Dear NACIS members,

The call for participation at NACIS 2023 in Pittsburgh has been released and we’re excited to see all the topics and maps our membership plans on contributing this year.

NACIS 2023 will be an in-person event. Livestreaming will not be offered as part of the annual meeting. The Board listened to feedback from members in the post-conference survey and discussed our options at our annual Spring Board Meeting. We understand this decision may come as a disappointment to some of our members. The keynote and presentations will still be recorded and posted to the NACIS YouTube channel shortly after the meeting as in previous years.

When NACIS introduced livestreaming in 2015, it was an opportunity for us to see where we might be able to expand and grow the Society. Livestreaming was offered at subsequent meetings until the transition to fully virtual in 2020, a result of circumstances dictated by the COVID19 pandemic. In the new pandemic environment, offering livestreaming meant our meeting evolved into a “hybrid” model. We have since learned that many of our members will not receive employer support to participate in-person if NACIS offers a hybrid option.

As part of our contract with a venue, the Society must guarantee a minimum number of hotel reservations and food and beverage consumption for the meeting to be financially viable. Because this contract is negotiated a year or more in advance of the meeting – and we won’t know what the pandemic or employer restriction circumstances will look like closer to the meeting – the Board carefully considers what’s best for the long-term health of the Society. Livestreaming, and the potential loss of in-person attendance affiliated with it, is a financial risk our society is not in the position to take.

We appreciate everyone who has reached out to let us know how important it is to this community, including diversity and accessibility. We hear your concerns and apologize for any inconvenience or undue hardship this decision may incur on you, our members.

Brooke Marston
Vice President and co-organizer of NACIS 2023