Call for PhD/WiP Papers

Alongside the main track, the conference features the Work-in-Progress Track and the PhD Track. The Work-in-Progress Track provides an excellent opportunity for practitioners and researchers from diverse domains to present early-stage work, share ideas, and receive valuable feedback, fostering cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations. The PhD Track is designed for doctoral students at different stages of their research, offering a unique space to present and refine their work with guidance from experienced researchers across various disciplines.

The submitted paper will be the basis for selection to participate in the PhD track and subsequent detailed discussions. Therefore, the submitted paper should include:

• The PhD student's name and affiliation (as first author). Eventually, the Advisor(s) name(s) - not mandatory;
• Motivation for the research;
• Background and related work (key references);
• Description of the proposed research, including main research questions;
• Research methodology and proposed experiments;
• Results and contributions to date;
• Expected next steps and future work.

Please, consider that, since the accepted papers will be published in the ACM digital library as extended abstracts, we expect papers presenting original and scientific content but still in their early-stage, which can be of interest to the GoodIT community.

Submitted papers must be original works and must not have been previously published. All papers must clearly outline the research question, methodology, results, and implications for social good. The papers should follow the ACM Primary Article Template.

Paper length:

• Main Track and Special Tracks Full Paper Submission should be a maximum of 9 pages. (ACM double column format).
• Work-in-Progress papers should be a maximum of 6 pages. (ACM double column format).
• Ph.D. track papers should be a maximum of 4 pages. (ACM double column format).

The indicated paper length includes references, tables, and figures. Documents with a length disproportionate to their contribution will be rejected. These submissions will undergo a single-blind peer review process involving three evaluations each. Accepted papers will be included in the ACM Digital Library. Each accepted paper must have at least one of its authors register for and physically present the work at the conference. Please consider that this is a condition to ensure the paper is included in the conference proceedings. There will not be possibilities to present online/remote. For additional details, please check the “Submission of Papers” web page.

Overleaf users should refer to the ACM Conference Proceedings Primary Article Template.

By submitting your article to an ACM Publication, you are hereby acknowledging that you and your co-authors are subject to all ACM Publications Policies, including ACM's new Publications Policy on Research Involving Human Participants and Subjects. Alleged violations of this policy or any ACM Publications Policy will be investigated by ACM and may result in a full retraction of your paper, in addition to other potential penalties, as per ACM Publications Policy.

Please ensure that you and your co-authors obtain an ORCID ID, so you can complete the publishing process for your accepted paper. ACM has been involved in ORCID from the start and we have recently made a commitment to collect ORCID IDs from all of our published authors. We are committed to improve author discoverability, ensure proper attribution and contribute to ongoing community efforts around name normalisation; your ORCID ID will help in these efforts.

Starting January 1, 2026, ACM will fully transition to Open Access. All ACM publications, including those from ACM-sponsored conferences, will be 100% Open Access. Authors will have two primary options for publishing Open Access articles with ACM: the ACM Open institutional model or by paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). With over 2,600 institutions already part of ACM Open, the majority of ACM-sponsored conference papers will not require APCs from authors or conferences (currently, around 76%).

Authors from institutions not participating in ACM Open will need to pay an APC to publish their papers, unless they qualify for a financial waiver. To find out whether an APC applies to your article, please consult the list of participating institutions in ACM Open and review the Policy on APC Waivers for Financial Hardship. Keep in mind that waivers are rare and are granted based on specific criteria set by ACM.

Understanding that this change could present financial challenges, ACM has approved a temporary subsidy for 2026 to ease the transition and allow more time for institutions to join ACM Open. The subsidy will offer:

• $250 APC for ACM/SIG members
• $350 for non-members

This represents a 65% discount, funded directly by ACM. Authors are encouraged to help advocate for their institutions to join ACM Open during this transition period. This temporary subsidised pricing will apply to all conferences scheduled for 2026.

Please submit your papers through our Submission Portal.

For inquiries about the call for papers please contact Andrea Michienzi andrea.michienzi@unipi.it.