OPPI members and individuals from allied and related professions are encouraged to submit a proposal to speak at the conference. This year, the conference will be exploring two central themes:

Proposals are encouraged, but not required to align with one or both conference themes. To guide prospective speakers in aligning their sessions with these themes, OPPI has developed a list of essential questions for each theme. These questions identify specific areas of focus within each theme; you are encouraged to review the essential questions and consider them when submitting your proposal.

• The Pressures of Planning
• The Career Lifecycle of a Planner

Additionally, as a result of member feedback, OPPI-led task forces and wider societal conversations, OPPI has identified major educational priorities in the delivery of new learning materials for its members:

• Anti-Black racism, systemic discrimination, and institutional racism
• Equity, diversity & inclusion principles, and representation in planning
• Women and gender diversity in planning
• Indigenous histories, cultures and perspectives, unceded, unsurrendered Land, Treaties and other reciprocal agreements, sovereignty and self-determination, inherent Indigenous and Treaty rights, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
  
• Climate change, climate science, mitigation, and adaptation

Proposals that indicate their plans to address one or more of these priorities are encouraged, as we intend integrate them into our conference content.

Finally, all proposals submitted to OPPI are subjected to a rigorous jurying process. The first step of this process is a peer review of each proposal by three separate Planning Knowledge Exchange (PKE) Committee members. This rubric is used as a guide by the PKE Committee as they jury each proposal. Upon completion of the peer review process, the average score of each proposal is calculated before being considered further.