1. business and industrial
2. business operations
3. business plans

WHETHEr Your bACKgrounD
is drawn from experience in business districts, small rural downtowns, residential neighborhoods
or somewhere in between, we invite you to present your successes, ideas and knowledge at our
2015 Annual Statewide Conference.
AbouT
THE 2015
THEmE
Community development and community health. Pennsylvania
Downtown Center’s 2015 Annual Statewide Conference will focus
on linking these two issue areas within the communities of the
Commonwealth. With a dynamic schedule of educational sessions
and mobile workshops, leaders in the field will come together to
discuss how downtowns and neighborhoods can cultivate a healthy
community that is safe, economically secure and environmentally
sound through tackling issues like access to higher quality education,
employment, transporation, housing, and preventative and
healthcare services. Join us as we bring together both revitalization
and health care professionals to hear from state and national leaders;
and, to discuss new partnerships for making our communities
healthier places and our residents healthier people.
In light of this year’s theme, we welcome proposals that touch on a
variety of relevant topics, including (but not limited to):
• Equitable Access to Services
• Economy and Employment Opportunities
• Health Care and Preventive Health Services
• Sustainability in the Ecosystem
• Greening Practices
• Civic Engagement
• Public Policy
• Opportunities for Active Living
• Food Systems and Access to Healthy Foods
• Neighborhood Safety
• Community Health and Development Partnerships
in ADDiTion To propoSAlS THAT bolSTEr THE 2015 THEmE,
WE WElComE SubmiSSionS THAT TouCH on A VAriETY oF
oTHEr TopiCS. SomE poTEnTiAl SESSion iDEAS THAT ArE
FrEQuEnTlY in HigH DEmAnD:
• Advocacy
• Community Branding
• Building a more inclusive
and stronger board
• Business recruitment and retention
• Clean and safe issues
• Community-based
real estate development
• Creative funding mechanisms
• Developing strategic partners
• Encouraging facade improvement
• Greening
• Improving meeting facilitation and
interpersonal skills
• Leadership development
• New and innovative partnership ideas
• Parking management
• Partnership strengthening and
development
P e n n s y l v a n i a D o w n t o w n C e n t e r | Office location | 1230 N. Third Street • Harrisburg, PA 17102
Mailing address | P.O. Box 1265 • Harrisburg, PA 17108 | 717.233.4675 (p.) • 717.233.4690 (f.) | www.padowntown.org
• Placemaking
• Public and farmers markets
• Public art, murals, and arts
development
• Public relations and marketing Main
Street or Elm Street
• Retail support
• Small business assistance and
development
• Smart growth issues
• Social media
• Sustaining a viable organization
• Transportation
• Volunteer recruitment and
management
• Weathering an economic downturn
submitting your proposal
Review Criteria
Proposal Deadline | December 19th, 2014
1) Sessions should be interactive, feature no more than three presenters, and be
between 75 to 90 minutes in length.
2) Sessions should provide tools, models or strategies that attendees will be able
to make applicable to their own unique situations and communities.
3) Overall quality, salience of topic, well-articulated educational goals, clarity
of proposal, and presentation skills of the presenter will all be taken into
consideration. Proposals that encourage collaboration and interaction among
participants are of special interest.
Submit proposals electronically to
mariawherley@padowntown.org. For
questions, call 717.233.4675.
Proposals must contain all of the
requested materials and information.
Please read all of the instructions
before submitting a proposal.
All proposals will be
reviewed by a
selection committee.
Proposal Requirements
Please submit as a Microsoft Word Document:
1) Title of session (limited to 75 characters)
2) Target audience (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
3) Session track (Main Street, Elm Street, Community Development,
Community Health or Sustainability)
4) Session format (panel, roundtable, etc.)
5) Learning objectives of the session
6) Contact information and brief biography of presenter(s). Please note: It is
assumed that all presenters listed on the proposal have been contacted and have
agreed to participate.
7) 50-75 word description
8) One-page session outline
KEY DATES
Submission deadline
December 19th, 2014
Schedule Announced
January 31st, 2015
Notification of Proposal Status
January 16th, 2015
Session handouts due
April 30th, 2015
2015 Annual Statewide Conference
June 7th-10th, 2015
P e n n s y l v a n i a D o w n t o w n C e n t e r | Office location | 1230 N. Third Street • Harrisburg, PA 17102
Mailing address | P.O. Box 1265 • Harrisburg, PA 17108 | 717.233.4675 (p.) • 717.233.4690 (f.) | www.padowntown.org
TErmS & ConDiTionS
By submitting a proposal, it is assumed that the
speaker agrees to all terms and conditions for
participation.
Submissions must be made
electronically to mariawherley@
padowntown.org by
December 19th, 2014.
PDC does not reimburse expenses
or pay speaker fees for sessions
selected via the proposal process.
Presenters are offered a reduced
registration fee for the entire
conference or a complimentary
one-day registration for the day of
their session.
The primary contact person will
be the individual that submitted
the proposal. The contact info
submitted with proposal will be
used by PDC to communicate
with the primary contact person.
Sessions may be recorded, and
the recordings may be made
available for registered conference
attendees.
PDC reserves the right to edit
titles and descriptions for
accepted proposals.
Audio visual: All session rooms
will be set with an LCD projector,
screen and laptop. Presenters
are required to bring their
presentation on a flash drive or
disc.
All presenters will receive and
be expected to return a signed
speaker agreement outlining
terms and conditions.
Presenters may not promote a
product, service, or anything
else representing monetary selfinterest. Failure to comply will
affect future consideration for
PDC events.
The session schedule is
determined by balancing topics
and target audiences. Individual
schedule requests are discouraged
and considered only in extreme
circumstances.
Office location | 1230 N. Third Street • Harrisburg, PA 17102
Mailing address | P.O. Box 1265 • Harrisburg, PA 17108 | 717.233.4675 (p.) • 717.233.4690 (f.)
www.padowntown.org