Do you have experience and expertise that could benefit your colleagues? Why not share them with your peers as a presenter at TOC’s Professional Development Program (PDP)?

As a learning and development community, we encourage you, our registrants and sponsors, to share your experiences, tools, skills, and insights on relevant topics in training and human capital in the federal government.

We are especially interested in exploring best practices with practitioners, who provide rich examples and scenarios that allow for effective learning transfer to the federal workplace.

Ready to submit your proposal? Click the button below to begin. Keep reading if you want more information about the Call for Proposals.

About the Professional Development Program

The Professional Development Program runs from September 2021 to July 2022. During this time TOC provides registrants with development opportunities each month.

This year our theme is “Reset Your Compass: Chart Your New Future” and we have aligned our learning tracks with the compass points: North- Networking; South- Skills; East- E-Learning; and West- Wellness. We are seeking creative, engaging, and topical presentations aligned with these tracks and the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

Program Venues

The TOC PDP offers different development venues for you to share your knowledge, expertise or experience with our audience of learning and leadership professionals. We are looking for speakers for each type of venue.

Professional Development Program- In Person Learning

The speaker should plan an interactive presentation to be followed up with group discussion in breakout sessions, which provides an opportunity to deepen the learning of the topic. This is an opportunity expands the attendees training experience including activities and breakout discussions.

Professional Development Program- Webinars

TOC’s Professional Development webinars are open to a large audience of training professionals across the country. TOC provides all support for the webinar including webinar link, call in number and a professional producer to handle introduction/closure. You are required to provide the slides/content. No online presentation experience necessary, making this an excellent professional development opportunity.

Professional Development Program- Annual Institute

The Annual Institute will be held May 1-4 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Downtown Wilmington, DE. We anticipate attendance of approximately 100 registrants with 15-25 per breakout session. Proposals for delivering sessions at the Annual Institute will be collected separately. You can find more details on the 2022 Annual Institute page.

Important information regarding session proposals:

  • Sessions range from 60-90 minutes in length, with additional time for Q&A and discussion
  • Content should be relevant to the federal sector
  • Should have clearly defined objectives aligned with one of the Executive Core Qualifications and associated competencies
  • Attendants comprise of 70% federal employees, 30% external practitioners, vendors, and academics

TOC Program sessions are learning experiences first and foremost, and as such must be noncommercial in content and delivery. Your primary goal is the attendee’s learning experience rather than showcasing your ideas or products and services. You will gain exposure for those things by providing something tangible for participants to take away. The more you can put yourself in their place in developing your session, the better your chances will be of being selected and receiving positive evaluations from participants.

If you have a new idea or further questions about a proposal, please contact programs@trainingofficers.org.

Proposal Review

Submissions are reviewed by the TOC Program Committee. The selection process follows a rigorous online review of every proposal submitted. The TOC Program Committee also meets in person and by conference call to make recommendations for selections and assist in planning other program activities. Proposals are selected on the basis of information submitted. Submitters are expected to follow the instructions carefully and supply all requested information. Missing or incorrect information could make the proposal ineligible for consideration.

Selection Criteria

The proposed session must clearly apply to the target audience, fit into one of the Program Tracks, and be delivered by a speaker with substantial topic knowledge and experience facilitating learning experiences and/or speaking to large groups.

Proposals are evaluated using the following additional criteria:

  • Completeness, accuracy, and clarity of the proposal; proposals that do not follow the instructions will be ineligible.
  • Content that is current and practical.
  • Programs and initiatives that demonstrate measurable business impact and results.
  • Clear, specific, and informative content which is directly linked to the learning goal.
  • Learning objectives which show application back on the job and can realistically be met in the time allotted.
  • A balanced slate of speakers representing diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, organizations, and internal/external practitioners.