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ORGANISING A CONFERENCE
Before You Start Decide on a Central Issue for a Conference
Write down your reasons for this topic. Then rewrite your reasons until they are clear statements.
Show the statements to several people whom you think feel the same way you do and will want to join you.
When you feel confident and enthusiastic about talking about your reasons for having a conference, then you are ready to move ahead.
Invite Three to Five People to an Informal Pre-Planning Meeting
Invite those who responded enthusiastically to your conference purpose statements. Mention that notebooks and pencils will be needed. Set a beginning and ending time. It’s best not to have food during the meeting. Have it afterwards, if at all. Hold the meeting in a quiet place.
Let those invited know the aims of this brainstorming meeting are to:
1. determine what kinds of resources could be needed to organize the kind of conference your are thinking
of having; and
2. which people would be helpful to have on the conference planning committee.
Getting Ready
At the meeting keep the discussions relevant to the conference.
Ask for an agreement in the beginning that irrelevant topics will be discussed after the meeting.
Ideal Committee Member’s Qualities
Look for people who:
are energetic;
do what they say they’ll do;
are both creative and practical;
will attend meetings;
will carry their share of the work;
have diverse skills and contacts;
are from diverse sectors of the community;
and
have attended or organized a conference.
Suggestions for meeting topics:
where a conference office can be set up;
who the conference participants will be;
what time of year will be best for the conference;
places where the conference can be held;
clarify the conference goals;
determine several names of people to be invited to
join the conference planning committee;
decide who each person present will contact and
invite to the planning meeting; and
choose the time and place for the first conference
planning meeting.
REMEMBER.....
these pages are only seeds from which you can grow your own ideas.
This is YOUR vision, YOUR project.
PRE-PLANNING MEETINGS
First Pre-Planning Meeting Suggestions
At the beginning of the meeting record everyone’s name and how they can be contacted.
Have someone write down the important ideas discussed.
Have another person as timekeeper whose duty it is to announce 15 minutes before the adjourning time.
Stop then and have each person summarize clearly which tasks they will do before the next meeting. ( If meetings become too long, then participants get tired, the work progresses slowly, people get discouraged, loose interest and drop out.)
Set the time and place for a second pre-planning meeting within a few days.
Second Pre-Planning Meeting Suggestions
It can proceed like the first. Feel free to make any changes that will make the meeting go more smoothly.
The agenda could contain:
a review of the first meeting discussions (especially if someone new is present);
discussions not completed at the first pre-planning meeting;
reports about the planning meeting invitations; and
a detailed preparation of the agenda for the first planning meeting including who will responsible for each part of the meeting. If the project is a cooperative effort from the beginning, it will be more successful. It’s helpful and fun to have a “dress-rehearsal” of how you will conduct the first planning meeting. Perhaps family members or neighbors would be willing to be a practice audience and contribute positive suggestions.
Conference Planning Meetings
First Conference Planning Meeting Suggestions
Have the meeting room furniture arranged at least 20 minutes ahead of time. If chairs form a circle, everyone can see each other. Consider having extra chairs available for guests. A chalkboard or easel with a pad of large paper could be part of the circle. The agenda could be written on either of these or on individual copies handed to each person attending. Have a paper for people who are attending to record their names and how they can be contacted. Place the paper on a table near the door. Have someone make sure everyone signs, even latecomers.
Begin on time.
Open with a brief welcome from the meeting organizers. Have everyone introduce themselves.
Have someone prepared to write down the discussions and questions put forth at the meeting. Afterwards, place these notes with the notes from the pre-planning meetings.
Present information about the issue of concern that a conference could improve. Encourage the people listening to ask questions and become involved.
Report on the ideas brought up at the pre-planning meetings. Request suggestions and feedback.
Invite the people present to become planning committee members. One way to hear everyone’s response about this is to have each person speak, one at a time, moving in sequence around the circle. Encourage possible conference participants to join the committee. If the conference will be for children, have children involved in the planning.
Decide a conference title and its goals, 2 or 3 possible dates and who and approximately how many conference participants will attend.
Identify the primary needs to get the conference project going and organize teams or individuals to handle these tasks.
1. A conference office will be needed mainly to provide a mailing address. computer work, typing, photocopying,
telephoning and faxing can be done from other places.
2. Financing the functions of the office such as postage, office supplies, phone/fax and photocopying needs to be
arranged. Seek donated services and space first.
3. A conference site will need to be secured quickly. The site may determine the dates and the number of
participants. Avoid a site that requires an immediate deposit to reserve it.
4. A list of addresses of individuals and organizations through which possible conference participants can be
contacted needs to be compiled.
Set the date, time and place of the next planning committee within the next 7-10 days. Have everyone summarize the tasks they are to complete before the next meeting.
Second Conference Planning Meeting Suggestions
This meeting can be very similar to the first meeting, but omit the presentation by the meeting organizers. Have the room furniture in place beforehand, someone in charge of getting contact information from anyone new, someone to take notes and perhaps a timekeeper. Begin on time.
Start with a “check-in”. Proceeding around the circle, have each person state their name and describe how they are feeling at the present moment.
Review the last meeting briefly.
Going around the circle, have each person report on the progress they have made on their tasks. You might want a timekeeper to announce when 3 or 5 minutes is up for each speaker so the reports will be kept brief and to the point. At the end of each report, group members could offer brief supportive comments.
Proceed around the circle again and have each person describe any difficulties they are having achieving their tasks. Group members can offer to help with time, resources or ideas.
If members seem to feel overwhelmed with their tasks, discuss the possibility of inviting more people to join the planning committee and developing a more formal organizational structure. One option is to establish a committee for each task and assign people who have started the task to be committee coordinators. The coordinators could be responsible for building their committees and holding their own independent meetings. If this seems appropriate for your group, then also consider having a main coordinating team or individual to oversee that communication is kept alive, that deadlines are met, to call extra planning meetings if the need arises and, in general, guide (not boss) the whole project.
Discuss what the next steps will be for each person.
Set the next meeting time and place to occur as soon as practical. Frequent meetings reflecting a positive attitude and which are supportive to the members make the work more fun. Long lapses between meetings tend to make people feel isolated and they loose interest.
Have everyone summarize their tasks to be completed before the next meeting.
Third and Successive Conference Planning Meeting Suggestions
Choose only a few topics. Save remaining topics for successive meetings.
CELEBRATE YOUR PROGRESS
CELEBRATE YOUR PROGRESS !!!
Creating an Organization to Create a Project
Planning a conference is much like planning any project. A project is a single undertaking which may or may not be repeated. Therefore, the organizational structure for creating a project has different requirements than an ongoing non-profit or for-profit corporation. Conference planners may be content with the way the organizational structure has thus far naturally evolved and wish to make no changes. Also, if the conference is being organized by staff members of an existing organization the structure in place may serve very well.
It is best if the project falls under the umbrella of some organization for credibility in the eyes of possible donors, for obtaining donated services, for securing the conference site, etc. In some countries tax laws require this umbrella relationship unless the project planners go through the often long and expensive process to legally form their own corporation. It might be wise for the conference planners to have a separate meeting devoted to organizational structure and invite an accountant or business lawyer to educate and advise the team. When the primary tasks are very near completion or completed, the conference planners will have a fairly accurate idea if the working team has the level of energy, time and responsibility to make the project come to life. Then it is time to make decisions about how best to successfully complete the project.. The next big task is fund-raising. If the conference is city-wide or regional in scope, it is possible to operate on a “shoe-string” budget. If the conference is international in scope, it will require a longer planning time and more financing.
1. An organizational structure can be set up... and ... 2. people found to fill the positions
or
1. People can come together.. and.. 2. create the positions in which they can best function.
Some Thoughts for Consideration:
The possibility of the planning team staying intact for the duration of the project;
The proximity of the planners and the possibility of frequent decision-making meetings;
Any confusion already experienced in making or carrying out decisions;
The effect on the present mode of operation that the possible addition of others with needed skills and
resources will have;
The possible demands from fund-raising efforts and/or donated services anticipated;
The wishes about such a structure from the organization with which the project is affiliated; and
The image which the planners wish to project to the public and other organizations.
In many cultures there are time-tested structures appropriate to use for making decisions about carrying out a project. These conference planners have probably operated according to their traditions from the beginning, and, for them, this discussion is irrelevant.
Qualifications for Conference Participants
In considering the qualifications of participants, the conference planners need to refer to the conference goals. In determining age requirements, the distance and the difficulty of travel needs to be examined. Airline fares are reduced for younger participants, but then cultural customs may require the younger participants be accompanied by a chaperon. Having chaperons in attendance adds to the number of people to feed and house at the conference and increases the total airfare expense for the people paying.
One method through which conference planners may learn about the character of the applicants and their language ability is by requiring the applicants to write essay style responses to statements or questions pertaining to the issues involved in the conference. Again the conference goals can be examined to determine appropriate questions/statements.
Another method through which applicants’ personal qualities may be ascertained is by requiring two or three written recommendations to accompany the application forms. State the language the recommendations should be written in so the planners will be able to read them.
Choosing a Conference Site
Remember this section is referring to a conference as being “a gathering of concerned people who have come together to report about, study about and define one or more practical solutions and to choose a plan of action to be carried on after the meeting is over.” Such a conference requires the concentrated involvement of its participants. It might also be considered that in order to bring about changes within oneself it is beneficial to step away from one’s habitual habits and routine. Therefore, it is recommended that such a meeting be a 7-14 day residential conference. One of the major benefits of attending a conference for the participants is the new friendships they develop and while developing these friendships they learn to see themselves in a different light. At a residential conference there is time to foster this personal growth. Another major benefit is that participants residing together come to trust each other more quickly. This kind of environment is needed for participants to express their deepest feelings about the issues at hand and employ their creativity.
For a conference to be conducive to the participants’ concentrated involvement, it is desirable to have a quiet place away from activities which would distract participants such as shopping, movies, video games, etc. A rural setting close to nature serves well. A place where the participants can learn to live together in community by contributing to meal-making and clean-up will help the participants develop a family spirit and a level of participatory responsibility not possible if staying at a hotel. Also if participants assume some of the daily living tasks, bring their own bedding and towels, the conference expenses can be reduced.
Conference Diet
During the last day of a thus
far very productive conference,
a parent brought a huge cake, cookies and sugary drinks for everyone. The participants’ concentration dissolved and
a major conference goal was
never completed.
Avoid excessive sugar. It is a fact that after the consumption
of highly sugared foods the body experiences a “sugar high”
during which it is difficult to sit still or concentrate. Then, as
the “high” wears off, the body grows fatigued and develops
a “low” which it wants to alleviate by consuming more sugar.
And so the “high-low” cycle can continue. Consider offering
sweets for deserts after meals. Have snacks in between meals
with natural sugars and proteins, such as cheeses and fruit juices.
Setting Conference Fees
When the conference housing and meals have been arranged, it should be known how much these
will cost. The next step is to determine the conference fee. One way to establish a conference fee
is to divide the total cost of the housing and meals by the number of participants expected.
total housing + total meal costs = individual conference fee
number of expected participants
for example:
total housing costs = $2000 $2000 + $5000 = $100 per participant
total meal costs = $5000 70
total number of participants = 70
However, if it is not certain the desired number of participants will attend, then consider
reducing the participant number in the fee calculation in order to cover costs. Such items as any transportation the conference will provide may need to be added to the housing/meal sum.
After Computing the Conference Fee, Consider Further
It seems fair that conference participants pay the costs that they individually incur at the conference. Office expenses, meals/housing, stipends for attending staff are not costs directly incurred by the conference participants. It is up to the discretion of the conference planners to decide how much expenditure they can reasonably expect from the participants they wish to have. If unrealistically high conference fees are set, the conference may have few applicants. If the conference site and meals are reasonably low, perhaps fund-raising can cover the expenses and conference fees need not be required. The economic situations of both the anticipated participants and the planners needs to be examined to decide this.
Letters of Announcement/Invitation to Participants
When the primary tasks have all been taken care of and the conference name, office address and phone/fax, goals, dates, site, conference fee, qualifications for participants, information then the next step is to get the letters of invitation and application forms written, copied and mailed to the addresses on the compiled list. It will be helpful to participants to also inform them of the nearest airport or other travel information. These letters need to go out 8-10 months in advance of an international conference. Mails are slow. Passports and visas take months to get in some countries. For a national or regional conference this time span can be less. This first invitation mailing will probably be the largest conference postage expense. To reach possible conference participants, also consider:
arranging for announcements on the radio and TV talk shows, free community calendars and in organizational newsletters; sending letters to magazine and newspaper editors about the issue the conference involves and describing the conference as a solution. Letters to the editor are usually printed free of charge; and requesting people who subscribe to computer networks to place conference information on network bulletin boards.
Continue to expand the address list. Ask everyone you know to suggest addresses to contact.
Think of building this new network of contacts as making new friends......
Further Suggestions About Letters
Cover Letters
Many letters seeking conference applicants may go to organizations rather than to individuals who are potential conference participants. The purpose of a cover letter would be to encourage the organization to pass on the conference information to potential participants by copying the information enclosed and including it in one of their own mailings or to include the information in a newsletter. Such an organization would like to know who the conference planners are, what their general organizational purpose is, how long the planners have been functioning, what their background is and with whom the planners are affiliated. They also will be concerned about how the participants will be provided for at the conference. Will there be healthy meals of fresh foods, healthy forms of recreation available, medical facilities on site or nearby, does the conference site have clean air and water, is the conference staff experienced ? In short, these organizations will be interested in the same kind of information about the conference planners and facilities that a concerned parent might want to know to send their child away to be with strangers. These organizations will only assist the reaching of potential participants if the conference appears to be organized by responsible people. Take the time to show the draft cover letter to others who might ask questions that the authors have overlooked.
THE GOOD NEWS IS
THE INFORMATION EXPRESSED IN THIS COVER LETTER
WILL BE VERY USEFUL IN FUND RAISING !
Setting Up a Conference Office
Organizing a conference office is the first primary task that could require funding. If the conference is a project of an existing organization, then the office space, equipment and staff will probably already be available. One of the conference planners may have space and a desk available at their office or home. Another may have a computer or typewriter to contribute. By pooling resources and using donated items, it is possible to set up an office fairly quickly. It is important that the conference mailing address remain the same until the conference is over. If it is known that the first office is only temporary, then provisions need to be made to use someone’s postal address, postal box, rent a postal box or make arrangements with the post office to receive mail in some way. If the conference planners feel a large space, up-to-date equipment and office staff is required, then fund-raising for this will be their first task. If financing an office is a difficulty, be creative and establish
receive
mail
A Cooperative Office.
photo-
copying
make local
phone calls
send
fax letters
receive
phone calls
make overseas
phone calls
additional
photocopying
use computer
use
typewriter
make long-distance
phone calls
receive
fax letters
The different office stations can possibly donate expenses for their functions or perhaps arrangements can be made so that the committee members can donate working time at that station to help pay conference related costs. A cooperative office is not easy to operate, it is inconvenient and tasks take longer and sometimes require more effort. However, it does get the job done. Also, many people become aware of the project and in turn they can encourage others to support it.
A Conference Project Budget is Needed
A budget is a list of estimated costs needed to achieve a goal. It is wise to have a written estimate of the funds the planners will need so fund-raising will achieve its purpose.
The type of budgets conference planners develop will reflect their cultural and personal beliefs and values and also the organizational structure they adopt. The budget of a linear organizational model will be determined by the values of #1. This may mean that stipends for the director and staff may be the largest portion of the budget. The budget of a democratic model organization may focus more on developing a well-equipped and staffed office. Those who adopted the consensus organizational model may focus on funding all the expenses during the conference itself so participants will only be asked to pay their own transportation costs.
Possible Ways to Approach Financing a Conference
$ Raise all the funds first, then proceed to plan guided by the funds available.
$ Plan the conference in steps, budget-building and fund-raising for each step as needed.
$ After planning has begun, raise a large sum of money and re-build the budget and do additional fund-
raising as plans change.
Funds Which May be Needed within the First Month
The budget total sets the goal for fund-raising. Another element that needs to be considered is time. WHEN funds are needed is important. If the planners have managed to set up a cooperative office, then the first major expenditure needed quickly is the cost of getting out letters seeking conference participants. Besides postage and photocopying/printing costs, the phone costs brought about by getting the address network developed usually need to be paid monthly. The person whose phone is being used may be willing to donate some of the costs and work out a schedule for the payment of the remainder.
Funds Which May be Needed Before the Conference Begins
Besides the ongoing office expenses, a possible large expense will be a deposit to reserve the conference site and/or the kitchen staff which will prepare the conference meals. Perhaps this can be negotiated to better serve the abilities of the conference planners to pay.
Any fees required by a conference nurse or staff member will be due closer to the time of the conference. However, if the conference planners are providing travel expenses for any conference speakers or participants, these will cost less if they can be paid for well in advance.
A time-frame chart can be drawn up so fund-raising functions can be planned accordingly.
DATES EXPENSE ESTIMATED COST
$500
$120
$375
Stationery Printed
Photocopying
Postage
Month One
etc.....................................................................
Remember to put the FUN in FUNd-raising !
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