Annual convening of the information assurance governance community.
Governed under the CIAO Standard Secretariat · Programme Committee appointed by the Oversight Board
Purpose
The CIAO Conference is the annual convening point of the CIAO community. It exists to translate the normative work of the CIAO Standard — maintained by the Secretariat and governed by the Oversight Board under the Governance Charter — into structured peer exchange. It brings together practitioners, scholars, regulators, and implementing partners to examine, challenge, and advance the Standard’s methodology, mappings, and application.
The Conference is the convening arm of the CIAO governance architecture. It complements the Panel of Advisors (standing consultation) and the forthcoming CIAO Governance Journal (peer-reviewed publication) to form the three-arm intellectual framework of the Standard.
Scope
The Conference covers the full surface of information assurance governance addressed by the Standard, including: multi-framework mapping methodology and cross-framework equivalence; governance architecture at the meta-standard layer; practitioner implementation experience across sectors and jurisdictions; regulatory alignment and interoperability; emerging governance challenges (AI governance, supply chain assurance, digital law); case studies of CIAO adoption at each membership tier; and proposals for amendment or extension of the Standard.
The Conference is open to CIAO members, certified partners, practitioners, academics, regulators, and qualified observers.
Programme Structure
Each edition of the CIAO Conference comprises:
- Plenary sessions — keynote addresses and state-of-the-Standard reports from the Secretariat and Oversight Board
- Working sessions — track-based exchanges across the nine governance domains of the Standard
- Panels — moderated discussions on emergent governance questions
- Submission presentations — peer-reviewed papers and case studies accepted through the Conference submission process
- Business meeting — annual meeting of the Oversight Board, Panel of Advisors, and Secretariat, open to members
Submissions
The Conference accepts peer-reviewed submissions in four categories: research papers (original methodological, empirical, or theoretical contributions to information assurance governance); case studies (documented CIAO or multi-framework implementation experience); position papers (proposals for amendment, extension, or critique of the Standard); and panel proposals (structured session proposals for moderated discussion).
All submissions are reviewed under double-blind peer review by reviewers appointed by the Programme Committee. Accepted submissions are published in the Conference proceedings and may be selected for publication in the forthcoming CIAO Governance Journal.
Submission calls open on a schedule aligned to each edition. The submission process, review criteria, and timelines will be published here ahead of each call.
Governance
The Conference is governed by its Programme Committee, appointed annually by the Oversight Board under Governance Charter Article 5. The Programme Committee is responsible for setting the programme scope and theme for each edition, overseeing the peer review process, selecting keynote speakers and panellists, and reporting annually to the Oversight Board.
Where Panel of Advisors specialist input is relevant to Conference content, the Programme Committee may consult the Panel in accordance with the Panel Advisor Guidelines.
Inaugural Edition
The inaugural CIAO Conference is targeted for 2028. Date, venue, and format will be announced following the constitution of the Programme Committee.
Register Interest
Expressions of interest in participating in, attending, submitting to, or hosting the inaugural CIAO Conference are welcomed. Contact the CIAO Standard Secretariat via the channels listed on the Governance Charter page.