[EGOV LIST] Call for Bids for hosting dg.o 2026 Conference

[Marijn Janssen]

Digital Government Society


Call for Bids for hosting dg.o 2026 Conference





The Digital Government Society (DGS) hereby invites bids to host the 27th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research, known as dg.o, in year 2026. DGS is a global multi-disciplinary organization of scholars and practitioners interested in the development and impacts of digital government: http://dgsociety.org/

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DG.O SITE SELECTION PROCEDURE



Each year, DGS appoints a committee to manage the conference site selection process, consisting of current and past board members and active members. The Site Selection Committee sends out the call for proposals through DGS outreach vehicles and is available to interested parties to answer questions. The Committee is responsible for collecting bids, conducting their evaluation according to the stated criteria, working closely with the bidding parties, and presenting their recommendation to the DGS Board. Final selection may involve a site visit by members of the Site Selection Committee to the location(s) of interest.



FACTS ABOUT THE CONFERENCE





dg.o Conference Facts


Timeframe


The 3-days conference takes place each year during the late May or early June timeframe, avoiding national holidays and based on final date approval with the DGS Board.


Attendance


Attendance is typically between 100-180 people.


Venue


The conference is normally held on a university or college campus (who is committed to provide the meeting venues free of charge and support the local organization).


Format


In total, the conference runs for four days. The conference begins with one full-day of pre- conference day with workshops, tutorials and PhD Colloquium, followed by an evening welcome reception. The conference includes two full days of conference, with  traditional plenary speakers, and topical tracks of research papers and panel presentations. The event also includes one evening of posters reception and one evening for a conference dinner and award ceremony. The fourth day (optional field trip) is comprised of some papers sessions, cultural exchange and community networking activities including field trips to government or research facilities of interest to the conference participants or trips to local cultural sites.


Tracks


dg.o has recently adopted a track format. Currently, 10-20 tracks are offered. Each track has at least two track chairs who work with the program chairs to manage the track. Tracks are based on an open call among DGS members.


Review Process and Acceptance Rate


Papers and posters are selected through a double-blind peer review process. Recent acceptance rates are close to 50%, ensuring a high-quality program. Many conference papers are turned into publications in leading journals. The program chairs organize a Government Information Quarterly (GIQ) special issue by selecting the best conference papers.


CONFERENCE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES



General Chairs: The General Chairs, typically three, including 1) one DGS representative, 2) one from the local organizing party and 3) on in charge of the local organization of the next conference, and optional, 4) one from the previous conference,  are responsible for overseeing the operations of the conference. The general chair from the current organizing party takes the lead. This responsibility, carried out through a conference committee, includes working with the DGS Board and liaising with the Local Arrangements Chair to develop the budget (together with the DGS treasurer) and registration materials; working with the Program and Local Arrangements Chairs to develop the schedule and program; working with the DGS Board to appoint supporting chairs to obtain outside funding, publicize the conference, and organize workshops, tutorials, student events, and demonstrations (none of these supporting nominations need to be included in the proposal); and coordinating the activities of the various chairs and their committees. General Chairs also arrange the keynote sessions. We encourage having a local keynote from the country in which the conference will be held. At least one General Chairs participates each month in the DGS Board Meeting to update the Board on progress and to raise any issues or concerns regarding the conference planning. General chairs should ensure that the conference is announced during the previous dg.o conference and a track chair meeting is arranged.



Local Organization Chair: The Local Organization Chair, mostly members of the organizing party, is responsible for activities such as arranging meeting rooms, equipment, refreshments, housing, on-site registration, participant e-mail access, the reception, the poster/demo dinner, students volunteers recruitment and assignments, and working with the General Chair, and the DGS Board to develop the budget and registration materials as well as travel/lodging information for the website. The Local Organization Chair often participates in the monthly DGS Board Meeting to update the Board on progress and to raise any issues or concerns regarding the conference planning.



Program Committee Chairs: The DGS Board selects the Program Committee (PC) Chairs. Typically, three program committee chairs are included, with one being a PC Chair from the previous conference, one from the organizing party of this year's conference, and one from the organizing party of the next year's conference. PC Chairs are responsible for organizing Program Committee, soliciting and receiving submission, coordinating with the track chairs to manage the reviewing process, making final decision for paper acceptance; notifying authors of acceptance or rejection; producing proceedings, managing the process of nominating and selecting the best paper awards, and coordinating with the General Chairs to develop the conference program/schedule.



Conference Committee: The Conference Committee, under the direction of and organized by the General Chairs, meets monthly beginning as early as possible after the preceding dg.o, and no later than the August following the preceding dg.o; the conference Committee for dg.o 2026, for example, should begin meeting no later than August of 2025. The Conference Committee is comprised of the General Chairs, local organizing chair, program chairs, doctoral colloquium chair, panel chair, workshop and tutorial chair, poster and demo chair, and several representatives of the DGS Board, including the Treasurer and the Communication Committee Chair. Track chairs typically do not participate in the monthly calls, but are directly coordinated in their efforts by the Program Chairs.



dg.o Conference Elements Roles and Responsibilities


Conference Element


Responsibility and Process


Conference Organizing Committee


General Chairs and Program Chairs.


Call for papers, conference websites including submission and registration systems, management of submission and review, acceptance/rejection of papers, agenda and program setup, session chairing.


General Chairs and Program Chairs working with track chairs and other members of the conference committee and Board. dg.o uses EasyChair as a submission management system and has a robust registration system available as part of the DGS website.


Proceedings


Organized and produced by Program Chairs.


Invited Keynote talks


Typically, two or three Keynote speakers are arranged by Conference Chairs and DGS President. Lump sum for travel support negotiated with DGS Treasurer.


Ph.D. Colloquium.


Organized by Colloquium Chairs in coordination with Program Chairs.


Rooms, installations, A/V and other equipment


Organized and ideally, provided free of charge, by host.


On-site Administrative support for registration desk, technical support, and information desk


Staff of 3 to 5 individuals provided free of charge by host, with free registration to the conference.


Refreshments, including receptions, morning coffee, breaks, lunches and one conference dinner


Organized and operated by host.


Registration fees


Set by DGS Treasurer, in consultation with host and DGS Board.


Budget plan


Jointly developed and maintained by DGS Treasurer and hosts.


Social program, conference dinner, field trip(s)


Organized by host.


Policy for waving fees


Determined by DGS Treasurer in consultation with Conference Chairs and Board.


Recruiting sponsorships


Responsibility of local host with assistance from DGS organizers and specially appointed Sponsorship Committee.




PROCESS AND TIMELINE



The bid process includes two deadlines; the first is for a draft proposal and the second, for selected bidders, a final proposal.



*         Letter of Intent (LOI): Submit one- or two-page letter of intent to host the conference with basic information on proposed location, dates, and intention by Feb 15, 2024. The committee will select two or three candidate sites. The selected LOI will be invited to submit draft proposals.

*         Draft Bid Proposals. Draft Bids are due to the DGS site committee chair on April 15, 2024. The Site Selection Committee makes a selection and recommends it for the DGS board approval. The committee chair will notify the selected bidders to submit the final proposals by June 1, 2024.

*         Final Bids. Final Bids  (which could be the same as the draft bid) are due to the DGS Treasurer on July 1, 2024.

*         Final Selection. The selection committee will review final bids according to the selection criteria and make recommendations to the DGS Board in its board meeting. The DGS Board and the selection committee will notify the selected host about the decision, and will invite the final selected host to announce it at the next dg.o conference.



BID REQUIREMENTS



Letter of Intent (LOI): A letter on an official host organization's letterhead expressing the intention to host the dg.o conference. A rationale why it may be beneficial to host the conference at its site may be expressed. Specify approximate dates and exact location of the host institution and who may lead/chair as local host.


Draft proposals and final proposals should include the following:



*     Proposed conference site (organization, affiliation, location)

*     Proposed dates

*     Proposed conference theme

*     Potential General Chair Candidates. The General Chair(s) must be someone other than the Local Organizational Chair, but can be someone from the same institution. The DGS Board approval is required.

*     Names of the Local Conference team (chair/co-chair, committee, volunteer labor, registration handling)

*     General Description of site location (accessibility; conference venue, attractions, safety, etc.)

*     Hotels or university accommodations, e.g., hotels, motels, student dorms)

*     Description of conference facilities in terms of the fit with the traditional dg.o conference format and room requirements.

*     Plenary session space

*     Tutorial and workshop space

*     Capacity of break-out rooms for parallel sessions

*     Space for Poster/Demo dinner/reception

*     Space for Welcome reception

*     Social space for breaks, networking and parallel meetings.

*     Possible field trip locations/attractions

*     Describe any suggested changes to the traditional conference format and how such changes would be supported, for example, in terms of facilities, logistics and costs.

*     Estimated cost of A/V equipment.

*     Description of available food/entertainment/banquet/receptions and estimated costs.

*     Description of the strategy to be used for external fundraising efforts and the local capabilities available to support these efforts (e.g., sponsorships and potential sponsors).

*     Note the availability of any startup funding and support available at host institution to facilitate conference planning. The conference venue is sponsored by the host institution or other sponsors to lower the registration costs.

*     Provide cost and revenue estimates for 100, 125 and 150 attendees.



SELECTION CRITERIA



Proposals will be evaluated according to the following site selection criteria (unordered):



Local Site

*     Accessibility (particularly travel) and attractiveness of proposed site.

*     Geographical and national balance, considering conference location sequence.

*     Experience of local arrangements team.

*     Adequacy of conference and exhibit facilities for the anticipated number of registrants.

*     Adequacy of residence accommodations and food services in a range of price categories and close to the conference facilities

*     Budgetary viability.



Timing

*     Appropriateness of proposed dates.



Budget

*     Adequacy of budget, support from local host and projections of expected surplus to cover administrative costs like MemberClicks system, administrative assistant etc. to be transferred to DGS.



Practitioner Network

*     Extent of network with government: federal, state and/or local and likelihood that such network connections will result in local practitioner participation in the conference.

*     Nature of support from local, state/provincial, and national level government including but not limited to financial, speakers, registered participants and access to cultural, government and research facilities.



Support from the local community - industry, media, etc.

*     Nature and extent of likely support from the relevant industries including but not limited to financial, speakers, registered participants and access to cultural, industry and research facilities.

*     Nature and extent of likely support from local press, civil society, historical and other societies and other relevant professional and community organizations and associations.



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To contact the Site Selection Committee by email:



DGS Site Selection Committee

Marijn Janssen (Chair), Mila Gasco Hernandez, Jing Zhang

Contact information; m.f.w.h.a.janssen at tudelft.nl<mailto:m.f.w.h.a.janssen at tudelft.nl>



My working day may not be your working day. Please do not feel obliged to reply to my email outside of your normal working hours

Prof.dr.ir. Marijn Janssen
Full Professor in ICT & Governance<tbm.tudelft.nl/marijnj>

Head of the ESS department
Co-editor Government Information Quarterly<https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/government-information-quarterly>
Chair IFIP 8.5 Working Group in ICT & Public administration
President Digital Government Society (DGS)<https://dgsociety.org/>

Innovating the government at "De DigiCampus" https://digicampus.tech/

Do you want to learn about Open and Smart Government? You might be interested in our MOOC! https://www.edx.org/course/open-government

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