Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The 2021 CGA Conference & Expo will take place March 2-5, 2021 at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld®.

CGA members will receive an email with registration details in June 2020, when registration opens. Please visit the ATTEND page on the conference site for deadlines, rates and other registration information. 

Please visit the https://book.passkey.com/go/5b6a0fb4 page for information. Attention: To receive the CGA Conference discount, you MUST use the website or phone number listed on that page.

Currently, there is only the ability to purchase a Full Conference Registration.

Breakfast and lunches on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as food and beverages served during networking, opening and closing receptions are complimentary with conference registration.

The CGA Conference & Expo provides a multitude of educational sessions for damage prevention professionals at all levels of experience from various stakeholder groups. These sessions will help you develop the knowledge, skills and ideas you need to better serve your organization, move forward in your professional development and engage effectively with industry peers.

Details will be posted on our website as they are confirmed – please check back monthly for updates! An outline of content tracks and core discussion topics will be routinely added to the site. A full conference schedule, including conference sessions, will be available this fall.

Conference Hours: (Hours that programming is taking place)

• Tuesday, March 2, 2021 – 8:00 AM – 6:30 PM
• Wednesday, March 3, 2021 – 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM
• Thursday, March 4, 2021 –  7:30 AM – 10:00 PM

Expo Hours: (Hours that expo hall is open)

• Tuesday, March 2, 2021 – 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
• Wednesday, March 3, 2021 – 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM AND 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
• Thursday, March 4, 2021 – 7:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Exhibitors will be able to attend all educational programming without missing valuable networking time at their booths, as exhibit hall hours and sessions will not overlap.

The CGA Conference & Expo provides a multitude of educational sessions for damage prevention professionals at all levels of experience from various stakeholder groups. These sessions will help you develop the knowledge, skills and ideas you need to better serve your organization, move forward in your professional development and engage effectively with industry peers.

The 2021 CGA Conference & Expo Exhibitor and Attendee Registration are open to CGA Members and potential members alike. To learn more about CGA Membership and the benefits, please contact us. Conference registration discounts are automatically applied to CGA Members.

Email kerr@commongroundalliance.com for more information.

Sponsorship at the 2021 CGA Conference & Expo showcases your commitment to underground damage prevention, while also providing you the opportunity to network with top executives and industry leaders. To learn more about these opportunities, email kerr@commongroundalliance.com.

Yes, please contact sales@commongroundalliance.com to make arrangements.

Sept. 15, 2020.

CGA members represent 16 stakeholder groups and are interested in every aspect of damage prevention, including:

• Locating issues and locator outreach
• RP1162 adherence/rewrite
• DIRT data collection and topics of annual report
• Hydroexcavation and other trenchless technologies
• Cross bores
• Virtual training
• CGA Best Practices
• Enforcement, exemptions and other safe digging law impacts
• Marketing and education
• Damage Prevention/Public Awareness Outreach
• Future of damage prevention
• Excavation issues and excavator outreach
• One call center operations, ticketing and technologies

The following information is required in order to submit a presentation proposal for consideration:

• Title of Presentation
• *Speaker/Presenter Information
• Presentation Description
• Learning Objectives
• Interactive Components
• Solutions
• Length of Presentation
• Track/Topic/Audience

*Speaker Information Required: Name, Agency/Organization, Title, Email and 50-word bio

Well-developed learning outcomes are participant-oriented, observable, and measurable. Describe the skills, knowledge, and/or learning outcomes participants will be able to demonstrate as a result of this activity. (For example: At the culmination of this session, participants will be able to…) You should describe your learning outcomes using action verbs.

2021 CGA Conference & Expo attendees are seeking a collaborative, interactive experience. In the “Interactive Components” section, please describe how you plan to engage attendees in discussion, via live polling, live data pulls, situational modeling or other strategies.

There are three tracks that align with the CGA’s Strategic Plan:

• Education
• Information & Analysis
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Other

Presentations may only fall under one track each. Please select the track that best categorizes your presentation.

If your presentation covers multiple topics in detail, you may select all that apply.

The audiences should indicate for whom the material is best suited.

When submitting a presentation, select one (1) primary audience for whom the material is best suited. Multiple secondary audiences can be selected if the presentation is applicable across many different job functions.

You will have the ability to change, edit, or withdraw your presentation proposal until the deadline. If you are missing a required piece of information, you can save your work and log back in at a later time to finish prior to the submission deadline. Please note: all proposals must be complete in order to be considered. Any proposals left “Incomplete” will not be considered.

All information should be created and saved as a word processing document (such as Microsoft Word) prior to beginning the online submission process. Information can then be pasted into the appropriate fields on the web. Click the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of each step to ensure the information is not lost. The speaker step saves automatically as you add speakers.

Online submission of proposals is required. Email submissions will not be accepted or reviewed.

Once you have finalized your submission, an email confirmation will be sent to you confirming receipt of the presentation proposal. Before you submit your proposal, please make sure all steps have been completed, including the last step of checking the box to finalize your presentation proposal.

Peer reviewers are assigned based upon track selection. Reviewers evaluate the submissions based upon quality and criteria noted above. Top recommendations will then be evaluated by CGA leadership to ensure the entire educational program is well-balanced. All submitters will be notified via email whether their presentation has been accepted or declined in October 2020.

All presentations are peer-reviewed by the CGA Conference & Expo Advisory Committee. Reviewers will consider the following:

• Does the topic address a contemporary law enforcement issue?
• Can the presented information apply to different-sized agencies and a diverse audience?
• Is the topic unique and information not available through other sources?
• Is the course description clear and concise? Can attendees easily tell what to expect by reading it?
• Are the learning objectives clear and can be met in the allotted time?
• Does the presentation support CGA’s high standards and reputation for the best conference sessions?
• Are the proposed speakers qualified to instruct the topic?
• If the presentation is focused on a specific audience, is there a proposed speaker from that audience? For example, is an attorney speaking in a Legal Officers workshop or a law enforcement officer speaking at an executive level session? The audience wants to learn from its peers and gain first-hand knowledge from those who have experienced the material or information presented.

Peer reviewers are assigned based upon track selection. Reviewers evaluate the submissions based upon quality and criteria noted above. Top recommendations will then be evaluated by CGA leadership to ensure the entire educational program is well-balanced. All submitters will be notified via email whether their presentation has been accepted or declined in October 2020.

Educational programming will be conducted Wednesday, March 3 and Thursday, March 4 during the 2021 CGA Conference & Expo. Sessions begin as early as 9:45 a.m. and run throughout the day, ending as late as 4:45 p.m.

Submission of a proposal is a commitment that the speakers will be available to speak on any conference day and time as assigned by CGA staff.  The CGA has limited options to accommodate speaker conflicts.

Most sessions are either 45 or 75 minutes long.  In the Call for Proposals you must select the length of your presentation. This is purely for planning purposes and the CGA will assign session durations.

No, CGA does not allow the promotion of products and services during educational sessions. Speakers can talk about products and services that have been used to solve a problem or address the presentation topic. Whenever possible presenters should suggest alternative products and services as well. Solutions Presentation Theater workshops are available for the promotion of products and services in the Exposition Hall Sunday-Tuesday for current exhibiting companies.

The submitter will receive notification October 2020.

CGA does not pay speakers or reimburse for travel or hotel expenses.

All session rooms will be set theater style to maximize seating. There may be a few rooms with limited classroom seating in the front of the room. A podium and head table for six (6) is standard in each room for presenters. Additionally, the following AV equipment will be set in each room:

• (1) computer at the podium
• Audio connection from computer (to play DVD/video)
• (1) wireless presentation mouse
• (1) podium microphone
• (1) table-top microphone for panelists
• (1) wired audience microphone with stand for Q&A
• (1) screen
• (1) LCD projector

Any additional requests will be considered at the discretion of the Conference Program Manager and the availability of such resources.

CGA members invest a considerable amount of time and expense to attend the conference. For these reasons, CGA works hard to ensure each and every event at the conference realizes its full potential. Our members expect:

• Presenters will prepare for their event prior to arrival.
• Presenters have a significant knowledge and expertise of the subject area and have sufficient presentation skills to effectively communicate.
• Presenters will engage the audience. The greatest success you can have is to inspire your audience, so they come out of the presentation buzzing with thoughts and ideas.
• Presenters will not engage in commercial presentations of their organization.
• Presenters will be conscious of the time limitation of their presentation.
• Presenters will not simply read directly from written statements.
• Presenters understand that materials provided for an CGA event become the property of the CGA Conference & Expo, for use in other educational activities of the association.

If you have any questions regarding your registration or need to cancel your registration, please contact Customer Service by phone at 571-384-2922 or by email at CGARegistration@CompleteReg.com. To make changes, log in to the registration website with your email address and password created with your conference registration.

Cancellations received before Jan. 30, 2021 will be refunded, minus a 10% processing fee. After that date, no refunds will be given. Cancellation and refund requests must be received in writing at CGARegistration@CompleteReg.com. Transferring a registration to someone else at the same organization can be done at no extra charge.

The 2020 Excavation Safety Conference & Expo was produced by a third-party contractor, Infrastructure Resources (IR). CGA has severed all agreements with IR effective March 26, 2020. IR did not offer a refund and consequently kept all fees. It is important that you understand your registration funds (and IR’s processing fee) are being applied to IR’s Global Excavation Safety Conference, and not being applied to the 2021 CGA Conference & Expo.

To offset this financial hardship, CGA is offering a $200.00 Full Conference Attendee Registration discount to last year’s registrants towards the 2021 CGA Conference & Expo. To receive your unique discount code, please complete the form. 

Make sure to add CGARegistration@CompleteReg.com to your safe list.

The 2022 CGA Conference & Expo will take place in Anaheim, California from April 12-14, 2022.