The British Academy of Management would like to invite tenders from academic institutions for the organisations of the 2021 Annual Conference, however there is a possibility of BAM2020 becoming available, so we are inviting tenders for that too.

The annual conference is central to the British Academy of Management, our membership and the delegates who attend. Our most recent conference in 2018 was hosted by the Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, which attracted a wide range of scholars, practitioners, students and keynote speakers from the business and management community. Around 900 delegates attended, travelling from about 50 different countries, to participate in a range of workshops, keynotes and sessions, arranged into 26 Tracks. The conference offers opportunities to share ideas, network, present current research and discuss policy initiatives.
The number of venues expressing an interest in hosting the BAM annual conference has increased with the continued success of the event. To ensure fairness and transparency BAM has implemented a formal tendering process. This process will be overseen by the Chair of BAM, Treasurer and the Vice Chair of Academic Affairs of Conference and Capacity Building who will provide academic oversight and support to the conference organising team.

Any interested institutions or venues should submit an ‘expression of interest’ by the end of November 2018 for BAM2020 and October 2019 for BAM2021, followed by a detailed proposal before 15th December 2019. The proposal must include the following information:

• Outline of the venue for the Doctoral Symposium and Doctoral Symposium Dinner.
• Outline of the venue for the main conference including the conference Gala Dinner.
• Agree that the dates of the Conference are ultimately set by BAM (currently, the tentative dates for 2021 are Tuesday 7th to Thursday 9th September). The Doctoral Symposium is held on the day before the Conference
• Indicate who would be the conference co-chair (alongside the BAM Co-Vice Chairs for Academic Affairs of Conference and Capacity Building) and points of contacts for the conference (usually including a dedicated conference or events officer from the host institution).
• Give outline costs both for holding the conference (including room hire, catering and equipment costs) and doctoral symposium (catering costs only). As part of the support of Doctoral Students the Host Institution is expected to provide rooms and AV for the Doctoral Symposium free of charge.
• Outline the range of local accommodation, including student accommodation, available and its price range.
• Describe accessibility within and around the venue (including any restrictions to wheelchair access, and public transport services).
• Indicate possible themes, their rationales, and identify an academic link for the conference.
• Outline any possible ‘fringe’ sessions.
• Outline any contributions to be made from the institution (financial or in kind).
• Outline possible sponsorship.
• Outline a risk management plan.
• Existing and likely future support of BAM from BAM members at the institution.

After an initial short- listing process one or more institutions or venues will be visited and viewed in December/January by the Chair of BAM, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs of Conference and Capacity Building and a member of organising team. Following the visit, the committee will then reach a final decision. Please note that it is possible for the response to the tender process to be from either an academic institution or a venue (e.g. a large conference hotel or a conference centre). In the case of a venue we would only expect limited information about the chair or possible themes. However, as the conference is academic in nature we would expect the venue to eventually run the event jointly with a suitable local university in order to ensure academic focus and content. It may be possible for BAM to assist in setting up this relationship if the venue is felt to be appropriate.

For more information about hosting a BAM Conference, please download the Full Tender Document or by contacting the BAM Office on 0207 383 7770 or bam@bam.ac.uk. We would be very happy to have an initial, informal chat.