Submissions Are Now Closed

This section includes the original call for submissions and key information about the reviewing and curation process.

Join EPIC2022!

Now in its 18th year, EPIC is a treasured annual gathering that brings together people around the world—in all disciplines, roles, and industries—who use ethnography to drive understanding, innovation, and change.

Our conference is a warm, inclusive event that combines practical learning and expertise, meaningful networking, and the inspiration and debate that we need to grow and evolve in a changing world. EPIC is a nonprofit organization powered by members and volunteers; learn more.

Anyone can register and attend EPIC2022. This page includes detailed information about submitting a proposal to present your work in the program.

The core EPIC2022 program is created through a proposal submission, peer review, selection, and curation process. This year the Program Committee invites proposals for four formats: Papers, Case Studies, PechaKucha and Wildcard.

We welcome proposals from anyone, in any discipline or organization in the private, public, or nonprofit sectors, who creates ethnography or applies ethnographic principles and expertise. Contributions should draw on theoretical advances in ethnographically informed social science and aligned disciplines, coupled with applied best practices from professional fields.

Please read the conference theme and all submissions requirements carefully. Don’t hesitate to contact the committee with questions—we want you to be successful! conference@epicpeople.org

Key Dates
  • Submission deadline: 8 April, at the last stroke of midnight on earth!
  • Registration opens: 31 May
  • Acceptance notifications: 6 June
  • First draft submission: 11 July
  • Final submissions: 12 September
  • EPIC2022 Learning & Networking: 2–6 October
  • EPIC2022 Main Program: 9–12 October
Theme
The EPIC2022 themes is resilience—the ability to learn, adapt and evolve with adversity and changing conditions. Current health, climate and political crises foreground questions of who should flex, resist, or adapt; and what should be restored, abandoned, or reinvented. Resilience invites us to examine and enhance the ways organizations, products, services, communities, and our own work can be designed to learn, adapt and evolve.

Proposals should describe their contribution to resilience and specific sub-themes:

READ THE EPIC2022 THEME

Requirements & Review Process

Submission

Individuals are permitted to submit only a single proposal (Paper, Case Study PechaKucha, or Wildcard) as a primary author. (You may be a co-author on one other proposal). Each format has different proposal requirements; please read them carefully below.

Review & Selection Criteria

All proposals are anonymously peer reviewed by independent program committees. Committee members consider:

  • What is the contribution to the EPIC community? How are ideas or approaches are introduced, reframed, or brought together? Originality, creativity, synthesis, and bridge-building are all forms of contribution.
  • What is the contribution to the conference theme? Priority will be given to submissions that address specific sub-themes and/or push our understanding of resilience further.
  • Is prior and related work adequately considered, assessed, and built on?
  • Is the evidence compelling and credible?
  • Is the writing/presentation clear and compelling?

Development

Our committees have high standards for written and presented material, and curators work closely with authors to refine presentations and published articles. Authors of successful submissions are expected to commit to deadlines for submission of draft and final versions. Before submitting a proposal, please ensure you have the time and interest to engage in this process.

Permissions

Before submitting a proposal, be sure you can secure all permissions required to present your work and publish both video and written formats. Papers and Case Studies will be published in the open-access journal Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings (ISSN 1559-8918). All presentation videos and written articles are published in the EPIC library. Co-authors are required to sign agreements allowing these publications.

Conference Registration

At least one co-author must register for and attend the conference to present the work. No discounts are available for presenters, but a limited number of discounts are available for qualified individuals for financial inclusion.

Specific guidelines for each submission format are detailed below.

COVID & Contingencies

Anyone submitting a proposal should be prepared to attend EPIC2022 in Amsterdam if the proposal is accepted.

However…we know that COVID uncertainties will carry on throughout the year. If restrictions issued by the Netherlands or your home country prevent you from traveling to Amsterdam, we will make sure your work is included in the program (via video or delivered by an attendee). If we are forced to cancel the Amsterdam event completely, the program will be delivered virtually.

Papers

We invite paper proposals that advance our field with new developments in work or ideas and emphasize the interplay between theory and practice. Papers should expand our community’s knowledge and reflect constructively on theoretical concerns, methodological advances, or issues of the day. They pose and respond to questions that cut across the varied contexts, day-to-day concerns, and organizational priorities we face. Papers are original works that must demonstrate the links between new insights and ongoing debates in ways that will advance our field and build on the work of others, referencing other projects, concepts, or data sources. Authors make a presentation in the conference program and submit a full-length written paper (5–7,000 words) for publication.

Preparing Your Paper Proposal

Please read “Requirements & Review Process” above, including “Review & Selection Criteria.”

Your proposal must include the following elements in one PDF document:

  • Title
  • Abstract of 750 words maximum (including citations) that identifies:
    • your main argument;
    • your ethnographic sources (original research or a critical review of other work);
    • key insights (what a reader will gain from your paper); and
    • contribution to the conference theme.
  • 1-page outline demonstrating your paper’s coverage and main points
  • List of references to additional literature, research, or data sources (beyond those cited in the abstract) from which the paper will draw
  • A statement of 150 words maximum on your submission’s contributions to the EPIC community. What will we learn? How can those learnings be applied by others?

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

To facilitate anonymous peer review, do not name or reference the identity or affiliations of any co-authors within the proposal document itself.  (You will asked to submit this info separately in our system.)

Additional guidelines for developing, formatting, and delivering final papers and conference presentations will be provided to authors whose proposals are accepted.

Questions? papers@epicpeople.org

Read Some Great Papers

Case Studies

Case studies are real-world examples of ethnographic work that demonstrate business or organizational impact. They are a teaching tool for the community to build value for ethnographic approaches in organizations. Cases emphasize how ethnographic practice and theory shaped and solved a specific organizational challenge/opportunity and made a measurable impact for the organization, stakeholders, and users/consumers (perhaps in conjunction with other approaches). Cases are expected to offer lessons learned (targets made or missed!) for wider applicability in the community. They must present completed work, not early-stage or work-in-progress activities. Authors make a presentation in the conference program and submit a full-length written paper (4–5,000 words) for publication.

Preparing Your Case Study Proposal

Please read “Requirements & Review Process” above, including “Review & Selection Criteria.”

Proposals must include the following elements in one PDF document:

  • Title
  • Abstract of 500 words maximum including citations, covering:
    • business/organizational context—challenge or opportunity the project addressed;
    • project approach, execution, and outcomes;
    • impact on the business/organizational challenge or opportunity; and
    • relevance to conference theme Resilience.
  • 1-page outline demonstrating the anticipated order of your case study’s main points, which must include demonstrable organizational or business impact.
  • List of references to the relevant literature, research, and data sources from which your case draws.
  • A statement on your submission’s contributions to advancing ethnography in business and organizations, 150 words maximum
  • To facilitate blind peer review, do not name or reference the identity or affiliations of any co-authors within the proposal document itself. You will enter this information separately in the submission process.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

To facilitate anonymous peer review, do not name or reference the identity or affiliations of any co-authors within the proposal document itself.  You will be asked to submit this info separately in our system.

Additional guidelines for developing, formatting, and delivering final case studies and conference presentations will be provided to authors whose proposals are accepted.

Questions? CaseStudies@epicpeople.org

Read Some Great Case Studies

PechaKucha

Powered by PechaKucha. 20 images x 20 seconds. pechakucha.comPechaKucha (pronounced: “peh-cha-ku-cha”) presentations are captivating performances of 20 image-rich slides that show for 20 seconds each. Total presentation time is 6 minutes, 40 seconds. PechaKuchas are performance poetry with visual punch. They offer a visual and reflective format for sharing unique insights, perspectives, juxtapositions, and provocations about ethnographic work.

EPIC PechaKuchas may not be mini project debriefs (stuffed with findings and results). Rather, they should tell a compelling, relevant story by expanding outward from a single research moment, insight or study participant; or taking on a compelling concept or theme across different studies, field sites, even whole careers. Here is your chance to make research visually and verbally lyrical. Priority will be given to Pecha Kucha proposals that interpret the sub-themes creatively. Authors make a presentation in the conference program and submit an abstract for publication.

Preparing Your PechaKucha Proposal

Please read “Requirements & Review Process” above, including “Review & Selection Criteria.”

Proposals must include the following elements in one PDF document:

  • Title
  • Abstract of your overall story, 200 words maximum
  • A draft PechaKucha presentation with 20 slides and draft performance script (bullet points acceptable) for each slide. Images in the proposal should be low–medium resolution to reduce file size. This will not affect the evaluation of your proposal.
  • A statement on your submission’s contributions to the EPIC community, 150 words maximum

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

To facilitate anonymous peer review, do not name or reference the identity or affiliations of any co-authors within the proposal document itself.  You will be asked to submit this info separately in our system.

Additional guidelines for developing, formatting, and delivering final case studies and conference presentations will be provided to authors whose proposals are accepted.

Questions? PechaKucha@epicpeople.org

Watch Some Great PechaKuchas

Wildcard

Do you have a brilliant idea for a contribution to the conference that does not quite fit in any of the formats above? The wildcard is designed in a flexible way, to ensure that we can accommodate out-of-the-box ideas. Are you eager to share a film, a novel, a game, artwork, a play, hackathon, something we haven’t thought about and that engages with the theme of resilience? We can’t wait to hear from you!

Preparing Your Wildcard Proposal

Please read “Requirements & Review Process” above, including “Review & Selection Criteria.”

Proposals must include the following elements in one PDF document:

  • Title
  • Pitch of 150 words maximum
  • Context description, 500 words maximum.
  • Your choice of images, video, or other materials that will give reviewers an effective “feel” of your wildcard
  • A statement about your submission’s contributions to the EPIC community, 150 words maximum
  • Space or technical requirements, if applicable

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

To facilitate anonymous peer review, do not name or reference the identity or affiliations of any co-authors within the proposal document itself.  You will be asked to submit this info separately in our system.

Additional guidelines for developing, formatting, and delivering final papers and conference presentations will be provided to authors whose proposals are accepted.

Questions? wildcard@epicpeople.org