ISMPP Annual Meeting Session Proposal Guidance

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the 2026 Annual Meeting of ISMPP. We’re excited to shape a program that reflects the evolving insights and challenges of our medical publications and communications community. The Program Committee welcomes proposals for plenary, parallel, and roundtable sessions. 

Meeting Theme 

This year’s theme is The Integrated Era: Purpose, Partnerships, Personalization 

Today’s medical publications and communications profession demands a deeper integration of stakeholders, content, systems, workflows, and technologies. This year’s theme explores how integrating a shared purpose, meaningful partnerships, and effective personalization drive more impactful communication. 

Our shared purpose is to support transparency, build trust, and responsibly communicate science. We also recognize that partnerships among authors, patients, payers, cross-functional teams, global-regional collaborators, and the broader community are integral to medical publications and communications. At the same time, the movement toward personalized content accelerates, requiring adaptable approaches to channels and content, to deliver data-driven information that resonates with each audience.  

Sessions should connect to at least one of the sub-themes but do not need to cover all three. As you develop your proposal, consider how your session contributes to (not exhaustive): 

• Purpose: Strategic planning, ethical responsibility, optimized outcomes, insight and evidence generation/planning, patient voice 

• Partnerships: Stakeholder collaboration, patient authorship, interdisciplinary teamwork, regional-global alignment, community-level engagement, building trust 

• Personalization: Tailoring content, audience segmentation, language and accessibility, modular/scalable tactics, leveraging technology, insights and metrics 

The Program Committee encourages proposals that offer real-world examples, actionable takeaways, diverse perspectives or pose a provocative question that challenges assumptions and pushes the field forward. 

Proposal Guidance  

ISMPP strives to provide fresh content at each live meeting. Based on this, we strongly encourage you to refer to the member archives of past Annual Meetings, particularly the 2025 Annual Meeting, to avoid duplicating a topic that has been previously presented. Exceptions to this are broad-based or evolving topics that warrant continued discussion. In those cases, please be sure that your proposed session represents an extension of what has been done previously and not merely a repeat of a prior session.  

We welcome creativity in session format and diversity in speaker composition. Proposals are strongest when they: 

• Represent multiple organizations or viewpoints 

• Include new or first-time speakers alongside experienced faculty 

• Reflect a range of backgrounds, geographies, and experiences 

Proposals featuring faculty from a single institution may be perceived as too narrow or overly promotional. These groups may be asked to reconsider speaker selection to ensure a more balanced and inclusive session. 

Important: All proposed speakers must be contacted in advance to confirm their willingness and availability to participate. 

If multiple high-quality proposals are received on a similar topic, submitters may be invited to collaborate to create a stronger, combined session. 

Learning Gap 

To help us ensure sessions meet real participant needs, we ask that you consider the primary learning gap your session addresses. 

• Knowledge gap – The audience doesn’t know something yet (e.g., concepts, facts, definitions) For example, your audience may have heard the term “omnichannel,” but they don’t yet understand what it means in a medical communications context or how it differs from other strategies like multichannel. 

  • Real-world example: What is Omnichannel and its role as a strategy in medical communications? 

• Skill gap – The audience knows it, but can’t do it yet (e.g., applying, demonstrating) For example, your audience may understand what plain language summaries (PLS) are and their value, but they haven’t had the chance to practice writing one using health literacy principles. 

  • Real-world example: 
    “Writing effective Plain Language Summaries (PLS): Applying health literacy principles to transform scientific content into accessible, patient-friendly language.” 

• Motivation gap – The audience knows the concept and can implement it, but there are barriers to reaching best practices or optimization (e.g., behaviors, adoption, buy-in) For example, the audience may understand cognitive load and user experience—but still overload posters or slides with too much content because they believe “more is better.” 

  • Real-world example: 
    “Poster 2.0: Moving from information-dump to engagement tool—making the case for visual clarity, cognitive flow, and reader-centered design.” 

Intended Audience Level (Applies to workshops, parallels/active-learning, roundtables and webinars) 

Choose the audience who will benefit most from your session—not based on title, but on what they’re ready to learn and apply. 

• Foundational Audience - They’re new to the topic or field. They need orientation and clarity before they can take action. 

• Core Practice Audience - They work in this space regularly and are looking to level up. 

• Strategic / Specialist Audience - They make decisions in complex, ambiguous situations. They influence systems, people, or policy. 

Content Type 

This is about the type of content you are presenting, not how advanced it is. For instance, Foundational Content on AI could be presented to a Strategic / Specialist Audience. 

• Foundational Content - Build understanding. Introduce new concepts, definitions, or frameworks 

• Application Content – Support taking action. Focus on process, decision-making, and execution 

• Strategic/Adaptive Content - Inspire complex decision-making. Address systems, innovation, or big-picture implications. Encourage mindset shifts and forward-thinking. 

Strengthen Your Proposal with Storytelling 

Strong session proposals go beyond conceptual topics, they bring ideas to life with examples, insights, and moments that help the audience connect and remember. Storytelling in your proposal doesn’t mean telling a long tale. It means grounding your session in real-world experience, audience relevance, and a clear narrative arc. 

Consider these guiding questions as you write your session description 

• Start with an opportunity or challenge, not a topic. Help reviewers and attendees imagine the journey: 

• Where are they starting? (confusion, resistance, risk?) 

• What will they learn/do/change? 

• Where will they end up? (confidence, skill, new approach?) 

• If your topic is new, emerging, or misunderstood, consider briefly framing why it matters now. 

• Why is this topic timely, urgent, or evolving? 

• What is the risk of not doing it well? 

Questions to prompt storytelling 

• What happened when you applied this idea, process, or tool in real work?  

• What results, adjustments, or takeaways came from putting it into practice? 

• What changed in your thinking or process as a result of this work? 

• What surprised you? What shifted? 

• How has your team applied this, and what’s been most useful or surprising? 

• What insight can others borrow or adapt? 

• What did you wish you knew earlier when working on this? 

• What would’ve saved you time, confusion, or frustration? 

• What key takeaway do you hope the audience walks away remembering? 

• If they remember only one thing, what should it be? 

Crafting Your Proposal: Execution Elements 

Session Description and Learning Objectives 

Craft a concise and compelling session description that clearly communicates: 

• The value and benefits of attending 

• The relevance of the topic to participants’ professional development 

• The problem or opportunity the session addresses 

• Any unique or innovative elements in your approach or format 

Use specific language, not generalities. Focus on what participants will gain, not just what will be discussed. A strong session description should be informative and engaging—something compelling that would make you want to attend. 

Learning Objectives 

Learning objectives describe what participants should be able to do, apply, or think about differently after attending your session. Each one should: 

• Begin with a strong action verb (e.g., “Define,” “Analyze,” “Demonstrate,” “Apply”) 

• Avoid vague terms like “Understand,” “Learn,” or “Know” —but also avoid over-promising outcomes beyond the scope of a session 

• Be specific, focused, and aligned with the content of the session 

• Focus on what participants will be better able to do or think differently about as a result of attending  

Good learning objectives help participants set expectations—and help reviewers evaluate the clarity and value of your proposal. Consider using the following sentence starter: ‘At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:’. 

Review Process and Submission Details 

All proposals will be reviewed by members of the Program Committee and evaluated based on: 

• Relevance and Originality 
  Does the session topic align with the meeting’s theme and priorities? Does it offer a fresh perspective or address an unmet need within the profession? 

• Clarity of Purpose and Focus 
  Are the learning objectives clear and appropriate for the intended audience level? Does the proposal clearly indicate whether the session is foundational, applied, or strategic in focus? 

• Scope and Integration Potential 
  Is the session’s scope appropriate—not too broad or too narrow? Could the content complement or be integrated with another proposal on a similar topic? 

• Speaker Expertise and Perspective Diversity 
  Do the proposed speakers bring relevant expertise, and do they represent a range of roles, organizations, or experiences that will enrich the session? 

• Format and Audience Engagement 
  Is the proposed session format well-suited to the topic? Does the proposal include clear plans for interactivity or engagement, where appropriate? 

CMPP™ Continuing Education Credit Review 

All accepted sessions are reviewed by the ISMPP Recertification Committee to determine eligibility for Certified Medical Publication Professional™ (CMPP™) Continuing Education (CE) credit. 

Please note: Not all valuable or relevant sessions qualify for CE credit. 
Eligibility is determined based on the educational content, learning objectives, audience level, and alignment with CMPP™ competency domains. 

Proposal Submission Checklist 

When submitting, the form will ask for: 

• Clear session title that reflects the focus and value of the session (limited to 100 characters) 

• Preferred session type (plenary or interactive learning session) 

• If Interactive learning session – will be asked for activity description and audience level 

• Concise session description that explains the problem, relevance, and benefit to participants 

• At least one storytelling prompt or real-world anchor to make the session memorable 

• 3–4 learning objectives using action verbs (aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy)) 

• Defined learning gap (knowledge, skill, or motivation) 

• Audience level (Foundational, Core Practice, Strategic) 

• Content complexity (Foundational, Applied, Strategic) 

• Diverse speaker lineup with confirmed interest and availability 

Please note: Submission does not guarantee acceptance. 

Submit your completed proposal through the online system by October 24, 2025 at 5 pm ET. 

Updated October 2025