Types of Conference

Dear All
As Design Research grows, the number of design research conferences also grows. Off my head, I can name several bi-annual international conferences such as EAD, DRS, IASDR, Nordic DR, Research into Practice, Design & Emotion, Participatory Design. There are many other thematic conferences and symposiums, international or otherwise.

I take that most or all of you have been to these conferences and I would like to ask for your opinions:
1. What should be the important elements in a DR conference?
2. What should be avoided in a DR conference?
3. What alternative formats can be used for a DR conference?
Implicit in your answers are the underlying goals and thus the perspectives and values that we hold for a DR conference. It will be great if you might spell these out as well in your reply.

I would like to open this discussion by expressing my opinions based on my experiences with previous DR conferences that I have attended and helped organized.
1. The most important element in a DR conference for me is a lively face-to-face group debate. But this happens very seldom and my only recollection was a presentation by Leif Ostman.
2. In my opinions, a dull, routine, unfocused conference should be avoided.
3. Leif did a few extra things to create a lively debate. He prepared photocopies of his paper that he was due to present in a normal 30-minute presentation slot. A day or two before his presentation, he had given his paper to different people and invited the same people to attend his presentation. He also had a ‘real’ chair (not just one that announced the name of the presenter and affiliated university). And he was very lucky because the presenter after him did not show up, so he had in total 60 minutes. His model is worth thinking about.
I believe that a conference is the really only opportunity for people around the world to MEET face to face. As such, we should take advantage of this unique opportunity to exchange and to debate. Listening to someone’s presentation without exchange is similar to reading her paper, and the latter I can do at home or in the train.