It is a known fact that planning conferences can be a daunting task. It is time-consuming and takes a lot of researching, booking, scheduling, sourcing and organizing. Nonetheless, the following information provides guidelines to plan a conference which will reap success. Firstly, the appointed conference organizer(s) must formulate a vision– which sets up reasonable goals and realistic ways to achieve them. This vision must cover all the small details as well as the big picture. If you have difficulty in figuring out what your overall vision is, try taking surveys from potential attendees, or conversing with your boss and other high-ranking authorities in your workplace. Just remember that the vision is a powerful source that can either make or wreck the conference. To make sure this vision can be achieved, you need to set up a committee- The biggest task is to get the conference organized as a whole. To achieve this, we need to assign individuals to smaller areas of responsibilities. This means that we need to form a group or groups of people, each of whom will be assigned to a particular task. Suppose a group of eight can be involved in marketing, another group of 8 will be in charge of getting sponsorship, a group of five will handle the food and catering aspects, and so on. It is up to you to decide via the already set vision, what categories of responsibilities is needed and how many people are required to carry out such responsibilities and the duties that come with it. This delegation of tasks requires thorough communication flow in between the members of different groups. To ensure this, each group must have a representative- who must frequently attend meetings with representatives of other groups to keep track of the amount of work getting done.
The next step is to create a budget– It is based upon how much income should be pooled in order to cover up anticipated expenses. You should be rational about what is affordable within the limits of your budget. There will be situations wherein you would have to discard some assets if they are not affordable. Also, the budget must be regularly reviewed since we live in a dynamic environment. To create the ideal budget, you need to calculate your expenditure. Creating a list of all possible expenditures that you would make to arrange the conference should be your first step. In that process, you should identify the fixed and variable costs. The budget will also be based on all potential sources of revenue and the registration fee should be set according to these expenses as well to cover any shortages. After this, the budget must be distributed in the decided ratio to the committee members. Following this, you need to determine the timeline– for it helps you to stay on track. The timeline you decide can be simple or complex- it is up to you. There are certain elements like being rigid about certain tasks and their respective deadlines and providing an overview of the tasks completed. Therefore, it is essential to keep a workbook to keep an accurate record of these activities.
Next on your agenda will be about booking a venue. Firstly, a person or a team will be responsible for finding the most appropriate venue. They need to first be clear about their needs such as date(s) of the conference, space requirements, number of attendees, etc. Then they must search for the venue- be it a hall or a site- and must make sure that environment and accommodations of the venue meet their requirements. They need to prepare a ‘request for proposal’ and send it to the responsible authorities. A visit to the venue is a must before confirming and signing a contract with said authorities. Then comes the management of abstracts. You must swiftly design, prepare, and publicize the call papers after establishing a deadline. Then you must accept paper submissions, appoint reviewers to each paper, make the final paper selections, and publish the papers online. Next comes the registration. This is inclusive of deciding on the registration procedure, dates, price for the conference, whether the form will be available online, a cancellation policy, etc. This will be managed by another team in the committee.
Speakers must be selected after thorough research on them and their area of expertise. A contract should then be signed. Arrangements for speaker audio/visual requirements, allotment of time to each speaker and their accommodations will be sorted. Sponsors and exhibitors will come forth once they sign a contract with you. They need to be given a list containing a review of conference goals, procedural instructions, and floor space allotments. Your vision will be coming together by now, but to make sure it gets achieved, you need to have adequate marketing. You can develop a promotional website, send out emails and press releases, and use other marketing tools to make your presence felt with the targeted audience. The final steps- These include the accommodation, transportation, provision of food and beverages, and the managing of social events aspect. They are the final steps since they formally occur during the conference and hence, must be carefully planned and executed by the respective teams. If you follow this with determination and dedication, you will find yourself carrying out a very successful conference!
Contented By: www.conferencealert.com
