The Seminar Submission form has closed for the 2024 NSA Annual Conference.

Q: When does the call for conference seminars open?

A: Call for conference seminar proposals for the 2024 Annual Conference has closed. 

Q: What is the deadline to complete a submission?

A: The deadline to submit will be February 29, 2024 at midnight.

Q: Do I have to submit my proposal online?

A: Yes, online submission of proposals is required.

Q: Do I have to have an email address to submit online?

A: Yes, confirmation and notification will be done via email.

Q: How will I know if my proposal was submitted successfully?

A: You will receive a confirmation email after your proposal is submitted.

Q: What information is required?

A: The online proposal must be completed with the following information:

• • • Nominating Person Information:
    • Presentation Title
    • Presenter Information Required: Name, Title, Agency/Organization, City, State, Cell Phone, Email
    • Presentation Availability
    • Speaker Information (Including a Bio and Photo)
    • Seminar Track
    • Type of Session
    • Presentation Description and Objectives

Q: What tracks can I submit a proposal for?

A: NSA has the following 11 tracks:

Future of Law Enforcement – This track covers what is new in the world of law enforcement and looking to what is just past the horizon. These sessions should be forward thinking and can include technology that might be coming, changes to the psychology of law enforcement and their community, or other topics that reflect the future of law enforcement.

Jail Operations – Sessions that cover the issues that affect jails; training on how to more effectively run jail operations and issues affect jail administrators and jail staffing.

Legal Affairs – These sessions will cover legal issues facing the law enforcement community today and into the future. They can cover current existing laws, proposed legislation, and potential legislation that the community should keep an eye out for or should be working on crafting in their jurisdictions.

Officer Wellness – Officer wellness is an ongoing and ever evolving issues in all those working law enforcement and public safety sectors. It impacts not just the officer but also their family and their team. Sessions submitted to this track could cover any wellness issues for any audience that is connected to law enforcement and first responders.

Recruitment, Retention & Training – These are some of the biggest challenges facing law enforcement today. This track should provide practical actionable skills and tool for attendees to take back to their office and apply to help them recruit the right staff, give them the right training and help them retain their new hires.

Law Enforcement Tech – These sessions would look at the latest and greatest in law enforcement technology and its applications in real world settings. These should be technologies that are available today, if it is technology that is upcoming that would be in the Future of Law Enforcement track.

Leadership – Sessions in this track should cover topics like how to be a better leader, how to overcome the leadership challenges or how to gain the skills to prepare to move into a leadership role.

Public Safety – Public Safety encompasses many first responders, not just Sheriff’s and their deputies. This track is to cover the broader areas of public safety and to include topics that are of interest to all first responders.

NSA Talks – A NSA Talk is a showcase for speakers presenting great, well-formed ideas in under 18 minutes. They should be new and surprising, an idea or invention that the audience has not heard about or a great basic idea that the audience has heard about with a completing new perspective.

Case Studies – This track is to provide case study reports from specific events or programs that demonstrate how the situation was handled by the responding agencies. These are to be learning opportunities from real world examples.  The case study can show-case an incident such as a mass shoot or a program such as a child trafficking initiative.

Rural & Small Agency – The needs of small and rural agencies are different from the challenges of the major city and county agencies. Sessions in this track will specifically target topics that are relevant to small and rural agencies. Topics that include resources for these agencies are of interest.

Q: What topic should I submit for consideration?

A: We are looking for contemporary and innovative educational seminars on law enforcement issues that attendees will find relevant to their job and agency. Seminars should not be a sales pitch/commercial for an organization or service. NSA offers limited sponsored seminar opportunities if you wish to engage attendees in this way.

Q: Can I submit more than one proposal?

A: Yes, there is no limit on proposal submissions.

Q: What are the criteria for acceptance of proposals?

A: All submissions will be reviewed by the NSA selection committee. Top recommendations will be reviewed by NSA staff, selections made, and a schedule generated. All submitters are notified of the results via email during the week of March 25, 2024.

Q: When will I know if my presentation has been accepted for the NSA Annual Conference?

A: The submitter will receive a notification email from NSA with the decision no later than March 30, 2024. They will be expected to acknowledge receipt to accept and review content for the conference program.

Q: If my proposal is accepted, will I receive any compensation for presenting at an NSA conference?

A: No, NSA does not pay travel expenses or honorariums.

Q: If accepted, how much time will I be given to present?

A: Seminar times are 1 hour in length. The proposal form asks for your desired length and NSA will do its best to fulfill your request.

Q: How are seminar rooms set up? What audio-visual equipment will be available for my presentation?

A: All seminar rooms will be set in classroom style seating. A head table for three and standing lecturn will be standard in each room for presenters, along with an LCD projector and screen. All presenters must bring their own laptop. An audio-visual technician will be available to assist you in setting up your laptop with the projector and to answer any technical questions.

Additional audio-visual requests will be considered at the discretion of the Director of Meetings and the availability of such resources. Costs of additional audio-visual requests may be passed on to the presenter (i.e. internet).

Q: What format should my presentation be in? Should I include handouts?

A: Most seminar presenters have a PowerPoint presentation and may provide additional handouts (copied and shipped to the conference site at their expense). In order for attendees to obtain POST credit in their state, NSA requires the following documentation for each seminar, approximately one month prior to the conference (specific date TBD), and it will be placed online for attendees to access after the conference:

1) Short bio/resume of the instructor(s) 2) Goal or learning objective of the seminar 3) Outline of training materials 4) PowerPoint of training materials (a PDF version will suffice)

Q: What is expected of me as a presenter?

A: Conference attendees invest a considerable amount of time and expense to attend the conference. It is expected that presenters:

• • • • • • • Will prepare for their seminar prior to arrival.
            • Have a significant knowledge and expertise of the subject area and have sufficient presentation skills to effectively communicate.
            • Will not engage in excessive commercial presentations of their organization or service.
            • Will be conscious of the time limitation of their seminar.
            • Will not read directly from PowerPoints or written statements.

Contact Information

For questions about the NSA Annual Conference contact Julie Ann Schmidt at jschmidt@sheriffs.org

For questions about seminar proposals or the submission process contact Sofie Roskin at sroskin@sheriffs.org