Bids for Hosting Middleware

The Middleware conference plans at least two years ahead and is accepting expressions of interest (EOI) and proposals to host future conferences at any time. An EOI is put forward informally by email to the Chair of the Steering Committee of the Middleware Conference. The Steering Committee will then be in touch with the applicants to work towards the submission of a conference hosting proposal for a targeted year. The Steering Committee reserves the right to discourage applicants to go forward with a proposal. An EOI is required in order to submit a proposal.

In the past, Middleware locations were selected based on the policy of a simple three-year rotation, having the conference take place one year in North America, the next in Europe, followed by “other parts of the world.” This policy is waived if no adequate location can be identified in time. Middleware always takes place either in late November or early December.

An EOI should be submitted by no later than July 1st to express the intent of hosting Middleware two years later.

Full fledged conference proposals should be submitted by no later than September 1st for conferences to take place two years later (for example, an EOI to host Middleware 2019 should be submitted by no later than July 1st, 2017, followed by submitting the full fledged proposal by September 1st, 2017 ).

Proposals should be sent in PDF format to the Chair of the Steering Committee of the Middleware Conference. The Middleware Steering Committee reviews all proposals submitted and awards the hosting of the conference to the winning proposal. All conference hosting applicants will be notified by no later than the end of the conference in the year that their proposal is submitted.

The public announcement of the winning bid to host the conference is done by the Steering Committee in the year prior to the conference (for example, the team to host Middleware 2019 is announced at Middleware 2018). Prior to the announcement and right after the decision by the Middleware Conference Steering Committee, the location and the lead organizers are disclosed on the Middleware conferences web page.

A proposal to host the conference should contain at least the following information:

  1. Conference location, including venue information.
  2. Conference date.
  3. Proposed conference organizers, including brief biographies of conference leaders (general chair or general co-chairs), and information about the hosting institution.
  4. Tentative budget figures.
  5. Letter of support from department chair or senior leader of the hosting institution.