Presidium appoints up to five additional members. Up to five members (for preparation of the next world congress) may also be appointed by the local organisers of the next world congress.

 

ELIGIBILITY OF BIDDERS AND SUBMISSION DETAILS

Bids to hold the World Congress may be received only from active WFNR members. Bids should be submitted by email in PDF format to:

Tracey Mole
Executive Director
WFNR
Tel/Fax: +44 (0)191 2595547
Email traceymole@wfnr.co.uk

 

FINANCES

WFNR and its PCO shall acquire all international sponsorship partners and shall collect all sponsorship funds. The LOC should help in acquiring sponsorship from local companies as well as support applications for government funds. The LOC is free of any financial risk.

Apart from a guaranteed sum between WFNR and the PCO going to WFNR directly, it can be negotiated about a share of surplus going to LOC. 

The Federation has full executive responsibility for financial aspects of the meeting, budget management, solicitation of sponsorship and financial administration.

 

BIDDING POCEDURE

21 November 2019	Call for proposals to be sent to WFNR members
5 January 2020	Letter of intent to WFNR
30 June 2020	Deadline for submissions
14 September 2020	Proposals distributed to voting delegates
7-10 October 2020	Lyon congress.  Presentation and vote for 2024 congress destination

It is recommended that the local Convention Bureau be engaged to fulfill the Federation’s requirements on bid content. No PCO is yet to be involved.

Please note that many convention bureaus offer assistance, which either may be in the form of a financial subvention, discount on venue hire or similar subsidy. These should be applied for and details should be submitted in the relevant section of the bid document.

Should you require additional assistance in preparing the bid document, information regarding suitable venues in the respective country or for any other query, do not hesitate to contact the WFNR Administrative Office.

Any form of canvassing is not permitted and will result in disqualification.

Should a bid be unsuccessful, or the World Federation feel that additional locations must be considered due to lack of feasible locations for a shortlist, the process will be opened again, and in this case, the World Federation will suggest a location.

Should an appointed national society or bidder not comply with the requirements, distribution of tasks, or timelines for a congress, the World Federation reserve the right to reverse decision on venue and opt for an alternative destination to host the congress.

 

PRESENTATION OF BID AND VOTE

Each candidate will have 10 minutes for presentation (audio-visual aids will be provided upon request). Following the presentations, the Council will make the final decision on venue.

 

BID CONTENTS

The bid should contain the details that appear hereunder.

• A letter of support by the national society (if it is not presenting the bid) and by the WFNR Regional Vice-President
• If applicable, also include your vision of a joint meeting
• Letter of support from the academic and political authorities (e.g., rector of university, mayor of city). WFNR wishes that the city fully supports the WCNR meeting and that it will provide help when needed.
• Details on who will be on the Local Organising Committee, along with their biographical details (where this information is known)
• 2 possible dates in the required month
• Suggested Venue (layout - lecture rooms capacities, foyer space, price list, exclusivity if any on catering service and AV and contact details)
• Infrastructure: Average prices for economy flights from different continents to/from host city, indicate the travel time from airport and train station to venue, transportation within the city (access to the conference venue from the airport and the city centre)
• A venue budget based on the rooms provisionally held
• Suggested Hotels (list, capacities, price range and contact details)
• Suggested social event venues (e.g. social evening or faculty dinner)
• Support of local authorities (e.g. travel card, reception etc), and national bodies (e.g. free air tickets)
• Contact details of the Convention Bureau including any support offered (if applicable)
• Any information on potential industry support
• Any relevant details on the reputation of the destination in the field of neurorehabiltiation.

 

FURTHER DECISION PROCESS

The WFNR Board will evaluate the applications and compare them paying special attention to the following criteria:

 

• Security
• Accessibility (direct flights and geographical location)
• Costs (conference venue, foyer space, AV etc.)
• Special efforts made by the city council to make the venue more attractive (e.g. free local transport, hosting of welcome reception etc.)
• Hotel offer
• Varied geographical coverage (to avoid repetition of cities and countries)

Please note that as for the WFNR the profits from the annual conference represent the major source of income for ongoing foundation activities, costs are a crucial argument in venue selection. Alternative opportunities than the proposed conference venue might be sought in the same city.

The World Federation reserves the possibility to re-negotiate terms and conditions with the selected city and conference centre.

 

12th World Congress for Neurorehabilitation
1st June 2022 - 4th June 2022
Vancouver, Canada
E: traceymole@wfnr.co.uk