Dear NORDP Community,
As you all have been planning and drafting abstracts, our conference co-chairs and leadership have been working busily behind the scenes to assess the feasibility of holding an in-person conference next spring and consulting with event planners on the best path forward.
After considering many variables, we have made the difficult decision to convert our planned event in Bellevue, WA, to a fully virtual conference; it will take place Monday-Thursday, April 25-28, 2022.
We know this decision will be met with mixed emotions–results of a recent survey showed a distinct split between members calling for an online event and those eager to get back to in-person conferences. We know that neither option is ideal for everyone, and the Executive Conference Committee will make recommendations to the Board for providing future options that accommodate our broad community.
Let me reiterate that our decision to move to a virtual conference this year was based on many factors, including the continued risk of COVID and safety of our members; the related financial struggles of some of our institutions (which have reduced professional development budgets for staff); institutional policies that continue to limit travel; the comfort level of members for convening in large groups; and the increased costs of venues paired with a likely decreased number of attendees (i.e., cost-effectiveness for members and the organization).
Given the timing (this is the earliest we could make this announcement), our conference co-chairs have decided to extend the conference abstract deadline until Friday, November 26, 11:59 pm PST. We hope this provides an opportunity for members who wish to present at the conference, but who could not attend an in-person event.
I want to thank our 2022 conference co-chairs, Katie Shoaf and Becca Latimer, for their leadership, perseverance and flexibility under these uncertain circumstances, as well as our event planners at FirstPoint Management Resources for their hard work. We enjoyed a vibrant and engaging virtual conference in 2021, and we learned valuable lessons that will yield an even more successful 2022 event.
You may contact rdconf@nordp.org with questions.
With much gratitude during this Thanksgiving season,
Jill Jividen, NORDP President, 2021-22
To view the full competition and submit your abstract, click here: View competition
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