Call for workshop proposals
Onward! workshops provide a creative and collaborative environment for attendees to discuss and investigate challenging problems related to software and its creation and nurturing. Workshops provide a great opportunity for software people and researchers to establish as well as foster communities.

The topics of workshops as well as their formats are diverse. For example, workshops may provide an opportunity for people exploring particular area to coordinate efforts and to establish a collective plan of action, to collaborate on a book, to seek contributions, or to share hot new ideas.

What could the future hold for programming and software? What are you thinking about when you connect software concepts with the rest of the world in new and unusual ways? In your most creative moments, what do you think is possible with software?

Let's go deep and discuss the future of software and programming, and how we can make a big and positive change in the world with software technology. Anything to do with programming and software can be presented. Anything! Processes, methods, languages, art, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, economics, communities, politics, ethics, or any other human endeavor. Kristen Nygaard, the co-inventor of object-oriented programming, recognized that wherever we create and deploy software, we directly influence the workplace and community around it. What should we be thinking about when we create these technologies? What are the intended and possible unintended consequences?

Workshops are held on the first two days of the conference. We encourage proposals for innovative, well-focused workshops on a selection of themes.

Themes

This year we are interested in proposals that relate to the following:
  • Software in Support of Green Technologies
  • Environmental Modeling
  • Emerging Economies and Software
  • Bridging the Gap between HCI and Software Engineering
  • Educational Entertainment

Dates

Deadline for Workshop Proposals: April 20, 2009
Notification of Acceptance or Rejection: June 3, 2009

Publication

Descriptions of accepted workshops will be published in the OOPSLA 2009 Companion, and will appear in the ACM Digital Library.

How to Submit

  • Workshop proposals are submitted through the Onward! submission system.
  • Your proposal should include the following elements:
  • Main Theme and Goals - The proposal must clearly explain the importance of the workshop theme to the Onward! community.
  • Abstract - The proposal must include a 150-word abstract that summarizes the theme and goals of the workshop; if the workshop is accepted, this abstract will be published in the advance program and the final program.
  • Organizers - The proposal must list the workshop organizers. Workshop organizers are responsible for advertising the workshop, reviewing potential participants' submissions, running the workshop, and collating any results of the workshop for dissemination to others. Workshop organizers should be listed, together with their contact information. The primary organizer of the workshop and a contact person should be specified (they need not be the same person). For each organizer, the proposal should describe his/her background (expertise in the area, and previous experience running workshops) and also identify his/her responsibilities for this workshop.
  • Anticipated Attendance - The ideal, minimum, and maximum number of participants.
  • Advertisement - Describe how you plan to advertise your workshop to ensure participation.
  • Participant Preparation - Your proposal should describe what preparation is expected of workshop participants.
  • Activities and Format - The format of the workshop should be described and a timetable given. Please state clearly if a full-day or a half-day workshop is proposed. You should consider, for example, whether there will be any introductory material, whether there will be any paper presentations, any panel discussion, debate, or focus groups, and how such groups will report back to the other participants.
  • Post-workshop activities - The proposal should describe what results the workshop will produce and how those will be disseminated to the wider public.
  • Special Requirements - Any special requirements: connectivity, special A/V, ...
The following questions may help focus your submission:
  • Are there at least two organizers and do they represent a reasonably varied cross-section of the community?
  • Does the proposal present a compelling case for the importance of the topic area?
  • Is this done succinctly and completely?
  • Are the goals of the workshop expressed clearly?
  • Is the topic likely to be attractive to Onward! attendees?
  • Is the format clearly described and does it encourage a high level of interaction between the participants?
  • Is a workshop the right forum to address the theme and goals or does the proposal fit better into another type of event?
For additional information, clarifications, or questions, please contact the workshop chair at workshops@onward-conference.org.

Committee

Bruce Horn, Powerset (chair)