FRPRCS is the longest running conference series on the application of FRP in civil construction. It commenced in Vancouver in 1993 and then traveled to Ghent in 1995, Sapporo in 1997, Baltimore in 1999, Cambridge in 2001, Singapore in 2003, Kansas City in 2005, Patras in 2007, Sydney in 2009, Florida in 2011, Guimarães in 2013, Nanjing in 2015, Anaheim in 2017, Belfast in 2019, and Shenzhen in 2022. FRPRCS has been one of the two official conference series of the IIFC since 2019. As such, delegates who attend either conference receive a two-year IIFC membership, if they are not already members.
FRPRCS-16, the 16th International Conference on Fibre-Reinforced Polymers for Reinforced Concrete Structures, will be held on 23-24 March, 2024 in New Orleans, USA.
I am now writing to call for proposals from interested organisations for hosting and organising FRPRCS in 2026, the 17th International Conference on Fibre-Reinforced Polymers for Reinforced Concrete Structures (FRPRCS-17). Your proposal should contain the following details:
(1) Proposed Chair of the Local Organising Committee;
(2) Tentative composition of the Local Organising Committee;
(3) Tentative dates of conference and justification for the choice of dates (other conferences that are scheduled in 2026 and may conflict with FRPRCS-17 should be identified);
(4) Type of conference venue (e.g., hotel or campus);
(5) How the proceedings will be published (e.g., hardcopy full papers or USB Flash Drive);
(6) Tentative registration fee. The registration fee for delegates who are not yet IIFC members at the time of registration must include the IIFC membership fees for the following two years, while IIFC active members at the time of registration receive a discount in the registration fee in the form of waived IIFC membership fees. The total IIFC membership fee owing is to be electronically transferred by Conference Chair to the IIFC bank account shortly after the conference, through IIFC Treasurer. There is an expectation that the fees charged at the actual conference should not deviate considerably from the fees proposed in the bid;
(7) Availability of affordable accommodation including types of accommodation, proximity to conference venue and their approximate costs per night;
(8) Attractive features of the conference city in terms of three aspects: (a) Technical attractions (e.g., availability of iconic projects (e.g. bridges, FRP applications); (b) Geographical (e.g., new location for our IIFC community that has not had an international conference on FRP before); (c) Social aspects (e.g., any site seeing or interesting tourists attractions to explore);
(9) Any financial and in-kind support from your organization (the conference organiser will be expected to organise the underwriting of the conference);
(10) Any other aspects that make your proposal attractive (e.g., publication of papers in journal special issues; pre- or post-conference short course for local engineers + conference participants).
Please submit your proposal to Prof. Rebecca Gravina at r.gravina@uq.edu.au by 27th October 2023.
The Local Organising Committee will be supported by the IIFC Executive Committee (IIFC ExCom) in the setting-up of the International Scientific Committee and in publicising the event. The Local Organising Committee may also recommend Keynote Speakers but the decision ultimately lies with the IIFC ExCom. The Chair(s) of the Local Organising Committee will automatically become a member of the IIFC Executive Committee for one term as the FRPRCS Conference Coordinator.
If you are not interested to host this conference yourself, but would like to nominate a particular institution or location for FRPRCS-17, please also email your suggestions to me for considerations by the Executive Committee.
All proposals will be assessed by the IIFC ExCom. Proposals shortlisted by the ExCom will be submitted to the IIFC Council for voting. Proposers of the shortlisted proposals will be invited to deliver a short presentation to a Zoom joint-session of ExCom and Council before the voting. The IIFC ExCom will work closely with the wining team to ensure a successful conference.
It should be noted that the ownership of the conference lies with the IIFC. Should an unlikely situation arise where disagreements between the Local Organising Committee and the IIFC ExCom cannot be resolved through negotiation, the IIFC reserves the right to withdraw the right awarded to the Local Organising Committee and to award it to an alternative team.
The winning team will be requested to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the IIFC to ensure a smooth running of the conference.
