What is a “caucus”?

The premise of a caucus is primarily to provide an opportunity for scholars to innovate, share and discuss emergent ideas that are still in the incubatory stage. Caucuses are designed to provide a convenient, informal way for AOM members with shared interests to find one another and to develop a sense of community within the larger AOM structure as well as to explore potential collaborations in a forum open to all interested AOM members.

How does a caucus differ from a Professional Development Workshop (PDW)? 

PDWs offer a wide variety of session formats and learning experiences led by experts in the topic being presented with intended takeaways for the participants. PDWs take place Friday and Saturday and must be a minimum of 2 hours in length.  Caucuses’ deliberations are more of an informal exchange with facilitators rather than a designated presenter(s). Caucuses are scheduled on Mondays and Tuesdays together with the refereed scholarly program. They are scheduled in a 90 minute scholarly time block in a room that is configured theatre style.    

How does a caucus differ from a symposium? 

A caucus session differs from a symposium in a few ways. First, there is no requirement for authored papers for a caucus as is typically the case with a presenter symposium. The submissions for a caucus should detail the ideas for discussion and the format planned by the organizers and is typically no more than two pages in length. Second, while a panel symposium consists of a group of panelists in a formal interactive discussion, a caucus is more informal where AOM members with shared interests can discuss common issues and explore potential research collaborations. It is essentially designed to provide conference participants with opportunities to network with colleagues who share similar interests and develop new ideas, emerging topics, and expansion of the conference theme. The organizers typically serve as discussion leaders but do not make a formal presentation. Finally, a symposium requires sponsorship by the All-Academy Theme committee, a division, or interest group. A caucus requires documented interest from 5 AOM members with affiliations and contact information.

Caucus Session Information 

Room set up: The meeting rooms are set up with a maximum of three round tables that seat 10 people each. Additional chairs are set up on the perimeter of the room, if possible.

Equipment set up: A flipchart and markers will be available.