Sofia is a PhD candidate in Physical Education and Sport at Universidade Lusófona, specialising in physical activity and health, and currently serves as Managing Editor and Social Media Manager for the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IJBNPA). She brings direct experience in journal and editorial support, social media and digital communications, and close familiarity with the ISBNPA community. In this role she will support the Executive Director across day-to-day operations, communications, membership, and annual meeting activities.

The selection process

The Society received three applications by the 15 May 2026 deadline, from:

• Artur Direito
• Ana Carolina Barco Leme
• Sofia Franco

We are grateful to all three for their interest in serving ISBNPA and for the quality of their applications.

All proposals were assessed by a three-person panel: António Palmeira (Executive Director), Seb Chastin (President), and Penny Love. Candidates were scored against ten weighted criteria reflecting the requirements of the role.

The proposal analysis was shared with the Executive Committee at the Pre-Conference Meeting on 27 May 2026. On 10 June 2026, the three-member panel completed the assessment and decision-making process and confirmed the appointment.

Please join us in welcoming Sofia to the ISBNPA team.

Slide deck AGM 2026

The meeting link was sent to all members via our newsletter system.

The memo and the link to the recording are copied below.

ISBNPA Annual General Meeting 2026

Duration: ~00:39 – 01:33 (following the EC meeting)
Source transcript: 2026-06-23-ISBNPA-EC-and-AGM2026.txt
Presiding: Sebastian Chastin (President)
Presented by: Seb Chastin, António Palmeira, Leah Carpenter, Rick Rosenkranz
Open to: Full ISBNPA membership (online, ~20+ members present)

1 Agenda

1. President’s report — strategy and priorities
2. New community journal
3. Climate action and conference frequency
4. Operational changes
5. EC composition — new and outgoing members
6. Membership statistics
7. Treasurer’s report (Leah Carpenter)
8. Journal report — IJBNPA (António / Rick Rosenkranz)
9. Conference update — Halifax 2027 and beyond
10. Open discussion
11. Close

2 President’s Report

Seb opened by framing the current presidency. The strategy developed by the two previous presidents — four pillars — remains current and was not revised:

1. Inclusive ISBNPA — broader geographic and career-stage representation
2. Building the Next Generation — early career training and mentoring
3. Research Impact — getting our science to matter more broadly
4. Climate Action — sustainable society and conference operations

Rather than refreshing the strategy, this term is focused on implementation — making the organisation actually deliver on what was agreed.

Building Future Leaders (BFL):
Third cohort was welcomed just before the Cadiz conference. BFL continues to be one of ISBNPA’s most successful initiatives — strong attendance, high satisfaction. A further course (not yet named) is in development, led by Simone Verswijveren and colleagues.

3 New Community Journal

Seb presented the journal concept to the membership.

The existing journal, IJBNPA (International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity), belongs to the publisher — not to ISBNPA. APCs keep rising, and ISBNPA is increasingly “held hostage” to a commercial publishing system. The new journal is the society’s way out: owned and run by the community, for the community.

What it is:

• Not a replacement for IJBNPA — runs in parallel
• ECR editorial board: ~20–30 early-career researchers working as a college (like a double-check peer review system), not a traditional hierarchy with a single editor-in-chief
• Senior fellows support the ECR editors — mentoring, not managing
• Governance board: open to ISBNPA members, meets 1–2 times/year
• Link to the Editorial and Reviewing Academy being developed with Jordan Curry — editors get training, certificate, CPD credit
• Low APC; preprint model
• Submissions from the Halifax 2027 conference abstracts will seed the first issues
• Budget: ~$50,000 allocated
• Target launch: Halifax 2027

Member survey at Cadiz showed strong support for this model.

4 Climate Action and Conference Frequency

The situation:
The Climate Action Committee has been tracking ISBNPA’s carbon footprint for nearly three years. The conference is responsible for ~90% of the total footprint, and ~90% of that is travel. ISBNPA made a public pledge to halve its carbon footprint.

The modelling:
A specialist in carbon calculation was commissioned to model the impact of holding off-year regional meetings instead of an annual global conference. Result: a 33% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 — well short of the 50% pledge, but a meaningful step.

The decision in practice:
No formal decision to permanently reduce frequency was announced. The reality is simpler: no bids were received for 2028 from the Asia/Oceania rotation region. The deadline was December 2025. Starting to organise a global conference from scratch now would be too late and too risky. 2028 will therefore be used to test a regional meetings model — smaller satellite meetings piggybacking on existing regional conferences, so members in each region still have a forum without everyone travelling globally. 2029 (Glasgow) is already confirmed.

Open discussion:

Florian Herbolsheimer suggested synchronising regional meetings at the same time point globally and complementing with stronger digital connectivity — “less frequent but for longer.” Seb acknowledged this has been explored; hybrid and online-only formats tried during and after COVID were not well received. The regional model is being investigated with other scientific societies.

Jennifer Copeland was explicitly supportive: reducing frequency is an opportunity for ISBNPA to show leadership in a space where many of its members do research. She also flagged equity — not everyone can afford annual international travel — and science quality: a two-year cycle may mean better, more mature work at the conference. She was clear this is not a permanent commitment, it’s a trial.

Alex McComber brought an Indigenous perspective: land health and human health are inseparable. Stepping out of the Western framework of perpetual growth and annual gatherings aligns with what ISBNPA’s own science should be saying. He framed reducing the conference footprint not as a sacrifice but as an ethical alignment.

Rick Rosenkranz challenged the framing: if carbon neutrality is the goal, and we’re modelling only a 33% reduction, what are we actually getting? Seb clarified the pledge is to halve the footprint (not reach neutrality — carbon neutrality is increasingly considered unrealistic). Rick then proposed a better metric: impact per unit of carbon — maximising what the society delivers relative to its emissions. Seb agreed this is the right frame and acknowledged the impact side of the equation has not yet been fully calculated.

5 Operational Changes

Budget: ISBNPA now has an explicit annual budget (not just a bank balance). The cycle starts post-conference, when profit/loss is known. The budget funds three priority areas: journal, conference, comms.

Working groups: Specific activities are handled by working groups, always supported by the officers (Seb, Penny, Leah, António) and Sophia. The full EC takes an advisory and consent role.

Professional support: ISBNPA engaged NEO, an agency supporting communications and implementation planning. NEO ran the member engagement work at Cadiz — a survey deployed to conference attendees.

Results of the Cadiz member survey:

• 1,280 participants, 56 countries
• Top word in free-response cloud: community
• Strong support for the new journal
• Support for reducing conference frequency (consistent with the climate action direction)
• Note: this is not a representative sample, but the signal is clear — these moves are not against the grain of what members want

6 EC Composition

6.1 Officers (unchanged from previous term except new assistant)

António noted that previously ISBNPA ran almost entirely on 1/3 of his FTE. Adding Sophia nearly full-time is a meaningful capacity increase.

6.2 New Members at Large (incoming)

6.3 Outgoing Members (completing 3-year terms — thank you)

Scott, Andrea, Adewale Oyeyemi, Sara, Deborah, Kylie Wilson.

António noted these are 3-year commitments with monthly meetings and ongoing working group involvement — not light volunteering. Gratitude expressed publicly.

7 Membership Statistics

New record: ~1,300 members (previous record was ~1,100).

• ~1/3 are students
• ~60% physical activity focus; ~40% nutrition; many working across both
• Geographic concentration still skewed to high-income countries: US, UK, Australia, Canada top the list
• Spain and the Netherlands up this year — reflects the European conference location in Cadiz
• ISBNPA continues to work on LMIC inclusion; the regional representatives on the EC are part of that effort

8 Treasurer’s Report — Leah Carpenter

8.1 Overview of assets (before Cadiz conference, as of late May 2026)

Intent for fund allocation: 1/3 checking / 1/3 savings / 1/3 investments. Investments are a 2027 project — Leah will run an RFP to select an investment firm (same process as the 2025 auditor RFP).

8.2 Financial highlights

Oak Tree Bank savings account (opened 2025):
3.8% annual return vs. 0.01% at Wells Fargo. ~$185,000 transferred from Wells Fargo savings; balance now >$190,000.

Auditor:
Engaged in 2025 for annual taxes. Continuing with the same auditor for 2026.

Budget development:
A major 2026 project. Having an actual budget is changing how decisions are made — now able to model planned and emerging expenses before committing.

Payment processing — Stripe (late May 2026):
Membership transactions now processed via Stripe rather than the previous system. KIT (PCO) supported the transition. Monthly transfers to Wells Fargo have been seamless in April and May.

Cadiz conference revenue:
Still being tallied (expenses ongoing). Based on attendance, a net positive is expected — António put the estimate at ~$40,000–50,000 USD. (Typical cycle: conference year is profitable, off-year is a cost.)

2026–2027 financial priorities:

• Monitor 2026 revenue and expenses against the new budget
• Build and submit the 2027 budget

Leah also recognised Scott (outgoing Finance Committee lead) and Meg Bruning (former Treasurer, 7+ years of service) for the foundation they left.

9 IJBNPA Journal Report — Rick Rosenkranz / António

Submissions (2026): On track for ~2,000+ (still growing; trajectory is consistently up year on year). For context, in the early years the journal received a few hundred submissions per year.

Impact factor: jumped from 5.5 to 7.1 — announced 2–3 days before the AGM. António cautioned that chasing a high impact factor is not the goal; quality and responsiveness are. But the number reflects that the field values the journal.

Publication time: ~6 months from submission to publication. António noted this is something the community appreciates — the journal is not a black box.

APC: ~$2,500 — António noted other journals are now charging $5,000–$12,000. ISBNPA has actively pushed back in negotiations to keep the cost reasonable.

Springer contract renegotiation:
Current contract expires end of 2026. Early proposals from BMC/Springer have been concerning — they want to increase editorial and secretariat control, and to scale publication volume significantly (from ~115 to ~300 articles over 5 years, driven by their revenue model). ISBNPA is pushing back to retain editorial independence and the current secretariat structure, even though that is more expensive for the society.

Rick’s framing: the journal is doing well on everything ISBNPA can control. The frustrations are systemic — they’re not unique to IJBNPA, they’re what all journals and academics are navigating in the current publishing environment. The new community journal is a response to the systemic problem, not a verdict on IJBNPA’s quality.

Editor-in-Chief succession:
Rick Rosenkranz and Melanie (Deputy Editor) are ending their terms next year. The search will be open — António encouraged anyone interested to come forward. The position is not pre-assigned.

10 Conference Update

10.1 Halifax 2027 — confirmed

Dates: mid-June (~15–19 June), Halifax, Canada
Organising committee: Shilpa Dogra, Alex McComber, Cameron (and others)
KIT (PCO) already working on submissions system and keynote pipeline
Abstract submissions open: September 2026

10.2 regional meetings

No bids received. The rotation was due to be Asia/Oceania. The window closed December 2025. Organising a global conference from a standing start with ~18 months of lead time is not viable — ISBNPA normally locks venues 4+ years in advance (2029/Glasgow was booked years ago).

Plan for 2028: test a regional meetings model — satellite meetings, symposia piggybacking on existing regional conferences (e.g., a regional PA/nutrition congress in South America), ISBNPA-branded sessions in each region rather than one global gathering. The carbon and financial implications will be tracked carefully.

António confirmed: this does not mean ISBNPA will hold a global conference every other year as a fixed pattern. The frequency is not yet set — 2028 is the first trial, 2032 may or may not be the next off-year. Learning first.

10.3 Glasgow (confirmed)

Already contracted. Seb’s home city.

11 Open Discussion

Q&A was light. Key points from discussion:

• Conference frequency: see Section 3 above — Florian, Jennifer, Alex, and Rick all contributed. The tone was broadly supportive of the direction, with thoughtful questions about what “success” looks like.
• SIGs: António noted to Cindy Forbes (present in the call) that Sophia will take a more active role in supporting the Special Interest Groups — so SIGs can expect more operational backing going forward.
• Upcoming EC positions: 2–3 Member at Large slots opening next election cycle; Treasurer-elect also opening. António encouraged interested members to watch for the call.

12 Close

António closed the AGM. The recording and slides are available in the ISBNPA website . He reminded attendees that António and Sophia are reachable by email, and that regional representatives are also a point of contact for raising ideas to the EC.

Vote Here – and Thank You!

Thirty-second answers and results

Click the link, post your answer and see the results gathered so far.

One to two minutes audio, video or free-text viewpoints

The deadline is January 31, 2026.

* Tom Baranowski ISBNPA Award

 https://forms.gle/sahyvKpYPsMHyTSp6

* Commendation ISBNPA Awards

https://forms.gle/unmsoy8nEH39jieR9

* MS Nanney ISBNPA Award

https://forms.gle/iizVkYd9eAS1hWaVA

* ISBNPA ‘One To Watch’ Award

https://forms.gle/GYU8S9zsr3USPnneA

Information about the awards’ categories

Tom Baranowski Award for an Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Behavioural Nutrition and/or Physical Activity 

– Lifetime achievement for extraordinary and innovative work to better human health in the field of physical activity and/or behavioural nutrition, recipient should have shown commitment to ISBNPA and to advancing behaviour change science and application.

– No financial prize associated, but rather a commemorative plaque or trophy to be kept by the recipient.

– To be presented by Tom Baranowski if in attendance at the annual meeting.

– Selection criteria:  

– Must be an ISBNPA member at the time of nomination.

– Receive nomination letters indicating respect by professional peers.

– Provides a curriculum vitae and summary of work showing an established history of a significant and lasting contribution to ISBNPA, with a clear description of the body of innovative work in the field of physical activity and/or behavioural nutrition over a period of at least 20 years. 

– Examples of substantial contributions could include leading large initiatives and having a substantial and sustained publication history.

– Has exhibited clear leadership in the field and demonstrated state, national, or international influence.

– Recognised as a researcher/leader with descriptions of activities on boards, chairing committees, workgroups, or representing organizations.

ISBNPA Commendation for Research Excellence

– Prize for a specific research project that exemplifies ISBNPA values of research excellence and collaboration (e.g. intervention, cohort study) to better human health through science regarding behavioural nutrition and/or physical activity.

– This prize would be awarded to the entire project team and presented by one of the keynote speakers (whomever is most relevant to the awarded work). Team members would receive free ISBNPA membership for the following year.

– Entrants could apply using a standardised form for consideration by the awards sub-committee. 

– Selection criteria:  

– Must be ISBNPA member at the time of nomination.

– Provides a clear description of research excellence in the field of physical activity and/or behavioural nutrition, including the practical or theoretical importance of the research.

– Demonstrated innovation in research.

– Description of how research will advance the field.

ISBNPA MS Nanney (Commendation for impact)

– Prize for a specific research project that exemplifies ISBNPA values of behavioural nutrition and/or physical activity to better human health that has an impact beyond scientific study (e.g. dissemination, public and community engagement).

– This prize would be awarded to the entire project team and presented by one of the keynote speakers (whomever is most relevant to the awarded work). Team members would receive free ISBNPA membership for the following year.

– Entrants could apply using a standardised form for consideration by the awards sub-committee. 

– Selection criteria:  

– Must be ISBNPA member at the time of nomination.

– Demonstrated accessibility to broad, general public audience.

– Demonstrated relevance to current topics, events or issues of societal importance.

– Contributed to policy, advocacy within continental, national, and international academic and other public fora.

ISBNPA ‘One To Watch’ Award 

– Prize for a student or ECR to recognise promise and innovation in the field of physical activity and/or behavioural nutrition. 

– This prize would be awarded to the individual student or ECR, with a financial value of $1000, and presented by the current ISBNPA president.

– Entrants nominated in similar manner to ECR/Student talks (all of whom would automatically be eligible), determined by awards sub-committee. 

– Selection criteria:  

– Must be ISBNPA member at the time of nomination.

– If a student, must be a currently registered undergraduate or postgraduate (MSc, MA, MPhil, or PhD) at the time of nomination.

– If early-career, must be within the first five years of professional work following completion of their highest degree at the time of nomination.

– Primary author/presenter at professional conferences.

– Demonstrated contribution to ISBNPA or other organization, public engagement or community service.

– President-elect (2026-2027, then President from 2027-2029)

– Early Career Researcher representative, 2026-2028 

– Student representative, 2026-2028

– Member-at-large, Africa representative, 2026-2029 

– Member-at-large, Latin America and Caribbean representative, 2026-2029 

– Member-at-large, Oceania representative, 2026-2029

Each voting member of the Society can nominate candidates to be considered by the Nominations Committee in the preparation of the slate of candidates to be submitted for the ballot in November 2025. The nominee must be a member of ISBNPA when the elections start.

Individuals receiving the highest number of nominations will be asked to confirm they accept the nomination and will be asked to complete a letter of motivation. The Nominating Committee may place the name of additional qualified candidates of its choice on the ballot as well.

In keeping with the international basis of the ISBNPA and its focus on behavioral nutrition and physical activity, we expect that you will consider these two important aspects in making your nominations.

As you think about your proposed nomination(s), please consider that service on the ISBNPA Executive Committee requires a commitment of time, talent, energy, and creativity to advance our goals and mission. The rewards are enormous. EC leadership positions bring opportunities to make a lasting difference for our members and for the fields we serve. Self-nominations are accepted.

Please use the form in the link below and complete your nominations by October 5, 2025.

NOMINATIONS FORM

Please note that your name must appear on the nomination form to validate your nomination.

The current EC composition is available HERE 

The by-laws are accessible HERE

If you have any questions, please email António Palmeira, ISBNPA Executive Director at executivedirector@isbnpa.org.

Thank you for your support of the society.  

The Nominations Committee

Benedicte Deforche

Deanna Hoelscher

Anna Timperio

Russ Jago

The MS Nanney award is a prize for a specific research project that exemplifies ISBNPA values of behavioural nutrition and/or physical activity to better human health that has an impact beyond scientific study (e.g. dissemination, public engagement).

The process

The ISBNPA community is asked to nominate potential awardees.

The Awards Committee evaluates the proposals and makes a recommendation for the Executive Committee.

A decision is made under consensus of both committees.

The winner

1. The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) is a USDA-funded initiative that supports projects aimed at improving access to fruits and vegetables for low-income individuals and families. GusNIP was established in 2018 through the US Farm Bill. Administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), GusNIP provides grants to support nutrition incentive (NI) and produce prescription (PPR) projects nationwide. NI initiatives help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants stretch their food dollars by offering matching incentives when purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, grocery stores, and other retail outlets. PPR initiatives allow healthcare providers to “prescribe” fruits and vegetables to patients as part of a broader effort to manage or prevent diet-related chronic diseases. GusNIP not only supports healthier food choices and improved food and nutrition security, but also strengthens local food systems by connecting communities with farmers and food retailers. The program is named in honor of Gus Schumacher, a champion of food access. Crucially, the GusNIP National Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE), led by the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact, has established a shared evaluation framework for this national food policy initiative.
2. Led by the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact in partnership with Fair Food Network, University of California San Francisco and a coalition of partners including the National Grocers Association Foundation, Michigan Farmers Market Association and Food Trust, the Nutrition Incentive Hub has expertise in a multitude of areas, with presence across the nation. These partners are developing systems, infrastructure, and collaborative networks and relationships to support GusNIP grantees, while building capacity and sustainability. These efforts will help maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of nutrition incentive and produce prescription projects in meeting priorities by: increasing fruit and vegetable purchase and consumption among program participants, reducing individual and household food insecurity, improving the nutrition and health status of participating households, reducing health care use and associated costs.
3. We’re fortunate to have an outstanding and large team of CNHI staff and collaborating partners! Among ISBNPA members, Amy Yaroch serves as the Project Director, Carmen Byker Shanks is the Co-Project Director, and Bailey Houghtaling contributes as a Research Scientist.
4. Since its launch, GusNIP has played a pivotal role in advancing nutrition security and access to healthy foods across the United States. By supporting NI and PPR initiatives, the program has enabled thousands of SNAP and low-income participants to increase their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Participating households report healthier food choices, improved health outcomes, and stronger connections to local food systems. GusNIP has also delivered meaningful economic benefits, increasing revenue for local farmers and food retailers. By fostering collaboration among community organizations, healthcare providers, and food system stakeholders, the NTAE has helped amplify GusNIP’s impact and laid the foundation for evidence-based policy and practice aimed at improving public health and advancing food access.

The award was given at ISBNPA2025, Amy Yaroch (second from the left) received the award on behalf of the GusNIP team.

FOLDER AGM 2025

The link for the meeting was sent to all members via our newsletter system.

We are delighted to announce that Professor David Crawford AM, Deakin Distinguished Professor Emeritus, has been awarded the highest honor of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA): the Tom Baranowski Lifetime Achievement Award for 2025.

This prestigious award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding and sustained contributions to the fields of behavioral nutrition and physical activity. Recipients are selected through a rigorous process, beginning with nominations from the ISBNPA community. The Awards Committee carefully reviews all nominations, and the final selection is ratified by the Executive Committee.

About Professor David Crawford

Professor Crawford is a founding member of ISBNPA, served as ISBNPA President, and has held the position of Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IJBNPA). He has been recognized as an ISBNPA Fellow for his exceptional service and leadership within the society.

Beyond his contributions to ISBNPA, Professor Crawford co-founded the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), has published over 300 scientific papers, and has mentored dozens of colleagues who are now leaders in behavioral nutrition and physical activity research worldwide. His legacy is reflected not only in his groundbreaking research but also in the thriving global community he has helped to build.

We congratulate Professor Crawford on this well-deserved recognition of his lifetime of achievement and dedication to advancing our field.

Who better to introduce Professor David Crawford than himself?

At this stage, we invite research groups within the field of behavioral nutrition and/or physical activity, who are interested in organizing the meeting in their city/country. ISBNPA will provide access to a private conference organizer, in close collaboration with the organizing team.

In 2025, the conference will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, and in 2026, in Cádiz, Spain.

As the annual meeting rotates between continents and considering a study ISBNPA conducted about the less GreenHouse Gas emissions locations given our membership, bids from Northeastern America are preferable for the 2027 meeting, for 2028 the Oceania or Asia are preferable, but we will consider any proposed location.

The bids should be prepared until April 30, 2025. The decision will be made during the until the end of June 2025. ISBNPA is prepared to support you in the preparation of the bid (see text below for more information).

1.  The local organizers are expected to:

• a) be able to attract a local delegation to the meeting of at least 50 participants, preferably more
• b) communicate how many participants are needed at the meeting to reach the budgetary break-even point
• c)  attract sponsors for the meeting, taking into account that ISBNPA will review every potential sponsor for consistency with its sponsorship policy.

2.  Dates of the meeting should take other meetings into account, thinking about overlap, a possible combination of meetings, and other relevant factors. Dates should also take vacation periods into account in different parts of the world. Late May or early June are generally the most appropriate schedule for ISBNPA annual meetings.

3.  ISBNPA will provide support through a PCO in the preparation of the budget and other components of the bids. Please contact us in advance to schedule preparatory meetings.

VENUE CONSIDERATIONS

1.  The venue must reach net zero by the time of the conference.

2. The venue needs to be able to accommodate at least 800 participants in one room for the keynotes and the plenary sessions, and needs at least 8 parallel rooms (besides of the plenary room) for the parallel sessions of the symposia and orals.
3.  The venue needs to have a place available for the posters (Which is large enough to put up 250 posters per day. Poster standard size is 90cm wide x 150cm high portrait style.) The poster room should have enough space to allow for poster session and can be potentially used as meeting place for people during breaks and lunch.
4. The venue needs at least one room for additional meetings of the EC, IJBNPA editorial board, etc. As previous meetings attracted more participants (up to 1,200) the possibility to accommodate a larger crowd is preferable. As in previous meetings, the use of two venues located within walking distance can also be considered.
5. The venue needs appropriate rooms and facilities not only for presentations and posters but also for workshops, EC annual meeting, Annual business/membership meeting, mentoring meetings, committee meetings/journal editorial meetings, etc.
6. We have found that as a medium size meeting we may be too small for large convention centres and as such innovative conference venues that make use of University / Hotel / large halls within the city or a combination of such settings may be interesting options that provide a stimulating, interactive meeting for between 600 and 900 people. When considering venues examine not just the cost of venue hire but also AV and food costs as often these last two costs can be very large and are an area that is open to negotiation.
7. A variety of budget options should be available for accommodation, covering a wide range of prices, especially considering the large number of students and early career researchers that typically attend ISBNPA meeting.
8. The annual meeting normally runs from Wednesday evening with a first keynote and an opening reception, to Saturday afternoon, with a closing ceremony. The day before the actual meeting (i.e. the Wednesday) a full day EC meeting and preconference workshops take place. On the evening of this day the first keynote and the opening reception are held. Further, the meeting continues for 3 complete days with presentations.

BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS

1.  ISBNPA is very dependent on the income derived from every annual meeting. A minimum profit of 35,000 USD is suggested.
2. ISBNPA takes financial responsibility for the meeting, this means that all profit from the meeting (including sponsorship) goes back to ISBNPA. If a deficit occurs, it would be covered by ISBNPA.
3. A contract will be signed in advance by the chair of the local organizing committee with the venue and with the local facilitator. Finances needed at this point are made available by ISBNPA through its treasurer.
4. Sponsorship is an essential source of revenue to the society. However, all sponsors must be approved by the EC and be consistent with our sponsorship policy. Inevitably, this reduces the amount of income that can be derived from sponsorship and we, therefore, think it is crucial that all potential host teams set realistic sponsorship targets when setting the bid. I Sponsors have included local non-profit organisations, government agencies, physical activity monitoring companies, software companies and publishers.
5. In setting the registration fees we want to make sure that affordable fees for students (but they should cover at least 80% of the cost of F&B) are available and that the fee for members are at least $250 less than the non-member fee. (This is to encourage attendees to become members of the society which currently costs $250). We have included at the end of this document the fees for each category for the meetings in last 5 years.

DOCUMENTATION TO SUBMIT THE BID

Bids need to be sent to António Palmeira, ISBNPA Executive Director (executivedirector@isbnpa.org) by April 30 2025. They will be discussed in the EC and decision is expected to be reached during until the end of June 2025. It is likely that the EC will seek additional information from the best-placed bids before making a final decision.

Bids need to include the following information:

1. Description of the local research group and links with ISBNPA
2. How the proposal aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Location of the conference
4. Accommodation costs (high, mid-range and budget options)
5. Additional activities in the area
6. Possible sponsors and estimated amount of financial support
7. Number of locals (i.e. from the state or country) expected to attend the conference
8. The break-even number of paying delegates needed to cover the costs
9. Closest airport and distance/accessibility to conference venue including International accessibility by air

We sent three reminders to vote, two via the newsletter system and one via email.   

We were electing three members-at-large.

The results were (the elected nominees are in bold).

2024-12-17

ISBNPA nominations committee

Benedicte Deforche

Deanna Hoelscher

Anna Timperio

Russ Jago