1st General Conference of the
International Microsimulation Association

“50 Years After Orcutt’s Vision”

Vienna, Austria, 20 to 22 August 2007

Host: European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Vienna

Call for Papers and Expressions of Interest
Deadline: 10 January 2007

Potential contributors are invited to submit a short abstract (up to 200 words) for a paper to be given at the above conference. The primary focus of the conference is microsimulation models and their applications. Areas to be potentially covered by the conference include:
• static microsimulation models, including of taxes and transfers;
• dynamic microsimulation models;
• spatial microsimulation models;
• behavioural microsimulation models;
• health and long term care microsimulation models;
• other types of microsimulation models (e.g. housing, child care); and
• reviews of the history/development of microsimulation models.

Papers can be:
• applied (e.g. reporting results of model simulations);
• theoretical (e.g. reporting possible advances in techniques and methodologies); and
• descriptive (e.g. describing new models or the development of particular modules or applications).

Technical Workshops: The last day of the conference (22nd August) is expected to be devoted to more technical discussions and comparisons of the various microsimulation models used now in policy formulation. We plan to concentrate on practical aspects of modelling in a number of workshops in the following provisional streams:
• dynamic microsimulation models;
• static microsimulation models;
• spatial microsimulation models;
• health microsimulation models; and
• other microsimulation models.

Those wanting to actively participate in the technical workshops will be asked in early 2007 to prepare a short description of their model (we will supply template), its key components, what it has been used for, and references to further publications or website addresses for those wishing more detail on the model or its applications. Such participants will be expected to give a 10 minute overview of the key features of their model at the beginning of the relevant technical session. In their emails indicating likely participation in this technical day, potential participants are also asked to identify three key issues that they would particularly like to see discussed in their stream of the technical modelling day (e.g. calibration, labour force modelling, human resource modelling, validation, wealth).

Social activities: There will be a conference dinner on Tuesday 21 August.

For those wishing to present papers at the first two days of the conference, please submit a title and a short one paragraph abstract and for those wishing to participate in the technical workshops please submit a short (one paragraph) description of the model to IMA2007@euro.centre.org by 10 January 2007. For both the conference and the workshops we expect to advise which papers and models have been selected by 31 January 2007.

Those who would potentially like to attend the conference but do not want to give a paper are asked to register their interest at www.euro.centre.org/IMA2007/register. We will then keep you informed with any updates. A limited number of places are available at the conference, so early registration of interest is advisable.

We will provide guidance on accommodation options etc at a later stage. There will be a conference attendance fee, which we hope will be around 395 Euro (depending upon sponsorship arrangements)..

We expect to publish selected papers after the conference, both in a special conference edition of the International Journal of Microsimulation and in an edited book collection.

Please direct all enquiries and submissions to IMA2007@euro.centre.org