June 2011 HIMSS Virtual Conference Call for Proposal: How to Best Position Your Proposal

The Call for Proposal for the June 2011 HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo is now open, closing on Monday, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m. CST. 

Here the link to the Call for Proposal site:  http://www.himssvirtual.org

This summer’s HIMSS Virtual Conference will focus on transformational approaches to healthcare.  Together, we will explore the many methods and models used in different care settings, including  hospitals, clinical practices, health information exchanges, as well as others, to transform healthcare.

Our tracks will focus on aspects of the many challenges and opportunities facing the health IT industry with the pending 5010/ICD-10 switch and the tactics organizations and eligible providers are executing to comply with the Phase 1 Meaningful Use requirements as well as preparation for Phase 2.

Over the half decade of managing HIMSS calls for proposals, for both Virtual and Annual Conferences, I have seen my share of great proposals and my share of truly awful ones. (Spell check, people! It’s one click away!).  With an opportunity to see the two types, here are the common characteristics I have noticed in the great proposals and in the awful ones.

Great Proposal Characteristics

Clear, Concise Language: 

• Each segment strengthens the overall proposal.  The title clearly states the topic and the audience targeted:

Example: ePrescribing Implementation in an Academic Medical Center

• The 3-4 sentence abstract compliments the information provided in the title, including the details of the event described:

Example: Our Academic Medical Center implemented an ePrescribing solution across 3 Hospitals and 5 ambulatory clinics.  This session will describe the processes utilized to complete the implementation on time and under budget.

• The detailed description, limited to 2,500 characters (roughly 400-600 words) expands the information provided in the abstract, providing statistics when available, and stating the key components of the project discussed in the proposal.

Partner Involvement:

• The best conference presentations offer attendees a deep perspective on the content.  
• The more perspectives you can provide the attendees, the more they will appreciate your presentation.  If you worked with a government agency on a grant, try to secure one of your project partners to present with you.  If you are a vendor organization, find a provider client that can speak to their experience, within their own setting, with the solution.

Actionable Information:

• Attendees want actionable information from your presentation they can use in their daily operations. 
•  Lay out your presentation’s unique value proposition to the attendee within the proposal, providing our reviewers with a greater understanding of what an attendee would gain from viewing your presentation.

Awful Proposal Characteristics

Poor Copyediting: 

• Spell check, people, please use spell check! 

I suggest writing a draft of your proposal in a word processing program to take advantage of its word count functionality, spell check (did I mention spell check?!) and grammar checks.

Vague, Theoretical Descriptions: 

• Virtual Conference attendees are sitting at their work desk when they are viewing your presentation.  Their email is ONE click away.  If you cannot hold our reviewers’ attention with specific information in your proposal description, how are you going to keep people interested in your live presentation? 
• A lack of historical data to back up presumptions, passive or theoretical language within your proposal are a one way ticket to No-Thank-Yous-ville. 

Sales Pitch: 

• You don’t need to be selling a product to write a sales pitch proposal.                        Anytime your proposal focuses more on the names of your products, services or projects, as opposed to the application of that product or service in a real-world application, or a review of the success or failure of a project, you’re pitching the audience.  Don’t pitch the audience.  They know you’re doing it, and don’t appreciate it. 

So there you go.  Here are three tips to better position your proposal, and three warnings that may position your proposal for the “not this conference” pile. 

If you have any questions about the June 2011 HIMSS Virtual Conference,  and the Call for Proposal open now through Monday, Feb.  28^h at 5 p.m. CST, please feel free to send me an email at abazer@himss.org.