My WEDC

Review process

When we have received all contributions, they will be triaged to ensure that all extended abstracts and poster proposals meet minimum standards of literacy and relevance, and that they conform to the relevant template and length.

Subject to these requirements, the abstracts and poster proposals will then be peer-reviewed by a panel of reviewers with broad expertise and experience of the water sector. They will use the checklist given in the Guidance for Authors and Presenters.

Please take note that there will be no opportunity to revise your abstract or poster proposal after it has been reviewed, so please ensure that it conforms to the requirements given in the Guidance for Authors and Presenters.

However, should you need to, after you have first submitted your contribution you may resubmit it with changes up and until the 1 March 2024 provided you use the same reference number you will have been issued with.

Review results

Based on the assessment of the review you will be notified with the review result which will be one of four options:

1. Abstract / poster accepted
2. Abstract / poster accepted with recommendations: The reviewer will make suggestions for the author to consider when preparing the presentation or poster.
3. Abstract accepted as a poster: If an extended abstract does not meet all the criteria required for a presentation, but is of interest and related to the conference theme, the author may be invited to submit a poster based on the subject of the abstract. These, and posters submitted using the Poster Proposal Form, will be evaluated against a reduced number of criteria. Refer to the list of criteria in the Guidance for Authors and Presenters.
4. Rejected: The abstract or poster proposal does not sufficiently meet the review criteria. (See below for a detailed list of the reasons why an abstract or poster might be rejected.)

After the review

If your extended abstract is accepted, you will be invited to prepare a recorded presentation. If your poster proposal is accepted you will be invited to design the poster.

If your extended abstract is not accepted, but the reviewer invites you to submit a poster instead, you will not need to submit a Poster Proposal Form. We will invite you to design a poster based on the subject of your abstract using the poster template provided on the My WEDC website.

An abstract is accepted on the condition that at least one of the authors will attend the conference to answer any 'live' questions that may rise from the recorded presentation. If an author is not able to attend, then they can ask someone else to answer questions on their behalf. Abstracts accepted but not presented will not be included in the Conference Proceedings or appear in the Institutional Repository.

Authors of posters will also be required to attend the conference to answer any queries delegates may have with the posters exhibited in the Poster Gallery. A selected number of posters will also feature in the poster sessions for live interaction with delegates.

Possible reasons for the rejection of an extended abstract

If an abstract is rejected, it will be for one or more of the following reasons:

1. It does not specifically and adequately address the issues related to water and climate resilience, adaptation or mitigation within the context of one of the conference topics.
2. It does not conform to its template.
3. The content is poorly written to the extent that the meaning is obscured.
4. The standard of English is unacceptable.
5. The arguments, descriptions or other points are not made clear.
6. The content is either too simple or too complex for an informed general audience.
7. The author presents defamatory, overtly commercial or biased content.
8. The work of others is not adequately referenced.
9. There are no lessons learned or conclusions made clear.
10. The content does not significantly add to the existing body of knowledge.
11. There is no evidence or data to support the conclusions.
12. An extended abstract does not have the potential to be developed into an engaging presentation.
13. The author is not willing for their presentation to feature in the online edition of the Conference Proceedings.

The presentation may be rejected if after repeated requests it does not conform to the requirements as specified in the Guidance for Authors and Presenters. However, should you face difficulties in submitting your presentation as a recording, there will be an opportunity to discuss with the Conference Manager appropriate means of doing so.

Poster reviews

The review team will assess a poster's acceptability to the conference audience based on points 1 to 8 from the list above.

Please note:
Authors and other contributors should note that a condition of submission of a presentation will be that they consent to this appearing online as an item in the Proceedings. The Proceedings will be stored in Loughborough University's Institutional Repository indefinitely, as a publicly accessible resource.