Organizing Family Support Services at ACM Conferences

TL;DR

This paper discusses the implementation, challenges, and successes of family support services at ACM's CHI2018 conference, offering insights and recommendations to improve inclusivity for families at academic events.

Contribution

It provides empirical data and practical recommendations for establishing family support services at large interdisciplinary conferences.

Findings

Positive reception of family services by attendees

Identified key challenges in implementation

Recommended best practices for future conferences

Abstract

This article reflects on our experiences providing family-support services to a large, interdisciplinary ACM conference (CHI2018) including, the policy decisions, the challenges, and the successes. The article incorporates empirical data collected from pre- and post-conference surveys, observed use of the services, and aspirational aims for future conferences. We are discussing best practices and recommendations to facilitate the implementation of child support services at other conferences. We believe our article will be of great interest to both practitioners and academics in expanding the inclusivity and family support provided by ACM conferences and beyond.