2022 North American Snow Conference

Call for Presentations

Pittsburgh, PA
April 10-13, 2022

Deadline for Proposals: Friday, October 15, 2021

Questions? Email us at cfpquestions@apwa.net for further assistance. 

Four easy steps to submitting your proposal:

1. Read this page for Call for Presentations information and instructions
2. Click the “Submit Proposal” button below
3. Login or create your unique Call for Presentations account
4. Follow the prompts to complete your proposal

Share your knowledge, experience, and vision for the future! 

The APWA North American Snow Conference provides education and solutions for public works snowfighters and those that support them. This highly anticipated annual conference provides opportunities for more than 40 education sessions, technical tours and a variety of opportunities for collaboration and networking. 

The education program at NASC provides a dynamic forum for information exchange, problem-solving, and collaboration. The speakers are public works professionals, just like you, who are eager to help their public works colleagues more successfully manage winter/snow operations, take advantage of emerging technologies, understand and prepare for the challenges that lie ahead, and provide better service to their communities.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for speakers with new perspectives, solid best practices and/or innovative twists to the usual winter maintenance issues:

• Clever solutions to age-old problems
• Best practices for winter maintenance planning and operations
• Anti-icing techniques and tips
• Chemical usage and selection
• Environmental impacts of winter maintenance practices
• Trending technologies and expanded uses for current technologies: (GPS, AVL, RWIS, smart city technologies, mobile apps, asset management, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, etc.)
• Snowfighting equipment
• Strategies for plowing and disposal
• Effective operator training programs
• Community outreach/citizen interaction
• Winter fleet operations
• Emergency management of severe winter events
• Winter weather plans and snow/ice control techniques for areas with infrequent winter storm events
• Leadership and Workforce solutions unique to winter operation management and challenges

Click here to see where these topic areas fall in terms of the Track you can select for your proposal.

What kind of presentation can I create? 

Session Timeframes: On the submission form, you will be asked to select one of the two options below:

1. Traditional Timeframe: I want a traditional education session timeslot/format (50 minutes, 75 minutes). Because of the content and/or number of speakers, this education session cannot be shortened or adapted to another type of format or timeframe.
2. Flexible Timeframes: I am willing to either present a traditional session or have it adapted to another format and timeframe, such as a 20-minute Lightning Round, a combined presentation with a panel of speakers on a similar topic, a Point/Counterpoint session with another speaker, or a Jam Session that encourages audience participation. 

Education Session Formats:

Please review the options below for the type and length of format you may select. APWA offers 10 different formats to ensure dynamic education sessions.

1. Education Session: (50 minutes)
   50-minute education sessions may be delivered by a single speaker or a panel consisting of 2‐3 speakers. The content includes best practices, how to’s, case studies, insightful stories, emerging trends and technologies, new perspectives, etc.
2. Education Session: (75 minutes)
   75-minute education sessions may be delivered by a single speaker or a panel consisting of 3‐5 speakers. The content includes best practices, how to’s, case studies, insightful stories, emerging trends and technologies, new perspectives, etc.
3. Lightning Round: (75 minutes ‐ three 20-minute presentations, 15 minutes for Q&A)
   APWA’s version of Lightning Round format consists of three‐20-minute presentations scheduled within a 75-minute timeframe. The remaining 15 minutes may be devoted to audience Q&A. You will be asked on the Call for Presentations form to indicate if (1) you intend to plan the whole Lightning Round yourself including finding the 3 speakers or (2) you are willing to allow your presentation to be assigned as a 20 minute presentation within a Lightning Round even though you do not know the other speakers by choosing the “Adaptable Session Type”.
4. Dare to Ask: (50 minutes)
   Do you have an issue for which you’d like feedback from your public works colleagues? In this type of session, you pose a question to your audience and then let everyone think out loud about what the issue means for public works. Essentially it is an opportunity to brainstorm, network, and provide inspiration. We’re looking for topics that will challenge and engage the audience. If you have such a topic and would like to lead this type of dialogue, please describe the topic in the description block on the Call for Presentations form. It could be the type of issue that is always like the “elephant‐in‐the‐room”. It is influencing policy, operations, staff morale, etc., but no one is really addressing it.
5. Jam Session: (50 minutes)
   APWA’s version of the jam session format begins with a facilitated discussion where you first set the stage by posing questions to get the audience thinking about key concepts. Then like jazz, you let the discussion go off on the tangents that audience members want to explore. Depending on the size of the audience, you can keep the whole group together or if it is a large group, you can break participants into smaller groups that can follow the tangents into whichever direction the conversation leads. You will be asked on the Call for Presentations form to indicate what topic you’d like to pursue and provide a brief description of why that topic is suitable for a jam session.
6. Thought Leader Presentations: (20 minutes each presenter)
   Thought Leader presentations will be done in the manner of Ted Talks. We’ll set aside a room where a series of speakers will share an inspiring story or an insight into emerging trends, or a leadership perspective. Each speaker will get no more than 20 minutes, then you must move along for the next speaker to set up. We’ll allow you to use slides but keep them at a minimum and don’t rely on slides to tell your story.
7. Innovation Trends Presentations: (20 minutes each presenter)
   Innovation Trends presentations will be done in the manner of Ted Talks. We’ll set aside a room where a series of speakers will share information about innovative solutions, technologies, and trends. Each speaker will get no more than 20 minutes, then you must move along for the next speaker to set up. We’ll allow you to use slides but keep them at a minimum and don’t rely on slides to tell your story.
8. Point‐Counterpoint: (50 minutes)
   This type of presentation will feature conflicting perspectives on a public works issue. This could be a fun exercise in which panel members use a debate format to inform the audience about different ways to approach a public works project, issue, or challenge. The panel can take turns listing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. When you fill out the Call for Presentations form, please list who your speakers will be and the topic you will debate.
9. Workshop: (120 minutes)
   The workshop format is for topics that need a deeper dive than a shorter timeframe can provide. They usually delve into a particular concept or teach a specific skill. They may include demos or provide exercises so participants may practice what they are learning. Workshops are usually approximately 2 hours (120 minutes) in length, depending on the timeframes available during the overall conference.
10. Master Class: (50 to 75 minutes)
    Targeted to the Advanced Proficiency Level, this format is aimed at exploring a nuance or how to overcome particular challenges and difficulties to “master” the issue at hand. No need to review the fundamentals of a topic or issue in this session, instead take participants on a deep dive with practical application, tips, and tricks that only the most advanced practitioners have discovered.

How are education sessions selected? 

Review Criteria: All submissions are reviewed and evaluated by the NASC Program Review Committee comprised of experts in snow and ice control and winter maintenance planning. Click here view/download instructions on how to write appropriate learning objectives.

Your success in the selection process depends on how well your proposal supports these primary criteria: 

• Practical application: Provides information that can be used by participants in their day-to-day work settings; offers lessons-learned, and how-to-do-it strategies, and offers solutions for sustainability and resiliency of public works operations.
• Leading-edge: Addresses emerging trends and technologies, innovative concepts and approaches, solutions that provide improvements to the provision of public works services.
• Relevance and clarity: Content is interesting and useful to a significant number of expected attendees. Learning objectives are clearly stated using active verbs that indicate how the participants will benefit from the information presented.
• Learning Objectives: All proposals must include three (3) learning objectives that indicate how the attendee will benefit from the presentation. The learning objectives must be worded in response to the phrase: “At the conclusion of this session, participants will be better able to________”.

Click here for tips on writing a compelling session description.

What are the rules?

No sales pitches! Direct promotion of a speaker’s/company’s products, services, or monetary self-interest are not appropriate for education sessions. The public works audience appreciates learning about technologies, services, concepts, and new approaches; but are sensitive to the sales promotion approach. We recommend that you describe in your proposal how the public works/end-user perspective will be featured in your presentation.       

Speaker registration and travel expenses: APWA does not pay speakers of concurrent technical and professional education sessions. Speakers are responsible for making arrangements and paying for travel and other expenses associated with attending the conference. Speakers may qualify for a complimentary single day registration. Speakers attending the full conference are expected to register and pay the appropriate member or non-member NASC registration fee. 

When will I know?

Review process and schedule: The review process involves reviewers and is lengthy. Submitters will be notified via email of the accept/decline status of their proposal by February 2021.

How do I apply? Please read the following before clicking the Submit Proposal button.

Important FYI: Proposal Account

After clicking on the Submit Proposal button, you will be prompted to create an account for proposal submission. This login is for proposal submission only and is not related to any other APWA account login you may have. All correspondence sent to you about your submission(s) will be to the email address you list in this account. If you have a highly restrictive work email account, please consider using a personal email address. You will receive notification of submission selection via email. 

If you plan to submit to both the North American Snow Conference (NASC) and PWX (Public Works Expo) you will be directed to separate landing pages for each event. You must create an account and login to each event separately.

Submit Proposal