Coming soon!

Associations will be responsible for selecting their members’ proposals to create their Congress program.

Associations may assign sessions from their programs to take place either in person in the rooms allocated to them on the Simon Fraser University campus, or online. While individual papers can be designated for either in-person or virtual presentation, associations have the flexibility to distribute their sessions across both formats. This approach offers greater flexibility for attendees and presenters, while helping associations manage costs and resources. It will not be possible to live-stream in-person events for virtual audiences or presenters.  

Associations are highly encouraged to work amongst themselves on programming. Depending on the number of participating associations and the amount of space available, there may be designated spaces for collaborative events.

All sessions, including association conference sessions, will be open to all Congress attendees, bringing the associations to the attention of new audiences and prospective members. 

The Congress Virtual Platform will be available for associations to hold virtual-only events from June X-X, 2027. Attendees can attend both online and in-person events. There will also be an online-only option to register.  

The benefits of online sessions

Virtual-only sessions are not a replacement for in-person programming. They are an underused format that, when applied to the right activities, allows associations to reach more members, reduce delivery costs, and generate clearer evidence of engagement.

Consider how virtual sessions can create more value than in-person alone. What virtual-only enables (Compared to in-person):

Where virtual-only performs best  

Some events do not work unless they are in person, and others can be greatly benefited by taking place in a virtual-only setting. Here are a few examples:   

Key takeaway and next steps  

Use virtual-only delivery for programs where outcomes depend on content and interaction and where reach, accessibility, and measurable engagement matter more than co-location.  

Consider piloting a few high-interest virtual-only events and track attendance, engagement (questions, polls, downloads), post-event views, and member feedback to evaluate impact and inform future programming.   

The Federation is pleased to offer its member associations an abstract management software, Fourwaves, that supports call-for-papers and abstract administration.

Fourwaves simplifies your abstract submission experience with a user-friendly platform designed to streamline the materials review and publication process.

Demonstrations of Fourwaves and onboarding to the service are available on an ongoing basis. When opting into Fourwaves, you can select a package and price point that meets your needs. Packages are priced by the number of submissions your association anticipates receiving.

To find out more and book a demo.

If you have any questions, please email membership@federationhss.ca.  

Big Thinking

The ever-popular series will return with leading scholars and public figures presenting forward-thinking ideas and solutions to the critical questions and issues of our time.

Expo

Canada’s premier academic tradeshow returns with a reimagined Expo, developed in collaboration with exhibitors. Attendees can mingle with Congress peers and meet with publishers and exhibitors. Exhibitors also plan events like book launches, publishing workshops, and more.  

Simon Fraser programming

Coming soon! 

The following registration fees give attendees access to the entire program at both the virtual-only Congress from June X-X and the in-person Congress from July 5-9 at Simon Fraser University. 

From June X-X, a virtual-only Congress will take place for those who prefer to attend online. Those attending online only can register for a discounted rate.  

Associations will no longer be asked to administer Federation funds. Attendees will apply for graduate awards and accessibility funding directly to the Federation. The Federation will have a selection model with updated criteria aligned with EDID principles.

By holding your conference at Congress 2027, your members will be eligible for: 

Graduate Mobilization Award

This award supports the participation and recognition of emerging scholars as part of its commitment to strengthening research mobilization in Canada.

• $750 award
• Eligibility criteria overview:
  • Be a current graduate student (Master’s or PhD) enrolled at a recognized Canadian post-secondary institution at the time of application or event;
  • Register for, attend, and participate in the event.

Accessibility Fund

As part of the Federation’s commitment to fostering an equitable, accessible, and inclusive research mobilization environment, the Fund aims to ensure that participation requirements do not limit who can participate and contribute to the event.  

• Between $250-$1,000 in reimbursement for tools and services that mitigate barriers to present at Congress
• Eligibility criteria overview:
  • Register for, attend, and participate in event activities such as presenting, facilitating, leading a discussion, or joining sessions;
  • Identify an accessibility barrier to participation at the event. 

Your association can apply to the following funds to help deliver your conference’s program:

• Francophone Engagement Fund: Coming soon!
• Community Partnerships Fund: Coming soon!
• Webinar series: Coming soon! 

In October, associations participating in Congress 2027 will be invited to a meeting where we will outline the planning details of the event.

Note: This meeting will be online only and will not take place in person at SFU.  

In lieu of the former Organizers Portal or Planning Guide, this web page will be updated throughout the year with all of the resources you will need.  

To receive historical data on our association’s previous conferences, please email organizers@federationhss.ca.  

Leading up to Congress, and starting after the Planning Meeting, all participating associations will receive regular updates from organizers@federationhss.ca outlining upcoming deadlines, important Congress updates, planning cycle tips, programming information, and more. 

Starting in the fall, the Federation will plan regular Congress planning meetings for association leaders to attend. They offer opportunities for associations to share ideas, best practices, take part in task-support clinics, and ask questions about the planning cycle amongst each other and the Congress teams in an open environment. 

You can watch a recording of a Town Hall meeting for association leaders held on April 14, linked here. We covered why Congress was reimagined, the direction Congress is going towards, and answered a range of questions. 

Congress 2027 will be a pilot for the reimagined Congress model, which will be improved upon over time in 2028 and beyond. Further details on Congress 2028 will be shared in the fall 2026. 

Based on your association’s historical data, we will be assigning a similar number of rooms over roughly the same number of days while trying to ensure that all participating associations fit in the space that has been allocated by the host institution.  

To maximize space, our goal is to ensure that session room contain at least 15 attendees in the audience. As a result, associations with fewer attendees that typically booked multiple rooms may receive fewer rooms than they did in the past.  

The minimum number of rooms allocated to your association will be included in your association’s agreement with the Federation.  

No, the Federation will allocate fewer rooms that would be used at the same time, to encourage less competition between events and ensure that speakers have a more sizeable audience. 

To reduce expenses and resources required to hold hybrid events for your association, the host institution, and the Federation, live-stream of in-person events will not be available.

Associations can hold an unlimited number of virtual meetings from June X-X on the Congress virtual platform.  

Associations will remain responsible for selecting their members’ proposals to create their Congress program in the meeting format that they choose.  

Some meetings are better suited for in-person only, and others to a virtual format. See our guide. 

There is no limit to how many of your members can attend the in-person portion of Congress 2027.  

Based on the number of rooms assigned to your association, you may consider limiting the number of presenters or the amount of time that they can present. 

Associations remain responsible for selecting their members’ proposals to create their Congress program in the meeting format that they choose. The number of papers or presentations that your association will be able to include in the in-person Congress is up to you, based on the amount of space your association has been allocated.  

You do not need to hold your association’s entire annual conference at Congress. Should you prefer to hold a selection of events (in person or on the virtual platform), we can accommodate this.  

No, all catering will be ordered by the Federation for all attendees. Meals, snacks, and coffee will be included in the cost of registration for all attendees, and available across the campus for the duration of Congress.