1. Submit an Abstract Submission Form for oral presentations, lightning talks, and panels  by February 28, 2026.  

2. Submit a map, poster, or digital media using the 2026 Map Submission Form (link will be active soon).

3. The GIS in Action abstract review team will review and select abstracts for inclusion in the 2026 program. 

4. Selected abstracts will be published to SCHED and speakers notified of their status by email by March 31, if not earlier. 

5. Provide any title, abstract, speaker, or bio corrections by March 22.

Presentation Formats:

     Oral Presentations

• Duration: Each presenter will have up to 30 minutes to present including Q&A. Conference organizers recommend preparing a 20 minute oral presentation to allow sufficient time for questions.

• Bring your own laptop! Slide decks and other presentation materials should be stored in multiple formats including jump drives, cloud storage, and/or e-mail to ensure accessibility.

• After checking in at the conference, and receiving their presentation room location, oral presenters will load slide decks (and/or other visual components) onto computers in the assigned presentation rooms.  Volunteers will be available to assist with presentation set-up.

• Moderators will provide speaker introductions, keep time during presentations, and facilitate the Q&A. 

• Presentations will be grouped into topical sessions consisting of up to three oral presentations. 

     Panels

• Duration: 30, 60 or 90 minutes. Panel duration is contingent on time and space availability. 

• Bring your own laptop! Slide decks and other presentation materials should be stored in multiple formats including jump drives, cloud storage, and/or e-mail to ensure accessibility.

• After checking in at the conference, and receiving their panel room location, panel presenters will load slide decks (and/or other visual components) onto computers in the assigned presentation rooms.  Volunteers will be available to assist with presentation set-up.

• Moderators or the panel organizer will provide speaker introductions, keep time during presentations, and facilitate the Q&A. 

• Short-duration panel discussions may be grouped into topical sessions with oral presentations.  

    Lightning Talks

• Duration: ~8 minutes. 

• Bring your own laptop! Slide decks should be stored in multiple formats including jump drives, cloud storage, and/or e-mail to ensure accessibility.

• After checking in at the conference, and receiving their presentation room location, lightning talk presenters will load slide decks (and/or other visual components) onto computers in the assigned presentation rooms.  Volunteers will be available to assist with presentation set-up.

• Moderators will provide speaker introductions, keep time during presentations, and facilitate the Q&A. 

• Presentations will be grouped into logical sessions that will be up to 90 minutes in duration. 

     Maps and Posters Entries

• Hard copy entry requirements: 

• • no larger than 3-ft (height) by 5-ft (length)

  • mountable using pushpins on a corrugated plastic sheet that is 5-ft wide and 3-ft tall. (Note: Poster stands have legs that raise the corrugated poster mounting area about 3 feet above the floor.)

• Digital Image requirement:

• • Saved as a JPG

  • No larger than 10MB in size

• All conference attendees may vote for the best entry by contest category. Each category winner will receive a prize. 

• Contest categories: 

• • Analytic presentation - Communication of meaningful patterns in data  

  • Cartographic - The quality of the visual display  

  • Data Integration - Combining data from different sources.  

  • Web Applications – StoryMaps, ArcGIS Online, Tableau, Mapbox, Power BI, or Other  

  • Student – Anyone enrolled in a class pursuing a degree or certificate