S&CC PI Meeting Policies

Code of Conduct

S&CC is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable event experience for all participants, and a welcoming environment for free discussion of ideas. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form during events or in any S&CC online space or social media. Throughout this document, the term ‘event’ always includes both in-person events and virtual events.

If you have any concerns about inappropriate behavior by any participant during an event or at any time in any S&CC online space or related social media, please contact the meeting staff via email or the webform for reporting incidents: https://sccvo.org/incident-report

What constitutes harassment?

Harassment includes—but is not limited to—unwelcome conduct or offensive verbal comments related to age, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, belief system, or spiritual practice; deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, unwelcome or unauthorized photography or recording (including taking screenshots or otherwise recording an individual’s participation in virtual events and online community spaces), sustained disruption of talks, other events, or online community spaces, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, and sexualized images in public spaces. Similarly, encouraging others to engage in such behavior is not permitted, nor are false accusations of harassment.

Who is covered under this Code of Conduct?

All attendees, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, staff, and volunteers are required to refrain from harassment when participating in S&CC events and in related online communities and social media. Meeting staff will enforce this Code at all times, and expects cooperation from all participants. S&CC also requests that event participants refrain from using potentially offensive language in social media posts using our event hashtags.

Guidelines for Speakers

Speakers are responsible for the content of their presentations, but S&CC requests that speakers be cognizant of potentially offensive actions, language, or imagery, and that they consider whether it is necessary to convey their message. If they do decide to include it, S&CC asks that they warn the audience, at the beginning of the talk, and provide them with the opportunity to leave the talk to avoid seeing or hearing the material.

What should I do if I observe unacceptable behavior at S&CC or in an S&CC online space?

Interpersonal Behavior: If it is safe to do so, we encourage you to request that the person stop the unwelcome or harassing behavior. Participants who are asked to stop any such behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any related concerns, please contact meeting staff or event organizers immediately.

Talks, Presentations, Posters: Meeting staff and event organizers welcome feedback of all kinds about talks and presentations. Attendee comments are taken seriously when planning future events and will be kept in confidence if requested.

Virtual Events and Online Community Spaces: S&CC moderators may participate in online community spaces and will take action as they deem appropriate if they observe harassment. Moderators will generally first respond to such remarks with a warning, although egregious harassment may be responded to without a warning.

If the warning is unheeded, the user will first be removed temporarily from the space. Users who persist in violating this Code of Conduct will be indefinitely excluded.

If a moderator bans someone and you think it was unjustified, please contact meeting staff in private. Complaints about bans in-channel are not allowed.

If harassment is reported in S&CC online community spaces, S&CC reserves the right to review private messages between participants involved.

What happens once a report is made?

Interpersonal Behavior: If an incident of harassment is reported, meeting staff will conduct an investigation. If they determine—to the best of their ability, and in their sole discretion—that a participant has violated this Code, they may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the event (or the online space) with no refund. Under certain circumstances and at their discretion, meeting staff may contact hotel security and/or appropriate law enforcement authorities. To protect all parties involved, S&CC will generally not make any detailed public statements about Code of Conduct incidents.

Talks and Presentations: Concerns will be relayed to current and future organizers, who will take the information into account when selecting speakers for future events. S&CC requests that attendees understand, however, that determining whether material is “offensive” is a subjective call.

This is a Living Document

S&CC intends for these policies to meet the needs of our attendees to have positive experiences at our events and in our online community spaces, and we welcome comments and suggestions from the community. Please contact the S&CC organizers if you would like to provide feedback.

COVID-19 Policy

1. In general, the 2022 S&CC PI Meeting will be largely guided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Community Risk Level tool found at COVID-19 by County | CDC. The current COVID-19 Community Level for Arlington, VA (the PI Meeting city location) is "medium". The organizers strongly recommend that all meeting attendees adhere to the following selected CDC medium risk recommendations prior to arriving at the Crystal Gateway Marriott:

2. Mask Wearing: All meeting participants are encouraged to wear masks at all times (excluding when eating, drinking, or presenting a talk) in all 2022 S&CC PI Meeting designated meeting room spaces (including meeting rooms and hallways in addition to other such designated spaces). A map of these designated spaces will be posted to the website at a later date and will be posted via signage onsite on the meeting days. The meeting organizers will provide masks for participants who need them.

3. Proof of Vaccination and Proof of Testing: There will not be a requirement for proof of vaccination and testing to attend the PI Meeting while the risk level is medium.

4. If participants knowingly have the COVID-19 virus or experience symptoms 5 days prior to the meeting dates, the meeting organizers recommend that you do not attend the meeting.

5. If participants experience symptoms at any time during the meeting, please immediately abort attendance and inform the meeting organizers who will provide you with the location of the nearest health treatment facilities.

6. The meeting organizers will provide free masks and sanitizer at stations throughout the meeting space.

Disclaimer: The 2022 S&CC PI Meeting organizers assume no liability for potential exposures onsite by participants.

Please contact the organizers if you have any concerns.

Crowd Release Policy

By attending the National Science Foundation S&CC PI Meeting, you are entering an area where photography, audio and video recording may occur. Your entry and presence at the event constitutes your consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded and to the release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction of any and all recorded media of your appearance, voice, and name for any purpose whatsoever in perpetuity in connection with the NSF S&CC Program and its initiatives, including, by way of example only, use on websites, in social media, news and advertising.

Please contact the organizers if you have any concerns.