Pittsburgh on Demand Issue 1
Joint Annual Meeting Comes to Pittsburgh in 2011
For 2011, AAEA has chosen to hold its Joint Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, and will be joined by NAREA. All of the meeting activities will take place in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center downtown, which is connected to our headquarters hotel, The Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh. The city of Pittsburgh has much to see and do, including some great museums, the country’s best farmers markets, excellent public transportation, and even 445 bridges (second in the world only to Venice)!
To learn more about the city of Pittsburgh, check out the Visit Pittsburgh website.
Deadline to Submit Fast Approaching
Interested in presenting at the Joint Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh? The submission deadline for Selected Presentation abstracts and Organized Symposia proposals is only a few weeks away. All abstracts and proposals must be submitted using AAEA’s online submission system by Monday, January 17, 2011.
In order to submit to the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting, you’ll need to be a 2011 AAEA member, or pay a non-refundable $25 submission fee. Once you have met either one of these requirements, you can submit through the My Account section. For more information on submissions, you can read the calls for submissions for Selected Presentations and Organized Symposia.
And the Survey Says…
Your Feedback on Post-Meeting Survey Was Very Helpful
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2010 Joint Annual Meeting! We received a lot of great feedback both verbally at the meeting and on the post-meeting survey—a double thank you to everyone who responded to the survey!
We want to share with you some of the comments and address some of the concerns brought up in the survey. Each of the areas discussed below represent the most common trends seen in the survey responses.
Research & Presentations
The majority of survey respondents said they attend the Annual Meeting to present a paper and poster. An overwhelming number of attendees also commented that the quality of research at this meeting was outstanding. We are going to continue to offer an increased number of presentation opportunities, including at the Pittsburgh meeting, and we hope the abstract submissions will be of high quality again this year. Visit the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting page for more information on how to submit an abstract or proposal.
Some attendees were concerned that there were sessions with similar topics scheduled at the same time. We try to arrange the schedule so that topics are evenly spread throughout the meeting; however, it is almost impossible to be completely conflict-free due to the sheer volume of presentations.
Networking
64% of the survey respondents say that networking is a top priority at the Annual Meeting. A few people were displeased with the loud music at the Welcome Reception, and we assure you that your comments were heard! We’re going to make sure that future receptions and networking events are geared towards facilitating conversation. We’ve already found time and space at the Pittsburgh meeting to allow for maximum interaction with your colleagues.
Meeting Facilities
The top 3 preferences for meeting facilities were:
- All meeting facilities under one roof even if somewhat more expensive
- Convenient airport connections
- Multiple hotel options
We will certainly keep these preferences in mind when we are booking space for future meetings. We also know that attendees like to have a lot of near-by restaurants and entertainment options in order to meet out with friends, so we will do our best to keep AAEA in safe and interesting areas.
Meeting Dates
We had heard that some people wanted us to change the days of the week the meeting is held on, but an overwhelming majority of survey respondents told us they want to keep the meeting on a Sunday–Tuesday pattern.
Other Notes
A number of respondents commented on the cost of the meeting. Unfortunately the Association often just breaks even on the meeting. The cost of meeting space, food, and meeting materials increases each year. AAEA is committed to the “True Cost Pledge” which means that registration and events are priced to cover the actual cost and not to make a profit. We assure you that we are doing and will continue to do everything we can to keep your expenses as low as possible.
An example of the constraints we are facing: a few people asked that we provide laptops for presenters. We looked into this option for the 2011 meeting but found that our audio visual expenses would rise between 15% and 20%.
Some attendees expressed concern that the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) will not have a presence at the 2011 meeting. No need to worry! AERE is hosting a number of sessions at the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting. AAEA and AERE value the relationship between the societies and are committed to continuing to collaborate.
The Closing Reception was well received, so we plan to hold it again in 2011 after the Galbraith Forum. Attendees enjoyed the relaxed and positive atmosphere—it was a nice way to end the meeting.
Thanks for Your Input!
This survey review represents only a small fraction of the feedback we received. We did read through each response and are planning on incorporating many of the suggestions into the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting. We appreciate everyone who responded taking the time to share their thoughts with us.
We enjoyed seeing you in Denver, and we are looking forward to welcoming you to Pittsburgh in 2011.