The Local Arrangement Chair, responsible for overseeing and coordinating all the meeting, accommodation, entertainment, and eating arrangements, is a key person for the success of the conference. Much depends on his or her organizational talent and the quality of the Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) assembled to help.  The Local Arrangements Chair can work with a local professional organizer, but the cost of this must be built into the conference budget.

The Local Chair (assisted by the Local Arrangements Committee) has the following responsibilities.

• Choosing the conference venue and dates, to be included in the initial bid (see calls-for-conference-bids).

• Arranging the spaces for the conference meetings, including:

• auditorium and meeting halls
• system demonstration spaces
• breakout session rooms
• workshop rooms
• tutorial rooms
• exhibit space
• registration area
• email room (if needed)
• meeting room for ACL Exec

• Negotiating with provider(s) of accommodations: hotel and/or dormitory organizers. Centrally, this involves negotiating a contract for the services provided, with financial guarantees. The ACL Secretariat (Priscilla Rasmussen) has considerable experience in this area.

• Handling AV needs of presenters (conference, workshops, tutorials) as well as the needs of system demos. This includes projection equipment, microphones, blackboards, writing materials, internet access, etc.

• Selecting and organizing food (refreshments during the conference; meals for ACL Exec and other meetings, etc.)

• Organizing all additional activities, including:
• the banquet (location and food)
• the reception(s)
• entertainment at/after the banquet (and elsewhere)
• Arranging any local excursions, for example pre-conference tours or tours for spouses (if provided)

• Providing travel information (airport, weather, medical, visas)

• Arranging local transport, if needed

• Arranging local support, including:
• a support team, that helps both before the conference (to prepare registration materials) and during (with registration and attendee questions) and after (for teardown)
• a suitably secure registration area, with computer and printer and internet access
• signage to rooms, meetings, etc., as needed
• several notice boards: participant messages, job postings, official announcements, etc.

• Prepare brochure and other promotional materials for the conference

• Supervise the building of the local web site