Rules and Guidelines for IAU Scientific Meetings

CONTENTS

  1. Introduction
  2. IAU Meetings
    2.1 Symposia
    2.2 Focus Meetings
    2.3. Institutional Meetings
    2.4. Division Meetings
    2.5. Regional Meetings
    2.6. General Assembly
  3. Preparation for IAU Meetings
    3.1 Letter of Intent and Proposal
    3.2. Scientific Organising Committee
    3.3. Local Organising Committee
    3.4. Venue and Accommodation
    3.5. Registration Fee
    3.6. Selection criteria for IAU sponsorship of Meetings
    3.7. Selection Process for IAU Symposia and Focus Meetings
    3.8 Website for IAU Meetings
    3.9. IAU Travel Grants
           3.9.1. IAU Travel Grants for Symposia
           3.9.2. IAU Travel Grants for General Assembly Meetings
           3.9.3. IAU Travel Grants for Regional Meetings
           3.9.4. Hybrid Symposia
           3.9.5. Fully On-line Symposia
    3.10. Post meeting report
    3.11. Proceedings of IAU Meetings
  4. Co-sponsored scientific meetings
  5. Step by Step summary for the proposal of IAU Meetings

 

1. Introduction

The programme of IAU scientific meetings (Symposia, Focus Meetings, Division Meetings, Regional Meetings) is one of the most important means by which the IAU pursues its goal of promoting astronomy through international collaboration. A large fraction of the Union's budget is devoted to the support of these IAU scientific meetings.

The IAU Executive Committee (EC) places great emphasis on maintaining high scientific standards, coverage of a balanced spectrum of topics, and an appropriately broad and international flavour for the programme of IAU meetings. In this context, the IAU Code of Conduct, protecting the access of qualified scientists from all parts of the world, applies to any IAU meeting[1]. Therefore the IAU opposes any discrimination or harassment based on such factors as ethnic origin, religion, citizenship, language, political or other opinion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or age in relation with the General Assembly, Symposia, Focus Meetings, and in general in any activity of its scientific bodies in which the IAU has or shares responsibility.

Normally, the initiative to propose a scientific meeting for IAU sponsorship originates from a group of scientists in a certain field. In collaboration with colleagues worldwide, this group prepares a draft scientific programme and nominates members of a Scientific Organising Committee (SOC), who will be responsible for the scientific aspects of the meeting from its inception to its conclusion. Responsibility for the preparation and timely submission of the final proposal rests with the chairperson of the proposed SOC.

If you are considering organising a meeting, it might be useful to start byreading the Step by Step summary included in Section 5 of this document.

The meetings that the IAU supports financially are:

  • 9 IAU Symposia per year. Starting in 2026 and in non-GA years, eight of these Symposia will be held in-person (with a hybrid option if requested by the organizers), and one Symposium will be fully on-line. The IAU will provide financial support of 20,000 EUR for each in-person or hybrid Symposium (see Sections 3.9.1 and 3.9.4). If the budget allows, an additional of up to 15,000 EUR might be avaliable to assist with organisational support for countries hosting a Symposium for the first time. Some logistical, but no financial support will be provided for on-line only Symposia (see Section 3.9.5).
  • co-Sponsored Meetings, for which the IAU will provide financial support of 5,000 EUR each.

and in the two years between General Assemblies (GA):

  • 3 Regional IAU Meetings, for which the IAU will provide financial support of 20,000 EUR each (see Section 3.9.3).

Given the number of meetings that are proposed each year, unfortunately not all meeting proposals worthy of support can be awarded IAU sponsorship.

IAU grants are intended to cover, in part, expenses associated with attendance of participants at the meetings (see Section 3.9). The IAU grant money cannot be used for organisational purposes. Thus the organisers are expected to raise substantial additional funds to cover the cost of the meeting.

Regular contact with the organisers during the preparation and conduct of IAU scientific meetings is maintained by the IAU General Secretary (GS), the IAU Assistant General Secretary (AGS) and the President of the Coordinating Division (the IAU Division associated with the scientific field of the meeting and which has accepted the responsibility of endorsing the proposal).

[1] https://www.iau.org/static/archives/announcements/pdf/ann16007a.pdf

 

2. IAU Meetings

2.1. Symposia

The IAU Symposium Series is the scientific flagship of the IAU.

IAU Symposia are intended to significantly advance the field by seeking answers to current key questions and/or clarify emerging concepts through invited reviews, invited papers, contributed papers and poster papers. Therefore, their programs should consist of reviews and previews and should provide ample time for discussion.

Symposia are organised on suitably broad, yet well-defined scientific themes of considerable general interest, and normally last 5 days. 

An IAU Symposium can be proposed by individual members of the IAU, by an IAU Working Group, or by an IAU Commission. Proposers must also obtain the endorsement of an appropriate "coordinating" Division by contacting the Division President.

The deadline for the submission of the proposals is 1 December, two years before the year of the proposed meeting. In addition, proposers are encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent (LoI, see Section 3.1) with deadline of 15 September.

While some themes have developed series of IAU Symposia with intervals of 3-5 years, approval for those is not automatically guaranteed, since each proposal will be judged on its own scientific merits.

In the year of an IAU General Assembly (GA), 6 of the 9 IAU Symposia will be scheduled as GA Symposia within the scientific programme of the GA and held at the GA venue. A GA Symposium normally lasts 3.5 days (15 hours total). The 3 IAU Symposia not associated with the GA should not be scheduled within 3 months before or after the dates of the GA, although the EC may, in exceptional circumstances, decide to support a Symposium within 3 months of the GA.

2.2. Focus Meetings

Focus Meetings (FM) are held exclusively during an IAU General Assembly and address scientific themes of interest to a group of IAU members willing to promote a new scientific area or an emerging field, not well, or not at all, represented in the existing IAU Commissions.

A FM lasts 1 - 2 days maximum (typically 9 hours total) during the GA. Depending on the total requested duration, approximately 12 FMs are expected to be selected for each GA, in addition to the 6 GA Symposia.

Normally, the initiative to propose an IAU GA Focus Meeting originates from a group of scientists aiming at promoting cross-disciplinarity, while keeping a well-defined "focus" on a given topic. In collaboration with colleagues worldwide, this group should prepare a draft scientific programme and nominate members of an SOC.

The deadline for the submission of FM proposals is 1 December, two years before the year of the GA.

2.3. Institutional Meetings

Institutional Meeting (IM) are held exclusively during an IAU General Assembly and are reserved for each IAU Office (Office for Young Astronomers, Office for Astronomy Outreach, Office of Astronomy for Development, and Office of Astronomy for Education) and the Executive Committee-level Working Groups (Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion, Dark and Quiet Sky Protection, Global Coordination of Ground and Space Astrophysics, Junior Members, and Women in Astronomy) for the full membership to hear about and discuss issues relevant to the Office or WG.

An IM normally lasts 1 - 2 days maximum during the GA, for a total of up to 7 hours.

The leaders of each Office or WG who wish to hold an IM should prepare a draft programme and nominate members of an SOC. The programmes of the IMs should be finalised in consultation with the IAU General Secretary.

The deadline for the submission of the proposals is 1 December of the year preceding the GA.

2.4. Division Meetings

The purpose of Division Meetings (DM), which are held exclusively during an IAU General Assembly, is to gather members of a given Division in a meeting aimed at providing a broad scientific overview of the field, and at optimising the scientific and organisational exchanges between its Commissions, Working Groups, and more generally between its members. The emphasis is on the scientific activities of the Division, and organisational questions may be discussed in a relatively brief "business session".

The normal duration of Division Meetings is 2 days, typically on the Friday and Monday in the middle of the two weeks of the GA. It is expected that the duration of "business sessions" of DMs will not exceed 0.5 day.

Division Meetings are organised jointly by Division Presidents, with the respective Division Steering Committees acting as individual SOCs (or, as the case may be, appointing ad hoc SOCs), and taking into account the existence of Inter-Division, Cross-Division or Working Group activities.

The programmes (scientific and business) are left to the responsibility of the relevant Divisions, as are the respective roles attributed to their Commissions and Working Groups, in consultation with their members. Their scientific programme should however take into account the general programme of the GA, in particular avoiding duplicating sessions, or part of sessions, or talks, already included in the programme of GA Symposia or Focus Meetings. To this effect, the scientific programme of Division Meetings should be finalised in consultation with the IAU General Secretary.

The deadline for finalising the programme of Division Meetings is 1 December of the year preceding the GA, i.e., 1 year after the deadline for the proposal of Symposia and Focus Meetings. This allows the Divisions to optimise their scientific programme by taking into account the already accepted meetings of the GA.

2.5. Regional Meetings

In each triennium, the IAU sponsors a total of 3 Regional IAU Meetings:

  • in the Asian-Pacific region (APRIM, since 1978),
  • in the Latin-American region (LARIM, since 1978), and
  • in the Middle-East-African region (MEARIM, since 2008).

These Meetings are held by invitation of a national astronomical society in, respectively, the Asian-Pacific region, the Latin-American region, and the Middle-East-African region, in years between GAs. Their purpose, in addition to the discussion of specific scientific topics, is to promote contacts between scientists in the regions concerned, especially young astronomers. Therefore, a much wider range of scientific topics, a larger SOC, and a larger total attendance are expected for RIMs than for IAU Symposia.

The decision on the site of the "next" Regional Meeting is taken at the end of the previous one. The IAU is not involved in the decision nor a formal approval is required. However, a formal letter that informs the IAU General Secretary about the decision of the site and the LOC of the next RIM is needed and will be annouced in the IAU web pages (https://www.iau.org/science/meetings/templates/). The organisation of the RIM is normally left to the local organisers who should create a website for that meeting containing all information essential for the participants. The standard template for the Website of IAU Meetings should be adopted.

2.6. General Assembly

The IAU General Assembly (GA) takes place every three years and lasts for two five-day sessions spread over two weeks. It is a unique opportunity for astronomers worldwide working in all fields of astronomy to come together. It includes an attractive and intense scientific programme comprising in general of 6 Symposia and up to 12 Focus Meetings as well as the Division days, Institutional Meetings, and the core administrative meetings of the Union. See https://www.iau.org/science/meetings/general_assemblies/hosting/ for the Rules and Guidelines for hosting an IAU GA.

 

3. Preparations for IAU Meetings

3.1. Letter of Intent and Proposal

Prospective meeting organisers should inform the IAU of their intend to submit a proposal by sending a Letter of Intent (LoI) via the IAU Proposal Web Server.

The deadline for the submission of the Letter of Intent (LoI) is 15 September, 2 years before the year of the proposed meeting. LoIs will be published on the IAU webpages by September 30th.

The LoI should state:

(a) the type of IAU Meeting (Symposia or, for the year of the GA, Focus Meeting) and, for Symposia, whether the meeting will be held in-person or fully on-line; 

(b) the proposed title; the title should reflect the topic of the meeting as concisely and succinctly as possible (no longer than 10 words, or 70 characters including spaces); long and detailed titles do not catch the eye, and are cumbersome for the announcement of a meeting as well as on the cover of its subsequent Proceedings. The Assistant General Secretary (AGS) may request the proposers to modify their title to meet this requirement;

(b) the prospective Coordinating Division (proposers should a priori have contacted the President of an appropriate IAU Division, requesting that this Division accepts the coordinating responsibilities for the meeting as "Coordinating Division”);

(c) the full name(s) of the proposed SOC chairperson(s). The proposers are encouraged to add a note in the scientific rationale listing the gender (male/female/non-specified) of the SOC chairperson(s);

(d) a short list of topics to be addressed at the Meeting (up to 10 topics);

(e) the preferred dates, and, for in-person or hybrid meetings, the venue of the Meeting;

(f) the full names and addresses of the proposed Editors; the first listed in the web form will be considered as the Contact Editor, with prime responsibility for contact with the IAU GS/AGS and with the Publisher. The Contact Editor must be an IAU member.

Once the LoI is submitted via the IAU Proposal Web Server it will be automatically sent to the IAU General Secretary and Assistant General Secretary, with a copy to the president of the selected Coordinating IAU Division.

A list of Letters of Intent received will be posted and updated on the IAU web site, informing prospective proposers of other existing proposals for IAU meeting. This is to avoid unnecessary competition between proposals and to stimulate possible collaborations between otherwise competing groups.

It is expected that Letters of Intent will normally be followed by full proposals.

An electronic application form and procedures have been designed so as to ensure that the information necessary for the evaluation of the proposals will be complete and in a uniform format, allowing objective comparison between proposals. Therefore the Proposal for an IAU Meeting with all entries properly completed, must be submitted electronically via the IAU Web Server.

Support letters from the coordinating division are no longer needed, since the Division Presidents rank proposals from their Division (see Section 3.7). In the case of a joint proposal with more than one division, a Coordinating Division must be named, with secondary divisions indicated.

Full proposals must be submitted by 1 December, two years before the year of the proposed meeting. No additional material may be accepted after that date.

Once the proposal is submitted via the IAU Proposal Web Server it will be automatically sent to the IAU GS and AGS, with a copy to the president of the Coordinating IAU Division.

3.2. Scientific Organising Committee

Given the international nature of the Union, IAU Meetings are by definition internationally oriented. A well-balanced distribution, in terms of geography and gender, of the proposed SOC members and of the proposed key speakers, is essential. Less than one third of the SOC membership and of the key speakers should come from a single country. The SOC membership should reflect, in a balanced way, the current activity in the field.

While the science is the key element in assessing the merit of a proposal, the composition of the SOC is also a relevant parameter in the evaluation.

The SOC has the overall responsibility for the Meeting scientific standards and should ensure coverage of the principal topics of the field proposed. The SOC is responsible for the scientific, gender, and geographical balance of the meeting in three main aspects:

(a) the definition of the scientific programme, including the choice and distribution of topics for individual sessions, and the selection of invited reviews, invited papers, contributed papers and poster papers; the poster sessions should be organised providing adequate time and structure, preferably allowing for time slots with poster’s authors available by the poster and ready to present a short oral summary, or at least answer questions and engage in discussions;

(b) the choice of key speakers for invited reviews, and of session chairs;

(c) the identification of up to 10 preliminary scientific programme topics, to be announced in the IAU Information Bulletin.

The SOC is also responsible for ensuring the strict observance of the IAU Code of Conduct, which includes Anti-Harassment and Ethics Policies, at all moments and in all activities associated with the meeting; the Symposium or Focus Meeting proposer must submit in the proposal a written commitment to abide by the Code of Conduct. The SOC should also adhere to an explicit commitment to a timely submission of the post-meeting report and to a timely submission of the papers for the Proceedings of that meeting.

The responsibility for the preparation and timely submission of the final proposal rests with the chairperson of the SOC.

The SOC should not be larger than 16 persons and should represent an optimum scientific, gender, and geographic distribution. Normally, an institution should not be represented on the SOC by more than one person. SOC Chairs, or at least one of the co-Chairs, should be members of the IAU. It is customary, but not required, that the other SOC members all be IAU members.

The SOC must indicate one person from the coordinating division as an ex-officio member of the SOC.

The participation of Division Presidents (DPs) in the SOC should be weighted carefully, as DPs are themselves part of the selection process and, if part of the SOC, may not take part in the discussions related to the evaluation of the proposal to avoid conflicts of interest. IAU Vice Presidents (VPs) may not be on an SOC or LOC.

SOC membership is subject to approval by the IAU Executive Committee, as part of the approval process. Any change of SOC membership after a Meeting has been accepted by the EC, has to be justified and requires the prior approval of the IAU GS.

3.3. Local Organising Committee

For in-person or hybrid meetings, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Meeting, to be identified in the proposal, is responsible for all aspects of the local arrangements associated with the meeting, namely for:

  • booking and preparation of meeting rooms;
  • provisions for modern audio-visual facilities, for coffee and tea breaks;
  • arranging for the necessary transportation for meeting participants and ensuring that accommodation within reasonable price levels is available;
  • maintaining the budget and ensuring that IAU funds are used exclusively as intended.

Other tasks include providing assistance to the meeting participants with their bookings and with official invitations and visa applications, and providing or offering advice on access to affordable, reliable child care. In addition, the LOC should prepare and schedule social events as appropriate.

The local organisation of all GA Symposia and FMs is in the hands of the GA LOC. An LOC is not required for fully on-line meetings.

3.4. Venue and Accommodation

The venue proposed for in-person or hybrid meetings should be reasonably accessible and affordable. The venue should have modern audio-visual facilities, and ensure that all poster presentations will be on display during the whole duration of the meeting.

To enable interested and qualified colleagues from all countries around the world to attend a meeting, affordable accommodation should be available and efforts should be made to secure additional financial sponsoring, in order to keep the participants' costs reasonable. Access to nearby, affordable child care is important, and the need for support for such services should be taken into account in the distribution of the IAU grants to attendees of the meeting.

3.5. Registration Fee

An effort must be made to keep the Meeting registration fee affordable to all. Such effort should include the use of low-cost meeting facilities and finding local sponsorship. Proposers should carefully specify what services the registration fee will cover.

The current upper limit of the registration fee for in-person or hybrid IAU Symposia (outside of General Assemblies) is 350 EUR or equivalent. The registration fee must include the cost of the proceedings which is GBP 12 plus tax (where applicable) for the electronic version, if in bulk order; the registration fee for participants wishing to have both the electronic version and the hardback volume should include GBP 83 for the cost of the proceedings (please note these costs are for Symposia that took place in 2023. For future years please contact the IAU to confirm). Conference organisers will indicate through the form hosted on the IAU website which participants also wish to receive the print volume. Proposers should budget accordingly, taking into account the relevant exchange rates.

For fully on-line IAU Symposia, depending on the number of participants, a registration fee might be applied to cover the cost of the electronic proceedings.

Participants of IAU Symposia held as part of an IAU GA are required to pay the full registration fee for that GA, whatever the duration of their stay.

For the GA participants, the GBP 12 fee still applies and the participant will have the possibility of choosing for which Symposium or FM they wish to have immediate access to the electronic version of the proceedings.

3.6. Selection Criteria for IAU Sponsorship of Meetings

The scientific merit of each IAU Meeting proposal along with the other criteria listed below will be evaluated by the Division President (DP) of the IAU coordinating Division to which the proposal was submitted. This evaluation will take into consideration comments and advice received from the Steering Committees of the relevant IAU Divisions, and from IAU Commissions and/or IAU Working Groups. Subsequently, the IAU Vice-Presidents (VPs) and the IAU Assistant General Secretary (AGS) will consider the DP rankings to produce a proposed list of Symposia and Focus Meetings that considers scientific, geographic, and gender balance along with the other listed criteria. The IAU Executive Committee (EC) will discuss and approve the final lists.

The following guidelines for obtaining IAU sponsorship should be observed by prospective proposers:

(a) An IAU Meeting should have a well-defined and scientifically relevant theme, should be scheduled at a propitious time for significant progress in the field, and should be of interest to young researchers as well as senior experts;

(b) While the IAU embraces all fields in astronomy, a proposed IAU Meeting programme should maintain a broad and balanced scope and cover the main active fields at appropriate intervals;

(c) Scientific programmes of proposed IAU Meetings should be well balanced, as reflected by the proposed draft programme and draft list of key speakers;

(d) It is essential that no restriction based on gender, race, colour, nationality, and religious or political affiliation be imposed on the full participation of all bona fide scientists in any aspect of the organisation and conduct of IAU Meetings, either by the organisers or by the authorities of the host country. Approval of a proposal for an IAU meeting requires explicit guarantees that this principle will be respected. The IAU Code of Conduct will be strictly observed, and must be explicitly confirmed before a proposal will receive final approval by the EC. A summary of the measures taken to ensure this should be given in the proposal; the signatures of both the SOC and LOC chairpersons are required;

(e) In association with non-GA IAU meetings, educational activities should be organised, such as Schools and Teachers' Workshops or Public Talks by eminent scientists. By taking advantage of the presence of many national and foreign scientists, 1- or 2-day events may be organised for the benefit of university and high-school educators in the country hosting the meeting. While the scientific quality of the proposed Meeting will remain the primary selection criterion for IAU sponsorship, a good parallel educational programme will add to the overall merit of a proposal. Stimulating and improving the teaching of science, and of astronomy in particular, is becoming increasingly urgent, and parallel educational activities of the type described above, in connection with IAU scientific meetings, are encouraged.

The proposals are rated using the above (a) to (e) criteria and take the following into consideration:

  • scientific relevance,
  • appropriate interval between similar Symposia,
  • programme and invited speakers,
  • international and gender balance of SOC,
  • parallel young/teachers activities.

3.7 Selection Process for IAU Symposia and Focus Meetings

The procedure for the selection of proposed meetings is detailed here.

Step 1: Division Presidents (DPs) receive from the Assistant General Secretary (AGS) all proposals from their division, and rank only those proposals. They may view the full list of proposals in case they wish to include in their review other proposals closely associated with their division. They may consult with their Steering Committees (SCs). Each DP submits the rankings plus short comments motivating the rankings for their division to the AGS. DPs who submit proposals or are on an SOC or LOC of a proposal must recuse themselves and delegate the ranking to the Division Vice President and SC.

Step 2: IAU Executive Committee Vice Presidents (VPs) receive the DP rankings and comments. They generally read only the top-ranked (typically 1-3) proposals from each Division, and rank all those proposals collectively. VPs may not submit proposals or be on the SOC or LOC of a proposal. The most important criterion for the VP evaluation is the consideration of a balance of science topics for the final selections, along with the other criteria listed in the Rules and Guidelines. There is no guarantee that a proposal will be selected from each division, but rather, there must be a representative selection of science fields from year to year.

Step 3: Each VP submits to the AGS a proposed balanced ranking for Symposia and FMs plus comments on their proposed selections. The AGS produces statistics on the rankings for discussion. The AGS plus VPs then meet virtually and produce a final proposed list of Symposia and FMs to be sent, along with comments, to the IAU Officers. At this stage there can still be more than one option, especially for proposals in the boundary zone.

Step 4: The full IAU Executive Committee (EC), along with the DPs, discusses the proposed lists at the April/May EC meeting. The EC then votes on the final list of Symposia and FMs.

Shortly after the EC meeting, this decision, including conditions to be fulfilled before final approval, will be communicated to all the proposers, including those of non-selected proposals. Each proposer will receive a letter which will also include the summary comments of the evaluators.

After selection, only minor revisions of the proposal (for example title and date) are allowed but nevertheless require prior approval by the GS.

Timeline:

Sept. 15 – two years before the year of the proposed meeting, astronomers submit Letters of Intent for Symposia or FMs

Dec. 1 – two years before the year of the proposed meeting, astronomers submit proposals for Symposia or FMs

Dec. 15 – DPs receive proposals from their Divisions (including joint Division proposals)

February 15 – DPs submit their Symposia and FM division rankings + comments to the AGS

February 22 – VPs receive DP rankings and the top proposals + comments from each Division

March 30 – VPs submit their individual rankings + comments to the AGS

Spring EC meeting – Full EC plus DPs discuss proposed lists, and EC votes to approve final lists.

Within 2 weeks of the April/May EC meeting – The AGS informs all applicants of the outcome of the selection, along with a brief report commenting on their proposal as evaluated against the selection criteria, and prepares a public Announcement of the list of selected Symposia and Focus Meetings

3.8. Website for IAU Meetings

As soon as a successful applicant has been informed by the AGS of the approval of the proposed IAU Meeting, the SOC/LOC is expected to create a website for that meeting containing all information that is essential for the participants.

In a similar fashion, Division Meetings should set up their websites as early as possible after the selection of Symposia and Focus Meetings (at the latest by July 1st the year before the GA), and update them in due course. These sites will be accessible from the respective Division pages on the IAU web site.

A standard Template for the Website of IAU Meetings is available. The Chair of the proposal must agree to use this IAU standard template.

3.9. IAU Travel Grants

The IAU wishes to support qualified scientists to whom only limited means of support are available, e.g., colleagues from economically less privileged countries and young scientists. An IAU grant should be the seed money in ensuring the participation of a selected beneficiary, including participants with young children, rather than adding comfort for colleagues whose attendance is already assured.

The IAU grant money cannot be used for organisational purposes. Specifically, it cannot be used to support Invited Speakers by paying their travel, local expenses or by waiving their registration fee apart from exceptional situations that may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Neither can it be used to support the SOC or LOC members. Thus the organisers are expected to raise additional funds.

A proposal for the distribution of IAU grants to individual participants is expected to have a reasonable gender and geographical distribution. Normally no more than 1/5 of the IAU grant funds for a Meeting should be allocated to participants from a single country.

Within these general guidelines, it is left to the judgment of the SOC how to formulate its proposal for IAU grant distribution, maintaining the overall scientific standard of the conference as the primary criterion.

As a rule, the LOC will open a bank account in the name of the Meeting (or use a bank account of its institute or university provided there is no excessive overhead) to which the IAU Secretariat will transfer the allocated IAU grants fund.

Individual IAU grants will be paid by the LOC chairperson to the recipients upon their arrival and registration at the Meeting. Recipients must sign a receipt, and all receipts must be sent to the IAU Secretariat after the Meeting. All IAU funds must be accounted for, and any unspent funds must be returned to the IAU unless agreed otherwise in writing by the GS.

3.9.1. IAU Travel Grants for Symposia

Participants of IAU Symposia may apply for an IAU travel grant, using the IAU Grant Application Form available at each Symposium website. The deadline for the application is specified in the Symposium webpage.

A proposal for the distribution of IAU grants to individual participants following the guidelines referred above will be drafted by the SOC chairperson using the template for the Proposal for the distribution of IAU Grants  and sent to the AGS, at least 3 months before the date of the Symposium, to ensure timely evaluation of the proposed list and possible revisions, notification to grant beneficiaries (individual notification letters will be e-mailed by the AGS to the grant’s recipients, with a copy to the SOC chair and the IAU Secretariat) and completion of visa formalities.

Official invitation letters, if required, shall be provided by the SOC or LOC chairs.

Any disagreement between the SOC and the AGS on the award of grants shall be referred to the IAU GS, whose decision shall be final.

3.9.2. IAU Travel Grants for General Assembly Meetings

Currently participants in the GA are supported by their own resources or via IAU grants for Symposia, Focus and Division Meetings.

IAU GA meetings travel grants are intended to cover in part expenses associated with the participant's attendance during their selected meeting, including support for child care if needed. It is expected that the grantees will also attend other meetings during the GA. Requests for financial support are submitted by an individual IAU member using the specific GA IAU Grant Application Form prepared by the GA SOC. Full completion of the Application Form is mandatory, including submission of an Abstract, if relevant.

The deadline for the application is around 1st of March of the year of the GA.

The IAU Secretariat will prepare relevant summaries of applications, to be sent to the SOCs of the different scientific meetings for ranking. The IAU GS and AGS, in consultation with the organisers of the selected Meetings, will make a final selection and coordinate the financial support to be allocated to each of them.

3.9.3. IAU Travel Grants for Regional Meetings

IAU travel grants are intended to cover in part expenses associated with the participant's attendance of the Regional Meetings. Requests for financial support are submitted by the individual IAU member using the IAU Grant Application Form available at the website. Full completion of the Application Form is mandatory, including submission of an Abstract, if relevant. The deadline for the application is specified in the Regional Meeting webpage.

A proposal for the distribution of IAU grants to individual participants following the guidelines referred above will be drafted by the SOC chairperson using the template for the Proposal for the distribution of IAU Grants and sent to the GS, at least 3 months before the date of the Regional Meeting, to ensure timely evaluation of the proposed list and possible revisions, and completion of visa formalities.

The IAU GS, in consultation with the SOC chairperson, will make a final decision on the financial support to be allocated to each grantee.

Individual notification letters will be e-mailed to grant beneficiaries by the SOC chair, with a copy to the GS and the IAU Secretariat.

Official invitation letters, if required, shall be provided by the SOC or LOC chairs.

3.9.4 Hybrid Symposia

Due to the use of physical facilities, hybrid Symposia are expect to require a registration fee. The organizers should set a lower registration fee for virtual participants, but no lower than needed to cover the cost of the individual's copy of the electronic proceedings.

The IAU will make available zoom licenses if requested.

Grant claims will be via the method of requesting funds to offset travel and/or registration fees, as described above. The organizers should consider both participants attending in person and those attending virtually, on the basis of need. Approval is as described above, up to a 20,000 euro (this amount is in addition to the cost of any zoom licenses). Support for SOC and LOC members is excluded, as above.

3.9.5 Fully on-line Symposia

Starting in 2026, the IAU will sponsor one fully on-line Symposium. The IAU will make available zoom licenses if requested, but no other means of financial support will be provided.

3.10. Post Meeting Reports

Within 1 month after the Meeting, the chair of the SOC of any IAU scientific meeting is responsible for preparing the Post Meeting Report using the standard form available on-line. The Meeting proposal must include a written commitment to abide by this requirement.

For Symposia and Focus Meetings the following documents should be included:

(i) Final scientific programme, list of invited review speakers and session chairs, to be published in the IAU website; in addition, the report should also list the number of:

  • female/male/non-specified speakers invited talks
  • female/male/non-specified invited speakers accepted
  • female/male/non-specified speakers contributed talks

(ii) Summary of the scientific highlights of the meeting (1 page, to be published in the IAU web site);

(iii) List of participants, including their distribution by country and gender (in the form of a bar chart including a column for non-specified gender);

(iv) List of recipients of IAU grants, stating the amount received, country, and gender (male, female or non-specified);

(v) An Executive Summary of the Meeting (1 to 2 pages) to be published in the IAU website;

For Symposia and Focus Meetings the Post Meeting Report should be sent to the AGS.

For Regional Meetings the Post Meeting Report should include the documents referred above from (i) to (v), as well as a proposal for the next venue, and be sent to the GS.

3.11. Proceedings of IAU Meetings

The success of a Meeting and its proceedings depends in the first place on arranging for the best possible scientific programme and selecting the best possible speakers, keeping in mind the need for a balanced distribution of gender and geographical origin.

For Symposia the proceedings are published in the IAU Proceedings Series by the IAU Publisher, Cambridge University Press (CUP). It is of paramount importance that the proceedings will be published timely, i.e., within 6 months after the Meeting, as a valuable record for future reference.

Combined Instructions for Authors and Editors for the publication of the proceedings of IAU Symposia are given on-line. The instructions contain the links to the relevant LaTeX templates files.

The proceedings of Focus Meetings will be edited by the IAU GS during the year following the GA, and published in the IAU series Astronomy in Focus, also by CUP.

Guidelines and Instructions for FM Authors and Editors for the publication of the proceedings are available on-line.

The editors must submit the complete manuscript of their FM to the GS before the end of the year of the GA, at the latest.

The Reports of Division Meetings and Institutional Meetings will be published only in electronic form. Before the end of the year of the GA, each Division President and leaders of each Office or WG Office should appoint a "Lead Editor" to liaise with the GS and ensure that the reports are included in the IAU website.

The Proceedings of Regional IAU Meetings will be published at least in electronic form, as well as by a regional publisher or in a regional astronomical publication series, within one year of the meeting. The SOC must appoint a "Lead Editor" to liaise with the GS for proper inclusion of the proceedings in the IAU website.

For each IAU meeting the respective “Lead Editor” should collect the corresponding authorisations from the authors for the publication of the proceedings.

 

4. Co-sponsored scientific meetings

The IAU may decide to co-sponsor meetings, including those that are organised by other scientific unions. Main organisational and financial responsibility for such meetings rests with the main organisers or sponsoring union. The IAU expects to be represented in the SOC and to be consulted about publication of the proceedings and other major issues. The IAU may make a contribution of up to 5,000 EUR to each co-sponsored meeting.

 

5. Step by Step summary for the proposal of IAU Meetings

  1. Submit a Letter of Intent (LoI). Deadline: September 15, 2 years before the year of the proposed meeting.
  2. Check in the IAU web site the list of all LoIs received (generally posted by 30 September).
  3. Submit a full Proposal for an IAU Meeting. Attach all relevant documents, e.g. endorsement letters from other Divisions or Commissions. Be sure to include in the proposal an explicit commitment to abide by the IAU Code of Conduct, to use the template for the IAU meeting website, to a timely submission of the post-meeting report, and, for Symposia and Focus Meetings, to a timely submission of the papers for the Proceedings. Deadline for Symposia and Focus Meetings: December 1st, 2 years before the year of the proposed meeting.  Deadline for Institutional and Division Meetings: December 1st, the year preceding the GA. No additional material may be accepted after the Deadline. 
  4. As soon as informed by the AGS that a Meeting has been approved, the SOC/LOC should create a website for the meeting using the standard Template for the Website of IAU Meetings. For GA Symposia, Focus and Division Meetings the web site should be set as early as possible after the selection, at the latest by July 1st the year before the GA.
  5. Note that any change after the proposal has been accepted by the EC requires the prior approval of the GS.
  6. The SOC chair is responsible for drafting a Proposal for the distribution of IAU grants to individual participants using a standard template and send it for scrutiny and approval by the GS/AGS, as appropriate. This proposal should be sent at least 3 months before the date of the meeting.
  7. For GA Symposia and Focus Meetings the IAU grants are intended to cover in part expenses associated with the attendance of the GA. Deadline to apply for grants is around 1st March of the year of the GA.
  8. Individual IAU grants are to be paid by the LOC chairperson to the recipients upon their arrival and registration at the meeting. Recipients must sign a receipt.
  9. The SOC chair is responsible for sending the Post Meeting Report within 1 month after the Meeting. For Regional Meetings the Post Meeting Report is to be sent to the GS, while in the case of Symposia or Focus Meetings the Post Meeting Report is to be sent to the AGS.
  10. Consult the Guidelines for Authors and Editors for the publication of the proceedings of IAU Meetings.
  11. Proceedings of IAU Meetings are to be published within 6 months after the Meeting.
  12. Editors of Focus Meetings must submit the complete manuscript of their FM to the GS before the end of the year of the GA, at the latest.