We are pleased to announce that the next ICHR biennial meeting will take place in Durham, on 11–13 September 2019, and to be hosted by Professor Charles Fernyhough, Drs Angela Woods and Ben Alderson-Day, and the Hearing the Voice (HtV) team.
The format will be as follows:
- Weds 11 Sept (day 1): public multidisciplinary day on voice-hearing, to which we expect working group, the public and other interested parties to attend
- Thurs 12 and Fri 13 Sept (days 2 and 3): meeting of ICHR working groups (involving working group members and by invitation only to cap numbers, maintain focus and allow discussion)
CALL FOR NEW WORKING GROUPS
As with previous ICHR biennial meetings, we now invite new proposals for work groups. In Durham, Days 2 and 3 of the meeting will comprise a mixture of presentations from existing and new working groups (detailing either work in progress, or presenting their final report). There will also be plenty of time available for groups to meet and discuss, and for new connections to form.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT WORKING GROUPS
Please note you can submit a work group proposal for the ICHR meeting in September 2019 (Durham), or for the next round (2021).
Every two years, new working groups are formed with the objective of conducting a detailed or systematic investigation on a particular or broad research theme relating to hallucinations or a related experience.
The groups are expected to
(i) develop and submit a project proposal addressing all of the ICHR working group criteria
(ii) identify a group leader whose responsibility entails taking the project to completion,
(iii) work together on the defined project within a 12 months to 4 year period
(iv) present their completed work (or provide an update on progress) at a biennial ICHR meetings (the next ones being 2019 Durham University UK, or in 2021), and
(v) work together towards a manuscript for publication (either as part of ICHR coordinated special journal issue or separately)
Working group themes must (1) relate to voices, visions, other hallucinations, or a related experience, (2) present a significant development and advance in concept, and (3) have translational implications into important outcomes in science or clinical practice. The criteria for working group proposal are listed below.
We are particularly keen for working groups to be collaborative and multidisciplinary (encompassing the humanities and social sciences as well as psychological, clinical and neurobiological disciplines).
Projects may seek to develop new clinical tools, address novel research questions through the collection of empirical data, collect evidence for clinical interventions or treatments, pool datasets from different sites, or critically challenge existing frameworks. A range, or a combination, of methodologies may be used although (i) gathering of new empirical evidence is strongly recommended and encouraged, and (ii) all research must adhere to research ethics standards, data protection regulation, and other local laws and regulations.
The number of working groups is typically limited to 10. However, the number of contributors within a group does not have a limit. Groups should ideally include individuals with lived experience and early career researchers (ECRs). For details of the latter, see the ECHR website: https://hallucinationconsortium.org/early-career-researchers/
WORKING GROUP MEMBERS
Each working group comprises a working group leader, and working group members.
Group leaders take the lead in organizing and coordinating the group’s activities with assistance from working group members. The leader can be self-appointed, but must commit to working collaboratively with experts with different specialist knowledge. New collaborations form the ethos of ICHR and are particularly encouraged to support the cross-fertilization of ideas.
Responsibilities of the working group leader involve:
• A commitment to taking the project to completion
• A willingness to work and publish with others, and a collegial attitude
• Development of the initial proposal
• Regular communication with ICHR steering group about the project’s progress (every 3 months or so)
• Coordination of the work with group members
• Presentation of the main working group findings at the ICHR meeting in Sept 2019
• Preparation of manuscript/s for publication in collaboration with your group members
Group membership is decided by the group leader.
Responsibilities of working group members are to:
• Take an active role in the project under the guidance and direction of the leader and
• Contribute in a significant way to the project and manuscript preparation
Being a working group member does not guarantee co-authorship on publications, although it is the responsibly of the working group leader to make sure that all work towards the project is acknowledged appropriately.
If you are interested in contributing to a working group, but do not belong to a group, please contact a steering committee member or the meeting hosts outlining your area of interest and expertise. The steering committee member should provide you with advice on how to form your own working group, or will try to put you in touch with others who have similar research interest (if possible and relevant).
PUBLICATIONS
The intention is for reports to be published soon after the meeting. We try to publish the best working group papers together in the form of a supplement of the best papers and reports. All publications are subject to independent and rigorous peer-review. The publication journal is decided by the steering committee. We have been lucky to have the support of Schizophrenia Bulletin in the past, and we always seek to continue this association although it is not a guaranteed outcome.
Not all reports are published with the support from ICHR, and working group leaders may decide to seek publication elsewhere after consultation with their group members.
PROPOSALS
Please send a brief project scope (max 2 page) to the Flavie.waters@uwa.edu.au by 31 January 2019 (for round 1), or January 2021 (for round 2).
Proposals should address all of the following selection criteria:
• List of working group members, with valid email addresses (please seek the explicit consent of each group member for this information to be passed on to ICHR)
• Relevance (relates to voices, visions, other hallucinations, or a related experience)
• Innovation (presents a significant development and advance in concept)
• Collaborative (significant collaboration involving people outside own existing research group)
• Multi-disciplinary (e.g. humanities, social sciences, psychological, clinical and/or neurobiological disciplines)
• Research translation (has important implications for clinical practice)
• New empirical data
• Involvement of individuals with lived experience and early career researchers (ECRs)
The number of working groups for Durham is limited to 10. However, the number of contributors within a group does not have a limit.
For all other queries, please visit the ‘website hallucinationconsortium.org; or contact Flavie.waters@uwa.edu.au
TIMELINE
Timeline for 2019 ICHR Meeting Durham is;
o November 2018 – Call for proposals.
o 31 January 2019 – Deadline for proposals
o 28 February 2019 – Announcement about which proposals have been selected to be presented in Durham
o January-September 2019 – Work amongst groups, with 3 monthly feedback to the steering group about progress
o September 2019 – Working group presentation and discussions in Durham. Discussion regarding suitability for publication.
o February 2020 – Final manuscripts due