Proposal Requirements

• Be an educational institution, university, school of medicine or health sciences, and/or academic medical center

  
  

• Provide a letter to accompany the proposal signed by the President or Chair of the prospective host organization

  
  

• Describe proposed venue details, including floor plans and capacity charts (ensuring they meet the needs described in the venue requirements section of the RFP)

  
  

• Include information about the destination, such as its tourism appeal, average cost of flights from major cities in the US and Canada, and the destination’s social and political stability and safety for all attendees

  
  

• Provide estimated costs for food and beverage, audio-visual rentals and support, meeting room rental (if any), poster board rental, and any other estimable expenses

  
  

• Indicate what assistance can be provided by the host institution in planning for and during the conference

  
  

• Indicate what assistance can be provided during the SACME site selection visit and meetings, which will be arranged by SACME

  
  

• Provide a description of any financial incentives or support the host institution or the destination’s convention and visitors bureau can offer to SACME

  
  

• Provide information on the continuing education accreditation status (CME, Joint Accreditation, etc.) of the organization and whether the prospective host organization could accredit the meeting

  
  

Proposal Review Criteria

Proposals shall be considered by the SACME Board of Directors. The criteria for selection include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The venue facilities must meet the requirements specified in the “Venue Requirements” section.

  
  

• The relevant costs of the conference venue and major suppliers must be reasonable and fit within SACME’s preferred budget (e.g., catering, audiovisuals, meeting room rental, printing costs, rental costs for poster boards, comparative costs of hotel rooms, etc.).

  
  

• As SACME is an international organization, the host location must provide political and social stability and safety for all attendees.

  
  

• The host institution must have the ability to support and assist in the organization of a successful conference.

  
  

• The destination’s tourism and convention appeal and attractiveness of proposal will be considered.

  
  

• The destination must have an international airport close by.

  
  

Venue Requirements

• Be spacious enough to accommodate up to 250 participants

  
  

• Have the capacity for general/plenary sessions each day of 250 participants in banquet rounds (all in one room; lunch may also be served in this room provided it can be cleared quickly to allow a presentation in the room right after the lunch period)

  
  

• Have the capacity to accommodate up to 40 posters per day and 20 exhibitors; this could be done in the registration area if there is enough space, or in a separate room, or exhibitors in the registration area and posters in a separate room

  
  

• Have 3-4 concurrent session rooms for each of the days (spacious enough to accommodate 75+ people each, crescent style; 1 of the 3 concurrent rooms could be the same as the general/plenary room)

  
  

• Have 4-5 rooms for pre-conference workshops on the first day, each accommodating 35-50 people in crescent rounds

  
  

• Have 3-4 rooms available for committee and board meetings each day

  
  

• Have a staff office for the duration of the conference (plus at least 2 days prior to the first day of the conference)

  
  

• Have an audio-visual office for the duration of the conference (plus at least 2 days prior to the first day of the conference) if we bring in an outside audio-visual provider

  
  

• Have a hotel on-site or within a safe walking distance and/or transportation to and from the venue; reasonable prices ($170-$240 USD per night, commissionable) for hotel is preferred

  
  

• Provide discounted or free parking

  
  

• Provide complimentary internet in hotel guest rooms, meeting and public space

  
  

• Ensure conference venue, hotels, and transportation have accessibility for people with restricted mobility

  
  

• Provide affordable options for audio-visual rentals and labor as well as for catering throughout the meeting

  
  

• Provide or have a vendor for the rental of poster boards

  
  

Decision Timeline

• August 31, 2025: Deadline for submission of proposals by host organizations.

  
  

• September-October 2025: SACME shall schedule one-on-one meetings for further discussions and Q&A with representatives of select prospective host organizations. These will likely be conducted virtually and scheduled at a mutually convenient time.

  
  

• October 2025: SACME management inspection of venue, meetings with host organizations and potential local sponsors.

  
  

• October 31, 2025: SACME tentative selection of host organization. Other prospective organizations will be informed that they were not the first choice (though it is possible they may be invited to host in a future meeting year).

  
  

• November-December 2025: SACME management contract negotiations and signing.

  
  

• March 2026: Announcement of selection of hosts for 2027 SACME Annual Meeting.