Policy Approved by the CHI Steering Committee 20 August 2019
Updated: 2 May 2025 – Version 2.0
Status: Active

Executive Summary

The purpose of this document is to describe how the General Chairs (GCs) and Technical Program Chairs (TPCs) of a given CHI conference can propose evolutions to the conference they are organizing and what the approval processes are. The CHI steering committee considers that the GCs and TPCs are only supposed to propose a reduced set of evolutions to the conference they are organizing. This is to ensure continuity from the attendees’ perspective as well as make the impact of changes measurable. More drastic changes to address bigger challenges with the CHI conference series are proposed by the CHI steering committee.

This document decomposes the content of the CHI conference into three types of elements: Core to CHI elements that are candidates for limited changes, Important elements that are more malleable, and Discretionary elements for which the presence and implementation at a given CHI conference are left at the GCs’ and TPCs’ discretion.

For each element type, this document presents the venues that belong to it, its organizational elements, their typical implementation in CHI conferences, and the approval process for modification that the GCs and TPCs might desire.

Table of Contents

Key People/Roles

GCs: CHI conference General Chairs

TPCs: CHI conference Technical Programme Chairs

CHI SC: Steering Committee of the CHI conference series

SIGCHI EC: Executive Committee of the ACM Special Interest Group on Human-Computer Interaction (SIGCHI).

GC Liaison: GC liaison (appointed by CHI SC for a given CHI conference to ensure information flow to and from CHI SC and prompt feedback on decisions from the GC).

TPC Liaison: TPC liaison to the CHI conference (appointed by CHI SC for a given CHI conference to ensure information flow to and from CHI SC and prompt feedback on decisions from the TPC).

Venue Chairs: CHI organizing committee members who oversee one track, e.g., the paper chairs.

Introduction

One of the greatest challenges of organizing the ACM CHI conference is balancing the vision at the conference series level, initiatives from the organizers of a given conference, and requirements of stakeholders of the conference which are defined at levels on the organizational hierarchy, which can include attendees, venue chairs, Technical Program Chairs (TPCs), General Chairs (GCs), CHI Steering Committee (CHI SC), SIGCHI Executive Committee, ACM and the convention center managers. The CHI SC has numerous objectives. Most notably and relevant to his document, these objectives include

Defining the long-term overall strategy and vision for the ACM CHI conference series, considering continuity and expected multi-year initiatives
Ensuring the conference honors the core values of our community, such as excellence, inclusion, respect, kindness, and community building,
Supporting each year’s GCs and TPCs,
Ensuring compliance with the possibly conflicting requirements of the other stakeholders.

These objectives must be balanced with care. The CHI SC and SIGCHI EC give the GCs and TPCs the agency and the opportunity to realize the conference they envision. At the same time, the CHI SC must ensure that the long-term success and evolution of the conference are realized and that relevant policies, such as those set forth either by the ACM or SIGCHI EC, are adhered to. As such, conference chairs need to be given the flexibility to make the conference their own; however, any major changes that could impact the core components of the conference or its long-term evolution need to be overseen and approved by the CHI SC.

This document outlines what is required versus expected versus discretionary regarding the different elements of the CHI conference that are considered Core to CHI and beyond. Thus, the document guides the conference’s existence, purpose, implementation, and execution. This document sets up the policies surrounding changing the conference in any individual year. The goal of this document is not to slow down initiatives or limit the ability of conference chairs to innovate but instead to allow them to do so in a way that ensures that the core values of the CHI conference are realized and that the conference attendee expectations are consistently met or exceeded and thus, to ensure the stability and long-term prosperity of the conference.

It should be noted that it is nearly impossible to list every aspect of the CHI conference, and as such, this document should serve not as a formal contract but as guidelines to create a shared understanding. Every CHI Conference will have its surrounding contexts, unique requests, and unprecedented situations, which must be considered on a case-by-case basis. In general, conference chairs have discretion over conference details that are not explicitly listed in this document; however, consulting with the CHI SC is recommended if there is any doubt. The CHI SC is set up to support the conference organizers.

It is also important to note that changes to the conference can often take several years to assess adequately. It is at the discretion of the CHI SC to determine if proposed changes should be implemented as single-year trials or multi-year initiatives. If a change is to be implemented as a multi-year initiative, it will become “Core to CHI” for the length of its implementation.

Changes to This Document

A 2/3 majority vote of the CHI SC can change this document at any time. Changes to this document should ideally be made 18 months before the CHI conference, which they may impact. Changes should be communicated to existing or future conference chairs in all cases.

CHI Conference Elements Categorization

The elements of the CHI Conference are categorized into four categories: Core to CHI, Important to CHI, Discretionary, and Historical (the last three ones considered “beyond” the core):

Core to CHI: These elements are “Core to CHI” and must be fulfilled. They can only be changed with approval by the CHI SC.
Important to CHI: These conference elements are expected to occur at every conference. The TPC and/or GC must consult with their liaisons about any potential changes. The liaisons will decide, depending on the scope of the changes, if CHI SC approval is required.
Discretionary: These are elements of the conference that can be changed or excluded from the conference without CHI SC oversight. Changes from one year to the next, as well as the associated implications, should be thought through carefully and discussed early with all stakeholders, including connected venues and future conference chairs. The TPC liaison and/or GC liaison must be informed of the changes before implementation. Significant changes (additions or exclusions) should be brought to the attention of the CHI SC by the TPC and/or GC liaisons.
Historical: Prior versions of this document described elements of older conference programs that have been removed or merged into the current aspects of the program. These details are included here for reference only and may be removed in time as they are no longer required for reference. They should support GCs and TPCs in progressing rather than testing excluded elements.

Approval Process and Timelines

As per the details below, any change that requires approval must be proposed to the CHI SC (in writing) early enough (at least two months before making it public) for the change to be considered and a decision to be made. If the time is too short, the change will be postponed to the next CHI conference (provided that future GCs and/or TPCs want to propose it). All proposals must be sent in writing to the CHI SC. They must include a detailed description of the change (including what is the current functioning and the envisioned one) and a detailed rationale for the proposal (which should include any data and/or community feedback to support the arguments).

For instance, a change that would impact the CHI conference n Call for Papers (CFP) must be requested 2 months before announcing the CFP at the CHI conference (n-1), i.e., 14 months before the CHI conference n. This will allow the CHI SC to discuss the proposal for change at their monthly meeting and reach a decision before the CFP is posted.

Core to CHI

This section describes the venues that are core to CHI as well as organizational elements that also belong to core to CHI.

Venues Core to CHI

Paper Venue

Every CHI must have a paper venue. The CHI SC must approve any changes to the paper’s venue, including its CFP, review process, and presentation format. The paper venue must follow the Refereed quality standard outlined in the Guidelines and Criteria for Evaluation of Submissions for ACM Publications. Papers must be given the opportunity to be presented orally and discussed. The selection process, presentation format, and archival material are expected to be similar to one of the CHI conference (n-1).

Changes to the subcommittees must also be approved, for which a specific process must be followed. See Propose Changes to Subcommittees Process.

Poster Venue

Every CHI must have an Poster venue, which is published as an extended abstract. A Poster is a short written contribution that allows attendees to present smaller contributions (than paper venue content) that showcase innovative technologies, extend prior research conversations, detail short, self-contained studies, or provide provocations for new work and ideas to emerge. Posters must be given the opportunity to present as posters in a dedicated slot in the conference program. The selection process, presentation format, and archival material are expected to be similar to one of the CHI conference (n-1).

Panel Venue

Every CHI must have a panel venue, which is published as an extended abstract Panels serve as an interactive forum for discussing topics of broad interest within the CHI community. Lasting for one session, they feature panelists and a moderator to encourage audience engagement. Panels differ from workshops and meet-ups in their structured format, typically involving presentations by one or more panelists and moderated discussions to elicit audience participation and dialogue. The selection process, presentation format, and archival material are expected to be similar to one of the CHI conference (n-1).

Meet-Up Venue

Every CHI must have a meet-up venue, which is published as an extended abstract. This venue facilitates informal discussions among attendees with shared interests, lasting one session and providing a platform for dialogue and collaboration. Unlike workshops, meet-ups do not require predefined contributions from participants, focusing instead on fostering discussion, exchanging opinions, and questioning ideas. The selection process, presentation format, and archival material are expected to be similar to one of the CHI conference (n-1).

Workshop Venue

Every CHI must have a workshop venue that offers half-day workshops, which is published as an extended abstract. Workshops are a chance to bring people together who care about the same ideas, questions, or problems in human-computer interaction (HCI). Workshops can focus on anything from new research and design ideas to real-world tech use, teaching, ethics, or grand challenges. The selection process, presentation format, and archival material are expected to be similar to one of the CHI conference (n-1).

Interactive Demo Venue

Every CHI must have an interactive demonstration venue, which is published as an extended abstract. They provide a way for the community to experience the technology that is being created by our community. The selection process, presentation format, and archival material are expected to be similar to one of the CHI conference (n-1).

Student Research Competition Venue

Every CHI must have a Student Research Competition (SRC), which is published as an extended abstract. It is required because the winners go up to the ACM competition, and if we do not include it, then SIGCHI’s work will not be represented at the ACM level. Moreover, refer to ACM’s general information and the mandatory judgment requirements.

Organizational Elements Core to CHI

Conference Organizing Committee

The GCs and TPCs are responsible for assembling a competent conference organizing committee with diverse representation. The GC and TPC Liaisons will work with the GCs and/or TPCs to select a committee. Typically, the TPCs select the technical program chairs with input from the GCs, and the GCs select the other chairs. For each chair position (except for GC and TPC), it is a good practice that one chair carries over from the previous year to maintain institutional knowledge.

Conference Call for Papers

The Call for Papers (CFP) for all venues (independent of core to CHI, important to CHI, or discretionary) must be posted on the conference website at the very latest on the last day of the CHI conference (n-1). Each CFP must include information about the submission format and process, the important dates, the public dissemination date, the review process and anonymization policy, the presentation format, and the venue chairs and their contact information. All CFPs must follow the ACM’s publications policies. All CFPs must be approved by the GC liaison and TPC liaison before they are posted (including modifications), as they form a contract with our submitters and attendees. Changing CFPs after announcing them should be avoided at any cost.

Any disagreements between the conference chairs and their liaisons will be escalated to the full CHI SC for review. Any changes to the CFP may require further approval of the CHI SC, depending on the associated venue type and extent of the change, as outlined below.

Submission Templates

Submission and publication templates are determined in consultation with CHI SC, SIGCHI EC, and ACM.

Conference Website

The conference website must be hosted as a subdomain under acm.org as chi<YEAR>.acm.org. The conference must include a website that contains information about the conference for attendees, authors, and other stakeholders. The website should be launched two years before the conference, including at least information about the conference dates and its location. The complete version of the website, including the entire CFP, should be live at least one day before the CHI conference (n-1) starts.

Mobile Conference Program

A conference mobile program should be provided, which includes the full conference program. For this, the SIGCHI program app must be used.

Opening and Closing Plenary Sessions

At each conference, one opening and one closing plenary session must be open to all attendees, where the community is welcomed (opening), farewell, and thanks are given (closing). The plenaries are important to our values of bringing the community together and providing a shared experience. The plenaries should occur in a space that can accommodate all conference attendees. In cases where this is not possible, accommodations for overflow must be provided.

SIGCHI EC and ACM may have other requirements to meet at the opening plenary. All requirements for the opening plenary will be communicated to the conference chairs 3 months before the conference. The GCs will be responsible for their section of the opening plenary and may design it however they see fit. This includes discretion as to what content they would like to include.

Town Hall Meeting

At each conference, there must be a town hall meeting to discuss CHI issues, which members of the CHI SC will moderate. The event typically occurs during lunch in a large room and lasts approximately one session. Moreover, SIGCHI EC requires the organization of a SIGCHI Town Hall meeting at the conference (see CHI SC Terms, Article 6, Section 1). Traditionally, the two town halls are combined.

Presentation of ToCHI Papers

The presentation of journal papers provides a way for authors to present relevant work to the CHI community and a way for attendees to be made aware of relevant work published in other venues. The CHI SC must approve any changes to include ToCHI papers at the conference and their presentation format.

SIGCHI EC Events and Working Meetings at CHI

The SIGCHI EC organizes a number of events at ACM CHI (CHI SC Terms Article 6, Section 1), including events that are core to CHI (for example, the Town Hall and Awards Talks), and other events outside of existing CHI venues (for example, Workshops, Panels). All requests for events should be provided four months before the conference dates, to be provided to the GCs and TPCs. For events that are core to CHI, these must be included in the conference programme. For all other events, space will be accommodated based on the constraints of space and budget. Requests that are made later than four months before the conference are difficult to accommodate within the programme timeline and may not be accepted.

The SIGCHI EC can also submit an event to any existing venue within CHI, but these submissions will be assessed through the process identified within the venue CfP.

Requests for physical space for SIGCHI EC working meetings are core to CHI (CHI SC Terms Article 6, Section 1). The SIGCHI EC will provide the GCs and TPCs with a list of space requests for working spaces during the conference. Requests should be provided four months before the conference.

SIGCHI Awards

The SIGCHI EC has an Awards Chair who will communicate the SIGCHI award presentations to the CHI SC liaisons and to the TPCs (see CHI SC Terms, Article 6, Section 1). The GCs and TPCs have to include the SIGCHI award presentations in the CHI conference program. Input to the program from the SIGCHI Awards Chair shall be provided four months before the conference.

Best Paper Awards

The conference must award Best Paper awards to up to 1% of all valid submissions and Honorable Mention awards to up to 4% of all valid submissions. The process has to adhere to the ACM guidelines.

Conference Pricing and Structure

The SIGCHI EC must approve changes to the CHI conference pricing or the pricing structure. The CHI SC will help the chairs prepare any proposals for changes and approve them to be sent to the SIGCHI EC for approval.

Internet for Attendees

Internet access, typically Wifi must be provided to all attendees. The cost must be included in the registration fee.

Student Volunteer Program

There must be a Student Volunteer program at CHI. SVs have to be provided with a lounge at the conference location and daily lunches. The program must respect the standing SIGCHI policies and the CHI Comped Registration Policy.

Remote Presentation

Authors who publish Papers and Posters are not required to present their work on-site. The TPCs can support remote presentations, for instance, with pre-recorded videos or synchronous presentations. However, authors do not need to engage in a hybrid or virtual presentation format.

Interactive venues such as Interactive Demos, Panels, Meet-Ups, Workshops, and Student Research Competition, must have an on-site component, but the TPCs may accommodate remote participation.

Independent of the specific hybrid implementation, the GCs need to approve the plans proposed by the TPCs, as the GCs need to support the implementation using their conference budget.

Accessibility Support

The conference must provide reasonable support for physical (site) accessibility, digital (mobile app, website) accessibility, publications (papers, proceedings) accessibility, and compliance with all relevant SIGCHI, ACM, and local accessibility policies. Accessibility has to be managed through the appointment of knowledgeable accessibility chairs with the support of professional staff.

Providing Food and Beverages During Breaks

Breaks are vital for supporting our values of bringing the conference attendees together and ensuring attendees feel like they are getting value from their registration costs. Conference registration must include food and beverages during coffee breaks for all. Choices will ideally accommodate an inclusive variety of dietary needs (e.g., vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, halal). The cost must be included in the registration fee.

Sponsorship Program

The conference must have a sponsorship strategy that gives our community a way to engage with industry beyond industry researchers. The sponsorship strategy must honor any existing multi-year contracts, and the conference chairs will work with the CHI SC to determine sponsorship requirements, e.g., sponsor talks. Moreover, any sponsorships by the SIGCHI EC need to be honored (CHI SC Terms Article 6, Section 1).

Anti Harassment Strategy

The conference organizing committee is required to implement ACM’s Policy Against Harassment at ACM Activities. For this, the GCs and TPCs are required to implement an anti-harassment strategy and thus fulfill the requirements of ACM.

Visa Support Letters

The registration team will provide visa support letters upon request from authors of accepted papers and registered attendees. Chairs are not allowed to provide visa-related advice or write invitation letters on behalf of ACM.

Important to CHI

Conference Program Structure

The conference is held from Monday to Friday. The conference is typically organized in 4 sessions per day, each lasting ~90 minutes. The two morning sessions are allocated to full-paper presentations, and the two afternoon sessions are allocated to all other venues.

Opening and Closing Plenary Keynotes

The keynotes offer a unique opportunity to unite all attendees for a shared experience. It is expected that there will be a keynote presentation at the opening and closing plenaries. The GCs are responsible for selecting the keynote speakers and must inform the GC Liaison of the speakers before inviting them.

Student Mentoring Programme

CHI should offer a student mentoring programme (SMP) that is inclusive to a relatively high number of students (e.g., > 100) from different stages of their student research journeys. The implementation of the SMP is to be determined by the TPCs in consultation with the TPC Liaison, making use of the varied venues (panels, meet-ups, workshops, and posters).

Family Care Strategy

Typically, the conference provides family care, ideally on-site, although its implementation is to be determined by the GCs in consultation with the GC Liaison.

Conference Receptions

The conference should provide a reception during the conference, which may include, but is not limited to an on-site Conference Opening Reception. There has typically been a Monday night reception at the conference venue.

Captioning of Plenaries and Selected Talks

Conference chairs need to determine their captioning strategy and communicate the accommodations provided on the conference website before the registration opens.

Archival of Paper Talks

The TPCs should determine if they want to support the archival of paper talks, which can be uploaded prior to the conference, with the permission of presenters. Archival of paper talks has happened via the ACM DL and YouTube.

Equity and Inclusion Strategy

The GCs have to develop appropriate strategies to support the inclusive participation of all attendees.

Discretionary

Presentation of Other Journals

Beyond the journals mentioned above, it is the GCs’ and TPCs’ discretion to decide which journals will be invited to present at the conference.

Career Development Workshop

Elements, such as Career Development Workshops, can be added to the program. TPCs and GCs can make changes to or exclude these elements from the Conference. GCs and TPCs must be in agreement with any major changes or cancellations. The CHI SC will assist in cases of disagreement.

Newcomers Reception

The CHI SC recommends the inclusion of some form of event or events to make newcomers to CHI feel more welcome. However, the format and ultimate decision to include such events are at the discretion of the GCs and TPCs.

Recognition Ribbons

The chairs have discretion as to what, if any, ribbons are provided at registration. However, it is encouraged to use ribbons to help attendees, and in particular newcomers of CHI, identify conference leadership to speak to in order to gain insights about the conference or express issues and or concerns.

Historical

These are elements of the conference that happened in the past and have been removed or merged into newer parts of the program.

Doctoral Consortium

The doctoral consortium no longer exists as its own venue.

Old Venue Formats

Due to the format change, these venues no longer exist as their tracks.

We encourage authors to submit case studies as either a Full Paper or a Poster to the conference. Community members could also organize a Workshop for case study presentations.

We encourage authors to submit courses to the conference in the Workshops track.

We encourage alt.chi authors to submit speculative and provocative work in Full Papers and Extended Abstract tracks to the conference. We also welcome proposals for Workshops, Meet-Ups, and Panels that center on provocations and speculative work.

The SIG track has been subsumed into the new Meet-Ups track.

The Late-Breaking Work track no longer exists as its own track. It has been subsumed into the Extended Abstracts track.

The Video Showcase no longer exists as its own venue.

The Student Game Competition no longer exists as its own venue. Research related to human-game interaction can be submitted to the Full Papers track, and the Extended Abstracts track as appropriate to the size of the contribution being made. We also welcome proposals for Meet-Ups and Workshops on related topics. For researchers who wish to provide interactive experiences of their games, please submit to the Interactivity track.

The Student Design Competition no longer exists as its own venue. Descriptions of design research can be submitted to the Full Papers track and the Extended Abstracts venue as appropriate to the size of the contribution being made. We also welcome proposals for Meet-Ups and Workshops on design-related topics.

Telepresence Robots and Remote Buddies

Telepresence robots and/or remote buddies can make the conference more accessible, but their inclusion is at the discretion of the GCs and TPCs.

Print Program

The creation of a print program to be distributed to conference attendees.

Live Streaming of (Selected) Talks

Conference chairs may explore models for the live streaming of talks.

CHI Madness

In past years, CHI has included sessions where video previews are played, or authors give 30-second previews of their talks. This type of event may be included at the discretion of the GCs and TPCs.

SIGCHI Diversity and Inclusion Event

The Diversity and Inclusion Event will be managed by the SIGCHI EC, and the conference must accommodate the requirements for holding the event (CHI SC Terms Article 6, Section 1).

Commemorations

At some CHI conferences, commemorations have been made during the plenaries. There are no specific criteria as to when a commemoration should be included, and it is the GC’s discretion to include any commemorations that may be made at the opening or closing plenaries. Some possible criteria the GCs may want to consider in their decision include: Pioneer in the field of HCI; Deep involvement at CHI; Significant/large service to community; Contribution to HCI education; Large impact (e.g., citations); ACM/SIGCHI awardees. The CHI SC and SIGCHI EC can provide guidance on such decisions.