Speaking proposals will be accepted until 11:59pm (ET) December 1, 2022. The program committee will review, rate, and rank the proposals by December 16, 2022. Speakers will be notified by December 19th and have until January 5th to confirm acceptance.

The TOC 2023 Annual Institute will be held from Sunday, April 30 to Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at the Ocean City Fontainebleau Resort, Ocean City, MD.

The Annual Institute is an opportunity to step away from day-to-day work and focus on your professional development and opportunities to improve the training and development programs for your organization. The sessions at this event are designed to maximize learning and encourage connection with others in training and development across government, private industry, and academia.

Most Annual Institute participants are training and talent development professionals in government, private industry, and academia. The audience ranges from novice part-time practitioners to highly experienced full-time professionals. Please ensure your content is suitable for a diverse audience.

This year our theme is “Catch the Wave! From Training to Transforming: How We Can More Profoundly Serve.” We have aligned our learning tracks with the following key elements: Personal Transformation, Training/Program Transformation, and Organizational Transformation. Sessions will be aligned with these tracks as well as the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

We are seeking speaking proposals for the concurrent sessions, Educational or Case Studies:

• Educational sessions feature one or two speakers and should provide attendees with relevant material in a particular track.
• Case Studies are presented jointly with a vendor and government (federal, state, local) partner. They showcase a solution the vendor presented and the impact it had to the organization/agency.

Presenters will have an option of presenting in person or virtually. The decision will be made by the scores on the proposal submissions. In person sessions will NOT be recorded. Virtual sessions will be presented live to the virtual participants only (not live streamed from an in-person session).

Selected speakers will be assigned a slot by the Annual Institute Program Committee. If you have any scheduling conflicts, please note them on your submission form.

We are looking for a variety of topics that cover the spectrum of needs among learning professionals, including but not limited to:

• Case Studies that solved a learning challenge and had a business impact
• Learning in a hybrid environment
• Creating psychological safety
• Instructional design strategies and practices
• Rapid development processes for content/courses/curriculums
• Data and measurement techniques and tools
• Mobile learning ideas and successes
• Use of media, such as audio and video, for learning
• Buying off-the-shelf vs. building strategies—Often called Build, Buy or Borrow
• Best practices for virtual training
• Collaborative learning Strategies and Successes
• Blending different learning technologies
• Assessment and evaluation methods
• Learning maturity model evaluation and strategies
• Building a learning culture
• Employee Health and Wellness
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategies and/or Program Successes
• Recognizing and Overcoming Unconscious Bias

Your session is more likely to be selected if your content is unique to this event, focused, in-depth, and offers practical solutions, ideas, strategies, or techniques.

TOC continues to seek and provide a balanced slate of speakers with a diversity of backgrounds, viewpoints, and organizational affiliations.

As a community-based organization, we welcome any and all proposals from both registrants and non-registrants.

Vendors of products and services will be considered; however, NO marketing or self-promotion is allowed. Sessions must be educational and informational in content. While not required, proposals that feature a case study with a client are strongly preferred.

Alternately, if you are interested in exhibiting at this event and want to find out about promotional opportunities, contact institute@trainingofficers.org.

TOC is a nonprofit educational association. Delivering an education session is done on a voluntary, unpaid basis.

Speakers who are current TOC 2022-2023 Registrants for the Full Program Year or AI Only are provided with a room at the hotel in which the AI is being held (Sun-Tues), meals each day, and access to the special events.

Speakers who are not registrants are not provided with lodging but are welcome to participate in sessions and meals on the day of their presentation.

Travel and personal expenses are not covered by TOC.

NOTE: All presenters must be listed when you submit your proposal. Additional presenters cannot be added to your session without the approval of the Annual Institute Committee.

All speakers are asked to read and agree to the TOC Annual Institute Speaker and Presentation Policies as noted below.

Your Commitment to Speak

Sharing your expertise with TOC registrants at the Annual Institute is a valuable contribution to the profession's field of knowledge and to the individual learning of our participants. If you are selected, please view this opportunity as a commitment like any other and ensure that you are able to deliver the session by securing the support of your organization and managing your workload and clients to keep this time open. We understand that things do happen and appreciate your advance notice in the event of extreme circumstances that prevent your attendance.

 Lodging, Meals, & Travel Expenses 
TOC is a nonprofit educational association. Delivering an education session is done on a voluntary, unpaid basis.

Speakers who are current TOC 2022-2023 Registrants for the Full Program Year or AI Only are provided with a room at the hotel in which the AI is being held (Sun-Tues), meals each day, and access to the special events.

Speakers who are not registrants will be provided with one complimentary room at the hotel in which the AI is being held the night before their scheduled presentation and meals on the day of their presentation.

 Travel and personal expenses are not covered by TOC.

 Noncommercial Policy

The TOC education programs are learning experiences first and foremost, and as such must be noncommercial in content and delivery.

Speakers must:

• Eliminate any form of direct promotion of the speaker's product or service for monetary self-interest. Case studies will highlight how practical application of products or services impacted outcomes for an organization or client without direct promotion of the products or services.
• Refrain from overt statements, harsh language, or pointed humor that disparages the rightful dignity and social equity of any individual or group.

Proposal Submission, Session Delivery and Speaker Limits

Proposal Submission
TOC continues to seek and provide a balanced slate of speakers with a diversity of backgrounds, viewpoints, and organizational affiliations.

Speaker Limits
 Concurrent sessions are limited to two speakers.

Session Delivery Limits

Most speakers will be limited to one session, except for sessions delivered both as a concurrent session and live webinar. Speakers may also serve on a panel in addition to delivering a session. Exceptions are at TOC's discretion.

Event cancellation, presentation requirements, and video authorization

Cancellation of Event

TOC reserves the right to cancel the event in the case of acts of God, war, government regulation, disaster, strikes, civil orders, terrorism, curtailment of transportation facilities, or other emergencies making it inadvisable, illegal, or impossible to provide the facilities or to hold the event.

TOC reserves the right to cancel the event due to low enrollment.

 If the event is cancelled for any of the above reasons, TOC will not be responsible for any expenses or fees.

Presentation materials (slides or handouts) that will be posted for event participants before, during, and after the event will be due by no later than April 15, 2023.

Watch the pre-recorded session from the former TOC Chief Technologist, Chris King, as he provides tips to submitting a winning proposal.

It can be helpful to work on a draft of your proposal offline. This allows you to take time with your answers as well as leverage spell check. You can download a Word document with the proposal questions using this link DRAFT PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FORM (word document opens in a new window). 

Finally, if you have questions about your proposal ideas, feel free to reach out to the Annual Institute team at institute@trainingofficers.org.