Guidelines for the organization of the International Congress of Linguists

1. Responsibility CIPL

1. CIPL is responsible for the organization of the International Congress of Linguists (ICL) every five years, customarily between mid-July and mid-September. The conference runs for about five days.

2. A Local Organizing Committee (LOC) will organize the congress on behalf of CIPL in cooperation with the Scientific Committee (SC) and the Review Committee (RC).

3. The Executive Committee (EC) of CIPL decides on the official languages of the congress. Normally, they will be English and the official language(s) of the host country.

4. The members of the EC who are members of the LOC and the SC have a responsibility to ensure that EC decisions and the guidelines are followed.

5. The EC makes the final decision on the topics of the conference.

2. The congress programme

The scientific programme of the ICL should include the following:

1. Plenary sessions: each of these consists of a plenary lecture. There is at least one plenary session per day.

2. Sections: each of these covers a topical area equal in scope to one of the substantive subdisciplines or research fields of linguistics. The set of sections should be broadly representative of the field of linguistics. The number of sections has usually been about ten, and should not exceed 12. Each section has one or two section organizer(s), who provide(s) a state-of-the-art report. There will be only one state-of-the-art report per section, even though there are multiple organizers of a section. Sections take place parallel to each other to the extent required.

3. Workshops: each of these is organized around current more specialized research questions. Each workshop has its organizer(s). The workshops take place simultaneously with each other, but preferably not parallel to the sections. The number of workshops should not exceed the number of sections. A workshop may include either 10 slots (one day) or 15 slots (1.5 days).

4. Poster presentations: each section and/or workshop may be accompanied by a poster presentation, which may be organized simultaneously with the sections and workshops, or separately with more or all poster presentations at the same time. It is also possible to add a poster presentation for papers that are not linked to a specific section of the conference.

3. Choice of the venue

1. Any organization or institution that is a member of CIPL may organize the ICL. A linguist who wishes to organize an ICL may file an application, via the representative of a member institution or member organization of CIPL.

2. Each applicant submits an application to the Secretary General, (SG), in the format provided by the SG. The EC sets the deadline for the application. The SG informs the representatives of the member institutions/organizations about this deadline.

3. The EC chooses the venue for the ICL at least four years before it is to be held.

4. President of the Congress

1. The EC appoints CIPL’s representative or an appropriate member of the organization providing the venue for the ICL, as President of the Congress.

2. In order to be appointed, the presidential candidate has to declare, on behalf of the institution that is to be host to the congress, that the venue satisfies the requirements as formulated in article 5.

3. The President of the Congress draws up an agreement with CIPL to organize the congress according to these guidelines and according to the budget which has been approved by the EC.

5. Requirements for the congress

1. Special grants from governmental and local authorities.

2. Sufficient accommodation for 1000-1500 participants (some of whom may be accompanied by their partners) at various price levels, within reasonable distance to the congress site.

3. A large auditorium for plenary sessions and enough smaller rooms of different sizes for sections and workshops.

4. An adequate area for poster presentation(s).

5. An office room for CIPL officials.

6. Catering facilities at or close to the congress site.

7. Technical facilities such as internet and computer facilities, projectors, screens, microphones in the different halls and good computer facilities and internet in the office mentioned under 5.5 above.

8. Good photocopy and/or printing facilities.

9. Adequate room for exhibiting books and publications for sale.

10. (Public) transport facilities between the accommodation areas and the congress location.

11. One day of sightseeing or a social programme and if feasible a reception for the congress participants.

6. Local Organizing Committee (LOC)

1. The President of the Congress is responsible for the appointment of a LOC. The LOC is composed at least of the following members:

• president
• vice-president
• secretary
• treasurer
• publicity manager
• fundraiser

2. At least one member of the LOC must be a member of CIPL’s EC. Preferably the Secretary-General, or a special delegate appointed by the SG is a member of the LOC.

3. Much of the LOC business is practically oriented and it would be unrealistic for the CIPL representative to attend all LOC meetings, but the CIPL representative should be copied in concerning substantive issues and involved in decisions about them. The CIPL representative can then consult with the EC if necessary.

7. Responsibility of LOC

1. The LOC is responsible on behalf of CIPL for the organization and administration (registration, accommodation, infrastructure etc.) of the congress.

2. It invites the plenary speakers and section organizers selected by the SC. It concludes the contracts with them (which notably contain the deadline mentioned in article 11.2) and conducts correspondence with them.

3. The LOC determines the set of benefits to be granted to the plenary speakers, section organizers and EC members (see article 12).

4. The LOC is responsible for the Call for Papers, which will be sent to the member organizations and to relevant channels of distribution and information for the first time at the latest 24 months before the congress.

5. In the First Call for Papers, the LOC also invites possible Workshop Organizers to send in proposals for workshops.

6. The LOC is responsible for the publication of the congress book and its distribution during registration (see article 11).

7. At the latest one year before the congress, the LOC presents a final budget to the EC.

8. The LOC is responsible for the set-up and the publication of the final programme and last-minute changes.

9. The Treasurer is responsible for the adequate and orderly accounting of the congress.

10. After the congress, the President of the LOC provides CIPL with an evaluation of the congress. The text must contain a report on the success of the congress, the exact number of the participants of the congress and a financial account comparing the budget with the actual result.

8. Scientific Committee (SC)

The SC operates in close contact with the LOC, however the SC acts independently of the LOC

1. According to art. 6.a of the Statutes, the President of CIPL acts as president of the SC. There is a secretary of the SC, who takes care of the practical communication of the activities of the SC.

2. According to art. 6.c of the Statutes, the Vice-President of CIPL is actively involved in the activities of the SC.

3. Half of the members of the SC are proposed by the EC, including the secretary of the SC; the other half by the President of the Congress.

4. The chair of the SC reports to the EC on major decisions taken by the SC. The EC as a whole has a veto on such decisions.

5. Meetings of the SC should be virtual or by email rather than in person.

9. Responsibility of SC

The SC plans the programme:

1. The topical areas of the conference are chosen by the EC. The SC chooses one or two section organizers per section and selects the workshops to be held from among those proposed.

2. The SC determines the topics for the plenary sessions and selects the plenary speakers in consultation with the LOC. One of these is usually from the host country.

3. The SC, in cooperation with the EC, invites a number of specialists in the different subdisciplines of linguistics to take part in the reviewing process of the abstracts. These specialists form the Review Committee (RC).

4. The SC establishes a procedure that is to be followed in the reviewing process and organizes the paper reviewing. This procedure may include a weighted assessment system where the assessor’s expertise and the outcome of the evaluation of the paper are weighted.

5. The SC decides on the admission of contributions to sections based on the evaluation of the RC. The SC may set a threshold score (reference point between accepted and rejected papers).

6. Before asking the LOC to notify the authors of the abstracts about the outcome of the reviewing process, the EC checks the results of the reviewing process.

7. If a submitter of an abstract wishes to appeal against the result of the reviewing process, the president of the SC has the decision on any appeal.

8. The LOC sets up a provisional program based on the outcome of the evaluation of the reviewing process in consent with the EC. See 7.8 for final publication.

9. SC meetings will be virtual.

10. Review Committee (RC)

1. The Review Committee consists of two subcommittees: one for the sections and another for the workshops.

2. The chair of each subcommittee is appointed by the SC. The two chairs will set up a review format.

3. Each subcommittee consists of several specialists in the fields covered by the sections or the workshops.

4. The chair of each subcommittee appoints panels of two specialized members, taking the organizers’ recommendations into consideration; these panels will evaluate abstracts within a certain subdiscipline or part of that subdiscipline.

5. All abstract submission and reviewing by the RC and its subcommittees must be done through one of the standard sites for this, such as EasyChair.

6. Each abstract will be evaluated by this panel of two members and the section organizer(s) or workshop convenor(s).

7. The RC panels plus the workshop organizer(s) or workshop convenor(s) follow the evaluation procedure developed by the SC (see 9.4) and inform the chair of the subcommittee about the outcome of the evaluation.

8. The chair of each subcommittee informs the SC of the outcome of the evaluation process.

9. RC meetings and meetings of the subcommittees and panels will be virtual.

11. Congress book

There will be a congress book, edited by the president of the LOC and the Chairman of the SC, which comprises the texts of the plenary lectures and the state-of-the-art reports of the section organizers.

1. The EC draws up an agreement with the LOC to the effect that the congress book is available before the congress starts.

2. Plenary speakers and section organizers are expected to deliver a written version of their contributions by the deadline specified in their contracts. The LOC chair will take care of the correspondence between the invited authors and the LOC. The contract of a contributor who does not deliver the required article by the deadline may be annulled.

3. All costs arising from the production of the congress book are paid by the LOC.

12. Finances

The LOC is responsible for the finances. In particular, there is no financial contribution from CIPL. Since CIPL is an organisation without annual income from individual members, CIPL is largely dependent of the positive result of the congress. CIPL’s finances are used for a foundation that organises linguistic summer schools, special workshops, incentives for young linguists and special chairs in linguistics. Therefore, it is expected that a part of the registration fees will be remitted to CIPL. The aim is that this part is at least 20% of the total of the registration fees. It is expected that the LOC gets substantial financial support from the host university and/or other institutions and from sponsors.

Among other things, the following expenses are covered by the LOC:

1. Plenary speakers are reimbursed for their economy airfare and receive free accommodation, registration and conference dinners.

2. Section organizers have their registration fees waived and they are invited to the conference dinner.

3. Members of the CIPL EC receive free accommodation, registration and conference dinner.

4. The costs of producing the conference volume of plenary and focus speaker presentations (11.3) are borne by the LOC.

5. Local expenses of LOC meetings are covered by the LOC.

Format for a bid for the organization of ICL

For all bids to be compared with each other, the bidders are requested to adhere to the following bidding format

1. Dates
Specify the exact dates of the conference, the days of arrival and departure included.

2. President
a. Specify who will be the bidder’s candidate  for the position of president of the congress.

b. Present a short list of possible candidates for the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) from your own organization/university/universities.

3. Organisation
a.  Indicate whether the organization will be supported by professionals from the university or by commercial conference organizers.

b. Give an indication of the expertise in congress organization of your candidates for the LOC.

4. Programme
Specify the preferences of the local organizer/bidder for sections.

5. Venue
a. Give a detailed description of the available meeting rooms at the venue.

• At least one large auditorium is required (minimum 700 seats) and 10-15 rooms of different sizes for parallel sessions and workshops.
• A large area for poster presentations is required, as well as a registration space.
• A large area is also required for a book exhibition by interested publishers.

b. Describe to what extent the venue and conference rooms are accessible to disabled people.

6. Accommodation
a. Give a detailed description of the accommodation within a reasonable distance to the congress site.

b. Specify the price range of the accommodation and the numbers of rooms available at the different price levels.

c. Specify explicitly whether accommodation is available at the campus or in student dorms or hostels within a reasonable distance and specify the prices of the accommodation on campus and in dorms or hostels.

7. Catering
Specify the catering facilities at or near the conference site (coffee/tea, lunch and dinner).

8. Technical facilities
Specify the technical facilities of the meeting rooms and of the conference secretariat.

9. Public transport
a. Specify the public transport facilities from the nearest airport to the conference site, campus and the main hotels .

b. Specify the public transport facilities between the main accommodation areas and the conference site.

10. Travel
Give an indication of the easiest, cheapest and best ways for travelling from abroad to the city where the conference will take place.

11. Excursions
Give a few examples of possible excursions (half-day excursions and one-day excursions) and give an indication of the prices.

12. Budget
a. Present a provisional budget for the conference, in which a remittance to CIPL is included. The target amount is 20% of the total registration fee.

b. Specify the expected contributions or grants from the home institution, local, regional and national authorities and science foundations.

c. Make clear on the basis of statements how likely it is that the institutions mentioned in the previous paragraph are willing to contribute.

13. Agreement
Add a statement of the competent authorities that shows that the home university is willing to host, accommodate and support the congress.

14. Questions
CIPL’s secretariat is happy to answer any questions that arise during the preparation of the bid or to assist in the preparation of the bid.


Leiden, April 2019