policy

BSG International Endorsed Events Policy

BSG International Endorsement Process 2026

BSG will endorse one international course/conference/meeting from a different global region/zone each quarter with 6 weeks flexibility on each side of the quarter (every 3 months).
  1. The meeting or resource must be consistent with the BSG mission statement: 
    • To maintain and enhance high standards of patient care
    • To enhance capacity of members to discover, disseminate and apply new knowledge to the benefit of patients with digestive disorders
  2. Endorsed courses or meetings are those that the Society will badge officially as being relevant and important for its members
    • The course or meeting must be relevant to the Society
    • The applicant responsible for the course or meeting content should be a BSG member of good standing and should have no pecuniary interest in the meeting
    • The content of the course or meeting should be determined predominantly by the applicant
    • Endorsement submission needs to reach International Committee review panel at least 6 to 8 weeks prior to the event/course/conference
    • The content of the course or meeting must not have any restrictions or qualifying requirements imposed by any commercial sponsor
    • At a meeting with commercial sponsors, the BSG Declaration of Sponsorship slide must be shown at the beginning of every presentation
    • Sponsorship support and extent must be clearly stated on any promotional material.
    • Please note: The course or meeting must have CME (Continuing Medical Education) accreditation quality from the respective international medical body/royal college equivalent unless primarily aimed at trainees.
    • The BSG logo should be used in promotional materials. BSG support should be acknowledged at the course or meeting.
    • BSG key engagements should be promoted via event holding slides which the BSG office will provide.
    • Mandatory representation from the BSG on the event programme faculty. 
  3. Endorsed meetings requests/submissions will firstly be reviewed by respective International Zonal Leads. They will be the first point of contact to discuss the course/event aims, objectives and the BSG endorsement process.
  4. Endorsed meetings or resources should be approved by a minimum of 3 people; the International Committee Chair/Deputy Chair or Committee nominee, respective Zonal Lead representative, and/or Chair of respective topic Section, and/or a VP of the BSG, and/or at least one elected Council member.
  5. BSG will endorse one international course/conference/meeting from a different global region/zone each quarter with 6 weeks flexibility on each side of the quarter (every 3 months).
  6. Endorsed courses or meetings must be from a well-established International Societies. 
  7. A course or meeting will not be considered for endorsement if it is scheduled to be held within 4 weeks either side of the BSG Annual Meeting. In addition, a course or meeting with live endoscopy will not be considered for endorsement if it is scheduled to be held within 4 weeks either side of BSG Endoscopy Live (BSG EndoBridge). 
  8. For a repeat course or meeting, feedback from the previous course must demonstrate at least 80% positive feedback responses.
  9. When the BSG agrees to endorse a course or meeting, the Society will:
    • Include the course or meeting on the BSG website events calendar
    • Include the course or meeting in the monthly BSG e-newsletter (this is subject to space).
    • Promote the course or meeting via our social media channels. Each application is entitled to one round of social media posts
    • Circulate the course or meeting details by email from the BSG to the relevant BSG section interest or if more general to wider BSG membership. Each application is entitled to one email publicising the course/meeting.
  10. After agreement that the BSG will endorse a course or meeting, the course organiser and/or sponsor agree to:
  • Endorsement submission needs to reach International Committee review panel at least 6 to 8 weeks prior to the event/course/conference.
  • Pay the fee that applies to your event +VAT to the BSG within 14 days of receipt of invoice. The invoice should be paid before the course/meeting can be publicised by the BSG.
  • Display the BSG Education logo on all materials associated with the course or meeting.
  • Observe the BSG’s Code of Conduct for Events.
  • Provide feedback to the BSG International Committee within 6 weeks of any meeting in both detailed and summarized format. This feedback must include a question about whether the meeting was biased in favour of a sponsor. If the meeting evaluation indicates that the meeting content was biased, a ‘no-endorsement’ sanction will be imposed on the meeting for a period of 1 year.
  • Sponsorship support and extent must be clearly stated on any promotional material and on the ‘declaration of interest’ introductory presentation slide.
Fees for International endorsement 2026:
  • Academic courses with no industry funding £300 + VAT.
  • Courses partly, or fully funded by the industry with multiple sponsors, and any commercial limited companies £700 + VAT.
  • If endorsement is for a series of webinars, the fees above will be charged for each webinar in the series.
  • Partial or full fee waiver maybe considered for Low-income Countries at discretion of the International Committee Review Panel.
For any queries about International events endorsement, please contact BSG at international@bsg.org.uk.

Additional Information
In addition to the terms in the guidance, please note the following:
  • Events should have educational benefits for BSG members, at the discretion of the BSG International Committee. Education Committee will be approached if required on case by case basis.
  • 'BSG International Endorsed Events' are meetings which the Society has 'badged' officially as being relevant and important for its members.
  • It is the responsibility of the applicant to apply for CME (Continuing Medical Education) accreditation quality from respective international medical body/royal college equivalent in advance. BSG International Committee panel will assess these events.
  • Event organisers should contact the BSG International Committee as early as possible in order to benefit from potential promotion via international@bsg.org.uk 
  • Event organisers should avoid dates clashing with other BSG organised events. The BSG reserves the right to ask organisers to change the date if a clash would occur.
  • BSG International Committee led/organised events will be excluded from the process.
  • The BSG International Committee decision is final.
  • BSG Executive Board will review the policy and its process every two years.
 
Equality, Inclusion and Diversity 
The BSG is committed to equality, inclusion and diversity, and any event endorsed by the BSG should reflect our values around diversity and inclusion of individuals regardless of their race, religion, ethnic origin, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation or working pattern. Programmes submitted for endorsement should reflect the diversity of the gastroenterology and hepatology workforce. 
Read the BSG Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy.

Sustainability
The BSG is committed to sustainability and sustainable approach of running the event, and asks that any event organiser applying for endorsement by the BSG considers these issues when planning an event. Where possible, organisers should consider venues with an active approach to sustainability and recycling, and ensure the event is in a location well-served by public transport.
Read the BSG Climate Change and Sustainability strategy.