Last amended and approved by the IAMG Council on February 17, 2010

1. The annual conference is the most important event organized by the Association. The IAMG shall encourage all members to attend the conference, particularly those in the host and neighboring countries.

The official name of the annual conference shall be "The ____ Annual Conference of the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences" or "IAMG____" for short. The conference shall normally be held in June - November. A separate annual meeting shall not be held in years of an International Geological Congress.

2. The IAMG shall request proposals via the IAMG newsletter; IAMG Council may also solicit proposals. Any geosciences institute, association, and university in the world may apply to host the Annual Conference. Application should be made to an officer of the IAMG Executive Committee (President, Vice-President, Secretary General, or Treasurer). The deadline for proposals shall be in January, February or March of two years preceding the year of the conference (e.g. January-March 2012 for a meeting to be held in 2014).

The IAMG Council shall consider all proposals received before the published deadline and render its decision to the applicants within two (2) months of the deadline for receipt of proposals. The basis for selection shall include the quality of the proposed scientific program, the time and location of the meeting, the preliminary budget, and any other factors that the Council of the IAMG deems appropriate. Before rendering final approval, Council may ask for clarification or amendments to proposals. The IAMG reserves to right to reject all proposals, or decide not to hold an annual meeting in a given year.

3. Council may withdraw IAMG endorsement of the conference if the organizers deviate from terms agreed with Council in advance.

4. The International Association for Mathematical Geosciences and the hosting institute should be two of the main sponsors of the conference.

5. The proposal should include the name of a Conference Chair and names of members for an Organizing Committee and a Scientific Committee. At least two (2) IAMG Council members should be included in the committees. The Organizing Committee under the leadership of the Conference Chair shall make all decisions related to the conference. The Scientific Committee shall advise the Organizing Committee in technical matters such as selection of sessions and review of abstracts for the purpose of acceptance or rejection of presentations for inclusion in the technical program.

6. A budget should be part of the proposal for consideration by the IAMG Council. 

     6.1  The conference should be self-financed by the Organizing Committee through registration fees, donations, and grants. 

     6.2 The Organizing Committee may request a loan of up to US$10,000 from the IAMG as seed money. The Organizing Committee is responsible for the loan and must repay the loan to the IAMG at the end of the conference. IAMG shall not ask any interest on the loan. A loan request should be included with the budget submitted with the proposal. If the hosting country has a foreign currency restriction, the IAMG shall not permit any loan to the Organizing Committee. Approval of a loan by Council and the amount of any loan shall depend upon the financial resources of the IAMG. 

     6.3 The Organizing Committee may request a grant of up to US$6,000. Any grant request must be part of the original proposal, and should state clearly the purpose of the grant. Availability and amount of grants shall depend upon the financial resources of the IAMG. If a proceedings volume is to be provided to participants of the conference, a statement to this effect should be included in the proposal and an estimate of cost must appear in the proposed budget. In lieu of a full proceedings volume, authors of papers presented at the conference should be encouraged to submit their papers to one of the three official refereed IAMG journals, Mathematical Geosciences, Computer & Geosciences, and Natural Resources Research. 

     6.4 The proposal should include a plan for dispersal of any surplus funds at the end of the conference. The Organizing Committee shall have full fiscal responsibility for the conference. If a deficit occurs at the end of the conference, the IAMG shall not be responsible for the deficit. 

     6.5 Within six months of the end of the conference, the Organizing Committee must repay any outstanding loans from the IAMG, forward surplus funds owed the IAMG, and submit a final financial statement for the IAMG records.

7. IAMG Council believes that the Annual Conference should recognize the benefits of belonging to the IAMG and encourage new membership. Therefore, registration fees for nonmembers of the IAMG should be set higher than that for members. Nonmembers should be offered the option of joining the IAMG at the time of registration, and registering for the conference at the member rate.

8. The IAMG encourages the Organizing Committee to prepare a poster announcing the conference at least 12 months prior to the conference. The IAMG shall assist in circulating the poster by providing a membership list.

9. The first announcement of the conference should be distributed at least 12 months prior to the conference. The IAMG shall assist in circulating the poster by providing a list of IAMG members and addresses.

10. The IAMG strongly encourages the Organizing Committee to include a series of workshops and short courses as a part of the conference. The workshops and short courses promote mathematical geosciences and the use of computers for understanding and interpreting geologic and natural processes. It also allows for the participation of world-class mathematical geoscientists in the conference, and for financing their expenses through registration fees. Workshops, short courses, and field trips should be included in the proposal, along with a budget.

11. It is expected that all members of the IAMG Executive Committee shall attend the conference; partial travel expenses shall be provided by the Association if financing is a problem. Besides, the IAMG shall invite all main award recipients (Krumbein Medal, Chayes Prize, Griffiths Award, and Vistelius Prize) scheduled for presentation at the conference, with full expenses (registration, travel, lodging, and meals) paid by the Association. In exchange, each awardees shall deliver a keynote lecture and submit a written version of it to the Organizing Committee.

12. The Council of the IAMG reserves the right to amend these guidelines at any time, or to depart from these guidelines if found necessary.