Basic Policies and Guidelines

• All program presenters and panelists must register and pay for the conference. On the day of the event, on-site payment is accepted, but it may delay your presentation. We regret that we are unable to provide complimentary admission as we have in the past. However, to ensure affordability for attendees, this policy needed to be revised.
• All accepted presenters must provide any edits to their presentation information and/or professional affiliation/bio information no later than May 15, 2026.
• Participation in the conference program is limited to one proposal presentation per person, regardless of session format (workshops, panels or short talks), to maximize participation of a varied presenter pool as much as possible. Individuals may serve as co-presenters, moderators or panelists in other sessions without limitation.
• All panels must have a moderator or convener responsible for ensuring that panelists communicate with one another both before and throughout any other conference responsibilities associated with the panel.
• Each presenter must abide by the session time constraints. Sessions are 75 minutes long. Opportunity for Q&A will be incorporated into many sessions.
• Every effort should be made to have a diverse mix of presenters, including demographic diversity and academic and practitioner perspectives.
• A topic/presenter from a rejected, fully formed panel may be accepted individually and placed within a different panel or session.
• The conference co-chairs, programming committee and staff reserve the right to alter, combine and edit proposals as they plan sessions for the conference.
• Speakers who cancel their participation after accepting a presenter role two consecutive years in a row may be deemed ineligible to participate in future conferences. Speakers who do not show up on the day of the event will be banned from future participation.
• Concurrent sessions are up to 75 minutes long and may be adjusted as needed by staff.

Session FAQs

What type of proposals does WNS invite?
The 2026 WNS conference encourages three types of session submissions: fully formed panels, short talks, and workshops.

What is a workshop?
This refers to a professional development session that is more relevant to practitioners. Workshops usually feature one or two presenters. The presentation is focused on best practices and functional takeaways for attendees.

What is a Short Talk?
A short talk focuses on a specific tool, case study, or innovation. Ideal for sharing one strong idea or model. Whenever possible, two short talks, preferably offered by separate presenters, will be scheduled into a single breakout session.

What is a fully formed panel?
This proposal submission includes a single topic that constitutes a single conference session. It consists of a moderator and an optional discussant. The convener (the individual organizing the proposal) of a panel proposal is responsible for recruiting all panelists and other components and planning the panel’s execution.

What does a strong panel look like?
A strong panel contains 3-4 panelists, a moderator and a possible discussant. The proposal description ties the topics together and clearly indicates how the panel relates to the conference theme and the selected policy and/or cross-cutting area. Strong panels include a diverse range of participants, including practitioners and scholars, and account for demographic diversity, research methods and perspectives.

What are the descriptions for the various panel roles?

• Convener: A convener is an individual responsible for bringing presenters together to address an issue, problem or opportunity. The convener’s primary responsibility is to serve as the organizer and administrator of the collaboration, and to carry out the preliminary and follow-up tasks that ensure the panel proceeds smoothly. The same person may serve as both the convener and the moderator, but this is not required.
• Moderator: The moderator is responsible for the panel’s engagement and timeliness, ensuring it is lively and a productive experience for panel members and the audience. The moderator should arrange at least one conference call or online meeting among the panel members before the session. During the actual session, the moderator is responsible for ensuring the panel starts and ends on time and that each panelist has an equitable share of the available time. The moderator also ensures the panel engages in Q&A.
• Panelist: It is the panelist’s responsibility to communicate the key ideas and rich commentary at the core of the issue and/or topic. Under no circumstances should a statement be read to the audience. Instead, the panelist should carefully consider the major themes, what audience members would find most useful, and how the topic fits within the panel’s overall themes. The audience has selected the panel to exchange ideas. It is the panelist’s responsibility to present intriguing ideas.
• Discussant: A discussant is usually asked to react to the panel’s presentations by offering synthesis, critique, or additional context that deepens the conversation. The discussant may highlight key themes, identify tensions or gaps, pose integrative questions back to the panel, and connect the discussion to broader research, practice, or policy issues for the audience. Moderators can and frequently do serve as discussants.

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Below is a list of the criteria that are adopted by track reviewers and conference co-chairs when ranking and selecting sessions for the Annual Conference:

• Relevance to the conference theme and one of the tracks (see considerations below)
• Quality and depth of attention to topics at the leading edge of public administration issues
• Scope of the topic and its breadth of audience appeal
• Relevance to practitioners and scholars in linking theory and practice
• Practitioner participation in panels
• Learning objectives identified and applicable to practitioners (workshops)

Four primary tracks will guide our conversations and provide space for both research and practice. They appear below, and we look forward to your proposals. Workshops, student learning, full research panels and “promising practices” studies are welcome. These proposals will make up the bulk of the conference sessions and provide attendees with clear learning objectives throughout the event. Contact balord@uwm.edu with any questions. All proposals are due no later than March 15, 2026.

Discussion: Conference co-chairs and programming committee members pay close attention to a proposal’s potential for discussion. Panel moderators and presenters are reminded that presentations should NOT be read. It is essential to highlight engagement as a key part of a proposal.

Learning Objectives: Panels and workshops will prioritize interaction. Workshops enable attendees to learn practical solutions to contemporary workplace issues. They are considered “hands-on” sessions that engage attendees in discussion and provide valuable solutions and applications for the workplace. The goal is to create opportunities for attendees to exchange ideas. Workshops should not solely consist of lectures. Workshop proposals should describe how the presenters will incorporate attendees in the learning process. They will need to list three measurable learning objectives that specify what attendees can expect to take away from the session.

Number of Sessions: The set number of session slots assigned to a track is decided by the co-chairs in consultation with the programming committee and staff. Program planners are guided by the goal of creating a quality program.

Noncommercial and Anti‑Promotion Policy

To protect the educational purpose and integrity of the Wisconsin Nonprofit Summit, all conference sessions must be noncommercial in both content and delivery. Presenters are expected to center their sessions on practical learning, Wisconsin-focused examples, and sector-wide insights that participants can adapt for their own organizations.

Presenters, panelists, and moderators are strictly prohibited from using any portion of their session as a marketing or sales opportunity for a specific product, service, agency, or individual. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to:

• Promoting or advertising commercial products, fee-based services, proprietary tools, or paid programs during the session.
• Positioning one’s organization, firm, or platform as the primary or exclusive solution to a problem, or soliciting business, clients, or contracts from attendees.
• Distributing sales materials, promotional items, or branded giveaways inside session rooms, or directing attendees to purchase or sign up for something during the session time.

Presenters may identify their organizational affiliation and briefly reference relevant projects or case studies when these illustrate concepts that advance the session’s stated learning objectives. Such references must remain clearly informational and comparative, not promotional, and should highlight transferable lessons rather than a specific vendor, product, or individual.

All session descriptions, slides, handouts, and activities must align with this noncommercial policy and may be reviewed or edited by WNS staff and conference co-chairs to ensure compliance. If a session is found to include marketing content, WNS reserves the right to request revisions, stop the presentation, remove the session from the program, and/or deem the presenter ineligible for future Wisconsin Nonprofit Summit events.

This policy applies to all presenters across all tracks, including executive leadership, fundraising, programming, and consultant-focused sessions, and is grounded in the Summit’s commitment to shared learning, equity, and community-centered practice rather than individual promotion.