We hope that you are all well during this difficult time.  

In Innsbruck, we have been having a discussion about the immediate future of the conference. At this stage, with so much uncertainty regarding travel and the holding of events next year (and since we will need to start planning again soon and some participants will want to book travel in January/February), we think it would be wise to make the decision that KR9 will not happen next year in a physical format. We have also considered an online format, but realistically this will not work given that our colleagues are spread across so many time zones.

 We have, however, spent time thinking about how we might bridge the gap in our community. Our proposal is to hold a KR Online seminar series (KRonline) starting soon if possible (Nov) and running to March. The clocks would then change and we would reassess how successful KRonline has been and whether we continue into boreal summer/austral winter. Given the increased online meetings, we propose to hold sessions every month or couple of months (rather than weekly).

We (Stacy Carolin, Gabriella Koltai, Kathleen Wendt and I) have spent a lot of time looking at time zones and developed two concepts. They're a little complicated, and you may need to read this several times.

• Each seminar runs as a 3-4 hour slot with multiple talks and perhaps even a poster session. The time of this 3-4 hour slot changes with each date so that different time zones benefit/suffer accordingly.
• Alternatively, each date has two 2-hour slots. The first slot benefits the most time zones (session 1a). Then session 1b is scheduled the same day but at a time that benefits those who missed out with 1a (but still maximising attendance elsewhere).
  • The next date has a different set of two 2-hour slots that benefit different time zones than in 1a and 1b.

 Notes:

• We have seen successful online poster sessions where presenters sit in a breakout room 'waiting with their poster'
• Talks could be recorded (with permission) and made available initially for 24 hours, and then once again at a later date. Our hope is that this will encourage people to attend the live sessions. We could also make use of a google forum where questions can continue to be asked/answered afterwards
• Sessions could have a theme similar to at a conference, or we treat it as a pot-luck mixture of current research.
• We still intend to hold KR9 in Innsbruck when things are clearer and this is only meant as a stop-gap in the meantime, hence we are not trying to replicate KR9 in an online format
• We propose to open the chairing up to the community, which means the scientific committee is different to KR9.

 In order to help us gauge if such a seminar series is wanted by the community, and to establish how it might be organised, please can we ask that you fill in this short survey, ideally within the next week. It should only take a few minutes and will help us greatly. https://forms.gle/nJaNRknq5H8Kxqvo6

Please let us know if there are any questions and we would be happy to receive constructive feedback i.e., with suggestions please also consider realistic implementation.

 Thank you in advance,

 Kind regards,

 Gina Moseley (on behalf of the KR9 organising committee)