From the Board of Directors: Site Selection for Future Annual Conventions

In July 2022, SPSP was faced with the decision to either hold our 2023 Annual Convention in Atlanta, GA as planned or relocate in response to state laws that restrict access to reproductive healthcare, and voting rights, and negatively affect those in the transgender community. After discussion of input collected from the Diversity and Climate Committee, the Convention Committee, and survey responses from the membership, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to hold the 2023 Annual Convention in Atlanta as planned. This event highlighted the need to develop a process for ongoing convention planning in future site locations considering current or emerging legislation in those states.

In order to meet that need, a group of SPSP members and staff developed a site selection policy, which the Board of Directors approved on November 10. The full site selection policy is available below, as well as a survey through which members can give feedback on potential locations for future Annual Conventions.

Review site selection policy Complete convention location survey

Please note that the deadline for completing the survey will be Thursday, December 15.

The site selection policy identifies a list of priorities in decision-making, including the following (listed in alphabetical order):

• Accessibility
• Affordability
• Attendee safety
• Geographical accessibility to attendees
• Number of sleeping rooms
• Site's non-discrimination policies and practices
• Sustainability
• Walking distances
• Weather

The policy also lays out the process for choosing a site, including gathering feedback on possible destinations from the membership, working with a third-party vendor to solicit proposals from approved cities, and the review and final selection processes.  Finally, the policy anticipates the future need to consider relocating a planned convention due to changes in legislation that are not aligned with SPSP's mission and priorities, presenting a decision tree that includes factors such as timing, impact on SPSP members, outreach to the host city, and communication with the SPSP membership. 

The ever-changing landscape of politics makes managing and contracting for the convention difficult.  During past discussions about canceling a hotel contract due to problematic local laws, the main decision point was whether the law had a direct impact on meeting attendees facing discrimination while attending the convention (e.g., a bathroom bill). Although this factor remains a top consideration, we hope that our efforts to expand on factors considered as decision points, and create a roadmap for future decisions, will allow us to offer a site selection policy that reflects the complexity of this decision and the thoughtfulness we are taking when determining where to host our meeting.

Thank you to the volunteers who helped review and refine this policy: Lisa Brown, Jenny Howell, Natalie Shook, and the Convention/Programming Committee; Kristin Dukes, Jessica Good, and the Diversity & Climate Committee; Stylianos Syropoulos and the Student Committee.