Congratulations for being invited to serve as a panel chair at ION GNSS+!

As a panel chair, you are responsible for inviting, selecting, and reviewing panelists to participate in your session. Your responsibilities begin well before the conference. At the conference, you will act as a moderator, facilitate discussion, and assist your panelists with audio visual technology. Below is an outline of your responsibilities.
 

OVERVIEW OF PANEL SESSIONS

Panel sessions are intended to create an interactive environment where experts representing various organizations, backgrounds, and perspectives can discuss the latest developments in the field. Panel sessions may consist of short presentations from each panelist, followed by a moderated discussion between all panelists and the audience.
 

BEFORE THE CONFERENCE

YOUR PANEL DESCRIPTION IN THE CALL FOR ABSTRACTS (through October 20)

• Review the description for your panel.
• Send any proposed revisions or comments to your track chair by October 20, prior to the printing of the call for abstracts brochure.

INVITE PANELISTS (November – March)

• Actively solicit relevant panel members. Panel members should be advised of the following when invited:
  • Panel members will be required to participate in person in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Panel members will have the option to make their charts available to conference attendees for download for later viewing. If they desire to make their charts available, ION will require a Media Authorization Release form.
• As you invite panel members, consider the following:
  • Plan to confirm the participation of four to six panel members.
  • Diversity of opinion and background (industry, government, academia and private consultancy) make for the most interesting panel discussions
• By April 3, send your list of panelists to your track chair and Miriam Lewis at MLewis@ion.org.

PRIOR TO THE CONFERENCE (May – August)

• When the conference program is published, you and your co-chair should reach out to the panelists in your session to introduce everyone.
• You can find the email address of your co-chair and each panelist on the session detail page in the Abstract Management Portal (AMP).
• This is a good time to verify the in-person participation of each panelist in your session. If any presenters are unable to attend in-person, you should consider inviting another panelist to participate.
• August 8 is the last day to notify ION of program changes for inclusion in the on-site program and meeting signage.
• Pay your conference registration fees and book your hotel room on or before August 8. ION provides a $300 registration discount if you stay in the official conference hotel.
  • Panel moderators and panelists are required to register and pay for the conference at the published rates. All participants are also responsible for their individual hotel reservations.

HOLD A PRE-CONFERENCE COORDINATION MEETING (Online – Late August/Early September)

• It is highly recommended you hold a pre-conference virtual meeting with all panelists to review the schedule of how the panel will be orchestrated, time allocated for introductory remarks,
• Provide panel members with a few thought-provoking questions in advance, so they can prepare responses. You might also ask each panelist to propose questions for discussion.
• You should come prepared with individual questions for each panel member.
   

AT THE CONFERENCE

SPEAKERS’ BREAKFAST – MORNING OF YOUR PANEL

• Attend the morning speakers’ breakfast; 7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. in Key Ballroom 1-4.
• At the breakfast, ensure that all panelists are in attendance.
• At the breakfast, you will receive a moderator packet containing the biographies of each panelist (if provided to ION by the panelist).
• Collect any missing biographies from panelists, as needed.
• Verify the correct pronunciation of presenter names, etc. as needed.

BEFORE YOUR PANEL BEGINS (Arrive 15-20 minutes prior to panel start)

• Arrive to your session room 15-20 minutes prior to your panel start time.
• ION will pre-load presentations onto the conference laptop (if made available by the panelist prior to the conference).
• Panelists will load their presentations onto the conference laptop before the session begins. You can assist with loading and previewing presentations, and arranging them on the computer’s desktop.
• Panelists may use their own laptop by connecting to the projector’s HDMI cable.
• Familiarize yourself with the handheld microphone.
  • Locate the power switch.
  • You (or your co-chair) will pass this microphone to audience members during Question & Answer after each presentation, as time allows.
• Familiarize yourself with the audio mixer in the session room.
  • Small adjustments to the volume may be necessary to accommodate various presenter voice levels.
  • There are separate volume controls to adjust the volume of the hand-held microphone, lapel clip-on microphone, and the podium microphone.
• Note any panelist cancellations, and any alternates that fill these vacancies, directly on the sign located outside the panel room.
  • These signs are collected at the end of each day and any changes are recorded to ensure the conference proceedings accurately reflect what transpired during your panel.
  • There is a marker in the moderator packet that you received at the breakfast to make these notes.

DURING YOUR SESSION

• You will open your session, summarize the topic/issues/problems, and introduce the panelists.
• As needed, assist presenters with opening their presentation files, operating microphones, etc.

• Manage the Q&A and pass a handheld microphone to audience members who have questions.
• If a question is not spoken into a microphone, repeat the question so that all audience members can hear.
• Moderate the discussion and summarize/conclude the panel discussion at the scheduled end time.

Questions? Concerns?

Contact:
Miriam Lewis
Meetings Services
meetings@ion.org