Submittal Instructions
Designing Your Session Proposal
- Speak to a specific audience with the skill level you select. (Either basic, intermediate or advanced skill level.) The experience and skills of Rally participants vary tremendously from new volunteer board members to land trust staff members with years of experience. We are actively seeking more Advanced sessions.
- Keep in mind many of the best practices for live, in-person events are the same for virtual presentations: solid, well-organized content with good visuals delivered by an engaging expert that enables participants to meet the learning objectives of the session.
- As a subject matter expert, be aware of unnecessary details when creating your proposal. Please be clear, concise and compelling.
- Think beyond the traditional lecture format and intersperse question and answer periods, stories polls and videos throughout your session.
- Determine which Area of Focus your proposal will best fit in.
- Indicate which of Land Trust Standards and Practices your session will cover, if applicable. See Standards and Practices for more information on the practices.
- Select your co-presenter(s), if applicable. We recommend no more than 3 presenters total for a 90-minute session.
- Identify three learning objectives that list the skills or knowledge that participants will take away from the session. They should clearly articulate what participants will be able to do after attending the session and should NOT simply repeat the information in the session description.
- Provide an accurate description and an engaging, concise title.
Example-
Title: Savvy Risk Taking and Prevention
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
Title: Savvy Risk Taking and Prevention
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
- Explain the type of risks affecting land trusts.
- Describe how to mitigate and finance risk.
- List five practical, real-life approaches to risk management that can be incorporated into a risk management plan.
Session Selection Criteria
The program committees will review and select session proposals using the following set of criteria:
- Relevance of the topic to Land Trust Standards and Practices
- Credentials and speaking skills of the presenters involved
- Clarity of learning objectives and of the format
- Appropriate length/amount of material for time allotment
- Level of learner interaction
- Overall balance of program topics and skill level
Land Trust Standards and Practices
Land Trust Standards and Practices are guidelines for the responsible operation of a land trust. Revised in February 2017, the most current information for the revised Standards can be found on the Alliance website or The Learning Center. For accreditation, the Accreditation Requirements Manual provides information regarding documentation required for a successful accreditation application. We encourage you to submit proposals for both workshops and seminars that help land trusts with implementation of the Standards.