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Workshop Chair Guidelines

These guidelines inform applicants about the criteria, roles and responsibilities of Chairs for Academic Workshops and Policy Workshops, and help applicants determine which format best aligns with their proposed topic, research objectives, and intended outcomes.

Academic Workshop Selection Criteria

  • Original Scholarly Contribution: Workshop topic and papers should make a clear and original contribution to the academic literature on the Gulf region.
  • Research Rigor: Proposals should demonstrate a well-defined research question, appropriate methodology, and strong use of evidence and relevant literature.
  • Thematic Coherence: Selected papers should collectively advance a coherent academic conversation around the workshop’s central research theme.
  • Publication Potential: Papers should have the potential to develop into peer-reviewed journal articles, an edited volume, or other scholarly publications.

Policy Workshop Selection Criteria

  • Timely Policy Relevance: Workshop topic and papers should address a current or emerging policy challenge affecting the Gulf region.
  • Actionable Policy Recommendations: Research should move beyond analysis to identify practical, evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and relevant stakeholders.
  • Policy Applicability: Papers should clearly identify the policy problem, key actors, available policy options, and the implications of different courses of action.
  • Policy Publication Potential: Contributions should be suitable for development into policy dosseir or a collective policy-oriented publication accessible to both specialist and policymaking audiences.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Solicitation of Workshop Papers:

  • Leverage networks across different institutions, think tanks, and universities to solicit papers. GSS will also do the same.
  • Aim for 35+ paper abstracts to select the best 20 for a well-rounded workshop.
  • Select authors with a focus on achieving diversity and inclusion.

Workshop Paper Selection:

  • Review abstracts promptly upon receipt and provide feedback and suggestions for amendments, if necessary, to ensure high-quality papers.
  • Follow preset deadlines for papers.
  • Encourage a variety of proposals to avoid duplication or redundancy in the topics selected.
  • Refer to the paper submission criteria during the review process to maintain consistency.
  • Prioritize solicitation of papers and quality submissions over including low-quality papers solely to increase the number of submissions. Low-quality papers can affect the quality of the workshop and the publication.
  • Select 20+ participants, considering that several dropouts may occur before the workshop, with dropouts possible until the week before the workshop.
  • Accepted applicants should confirm their participation in writing to the chairs through their account on the GSS website, acknowledging the submission terms and guidelines.

Workshop Drafting Period:

  • Communicate deadlines and guidelines to contributors to avoid confusion.
  • Discuss publication plans and timelines with contributors to align expectations.
  • Maintain open communication with participants during the drafting period to address questions and prevent delays.
  • Emphasize that paper submissions must align with the proposed topic stated in the abstract, and submissions deviating from the topic will not be accepted.

Workshop Execution:

  • Have a work plan with all accepted participants and coordinate with GSS staff.
  • Submit workshop discussion schedule by March 5th.
  • Ask paper presenters to adjust the focus of their papers if necessary for potential publication.
  • Discuss the publication plan with the participants. This will keep them committed to the workshop and lessen the chances of dropouts.
  • GSS reserves the right to proceed with the workshop and appoint replacement Chair(s) should one or both chairs withdraw at any time during the GSS process, with or without modifications to the workshop topic.
  • Moderate discussions and keep the flow of the workshop going.
  • All workshops are expected to be a day and a half long, with full engagement from Chairs and presenters.

Workshop Logistics:

  • All Chairs must attend the workshops in-person in Washington, D.C.
  • Chairs who require a visa to enter the United States are encouraged to apply once their workshop topic is approved, and GSS will provide a visa support letter upon request.
  • GSS will arrange and cover the economy-class airfare and lodging expenses for ONE Workshop Chair. Travel and accommodation for a Co-Chair might be covered if the workshop demonstrates strong participation by attracting at least 25 abstract submissions and receiving a minimum of 15 first-draft papers.
  • Chairs are required to keep the GSS portal updated with the status of all submitted abstracts and papers to ensure presenters are informed of their review outcomes in a timely manner.
  • Chairs are expected to maintain active communication with their workshop presenters—either via email or through the GSS messaging portal—to provide guidance, feedback, and important updates throughout the process.

Publication Plan:

1. Academic Workshop Publication Plan

The publication goal of an Academic Workshop is to develop the strongest workshop papers into a coherent scholarly publication that makes an original contribution to the academic literature on the Gulf region.

Workshop Chairs are encouraged to approach the workshop with publication in mind from the outset. Paper solicitation, selection, and revision should therefore be guided not only by the quality of individual submissions, but also by how well the papers collectively contribute to a clearly defined research theme and publication structure.

Academic Workshop Chairs should:

  • Develop a preliminary publication concept as part of the Workshop Chair application, identifying the proposed scholarly contribution and preferred publication format.
  • Solicit and select papers with attention to originality, methodological rigor, thematic coherence, and publication potential.
  • Organize accepted papers into a coherent structure that could support an edited volume, journal special issue, or coordinated series of peer-reviewed articles.
  • Discuss the publication pathway and expectations with presenters early in the workshop process.
  • Use the workshop discussions and peer feedback to help authors strengthen their arguments, methodology, evidence, and engagement with relevant literature.
  • Following the Symposium, identify the strongest papers for further revision and determine the most appropriate collective publication pathway.

Possible publication outcomes

The preferred outcome is a collective scholarly publication, which may include:

  1. An edited academic book proposed to an external academic publisher.
  2. An edited book published by Gulf International Forum in select cases.
  3. A special issue or coordinated series of articles submitted to an academic journal.
  4. Individual peer-reviewed journal articles when a collective journal or book publication is not feasible.
  5. Selected papers developed into GIF research reports, with the agreement of the authors and Workshop Chairs.
  6. Other scholarly publication formats proposed by the Chairs and approved by GSS.

Where possible, Workshop Chairs should prioritize publication models that preserve the collective intellectual contribution of the workshop rather than publishing papers independently without connection to the broader workshop theme.

2. Policy Workshop Publication Plan

The publication goal of an Open Policy Workshop is to transform workshop research into a coherent, accessible, and policy dossier that addresses a timely challenge affecting the Gulf region and provides practical, evidence-based recommendations.

Policy Workshop Chairs should design the publication structure from the beginning so that individual papers collectively examine different dimensions of a clearly defined policy issue. Contributions should move beyond description and analysis to identify policy options, implications, and actionable recommendations for policymakers and other relevant stakeholders.

Policy Workshop Chairs should:

  • Develop a preliminary policy publication concept as part of the Workshop Chair application, identifying the central policy problem, intended audience, and proposed publication format.
  • Select papers that address complementary dimensions of the policy issue and avoid unnecessary duplication.
  • Ensure that each contribution clearly identifies the policy challenge, relevant stakeholders, available options, and implications of different approaches.
  • Work with presenters throughout the drafting process to maintain a consistent level of analytical quality and policy relevance.
  • Use workshop discussions to test findings, identify areas of disagreement, refine recommendations, and strengthen the overall policy conclusions.
  • Following the Symposium, work with contributors to revise individual papers and integrate their findings into a collective policy publication.

Possible publication outcomes

The preferred outcome is a collective policy dossier or policy-oriented publication, which may include:

  1. A GSS policy dossier bringing together revised contributions under one overarching theme and executive summary.
  2. A collective policy report synthesizing the workshop’s research findings, policy options, and recommendations.
  3. A series of coordinated policy briefs or issue briefs published individually but presented as part of one workshop publication series.
  4. Selected papers published as Gulf International Forum reports or policy analyses, with the agreement of the authors and Workshop Chairs.
  5. Other publication formats that effectively communicate the workshop’s findings to policymakers, practitioners, and specialist audiences.

Policy Workshop publications should prioritize clarity, accessibility, timeliness, and actionable recommendations, while maintaining strong research and evidence standards.

3. Publication requirements for all GSS workshops

Regardless of publication format, all Academic and Policy Workshop publications should:

  • Acknowledge the Gulf Studies Symposium and the workshop in all resulting publications.
  • Provide appropriate recognition to GSS and any participating institutional partners, where applicable.
  • Provide complimentary copies or digital versions of resulting publications to GSS coordinators.
  • Allow GSS to promote and feature the publication through its website, communications, and related programming.
  • Keep GSS informed of publication submissions, acceptances, and final publication outcomes.

The overall objective is for each workshop to move beyond the Symposium itself and produce a lasting research output that reflects the collective work of the Chairs and participants.