Submission Guidelines

Proposals for In-Person Presentations

Information Africa Organization provides a regional platform for professional communication and understanding of the significance of KM for innovation. It gives a voice to KM on a regional scale and follows the developments in KM, promoting its practical implementation within the Africa.

Papers presenting innovative projects, experience, initiatives or services with a strong collaborative cross-border or regional dimension are preferred. Papers should reflect the 2016 conference theme “Knowledge Management for Sustainable development in Africa”.

Proposals for in-person presentations at the conference may be submitted as one of four types:

Paper Presentation ( scheduled as part of a Themed Session or Round table Discussion)
Workshop/Interactive Presentation
Poster or Exhibit;
Colloquium. Each of these is explained in more detail below.

Paper Presentation

An accepted proposal for a single paper presentation either by one or more authors will be assigned to one of the following formats by the conference development team:

a) Themed Session

This is suited for reports on completed research or scholarly work.
Authors present only overviews of their work as relates to purpose, procedures and outcomes of their articles. Indicate time limits for every presentation. Note that there will be no photocopying facilities but data projectors will be in every conference room

b) Roundtable Session

This will be for position papers, reviews of theoretical or conceptual frameworks, works-in-progress, policy analyses, or topics that generate, or benefit from, extended discussion.
Include authors interacting with interested delegates at the table. Authors present synopsis of their work and generate discussions. One paper per roundtable may be submitted for publication

Poster or Exhibit Session

This will be for presenting preliminary results of work in progress or for projects that lends themselves to visual displays and representations. Author will display or exhibit their work and engage in informal discussion about their work with other delegates throughout the session.
Displays can either be posters (Indicate Maximum Dimension), digital/computer displays, artwork, or other visual media.
Each display should include a brief abstract of the purpose and procedures of the work.

Conference Proposal Guidelines

This contains the information which reviewers will use to evaluate the proposal and, if your presentation is ultimately published in the journal, serves at the Abstract of the journal article. While each proposal should address the purpose, methods, and implications of the scholarly work, the content within these general categories will vary somewhat, based on the type of scholarly work to be presented and the type of presentation you choose. Illustrations of the topics, or elements, to be addressed in the proposal are presented below. Please note that all proposals and presentations must be in English.

Type of Scholarly Work: Research, Practice, or Theory

Research Focus

Thesis statement: the hypothesis, research statement, statement of the problem or issue being explored.
Methodology: brief overview of research method used to address the research question identified in the thesis statement. For the proposal, include information on the type of data collected (e.g., surveys, interviews, tests, literary analysis or critique, observations) but not on design, sampling, or data analyses techniques (these should be explained in the full paper).
Results: the main findings of the study, resulting from the methods used.
Conclusions and Implications: what the results mean for the field of study or for society; relate back to the thesis statement.

Practice Focus

Framework: the scholarly knowledge base–theoretical framework, previous research, or conceptual approach–upon which the practical application is based.
Description of practical application: what was designed or developed, how was it implemented, in what setting and with whom?
Outcomes: what has been learned from the implementation, what strengths and weaknesses have been identified?
Implications: what are the next steps or the implications for future practice or for society

Theory Focus

Statement of the hypothesis, theoretical perspective, or philosophical idea being asserted.
Relationship to existing theories or perspectives in the field.
Contribution: how proposed idea advances knowledge in the field or benefits society.

Type of Presentation: Paper, Workshop, Poster/Exhibit

The type of presentation you plan will also have implications for the information you include in the Long Description.

Paper Presentation

Accepted papers will be organized into thematic sessions or roundtable discussions and, while the preparation for your presentation may be different for these two formats, the content of your proposal should include all of the elements of a research, practice, or theory-focused work listed above.

Poster/Exhibit

Generally most appropriate for “practice-focused” works (or works in progress), a poster/exhibit proposal may concentrate on one aspect, for example, “description of the practical application”. The proposal should clearly describe the type of information (or product) that will be displayed.

Submitting a Proposal for Article Submission

Authors must first have their proposals accepted for presentation at the conference before submitting their full article for potential publication (requires log in to submit proposal)

Components of Online Proposal Form:

Presentation Type: Those not attending the conference should select “Article Submission” link
Short Description: A short summary of the main idea of your article. May be no longer than 30 words.
Longer Description: A concise description of the purpose, methods, and implications of your scholarly work. This will serve as the Abstract (may be revised prior to publication). Recommended length of 150-200 words.
Keyword set: Keywords are used to organize journal articles.
Knowledge Focus: Choose if your work has a Practice, Research, or Theory focus.
Theme Selection: Select the theme that best categorizes your work. Theme selections will be used to sort articles into the correct thematic journals.
Biographical Information: Organization or institution, position or title within the organization/institution, short statement of interests.
Language: Please note that all articles must be in English.

Author Guidelines

We only accept text files.PDF submissions will not be accepted
Article submissions must contain no more than 30% of textual material published in other places by the same author or authors, and these other places must be acknowledged and cited; in other words, the remaining 70% of the article must be unique and original to your current submission.
Submitted work should not be under consideration in another conference or journal for presentation or publishing.
Ensure the accuracy of citations, quotations, diagrams, tables, and maps.
Articles must be written in accordance with the MLA.
Articles must have a minimum of five scholarly references.
Spelling can vary according to national usage, but should be internally consistent.
Articles should be thoroughly checked and proofread before submission. Authors will be unable to make any changes during the peer review process after submitting their article if the paper is accepted, they will have a chance to make minor revisions after peer review and before the final submission of their article.

Formatting Requirements

Title to be 24 points and body text 12 point on Times New Roman.
Title, abstract and author(S) details to be on one separate page from the body text.

Submissions and selection process:

Should you be interested in contributing, please provide:

Name and affiliation of presenter(s)
The title of the paper /poster
An abstract of the paper or presentation of 300-500 words, in English
Brief biographical information of presenter(s)
Contact information including email address

Please send your proposals by 27th May 2016 to Sharon at email addresses: Sharon@informationafrica.org c.c . info@informationafrica.org, Edward@informationafrica.org

The submitted material will be reviewed by a Program Planning Committee. The selection will be based on the abstracts and rated on how well they fit the program theme.

Communication of acceptance of the papers will be sent out by 15th July 2016.
For additional information you may contact:

Edward Lodenyo
Email: edward@informationafrica.org

Important dates

Submission of proposals and abstracts: 27th May 2016

Notification to authors: 15th July 2016

Submission of full text: 30th September 2016

Please note

All expenses, including registration for the full conference, travel, accommodation, etc. are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. Lunch and other refreshments on the day will be provided.