[agents] CALL FOR BIDS TO HOST PRIMA2013

[Takayuki Ito]

CALL FOR BIDS TO HOST PRIMA2013

BACKGROUND
Bids are solicited to host the 16th International Conference on Principles and Practice in Multi-Agent Systems (PRIMA2013).

The initial PRIMA workshop (PRIMA1998) was held in Singapore as a workshop with the 5th Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Singapore, (PRICAI1998). The main aim of PRIMA workshop was to rouse and encourage researchers and practionaers on multi-agent systems in particular in Pacific Rim region. Subsequent PRICAI workshops have been held in Kyoto, Japan (1999), Melbourne, Australia (2000), Taipei, Taiwan (2001), Tokyo, Japan (2002), Seoul, Korea (2003), Auckland, New Zealand (2004), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2005), Guilin, China (2006), Bangkoku, Thailand (2007), and Hanoi, Vietnam (2008).

From Nagoya (2011), PRIMA has been updated to the international conference. Then, PRIMA conferences have been held in Kolkata, India (2010) and Woolongong, Australia (2011). PRIMA is now firmly established as a single conference, and is the most influential academic conference in the area of multagent systems.

The PRIMA conference brings together researchers and practitioners in all areas of agent technology such as software agents, multiagent systems, synthetic agents, robotic agents, human agent interaction, and mobile agents. The PRIMA onferences include a variety of activities, including technical sessions, tutorials, associated workshops, and social events.  The conference website at
http://www.ai.soc.i.kyoto-u.ac.jp/prima/
provides links to each of the conferences.

The PRIMA Steering Committee now invites bids for hosting PRIMA2013

PRIMA2013 will be held at dates to be determined in consultation with the successful bid team, preferably in Autumn 2013. Based on past experience and trends we expect the attendance of AAMAS'2009 to be around 100 people. Bids from all geographical regions will be considered.

BIDDING PROCEDURE
All correspondence regarding bids should be directed by email to
Makoto Yokoo, yokoo at inf.kyushu-u.ac.jp
chair of the PRIMA Conference Steering committee.

Bids should be made by individuals or small groups, with the backing of a host institution (typically a university or research center). Groups or individuals who are planning to submit a bid should notify Prof. Yokoo of their intention as soon as possible.

Submission Deadlines:
* Bids for PRIMA2013 must be submitted NO LATER THAN July 31, 2012.

Bids are geared towards determination of responsibility for local arrangements and designation of Local Arrangements Chair. Bids will be reviewed by the PRIMA steering committee.  The outcome of the site selection will be announced in September 2012 (after PRIMA2012).

A bid should consist of a short statement that explains why you meet the criteria below. Bids should be no more than a few pages in length, and at this stage, detailed financial projections are not necessary. (Ballpark financial figures --- such as cost of meeting rooms and equipment, and estimated cost of hotel rooms --- are useful, however.) Each bid should clearly identify the authors, including full contact details.

CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING PRIMA BIDS
The following criteria will be used for evaluation.

* Site Location --- attractiveness to conference attendees [as well as those accompanying the attendees (i.e., nearby attractions, tours, restaurants, night clubs, etc.)]. Will people *want* to attend?

* Accessibility --- location with respect to major air routes and local transportation (trains, buses, automobiles). Function as a gateway city serviced by both domestic and international airlines; ease of connecting to local transportation.

* Dates/Time --- relation to possibly conflicting special or local holidays; to other conventions or special events at the same time or immediately before or after the conference.

* Climate/Season --- particularly as these factors affect availability of rooms and rate structure (and provide some negotiating edge with the hotels).

* Facilities --- quantity, quality, flexibility, availability of meeting rooms, meeting support services, and exhibition hall. This factor is linked to the choice of accommodations (below), as it may be desirable to co-locate meeting facilities and accommodations.

* Initial financial information --- cost of meeting rooms and of equipment (projectors, etc.) necessary for sessions.  Provide preliminary information regarding any space rental fees that may have to be paid by the conference.

* Accommodations --- ability to accommodate the anticipated numbers of conference attendees, with a range of income levels.

* Experience of the local organizers in organizing and handling projects of comparable size and complexity

* Supporting Scientific Community --- the presence of regional and local research communities to support the conference and which will benefit from its presence.

* Supporting Local Industry --- is there local/national industry that may be willing to support the conference in some way?

* Volunteer Labor --- availability of an active local group willing to help out before, during, and after the conference.