AIBS will be convening a series of mini-sessions that will culminate with the annual meeting of the AIBS Council of Member Societies and Organizations. The 3 mini-sessions will focus on society commitment to DEI and will explore internal structure, external communication and assessment.
Topic: Enabling Scientific Societies to Support Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable, and Accepting (IDEA) Scientific Environments
Fully Funded by: 
Resources
- Pre-conference Webinar (View Recording)
- Internal Structure Session (View Recording)
- External Communication Session (Coming Soon)
- Assessment Session (View Recording)
- View Conference Brochure
- Summary from the 2022 IDEA Conference
Scientific institutions increasingly recognize the need to remove barriers for individuals historically underrepresented in science and to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). A wider breadth of scientific competencies—achieved by expanding DEI—is needed to address critical concerns with worldwide impacts. Improving DEI requires a significant cultural shift, and scientific societies provide a unique platform to lead these cultural changes in the biological sciences. Scientific societies represent a wide variety of individuals and institutions; they have access to multiple fields of biology to impart resources and education; and they can enable networking and idea sharing across many disciplines and organizations to empower new approaches.
AIBS released a Diversity Plan in 2021 which focused on actions that centered on three of our core activities: assessment, training, and communication. Over the next 12 months AIBS worked to assess our current programs as well as to develop and expand programs and policies that increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the biological sciences. In 2021, AIBS was able to successfully lay the foundation for programs and activities that will achieve these ends.
One major focus of our activities in 2021 was to expand the annual meeting of the AIBS Council of Member Societies and Organizations, also known as the IDEA conference. This IDEA conference, supported by the National Science Foundation’s LEAPS program, focuses on Enabling Scientific Societies to Support Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable, and Accepting (IDEA) Scientific Environments. The first meeting of the conference was held in November of 2021. The outcomes from this meeting have been published as a special report in our premier journal, BioScience. We held a pre-conference webinar on August 23, 2022 to discuss the outcomes from the first meeting and lay the foundation for what to expect during the upcoming meetings.
Based on the feedback and results, the second meeting of the IDEA conference will be a series of mini-sessions that will culminate with the annual meeting of the AIBS Council of Member Societies and Organizations. The 3 mini-sessions will focus on society commitment to DEI and will explore internal structure, external communication and assessment.
The IDEA conference will provide a forum for leaders and staff of scientific societies to engage in shared learning, discussion, and reflection about multiple topics related to IDEA scientific environments so that participants can take the knowledge, resources, and tools they have gained back to their organizations for further work.
Who should attend?
- Officers of AIBS member organizations, particularly those in one of the following positions: your representative to the AIBS Council, president or president-elect, executive director or senior staff.
- Members of your organization’s diversity committee or director/manager of diversity initiatives.
- Student members interested in diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.
How will attendees be selected?
An officer of an AIBS member society of organization may nominate individuals to attend the mini-sessions and Council Meeting. For the mini-sessions, we suggest nomination of a staff or society leader that is directly involved in the topic area and a student member. For the annual council meeting, we suggest nomination of an officer or executive, a diversity committee member or manager, and a student member. Details about the nomination process will be available on August 15, 2022. The pre-conference webinar will be open to the public.
Not a member of AIBS? Contact us to find out more about how to join AIBS.
Dates to Remember:
- Applications Open: August 15, 2022, 10am ET
- Pre-conference Webinar: August 23, 2022, 2pm - 3pm ET (View Recording)
- Applications Close: September 7, 2022, 5pm ET
- Participants will be notified: September 14, 2022
- Internal Structure Session: October 4, 2022, 2PM - 4:30PM ET (please note the date change for this session)
- External Communication Session: October 12, 2022, 2PM - 4:30PM ET
- Assessment Session: October 19, 2022, 2PM - 4:30PM ET
- AIBS Council Meeting: November 3, 2022, 1PM - 5PM ET
Enabling Scientific Societies to Support IDEA Scientific Environments
Review the Conference Brochure
Draft Council Meeting Agenda
1:00 PM — Welcome/Introductions/Overview
1:20 PM — Mini Session Summaries
2:30 PM — NSF Program Director Remarks and Q&A (Tentative)
2:50 PM — Break
3:05 PM — AIBS Overview of Suggested Strategy for Moving Forward
3:15 PM — Large Group Discussion
3:40 PM — Small Group Discussion
4:50 PM — Next Steps
5:00 PM — Adjourn
Please fill out the following form to stay informed on the latest news for the 2022 IDEA Conference and AIBS Council Meeting.
This conference is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2134480.