Dear ONE Members

As you are reading this newsletter, we are already busy behind the scenes to plan for AOM2022 in Seattle. The theme of AOM2022, “Creating a Better World Together”, is closely aligned with the mission of our ONE Community. For the first time in the history of the Academy and the Division, we are planning for a hybrid event – which is both very exciting and challenging at the same time. We find ourselves in unchartered territory and are yet to see how the innovations will work and how they will be received by ONE Members. We are also yet to find out if the Academy will keep a hybrid format for future years – we are certainly keen to support this move, which would bring not only substantial environmental but also social benefits, especially in terms of increasing access to the AOM conference globally.

Despite the host of new restrictions due to the latest Omicron wave, we are still hoping that AOM2022 will offer opportunities to reconnect in person. However, we are keeping a close eye on the unfolding COVID situation and are prepared to shift more events online, if needed. The safety of our members is a top priority, and we are looking into planning events in a way that we can accommodate hybrid models and use outdoor space for our socials. I am aware that many of you still face significant uncertainties, especially those needing to travel long distances and those feeling concerned about their health and wellbeing. We will send updates to you if and when they become available so that you can plan ahead.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the time and effort that went into putting together the very many fantastic PDW and Symposia Proposals as well as the Paper Submissions that we have received. Many of new might have noticed that our reviewer & submission keywords were updated to include topics such as biodiversity, the SDGs and sustainable impact – it seems that the update was timely as we received 21 submissions on the SDGs and another 30 submissions on sustainable impact alone!

A huge thanks also to the many reviewers who agreed to help evaluate the submissions – I have just emailed out 522 reviewer assignments today and I really appreciate that so many members of our community are taking time out of their busy schedules to help support the ONE Community. If you are not signed up yet, it is not too late – head to https://reviewer.aom.org/2022/MyReviews.aspx to get started! I also very much appreciate the help of the Program Team Members who support my role as Program Chair and will assist over the coming months with assessing the reviews and putting together the final program.

The digitization due to Covid now also means that the August conference is no longer our only main point of contact. We have seen a substantial increase in communities of research, teaching and practice outside of the main meeting. For instance, there is now an active Impact Scholar Community and PhD Community – both of which offer opportunities for researchers within and beyond ONE to interact throughout the year. I am excited by these developments as they mean that we see more ongoing support and collaboration within the ONE community throughout the year. Our Exec Team is more than happy to support other new initiatives so please feel free to get in touch!

I hope that we will get an opportunity to reconnect later this year and hope that you stay safe, healthy and well amongst all the ongoing challenges we are facing.

Martina Linnenluecke

ONE Program Chair

Please remember to sign up as a reviewer for ONE in 2022. It is our volunteers who keep the wheels at AOM’s annual meeting turning. As a reviewer, YOU are at the core of this process.