Call for Bids to Host AAMAS 2010

CALL FOR BIDS TO HOST AAMAS-2012 This is a call for bids to host the Tenth International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems in 2012 (AAMAS-2012). We will consider bids from all geographical regions; however, for the 2012 conference, we particularly encourage bids from the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. BACKGROUND The initial AAMAS conference (AAMAS-2002) was held in Bologna, Italy as a joint event comprising the 6th International Conference on Autonomous Agents (AA), the 5th International Conference on Multiagent Systems (ICMAS), and the 9th International Workshop on Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages (ATAL). Subsequent AAMAS conferences have been held in Melbourne, Australia (July 2003), New York, USA (July 2004), Utrecht, the Netherlands (July 2005), Hakodate, Japan (May 2006), Honolulu, USA (May 2007), Estoril, Portugal (May 2008), and Budapest, Hungary (May 2009). AAMAS 2010 will be held in May in Toronto and AAMAS 2011 will be held in May in Taipei. AAMAS is now firmly established as the largest and most influential conference in the area of agents and multiagent systems, routinely attracting 500-700 participants. AAMAS brings together researchers and practitioners in all areas of agent technology such as software agents, multiagent systems, synthetic agents, robotic agents, and human-agent interaction. The AAMAS conferences include a variety of activities, including technical sessions, tutorials, associated workshops, and social events. AAMAS is the flagship conference of the non-profit International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS); the Foundation's website: http://www.ifaamas.org/ provides links to each of the conferences. The Foundation's Board of Directors is elected by the AAMAS research community, membership in which is defined based on attendance at AAMAS conferences. (The next elections for the IFAAMAS board will be held at the beginning of 2010.) CONSTRAINTS ON TIMING AND SIZE IFAAMAS now invites bids for hosting AAMAS-2012. AAMAS-2012 will be held at dates to be determined in consultation with the successful bidding team, preferably in the May to July timeframe. Based on past experience and trends, we expect the attendance of AAMAS-2012 to be between 600 and 900 people. Plenary sessions need to be scheduled in a sufficiently large hall. In recent years, AAMAS conferences have included the following components: - A main conference program of three days, including o 3-6 parallel presentation sessions (including an industry track) o poster sessions interspersed with the presentation sessions o an opening reception with an entertainment program o a banquet including an entertainment program and awards ceremonies - A preconference program of two or three days, including o several workshops o tutorials o doctoral mentoring BIDDING PROCEDURE AND IMPORTANT DATES All correspondence regarding bids should be directed by email to the Chair of the IFAAMAS Conference Committee, Munindar P. Singh . Bids should be made by individuals or small groups, with the backing of a host institution (typically a university or research center). Groups or individuals who are planning to submit a bid should notify Professor Singh of their intention as soon as possible. * Now: Expression of interest and queries. * November 30, 2009: Submission of final bid. * December 1, 2009-February 28, 2010: Potential discussions with bidders; internal discussions in the IFAAMAS Board. * March 1, 2010: Decision. BID CONTENT AND PURPOSE Bids are geared towards determination of responsibility for local arrangements and designation of Local Arrangements Chair. Bids will be reviewed by the IFAAMAS conference committee and Board. A bid should consist of a short statement that explains why you meet the criteria below. Bids should be no more than a few pages. At this stage, detailed financial projections are not necessary (ballpark financial figuressuch as estimated charges for space for the conference and rooms for attendeesare useful, however). Each bid should identify the proposed team of organizers, and include full contact details. At least one of the organizers should remain available to respond to clarification requests, which often come up during review. CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING AAMAS BIDS The following criteria will be used for evaluation. * _Site Location_: attractiveness to conference attendees, as well as those accompanying the attendees (i.e., nearby attractions, tours, restaurants, night clubs, etc.). Will people *want* to attend? * _Accessibility_: location with respect to major air routes and local transportation (trains, buses, automobiles). Since AAMAS attracts world-wide participation, it is important that the venue be conveniently reachable for international (and intercontinental) attendees. * _Dates_: relation to possibly conflicting special or local holidays; to conflicting or synergistic conventions or special events at the same time or immediately before or after the conference. * _Climate and Season_: particularly as these factors affect (1) the availability of rooms and rate structure (and provide some negotiating edge with the hotels); and (2) attendance by the local community. * _Facilities_: quantity, quality, flexibility, availability of meeting rooms, meeting support services, and exhibition hall. This factor is linked to the choice of accommodations, as it may be desirable to colocate meeting facilities and accommodations. Please include preliminary information regarding any space and equipment rental fees that may be incurred by the conference. * _Accommodations_: ability to accommodate the anticipated numbers of conference attendees, with a range of income levels. In other words, accommodations should range from business or luxury hotels to student housing. Please include ballpark figures for hotel room rates. * _Experience_: ability of the local organizers in organizing and handling projects of comparable size and complexity. The use of a professional conference organization company may be included as part of the bid, with associated estimated costs, benefits, and suitability. * _Supporting Scientific Community_: the presence of regional and local research communities to support the conference and which will benefit from its occurrence. Interest of the community in hosting or supporting synergistic colocated conferences. Since the AAMAS area touches upon several other areas, it would be worth exploiting synergies by colocating with related events. * _Backing of Host Institution_: does the organizers' institution support the conference? Host institutions sometimes can provide free or low-cost facilities for the entire conference or for the preconference program. They can loan equipment such as PC projectors and wireless routers. They can provide access to their housing facilities. The use of institutional facilities or equipment would typically constrain the schedule, but it might be a worthwhile tradeoff. * _Supporting Local Industry_: is there local or national industry that may be willing to support the conference in some way? Please estimate how many participants the conference would attract from the local industry. * _Supporting Local Government_: is there a government agency, such as a Ministry of Science or a Ministry of Tourism that may be willing to support the conference in some way? * _Volunteer Labor_: availability of an active local group willing to help out before, during, and after the conference.