Our Aims and Objectives
We are the UK association for all those who research, study and teach global development issues
Find Out MoreWe can’t be all together all the time, we are in different time zones, have different needs, and can get tired and distracted by long hours in online calls. To ensure that the time we spend online together at DSA2022 is lively and focused on discussion and exchange, presentations for paper-based panels will be available to watch in advance. All participants will be strongly encouraged to engage with these advance materials before the actual session. You can then ask questions and engage in conversation before the session as well as during the conference. See further details about this on the conference methodology webpage.
It is the convenors’ responsibility to ensure that all panel participants are well briefed and that the panel continues to meet DSA2022 requirements. To that end, convenors should not only communicate their decisions over proposals to paper proposers, but also later in the process, email the panelists to:
Panel convenors can use the ‘Log in’ link (see toolbar top-right above) to administer their panels via this login environment. Convenors should log in to add the names of chairs/discussants, to order the papers in their panel and to manage the paper proposals. Co-convenors cannot be added/removed nor can panels be withdrawn through this environment – please email us to do this (address in footer).
If an author emails between now and the conference to withdraw their paper, the convenors should mark the paper as ‘Withdrawn’ in the login environment, otherwise the conference administrator may not know of the withdrawal. If we hear of a withdrawal, we will do the same and notify the panel convenors updating you on the number of papers remaining and panel sessions allocated to your panel. The papers can be placed in order for each session via the login environment. If you have multiple panel sessions and you wish to move papers between those sessions, please email us as only we can move them for you.
Each panel/workshop synchronous session slot lasts 40 minutes (except for a few slightly longer workshops/book launches). Convenors will communicate with authors how they plan to use this time. The organising committee suggests that each panelist starts with a two-minute pitch that highlights their main contribution and repeats the question they want participants to consider. Convenors need to ensure that a nominated chair/discussant has watched/listened/read across all contributions to the panel and can field any questions/comments submitted by participants in advance as well as those asked during the session. This approach will enable us to focus our time together on discussion and debate.
Formal acceptance letters (signed pdfs on headed paper) can be downloaded from the login environment (top right corner of the DSA website). Log in, proceed past your contact details with the “Proceed” button (located under the contact fields) and when the website reloads click “Logged in” where “Log in” was in the top right corner. A menu appears, click “Conferences” and on the next screen, Cocoa appears – our online environment for papers and panels. Scroll down to your panel/paper for DSA2022. There will be an encircled A at the end of the panel/paper title line. Click on this, download the pdf and print your letter. Please note that we do not send such letters by post.
When logged into the site, click ‘Logged in’ and choose ‘Manage Account’ in the drop-down to ensure your contact details are the way you’d like them to be presented – especially your title, name, institution, as these are visible on panel pages and the conference programme.
Due to our attempt to keep online days shorter for delegates, panels with more than 1 session tend to run over multiple days. Each day will have a maximum of two 40 minute panel sessions, each of which may hold up to four papers for discussion. We have allocated every panel an appropriate number of sessions depending on the number of papers they received and accepted. All sessions are 40 minutes long. Up to 4 papers=1 session, 5 to 8 papers=2 sessions, 9 to 12 papers=3 sessions. One panel that received a larger number of papers was permitted to accept 16 papers (4 sessions). Most workshops will run for one session. Most panels have two sessions (i.e a max of 8 papers) and delegates appear to enjoy this approach.
Paper authors can use the login link in the toolbar above (the head icon) to edit their own details or their own proposals. Make sure your contact details are the way you’d like them to be presented, particularly name, title and institution as these are visible on panel pages and will eventually appear in the online platform as well.
We do not require full papers submitted before the conference. In fact, the DSA has no rule about this but many convenors are keen to pre-circulate completed papers. To facilitate this and save on loads of email traffic, authors can upload a PDF of their paper within Cocoa, and it will then show as a downloadable file beneath their abstract on the public panel page on this site. It is your choice whether you instruct your presenters to make use of this.
How convenors allocate the time in their sessions is largely their decision and will depend on the session format. With this year’s asynchronous approach, convenors will need to plan in advance to maximise the short session times allocated in order to allow for Q&A on each paper of that panel, as well as more broad discussion among the panelists and attendees.
We recommend that no panel session should include more than 4 papers for discussion and Q&A, but it can include fewer – this is up to the convenors to decide. For example, if the panel has received 7 papers, it can be split over two sessions as 4+3, but also as 3+4 etc. As the online panel pages do not indicate the session breaks, delegates will be working on the basis of generally 4 papers per session in terms of which sessions to attend. We therefore ask convenors, where possible, to stick to this distribution and order to allow people to join panels for specific papers if they wish.
Registration does not require instant payment but does indicate your commitment to attend the event. On registering, you will be sent an automated notification that your registration was received. We process your registration manually, getting back to you if there are any mistakes/questions, and emailing you an invoice with a payment information/link. You then have thirty days to pay. Once you have paid, the payment will be logged, and you will be emailed a receipt. So please do not put off registering just because you know your funding will arrive at a later date.
Convenor/author email addresses are not shown on the panel pages for anti-spam and privacy reasons. However, there is an in-built secure email messaging system from the panel pages. If you cannot work that, please email us to obtain the relevant email addresses. You can also share via social media your panel or your paper from within the panel pages.
Any queries with the above, please email conference(at)devstud.org.uk