Would you like to sponsor or coordinate a Working Group? The deadline for submitting a request to sponsor or coordinate a working group was July 1, 2008.

Would you like to participate in a working group? Details and descriptions will be posted in July after sponsor applications are reviewed.

An Annual Meeting Working Group consists of a small group of meeting attendees interested in a common topic who agree to attend panels and plenaries aligned with the topic and to convene during the meeting for discussion of the events. The idea is to simulate a working group conference experience amidst APSA panels.

APSA provides meeting space, maintains a roster of participants, and provides a letter of participation to certify that participants had a substantive professional development experience. APSA also acknowledges participants' involvement in this intensive Annual Meeting exercise to the their home institutions.

Each group is lead by a volunteer coordinator.  Organized sections, APSA committees, related groups, and others may sponsor working groups. Sponsors frame the topic, provide a coordinator, promote the group, and provide any background material necessary. 

Concept
The Working Group is, in effect, a seminar integrated with the Annual Meeting that draws on the Meeting presentations for its content, focusing on a single topic or theme. A volunteer coordinator, who is expected to facilitate discussion but not lecture on it, leads the group. Participants meet at the outset of the annual meeting, collectively develop a list of panels related to the their them that that they will attend, convene during the meeting to discuss the panels and their own work, and meet at the end of the meeting for a wrap-up session.

Audience and Benefits
Working groups appeal to political scientists who want to:

• explore a specific topic at the meeting because they are engaged in a particular study, want to explore a new specialty, or are about to teach on a new topic;
• meet or develop a network of colleagues in more depth than conventional Annual Meeting interactions allow; and
• undertake a sustained and defined Annual Meeting professional development experience, which may qualify for travel support from their home institution, even though the Working Group is not a conventional "paper-giving" exercise.

Organizing a Working Group

Working Group sponsors assume responsibility for providing coordinators to develop the group's theme and purpose description.  Groups and descriptions will be posted to the website as they are established. Groups will be limited in size to 20 participants, selected on a first-come, first-served basis (except that there should be no more than 1 participant from any 1 institution.) 

The following are some operating principles for the Working Groups:

• Proposals should include the designation of at least two coordinators and procedures for accepting participants. Along with permanent or school contact information, summer contact information must be provided should APSA need to contact coordinators directly.
• APSA post lists of proposed Working Groups and receives applications to participate, and forward lists of participants to coordinators, who in turn would follow-up and inform APSA of the final list of participants.
• Working Group leaders should contact participants in advance, and suggest panel papers that participants may wish to download in advance from PROceedings.
• Annual Meeting Working Groups should first convene on Wednesday prior to the annual meeting. Some organizers may wish to link them to Short Courses scheduled for that day, but this is not necessary.
• At the initial meeting participants would introduce themselves and their interests in the topic, and organize a schedule for panel and plenary attendance for the rest of the meeting.
• Participants would likely identify more panels than could be attended at the meeting, and it is likely they would not all attend the same panels. Also, to allow time for other interests and pursuits, the schedule might expect that participants attend just a couple of panels on the common theme daily.
• Participants should meet as a group 2 or more days during the meeting in the time slot between noon and 2:00 p.m. or in the evening after 6:00 p.m. to discuss panel and plenaries they've attended. APSA will supply rooms for these meetings.
• On Saturday, the group should wrap up discussions and make plans for any future exchanges.

Additional Information
The Working Groups should encourage panel and plenary attendance and not conflict with other aspects of the Annual Meeting. They cannot compete for panel allocations or room space with the panels and plenaries. The covered topics should highlight meeting themes. Nevertheless, should there be questions about the intellectual focus of the Working Groups, credentials of Working Group leaders, or other substantive issues, the Annual Meeting Program Chairs have full authority for approval and scheduling of activities, analogous to their role with any other similar Annual Meeting activities.