Conference planning
http://haineshotelservices.com.
Some important issues of conference planning
What does the success of the conference depend on: famous participants, interesting reports, a wonderful conference banquet?
Why should you think over all the details of the conference organization carefully: the candidacies of the speakers, the limits for participants’ papers etc?
Make a list of other details organizers of a conference should think of. Compare the list with the text below. What additional information did you manage to withdraw? You may work in groups.
You are going to have a short meeting with the initiative group responsible for holding the conference to clarify some details on how it is better to organize it. Work in groups and brainstorm the arguments.
You have been asked to send invitation for the participants of the conference. What information would you give them?
Write a short essay (not more then 500 words): What the plague for conference organizers is or How to hold a conference without trouble.
Time and venue
When to start planning?
As a rough guide, you should start planning a one-day conference 12-18 months ahead of time. Although it is possible to put something together more quickly, you are more likely to achieve your aims with a long lead-in. Two-day or longer conferences will require 18 months plus. The importance of thinking ahead in seeking funding should also be noted.
Finding a suitable date for your conference
Unless the conference you are organizing is run on a yearly basis, you will have to decide what date will be most suitable for your speakers and delegates. If participants are mainly PhD students, the most effective choice is probably during term-time or reading-weeks. If on the contrary, your prospective guests will mainly be post-doctoral researcher, lecturers and professors, a time outside term-time may be preferable. Do not forget - from this point of view - that vacations vary from country to country. Likewise, rule out right from the start any date conflicting with other relevant academic events or with national holidays (and even very important sporting fixtures, as for example, the World Cup may deter potential participants to commit from coming to your conference).
Once you have identified a date, check the availability of conference rooms in your institution or your chosen venue. If you are cooperating with a conference office at your university, the date is obviously crucial information to be negotiated with them, so they can move on with their organizational tasks. It is also essential at this point to check the availability of your keynote speakers, if you have them.
The timetable of your conference
It is unusual for postgraduate conferences to last more than a day. (Large international conferences rarely last more than three days.) This may require you to schedule some papers to overlap with others. Papers are usually grouped in sessions, although keynote papers may have sessions to themselves).
The length of a single paper commonly varies between 20 and 30 minutes. Occasionally it can be reduced to 15. The presentations of keynote speakers however can last up to one hour. There is no compulsory limit for the length of a single session, but if it lasts more than two hours consider a proper break. Also include in your planning enough time for questions at the end of each paper or session. Make sure that all speakers and chairs are aware of the question format. When putting together the programme of your conference, it is important to be aware of your speakers' and delegates' comfort, and to schedule adequate breaks.
Venue
As a student you are most likely to want to make use of university facilities (either your home institution or another). It is unlikely that you will have a great deal of choice in terms of conference venue. University space is the norm for postgraduate conferences. Do bear in mind that different events have differing requirements. In case you are given a choice between different rooms or venues consider the following points:
cost
size and shape of rooms: traditional lectures, workshops and roundtables all require completely different kinds of rooms
technical facilities: rooms with built-in audio-visual equipment may work out cheaper than renting equipment
accessibility of location: this may affect both costs (travel expenses of speakers) and the appeal to other participants.
(http://port.igrs.sas.ac.uk/conferencetypes.htm)
Speakers
Once you have decided on a date and place for your conference, you can start selecting the speakers. The most common way to do this is either by a
call for papers (we have prepared a another subsection within this tutorial on what to consider when putting together a call for papers)
or by personal invitation.
A call for papers will allow the participation of students and researchers that you do not know but who could offer a significant contribution to your event. Personal invitations will ensure that established scholars will be informed about your conference. It also acts as publicity; some people who will receive your call (or invitation) may decide to attend your conference, even without giving a presentation.
A special group is constituted by conference speakers and chairs. If you undertook to cover their travel (or other) expenses, it is a good rule to refund them quickly. Do not forget to ask them for receipts, since you have to present those documents, in your turn, to your sponsors.
A completely different kind of obligation to speakers is the publication of their papers, since it does not only concern the people who took an active part in the conference, but the research community as a whole. However, all your efforts to keep single speakers informed of any progress of the proceedings will be greatly appreciated.
Your institution and any other sponsor
All institutions which have supported your conference with financial assistance have obviously the right to be informed about the conference itself and, above all, to check if and how you spent their financial contributions (not to mention that many sponsors do not make their funds available until they receive these items of information). You have therefore to let them have as soon as possible:
your final report (taking into account both informal feedback and evaluation forms)
the final budget of the conference.
Major academies and graduate schools may have their own forms to fill in, which means that you cannot simply send the same documents to all your sponsors, but you have to adapt your data to the format specifically required by each institution.
Hospitality
The first rule about hospitality is not to make any promises that you cannot keep. This said hospitality can include many aspects, such as:
travel expenses (from airplane to underground tickets)
refreshments
lunch
conference fees
information material (e.g., city guides)
All these items can be offered
both to speakers/chairs and participants
only to speakers/chairs
only to keynote speakers
In fact, very few organizations can afford to cover all these expenses, just as very few scholars expect to be refunded for every single expense. What really matters is that you (as well as your call for papers and invitations) are clear and precise from the beginning and that what you promise reflects the level of the registration fee. If you set a high fee, participants expect more, so again be precise about what is and is not included.
If you offer to reimburse expenses, remember to ask speakers to retain receipts or other documentary evidence of their expenditure. This is normally required by sponsoring bodies before they will release funds. It is essential to make clear to speakers what sort of expense you will cover (economy air fares, second class rail fares, no taxis, etc) at the outset. Try to avoid offering to book incoming speakers' travel: this is time-consuming and very unlikely to result in cost savings. On the other hand, conference offices can sometimes book local accommodation very cheaply.
Catering
Remember to include regular breaks for tea and coffee, and to allow adequate time for lunch. If possible, a reception at the end of a conference provides an opportunity for more relaxed socializing. Make sure that it is made clear to all participants beforehand (speakers, chairs, delegates) whether their registration fee includes refreshments.
Supporting events
Participants often welcome the opportunity of breaks in the program to explore the city and its monuments and/or to debate at more leisure specific issues and exchange opinions with individual speakers. They will appreciate finding in their conference package a list of major cultural institutions, events (such as concerts and exhibitions) and bookshops.
Book displays
These are not only a pleasant distraction but in some case can also present a source of income. They are commonly placed in the hall, or, when possible, near refreshments, so that participants can have a look at books on sale between sessions.
http://port.igrs.sas.ac.uk/conferenceprogramme.htm
Conference planning practice
You have to lead a seminar on “Exploiting natural resources without a thought for the future” for a group of colleagues. You have read the text about planning and are able to decide:
Which points from the text will you tell them about?
What other useful tips would you add?
What are the most crucial points that can make any conference successful?
Much depends on the involvement of the participants. Do you believe it is so?
Sometimes there may be some failures at the conference. Who is to be blamed?
Where do you think it is better to hold a conference?
Why should you think over about the terms the speakers invited?
Choose some students into your group (three or four) – your seminar planning committee, - set forth all the information. Together you should create a plan including all the important points. All the points shoud be duly grounded. Represent the plan in class, discuss together the advantages and drawbacks of each plan.
Listening. a) Explain what an oral presentation is.
b)Listen and check your prediction.