We invite you to present your innovative research related to rural financial access!

This is an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to share your work with leading academics and funders in the field. Top 5 poster authors will receive full scholarships to the conference and some authors will have the chance to publish their work in Savings & Development Journal.

Call for Poster Submissions
Deadline to apply: July 15th, 2008

OVERVIEW

Over the past several years, there has been increasing interest in access to financial services as a means for addressing poverty in the developing world. The primary purpose of this inaugural conference is to shorten the cycle between ideas, research, and the practical application of policies designed to expand the delivery of financial services to poor people.This conference will focus on the challenges of expanding the frontier of rural finance, and sits at the nexus between rigorous academic research and the application of this research in policy decisions and field operations.

POSTER SESSIONS

Participation as a poster presenter offers a unique opportunity for networking with people in the field and receiving feedback from top academics, policy makers, and practitioners in relation to the practical application of research results. Posters will be selected by a committee of academics to be displayed during the conference and presented during 2 poster sessions. The posters will be presented on site, where researchers can offer overviews of current areas of practice, and practitioners and policy makers can offer suggestions and input. Posters are being solicited in areas relevant to rural finance including but not limited to:

• Nexus between rural and agricultural finance
• Impact of interest rates and transaction costs on low income clients
• Price sensitivity on the demand for microcredit and micro deposit facilities
• Reach of electronic payments systems into poor areas
• Appropriate regulatory frameworks for rural finance in small distant markets
• Value added of formal finance to the poor – right products, low cost delivery channels
• Impact of increased access to finance on macroeconomic development
• Innovations in risk reduction
• Value chains as a source of financial services

REFEREED POSTER SUBMISSIONS

Posters should be carefully designed to convey the details of the research, visually attract attendees during conference breaks, and most important, generate constructive discussion. Twenty posters will be displayed and presented during the 2 poster sessions, and the top 5 posters will receive a scholarship to attend the conference and special recognition at the conference.  A submission must include an abstract not to exceed 400 words and a mock up of the poster (in pdf or power point format).  Also, please include the URL of a web site related to the poster if applicable. 

Authors of selected submissions must submit a paper to be published on the event website prior to the event.  This will allow your work to be shared with a much larger audience.  By agreeing to present your poster at the Boulder-Bergamo Forum on Access to Financial Services, you are agreeing to publish your work on these websites.

PRACTICAL

• One author per accepted poster can attend the conference, exhibition and social event free of charge, excluding travel and lodging expenses.
• The posters will be located in a public area, close to the exhibition, viewable for all conference attendees.
• The size of the board for the poster is about 1 meter wide and 1.5 meter high.  SEE GUIDELINES
• The posters are to be set up Wednesday evening, September 17th.
• During coffee breaks someone must be present at the poster to interact with conference attendees. At other times this is also possible, putting a time schedule on the poster is recommended.
• Selected authors must bring with them CDs, leaflets and whatever they regard advisable to be distributed to the conference participants.

IMPORTANT DATES

Submission of abstract and poster mock up due: July 15th, 2008
Notification to authors: July 30th, 2008
Paper Due: August 22nd, 2008

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS

Poster Committee:  email contact
Someone from poster committee (chair)
Prof. Laura Viganò – University of Bergamo 
Prof. Sousan Urroz-Korori – University of Colorado, Boulder
Prof. Richard L. Meyer – The Ohio State University
Prof. Claudio Gonzalez-Vega – The Ohio State University
Dr. J.D. Von Pischke – Frontier Finance International

Event Coordination:  shawn@bouldermft.org
Shawn Hernandez, Boulder Institute of Microfinance

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Format:

• Measurement: The poster should measure approx. 1 meter wide by 1.5 meter high.
• Heading: The letters in the heading should measure at least 2.5 centimeters high, and should list the title of the paper, authors, institution and its location.
• Lettering: The letters must be easy to read at 1.5 meters distance from the poster. For handwritten posters, the text should be clear and legible.

Organization & Content:

• The poster should follow a logical sequence including:
  • statement of the problem
  • objectives of the research
  • methodology used to solve the problem
  • major findings and outcomes
  • significance and conclusions
• Specifically, the poster should:
  • Clearly and concisely state the objectives, questions, and hypothesis of the research
  • Include empirical data
  • Briefly outline methods used and provide references
  • Present results in graphs or tables with clear legends and preferably an interpretation of the results below.
  • State conclusions and major findings in large and clear type for viewers to see.

Helpful Hints for Posters

• Make sure the poster is easy to follow and that any visual can “stand alone”. People will be viewing your poster when you are not there. (ie. graph axes are properly labeled, symbols are explained, etc.)
  
• Make it obvious to the viewer how to progressively view the poster. The poster generally should read from left to right, and top to bottom. Numbering the individual panels or connecting them with arrows is a standard "guidance system".
  
• Present numerical data in the form of graphs, rather than tables (graphs make trends in the data much more evident). If data must be presented in table-form, KEEP IT SIMPLE.
  
• Make sure that the text and the visuals are integrated. Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Each visual should have a brief title (for example: Figure 1- Location of study area).
  
• Concentrate on 2-3 main points. Don't try to cover too many things. Present only enough data to support your conclusions. On the other hand, make sure that you present sufficient data to support your conclusions.
  
• Simplicity is key! Avoid using too much text. Use bullets as opposed to full sentences. Limit the text to about one-fourth of the poster space, and use "visuals" (graphs, photographs, schematics, maps, etc.) to tell your "story."
  • Leave some open space in the design. An open layout is less tiring to the eye and mind. Use color to enhance comprehension, not to decorate the poster.
  

Additional Resources

http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/ - Creating Effective Poster Presentations by
George Hess, Kathryn Tosney, Leon Liegel

http://www.aapg.org/meetings/instructions/prepguide.pdf - The Poster Session: A Guide for Preparation by Carol Waite Connor, US Geological Survey

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/designing.html - Poster Design Guide by the Cain Project at Rice University.

http://www.plu.edu/%7Elibr/workshops/multimedia/posters.html - Creating Poster Sessions by Pacific Lutheran University

 

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Contact
findev@unibg.it

Apply