Call for River Rally Workshops

River Rally 2013 | St. Louis, MO | May 17-20

Our Call for Proposals has closed. Letters regarding our decisions were sent on (or about) December 14. Our River Rally 2014 Call for Workshops will open in May 2013.

Criteria & Guidelines | Preview the Proposal Application |

River Rally attracts a great diversity of conservation leaders, bringing new ideas for the best water resource protection strategies to participants, and revitalizing the commitment of those who attend to continue protecting the rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands and estuaries they cherish.

Attendees with many years of community-based watershed protection experience cross paths with folks that are brand new to the movement. The structure emphasizes peer learning as well as engaging natural resource professionals to enrich discussions and to teach advanced topics.

River Rally 2013 - located in the Mississippi River Basin - will have a special focus on environmental justice and human health issues (as they relate to our water resources). We expect more than 400 clean water advocates from across the country, and River Rally provides an excellent opportunity to share your experience with a broad audience. Please review the guidelines and instructions below before submitting an application.

Proposal Deadline is Thursday, October 18!

Workshop Criteria & Guidelines:

Presenters are allowed to submit more than one workshop proposal, but each proposal must be submitted separately. The ideal workshops will focus on a combination of instruction and hands-on-skill-building, not just lecturing. Workshops that are results oriented, focus on success stories or lessons learned, and provide strategies for improved management and stewardship of watersheds are encouraged.

Workshops are scheduled for 90 minutes blocks, with a limited number of 'intensive' 3-hour blocks (please do not confuse 'intensive' with 'long'). Ample time should be reserved for a question and answer session, or preferably, the entire session should be as interactive as possible. The size of the audience could range between 10-50 people.

The River Rally committee is seeking to address a variety of issues, including but not limited to:

• Environmental Justice
• Fracking
• Water Quality Monitoring
• Watershed-based Planning and Policy
• Habitat Protection & Restoration
• Building Organizational Capacity (developing leaders, effective boards, planning, fundraising, finances)
• Measuring for Results and Adaptive Management
• Collaborative Management
• Urban Watershed Management
• Conservation Tools and Outreach
• Community Organizing and Advocacy
• Aquatic Ecosystems
• Planning for Climate Change
• Water and Energy Nexus
• Environmental Education
• Stormwater
• Low Impact Development and Green Building
• Human Health & Water Quality
• Growing and Diversifying the Watershed Movement
• Partnerships and Diversity
• Public Relations/Outreach/Media/Communications
• Volunteer Monitoring
• Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry and Industry
• Effective Use of CWA, SDWA, ESA
• Nonprofit Technology
• Legislation & Policy
• Regional Issues of Importance (e.g., Mississippi River Basin)
• Other topics of interest to River Rally attendees

Please keep in mind that workshops need to be informational, interactive, and transferable to other groups, regions and disciplines.

To be considered, all proposals:
1. meet our guidelines described below,
2. be complete,
3. be submitted via our online form,
4. be submitted no later than October 18, 2012.

Presenters:

• Presenters must register online for River Rally (registration will be available in January 2012).
• There is a $300 registration scholarship offered PER WORKSHOP and not per presenter. One workshop = One $300 registration scholarship. Period.
• All Presenters and co-presenters do get to register at the Partner Rate, regardless of whether they are a current dues-paying River Network Partner. This provides presenters with an additional discount of $200-$350 off registration, depending on number of days attending.

SELF TEST
Q: Johnny submits a workshop proposal and River Network selects him to be a presenter. Johnny then invites Suzi, Jane, Joey and Luke to present with him. What is the total amount awarded to all the presenters for this one workshop?

A: One (1) person is eligible to receive the automatic $300 scholarship. All other co-presenters are welcome to apply for scholarships through River Network's general scholarship fund.

• Presenters must be able to cover their travel/registration costs in excess of the available $300 registration scholarship. In limited cases, presenters may also apply for scholarships from our general scholarship fund.
• If using PowerPoint, presenters must provide their own laptops.
• Presenters must bring their own copies of handouts.
• Presenters agree to encourage the completion of workshop evaluations.
• Presenters agree (at least in theory) to respond to requests from the River Rally Coordinator - including - but not limited to - registering for the event and laughing at bad jokes.
• Presenters must have amazing patience, a sense of humor and a go-with-the flow attitude.

River Network

• River Network will inform all applicants of our final decision no later than December 31, 2012.
• River Network can provide one presenter per workshop with a $300 scholarship off of River Rally registration. Eligible co-presenters are able to apply for financial support via the general scholarship process.
• River Network will promote all workshops on the River Rally website and in the River Rally program.
• River Network will provide the workshop room and all meet all reasonable requests prior to and at the River Rally.
• After the River Rally, River Network will provide a summary of workshop evaluations to all presenters.

You must complete one form for each workshop being proposed. To preview the submission questions, please Click Here.