Call for Proposals to host
the 2003/4 International Dance & Technology event

issue date: June 19, 2001
deadline for outline proposals: July 30, 2001

Background
The International Dance & Technology series has taken place in a variety of locations throughout North America since 1992, where they began at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Other hosts have included Simon Fraser University (BC), York University, and Arizona State University (where it was first named “International”, becoming IDAT for the first time.  Each event has been unique, providing a different slant on the topic at hand, and a different interpretation of what such a gathering should be.  In this document, we have avoided using the terms conference or symposium because we hope that future IDATs will be neither, or perhaps both.  Certainly we are not looking for straightforward academic conference, although we do think that words and ideas are important and need to be presented.

Performance has been at the heart of past IDAT events, none more so than at IDAT-99 at Arizona State University.  There is strong opinion that we do not want to talk about Dance & Technology in a vacuum and that any event that comes under the IDAT umbrella should be centred in live performance in some fashion.  That said, there are many ways in which a three- or four-day event can be focussed in/on performance, and we welcome any suggestions you have.

There is, then, an automatic assumption that any potential IDAT host will have the physical and human infrastructure to support a variety of performance events.  We look forward to hearing your ideas for the shape of a future IDAT, and how you can support it (see below under what your bid should tell us).

The 1999 IDAT was the most recent IDAT.  We are therefore looking at a gap of four to five years between events, which is far from ideal.  We hope that a more formal approach to bidding will prevent this from happening in the future.  Perhaps because of this long gap, there is some feeling in the dance/tech community that the event should not happen at all, that it’s outlived its usefulness.  Any proposal for a future IDAT should therefore contain a strong rationale for its existence.  We need to feel that you feel that there is sufficient interest and need for an international gathering in order to make that gathering financially viable.

Who/What is IDAT?
International Dance and Technology has been the adopted name only since the most recent conference in 1999.  Prior to that date, the conference titles did not include the word international.  Despite the fact that there have been four conferences to date, there has never been a central organisation, a central committee, or any kind of membership.  For some years there has been a strong interest expressed in forming a membership organisation, and that is now going ahead.  A small group of people, an offshoot of the dancetech discussion list, is currently forming an interim management group with a view to creating a formal organisation, probably to be known as IDAT (International Dance & Technology).  This is fluid group of people who are willing to volunteer their time and money to get this organisation off the ground – so if you’re at all interested in getting involved, please send e-mail to proposals@idat.org.  The symbiotic relationship between IDAT the organisation and the international conferences/events will emerge over time, we hope.  At the outset, the organisation will play a role only in choosing future sites for IDAT events, with the vast majority of organisational work and content development undertaken by the local host.  The organisation, in the meantime, will develop services for its members and serve in general as an advocacy and development force within the field.

In the past, hosts for IDAT events have been agreed upon in a very informal manner, largely by an institution coming forward and saying, “I’ll host the next one”.  First come, first lumbered, as it were.  We’d like to change that, and have a formal committee nominated by the dance/tech community at large, who will vet and choose prospective hosts for future IDAT events.  For this next event only, the interim management group will look at prospective applications and make a decision quickly.  For future events beyond the next one, we hope there will be a formal structure in place as part of the IDAT organisation that will make the decision.

In the near future we will post information at http://www.idat.org, outlining some of the information contained in this prospectus, and providing a place for more frequent updates.

Preferred Dates for IDAT-03/04
There are many good reasons why we would prefer either September/October 2003, or February/March 2004 for the next IDAT event.  We are willing to look at other options, but a strong rationale needs to be given for your chosen dates (eg, how does it fit within the respective international academic calendars;  is it a likely month for people to be away to attend a major conference?).

What your bid should tell us
Outline bids to host the next IDAT can be formatted however you choose, but should contain, at a minimum, the information outlined below.  Please note, however, that we are not looking for a detailed business plan, breakdown of the event structure, or detailed budget.  What we’d like to get is a flavour of the kind of event you propose, and indication of how many people you could support with your facilities, and a general sense of how the event might work.  You will need to have some sense of budgeting in order to estimate the likely cost to delegates.  This is an important factor, and it should be noted that at the 1999 conference only 30% of the overall budget was covered directly be delegate fees.

Please include:
•	Proposed dates
•	Name of venue(s), and secondary venues, if appropriate.
•	Name of host, or primary host with partner venues/hosts
•	Primary organiser(s).  Do you intend to run the conference with existing staff, or hire an external conference organiser?
•	Local/regional involvement of co-sponsors or partners
•	Details of venue(s), including performance spaces, workshop spaces, labs, lecture theatres, etc.
•	Proposed outline of the event (this does not need to be highly detailed, but we’d like to have a sense of how the event might be shaped).  Do you, for example, envision commissioning any work specifically for the event?  Please explain the outline of the event in relation to the physical layout of the venue(s).  Is there, for example, a common social space for coffee/tea?  
•	Rationale for the event, and why you would like to host it
•	Funding sources, and a very rough budget.  We at least need to have a sense of the size and scope of your budget.
•	Cost to delegates (estimated).  This must include approximate cost of accommodation and food – or at least in idea of the range of prices if you are relying on local hotels/motels.  Will meals be available on campus, and/or included in the cost of registration?
•	Cost to participants 
•	Technical support
•	Other support from the host institution
•	Approximate timeline, including deadlines for submissions
•	Management structures.  How will the event be managed any by whom? How will participants be selected?  How will you involve the IDAT organisation in your planning?  How will you pay for the management of the conference?
•	Some information about where you are, access by road, rail, air, etc., and some information about the host city.  If you are relying on off-campus housing, we need to know whether they are within walking distance, or whether you will provide necessary transport to the main site.

Where to send it
Proposals should be e-mailed to proposals@idat.org in either Microsoft Word or PDF format.  Please don’t send it in any other format!  Proposals should arrive by midnight (local time) on Tuesday, July 31, 2001.  If you have a strong desire to make a proposal but absolutely can’t complete it by this date, please let us know, and try to send an outline proposal in by the deadline.

As you put your proposal together, if you have any question they may also be sent to the same address.

We will aim to make a decision no later than August 20, 2001.