1. A general topic for the Congress is chosen at an in-person meeting of the CSPC at the current MDS Congress and general ideas for the next Congress(es) are discussed (for example, introduction of the "Video Challenge").

2. The CSPC carefully performs an environmental scan which includes reviewing multiple sources of needs assessment data and outcomes analysis data. This includes a review of the session evaluation summary data from the previous Congress and data collected from other sources such as the MDS educational needs assessment survey.

3. Over the course of several months, the CSPC assembles a draft of the scientific program. The CSPC ensures that there are a variety of learning modalities that allow participants to maintain, develop, or increase their knowledge, skills and professional performance and relationships that they use to provide services for patients, the public or the profession. Therefore, the Congress consists of plenary sessions, parallel sessions, teaching courses, video sessions, skills workshops, and controversy debates. For this, suggestions from members of MDS are taken into account. About 50% of the program is dedicated to various aspects of parkinsonism, whereas the remaining 50% addresses other movement disorders.

As the Congress moves from global region to region, there is generally only a 30% overlap in audiences from successive congresses. Therefore, it is important that specific content be carried through two or three Congresses, whereas other content is replaced and changed every year.