Columbia University is once again looking to host the OHDSI Symposium, and has reserved conference space in Bethesda, MD for 18-20Oct 2017. We are looking to hold a 1-day symposium where collaborators can share their research with each through podium presentations, poster sessions, and software demonstrations. Additionally, based on the overwhelming feedback from last year, we are looking to expand the offerings of tutorials, so leaders in the community can provide students with hands-on skills in OHDSI’s core areas of data management, open-source analytics development, and methodologic research and applications.
One of our goals is to help ensure the OHDSI Symposium can be offered at no cost to attendees. It’s lofty but we’ve done it for two years straight. It enables us to reach the widest possible audience, and maintain our open, inclusive culture that is central to our community mission.
We’re currently fundraising to cover the 2017 operating costs. It will cost approximately $200k to hold the symposium. This covers the cost of venue, A/V, food & drink for attendees, WiFi and professional recording fees. Funding will be tight this year. Public grants contributed $50k to last year’s symposium. We received word recently that this funding stream will not be renewed in 2017. In the past, we have also received support from companies and other institutions who have generously sponsored the event, and we are again looking for support so that we can hold this event for the community. This would be a great time for organizations within the OHDSI community to step up and make an impact.
We believe the OHDSI symposium provides a lot of value to organizations that participate in the community. Last year, we had over 400 individuals from industry, government (FDA, NIH, VA), academia, providers and health systems register for the symposium, representing 11 different countries and 27 US states. Additionally, we were at capacity with over 100 participants in the 5 tutorial sessions that were offered the next day.
Support for the OHDSI symposium has been a good opportunity for technology providers to gain market traction and presence in the area of open source innovation and analytics. For medical product companies and analytics suppliers, the OHDSI symposium represents a great venue for professional networking and targeted recruiting in the niche area of healthcare data sciences. We expect to continue to see active participation from most of the large pharmaceutical companies, as well as continued presence from multiple regulatory agencies and many of the leading academic institutions around the world. In addition to providing a clear return-on-investment for those who support the event, you will also be recognized for your contribution as part of the Symposium online and on-premise materials. Also, we hope organizations who give support will continue to have fun and find intangible value in advancing the science of observational health data and improving the lives of the patients we serve.
If you are interested in contributing to enabling the OHDSI symposium, please contact @MauraBeaton (beaton@ohdsi.org). Thank you in advance for your support. We look forward to seeing you at the OHDSI Symposium in October!