Proposal selection

We have been asked how proposals (also known as abstracts) for papers for ICHF 2011 are selected. Please see the blogs below for details of how and when proposals were to be submitted. Please note that the closing date for the submission of proposals has now passed and cannot be accpted - not for this conference away!

This blog entry is to outline the process used to select proposals submitted by the closing date for ICHF 2011.

The process of selecting proposals is known as 'blind peer review' which ensures the anonymity of those submitting proposals. In this way the identity of members of the Academic Committee commenting on the proposals is unknown to the researcher who submitted the proposal.

All proposals are sent to an independent body, in the case of ICHF this is the conference organiser (Northern Networking Events), who have no connection with the Academic Committee. Once the deadline for the submission of proposals has passed all references to the author are removed in order that they cannot be attributed to any individual. In other words all that remains is a succinct resume of the author's idea for the paper to be presented at the conference.

These ideas (proposals) are then sent to the Chairman of the Academic Committee who examines them before sending them onto members of the committee for their scrutiny. Neither he, nor they, have any knowledge as to the identity of the author of the proposal. They then assess the proposals on the basis of their expert knowledge. There are three recommendations that members can offer: Accept, Accept with Modifications or Reject. This is known as the 'Green, Amber and Red' system and allows for the fairest and most accurate means of assessment.

Proposals which receive Green or Red decisions obviously mean Accept or Reject. The other category which means 'undecided' is Amber. This is a tentative acceptance of the proposal but one with qualifications. This means that committee members think that the proposal has merit but needs some further refinement. The recommendations of the committee as to how best to adjust the proposal are communicated to the author who must re-submit their proposal in light of the comments of the members of the Academic Committee.

The next blog will explain what happens next...

The ICHF Team

Proposals scrutinised & researchers notified

More than 110 proposals for papers to be delivered at ICHF 2011 were received and were sent to the Academic Committee. For information on the Academic Committee please go to the ICHF web site or click on the following link: ICHF Academic Committee

Andreas Onnerfors is the Chairman of the Academic Committee. One of his responsibilities, among many, is the distribution of proposals to members of the Committee for assessment and on their return to collate the comments on the proposals. The results of the assessment process are then notified to those who submitted proposals. All who submitted proposals have now been notified of the results.

The next Blog will explain in more detail the process of assessing proposals.

The ICHF Team

Plenary Speakers Announced!

We acknowledge that there has been a delay in announcing the Plenary Speakers for ICHF 2011 but these have now been decided and are: 

• Arturo de Hoyos
• Andreas Onnerfors
• Chernoh Sesay, Jr
• Steven Bullock
• Robert Cooper

Further details of each individual will be posted here in due course.

The ICHF Team

Proposals received

Hi everyone,

We hope that you are enjoyiing the summer even if the summer weather is not too great.

More than 110 proposals for papers were received by the closing deadline which is more than any previous conference.

The next step in the process is already underway. The proposals have been sent to the members of the Academic Committee for them to sift and comment upon. Their deliberations will determine which papers are accepted for the 2011 conference. Those who submitted proposals are expected to be notified mid/late September so that they can get cracking on the full paper for May 2011.

How many proposals?

We have been asked how many proposals can be submitted by any one individual.

Generally speaking it is not expected that more than two proposals should be submitted by any one person. This is avoid anyone seeking to unfairly maximize their chances of having a proposal accepted. In addition this would not be fair to others submitting one or, more rarely, two proposals. It also avoids overburdening one person attempting to produce a number of high quality papers in a short space of time.

Is there is thought to be a good reason for submitting more than two please contact the conference organisers for advice by emailing: ICHF@northernnetworking.co.uk

The ICHF Team

Savings Clubs

Unless you live locally the cost of attending ICHF can be quite high. This was one of the reasons behind the decision to make ICHF 'mobile' so that people in different parts of the world will have an opportunity to attend one of the conferences without having to travel to the UK.

The down side is that for those who wish to attend every conference there will be variable costs to consider as ICHF moves from place to place. We have heard of one initiative that is worth sharing.

Members of a Lodge in the USA have started a 'savings club' so that members of the club can put away a sum of money on a monthly basis. The monies collected remain the property of each individual member but the intention is that the funds will be used for transport, accommodation etc. in order to attend ICHF 2011. The money so saved might not cover the entire cost but the monthly saving has been planned in such a way that it will certainly take the 'sting' out of the total cost.

An interesting idea.

The ICHF Team

New ICHF web site II

We have had a number of communications suggesting that it would be a good idea to retain this blog as a number of people like to make use of it and we are happy to oblige.

This blog and the new ICHF web site will run in tandem whilst we assess their usage.

The ICHF Team

New ICHF web site

A new web site for ICHF is nearing completion and the work completed so far can be viewed by clicking here or on previous links.

The new web site will run make this blog largely irrelevant so it will be closed down within a few weeks once all the material has been transferred from here to the new site.

The ICHF Team.

ICHF Web Site

The ICHF web site is presently being redesigned. The site remains active alolowing those interested to download a number of .pdf documents.

Please bear with us whilst the newly designed site is being prepared.

The ICHF Team.

Proposals - update

ICHF is recognised as being the only International Conference on the History of Freemasonry in all its aspects.

In 2007 more than 70 proposals were submitted and in 2009 in excess of 100 were received. This number of proposals ensures that ICHF can offer a large and varied program at each conference. Unfortunately, it also means that a number of proposals cannot be accepted. This is due not only to the quality of Proposals but also the limitations of time and space at the various venues.

At this time more than 15 Proposals have been submitted and that is more than double those received by this time in 2009. This augers very well for ICHF 2011.