We are delighted that you are interested in the HIMSS call for proposal process. To learn more about how to best frame your proposal for the call for proposal process, please feel free to email your questions to Adam Bazer, Manager of Annual Conference Education, at abazer@himss.org.
HIMSS believes it is important for you as a proposal submitter to understand the ways in which your proposal is evaluated. The information below provides you with a broader understanding of the HIMSS call process, review process , and selection process. Please take some time to study the entire process, so that you can best position your proposal for potential selection.
Proposals are scored based on the following criteria by the Annual Conference Education Committee.HIMSS Proposal Evaluation Criteria
Proposals are evaluated by a panel of HIMSS member reviewers according to the following criteria.
The information is relevant to the proposed topic
What are the practical applications of your ideas? Have you included reasoning and documentation to support your conclusions, recommendations, and outcomes?
The content expands attendees' current knowledge
Will this presentation expand a participant's knowledge of technologies and applications beyond entry-level basics? Does it provide guidelines or models to manage attendee's own installations or applications?
The content includes an appropriate number of examples to support the information
Have you included an appropriate number of examples? Has the proposal been implemented with comparative results available? Does it document pre-and post-implementation status? Does it sufficiently list reasons that support your conclusions or recommendations?
The originality of the material
Does the presentation advance existing ideas or present new ideas? Has this material been presented elsewhere?
The timeliness of the information
Will this presentation be up-to-date and cutting-edge at the time of the presentation in six to nine months? Will the topic have implications for the future? How relevant is this topic in the context of pending legislation, regulations and technology? Does this presentation document pre-and post-process or system changes?
The inclusion of three good, solid insights
Are three solid insights incorporated in the proposal? Attendees want to learn reality versus the hype, positive and negative attributes, problems encountered but not often discussed, realistic expectations for the operational use, and adaptability to a changing environment. They are searching for guidelines and models to simplify or manage their own applications or installations.
The accuracy of the data
Have you included data supporting your conclusions? Is the data accurate? Is it, or can it, be validated by repeated collection of similar studies?
The conclusions are logical
Are the conclusions supported with data? Is the data represented by the key points in your presentation? For example, have cost savings or increases been documented? Are effects to processes or outcomes measured and documented?
The identification of outside resources
Are sources of information, benchmark data, or examples from multiple sources included?
The clarity of the presentation
How well are the purposes and outcomes of your session expressed? Is there a well-defined focus? Are referenced sources and data used appropriately? Is the writing clear, jargon-free, and coherent?
Past speaking evaluations and experience support the topic
Do you have adequate experience with the subject matter to give a presentation at this time? Do you have actual project or implementation experience? Does your presentation include a user perspective? Can you document that you are a skilled speaker? Have you achieved high attendee evaluation scores in past speaking engagements? (HIMSS requires that speakers achieve "excellent" or "very good" scores from 75% of the session attendees in order to be invited to speak at a future HIMSS program)
Product/vendor commercials are avoided
In order for HIMSS Annual Conference educational presentations to receive continuing education credits from HIMSS accreditation organization, the presentation must be balanced, independent, objective, and scientifically rigorous. Does your proposal meet these objectives? Does it avoid all commercial content? If you are a vendor or a consultant, do you include a user’s perspective in order to ensure the presentation meets the objectives required for accreditation?
The proposal is complete
Is the proposal a quality presentation that is complete and accurate? This is important to consider in the selection process.
The overall rating
Is this topic important and relevant to our attendees?
Submit a proposal for the 2009 HIMSS Annual Conference (coming in March of 2008)