An
informal guide to arranging a scientific meeting
Jenny-Ann
Hardie*, Ingvill Løken**, Nils Kirkeby+,
Karina Smith++, Anneli Høiden Skogstad†
& Adrian Smith++
*Amersham Health, Oslo; **Norwegian Medicines
Agency, Oslo; +Scanbur-BK A/S, Nittedal; ++Norwegian
School of Veterinary Science, Oslo and †National Hospital,
Oslo
Introduction:
We have
organised and attended many meetings over the years. Some go well, others seem to attract one disaster after the
other. In an attempt to learn from
our own and others’ mistakes, we have compiled this informal but rather
incomplete guide, in the hope that it may be of some use to you, regardless of
the size of the meeting to be organised.
We are
aware that the amount of text we have devoted to some of the topics does not
necessarily bear relation to their importance, and many of the comments will
appear obvious or trivial. In our
experience, however, small details can be the ‘straw that breaks the
camel’s back’, or, alternatively, the final and appreciated touches
to a memorable event. Many of the
suggestions presented here were the result of our work in the organising
committee of the 32nd
Annual Scand-LAS symposium held at Gardermoen,
Oslo in April 2002.
The success
or failure of a meeting is dependent upon many factors:
·
The
organising committee
·
The
scientific programme
·
The
social programme
·
The
meeting venue and accommodation (and the distance between
them)
·
The
finances
·
The
food
·
The
service you provide (before, during and after the meeting)
·
How
you look after yourself
Beyond
doubt the most important single principle is:
ATTENTION TO DETAIL!
A meeting
can be a pleasure to organise, and great fun at the same time, if the committee
is composed of people whose chemistry is well matched, and who all clearly
fulfill a vital function.
Don’t invite people to be members of the organising committee
until you have really had a chance to consider how well they will function in
the team, and keep numbers down to a minimum. Choose people who have a proven ability to work hard, and,
not least, accurately under pressure, and give them plenty of praise. It is far better to delegate some tasks
to non-committee members than to include them all in the
committee.
Professionals
attend meetings in order to get updated within their field and to meet
colleagues from other institutions.
Thus, the scientific programme is the single most important success
factor. The meeting should have a theme and the scientific programme should
reflect this theme. Be careful so the title does not put limitations on the
choice of lectures, but allows you to cover a broad spectrum of relevant
subjects. Make your meeting attractive by inviting acknowledged speakers but
also allow young scientists to give presentations. Try to have contingency
plans if confirmed speakers cancel at the last minute.
The Programme
Book or Proceedings are important parts of many meetings. It is important to set realistic
deadlines for abstracts, advertisements and other material that is to be
included. Discuss this with the
printers well in advance, as these deadlines may well coincide with other busy
periods such as deadlines for registration.
The social
programme is an important part of any meeting, enabling participants to
establish contacts from other organisations in an informal atmosphere. If you are planning outside events, be
realistic about the likely weather conditions. Participants may forget to bring warm winter clothes even if
you have asked them to. Don’t expect many people to volunteer to take
part in organised games, so recruit participants in advance. If there is an Exhibitors Evening, make
sure that this is a success, as the exhibitors are likely to be a vital source
of revenue for the meeting.
Several factors
may influence on your choice of hotel: the turnout you expect for your meeting,
the size and number of lecture halls, room availability and location. In our
opinion, the ideal venue has:
·
accommodation
capacity for all participants
·
the lecture
facilities that you require
·
adequate
leisure facilities
A venue situated
away from a city centre with all the urban temptations may have a positive
effect on the attendance at lectures, and may also prevent unwanted attention
from demonstrators. The security of the participants must be also given high
priority.
Most people
prefer to stay at the hotel where the meeting is being arranged. However,
participants with a limited travelling budget may find the accommodation rates
in expensive hotels too high. A
cheaper alternative in walking distance from the venue hotel should be
available.
Before preparing
a budget, clarify if a surplus is expected from the meeting, and if so, the
size of it. Get an overview of all
items of expense that you want to include, as early as possible. Before deciding the registration fee,
make sure all imaginable expenses are included, and add a little extra for
unforeseen items. Based on
previous experience, take contact with sponsors that may be interested in being
represented at the trade exhibition, if there is to be one. Try also to recruit more unorthodox
sponsors such as industrial companies and governmental agencies, but do not
take it for granted that they will support the meeting. Such contributions should be considered
as extra income and should not be included in the budget.
Ensure that
you have a good overview of the economic situation just before the meeting
starts, so you know if you can afford extra unexpected expenses, for example
hire of taxis instead of using public transport if delegates are getting
tired.
Make sure
that all those who are to be refunded travel expenses or paid lecturers fees
are made aware of exactly which items are to covered, and those that are not
covered, to avoid unpleasant misunderstandings afterwards. Make a letter of contract between
each of these and the committee.
These terms must be agreed upon before the meeting is commited to using
the person.
Investigate
the tax issues for foreign speakers, so that there is no doubt as to how much
money the person will actually receive (you may have to deduct tax at a high
level, some of which may eventually be refunded to the lecturer many weeks
later).
Spend
sufficient time considering the economic consequences of your choices, and
think through what the person to be asked is likely to be expecting from the
meeting. He or she may have
very different ideas. Take these
agreement forms to the venue so you can show them to any participant who is
dissatisfied.
Local
specialities may appear to be exciting but may not appeal to everybody. Be sure
that the restaurant provides an international menu and also can meet special
diet requirements such as vegetarian dishes or gluten-free bread. Make sure
people provide you with this information when they register for the meeting, so
the restaurant can be prepared.
1.
Availability of information about
the meeting
Be careful
about issuing letters of invitation to delegates, as these may be abused by
people who are merely seeking to gain entry to the country.
The
Internet is a useful tool to reach out to potential participants. The programme should be as
available as early as possible, so potential participants can decide whether or
not to attend. Make a page of
practical information that you can add to as the need arises, and inform
readers that they should return to the website at regular
intervals.
Make sure
there
is abundant and clear information about how to reach the meeting. Even if you are familiar with the area,
go over the route that delegates will use and write a detailed description,
with distances and times. Inform
delegates if they have to pay parking fees, local taxes or if they must avoid
prohibited areas.
Describe
the likely weather conditions in the material that delegates receive in
advance, but emphasise that there may be variations. Make sure there is a link to a website showing the weather
forecast for the venue area.
Explain any
restrictions due to animal health regulations, for example in the event of an
outbreak of a contagious disease.
Provide a link to the local/national authority's website, particularly
if delegates are expected from agricultural areas.
Remember
that not every potential participant has easy access to, or is familiar with,
the Internet, even if they use email. Prepare an announcement that can be distributed by
post to all members of the sponsoring organisation, and to other relevant
institutions, and make sure that it contains the same information that is
available on the Internet.
2.
Sponsors
Make a
presentation sheet of the association and the aims of the meeting, which you
can give potential sponsors, so they know more about the organisers and the
event itself.
3.
Registration fee and payment
Despite the
possibilities available today on the Internet, we strongly recommend that you
do not allow electronic registration. The sender's email address is not always visible when using
some email providers, making it impossible to know who has registered or
paid. The safest system in our
opinion is to use a form that is submitted by telefax or standard post. Spend considerable time should be spent
designing a detailed registration form that is easy to understand and that
includes all necessary information and enough space to be able to write
legibly. Ask for both a telephone number and email address, in case one of the
two is illegible. Give the draft
form to a few potential participants and ask them for their opinion. It is
worth considering at this stage what type of participant list you will be
providing. There may be
security issues here, but some time should be taken to ensure that the
information provided is in fact correct, so that the list is a usful document
after the meeting. Some exhibitors
may be interested in a copy of the list before the meeting, to circulate
advertizing material, so it is worth considering in advance how you will answer
that question.
Spend some
time deciding on rules for reduced registration rates and cancellation charges,
and when these rates apply in relation to the start of the meeting. If these are fixed wisely, they will
help you anticipate how the financial state of the meeting is developing, and
will avoid a lot of last-minute changes.
Consider
carefully which forms of payment should be accepted. Avoid cheques if at all possible. Bank transfer in your own country's currency, with all bank
charges to be paid by the sender, is preferable. Make sure delegates can also pay by credit card (MasterCard
or VISA) or by cash when they arrive.
Have money in the registration office, with a receipt block, so that
delegates who have paid too much can be reimbursed, and those who have not paid
can do so. Work out in advance
roughly how much money you need in the cash box, based on the total amount to
be reimbursed, and make sure it is available in small enough
denominations.
4.
Letter of
confirmation
Spend some
time composing the text, so delegates get all the information they need in one
letter. This letter should have a
link to a website with up-to-date practical information. Make it clear on the website and in
hardcopies of the first and second announcements that confirmation letters
won't be issued until evidence of payment of registration fees has been
received. Nearer the time, you may
need to send out letters indicating that the delegates are registered but that
payment has not yet been received, asking them to bring evidence of payment
with them.
Use a
computer database programme that allows you to generate a large number of
layouts from the same set of information (punched once), e.g. name badges,
confirmation letters and reminders.
5.
Lecturers:
Many of
these will be your friends or colleagues.
To avoid misunderstandings or bad feelings, send all of them a standard
agreement form that they sign and return in good time before the meeting (give
a deadline), detailing which expenses you can pay and whether there are to
receive any fees. Make sure the
form includes room for a few sentences describing the speaker, which the
session chairman can use to present the person.
Make all
your arrangements with them in writing, so there can be no questions, and
maintain a ringfile with printouts of all mail correspondence with each
speaker. Bring it with you to the
meeting! Obtain their full postal
address, telephone and fax, and email.
Obtain a mobile phone number so you can contact them quickly in case
they are delayed on the day of their lecture.
6.
Thank-you
letters
Send all lecturers an email thanking for their
contribution, as soon as possible after the meeting. Send them a fax immediately afterwards asking for a
specification of their travel expenses, using a form you design, asking them to
return it by fax by a specified date.
They should be asked to send the original form, together with their
receipts for expenses, by post.
Send thank-you letters to all sponsors and exhibitors as soon as
possible after the meeting, in addition to the letter with practical details
sent to them immediately after their offer of sponsorship.
7.
The Registration Desk at the meeting
venue
It is a
great advantage if this is staffed by at least one person who knows some of the
delegates, and the environment within which they work. Make sure that those
staffing the meeting reception desk behave in a friendly and courteous way at
all times. They should clearly
show that they are doing everything in their power to help the delegates. This will help to ease tension if
unforeseen problems should arise.
Someone will inevitably turn up unannounced and claim that they have
sent in a registration form, or will claim that their secretary has paid for
their hotel room in advance, despite the fact that you have no evidence of the
fact. But nobody expects the registration desk to be open 24 hours a day. However, make sure opening hours are
clearly displayed, and that they coincide with convenient lulls in the
programme (e.g. coffee and lunch breaks).
Make sure
that the registration office has all the necessary equipment. It can be time-consuming and expensive
to rely on the hotel's equipment, which may be in use, incompatible with your
computers or expensive to hire. At
a minimum there should be:
·
A
computer with a copy of the latest registration database, connected to a
printer. This should preferably be
the computer that was used to compile the database, to eliminate any unforeseen
computer problems.
·
Ample
paper and spare name label sheets.
Several delegates will end up wanting new name badges because their name
has been spelt wrong, the flag on the badge is the wrong country, or they have
spilt wine on it.
·
A
copying machine, preferably a fast one.
Ample supplies of all paper types and overhead
transparencies.
·
Access
to the Internet (this may have to be via the hotel's
computer).
·
Other
items of office equipment including tape, staplers, hole punches, scissors, and
batteries of all sizes in use
There
should be a separate lockable office housing this equipment, away from the
noise and stress of the registration desk, where the senior registrar can sort
out the more complex issues one at a time with participants, and where he/she
can work undisturbed.
Participants may
contact the meeting desk with a variety of personal questions, such as the need
for a doctor or advice on rebooking their flight. Clarify with the hotel in advance what they can contribute
with, and let them handle as much of this as possible.
8.
Equipment for the lecture
rooms
Bring your
own equipment in case the hotel doesn't provide everything:
·
Pointers
(mechanical and/or laser)
·
Felt
tip pens and overhead transparencies.
Leave these in a prominent place on the podium.
·
Name
sign holders and lecturers' names, printed in advance, to be displayed on the
podium so latecomers know who is talking.
·
Spare
pens for flipovers
9.
Technical
equipment
Make very
sure what the hotel is providing (at what cost) and what is not
provided. Consider bringing your
own computer projectors, slide projectors and one laptop for each lecture
room. Try these out in advance to
check compatibility, image size and brightness. Check that all the necessary leads are present in the
projector bags.
Hire a
technician, or several if you are going to be providing parallel sessions (not
even the best technician can be two places at once). This is very well spent money, and saves a lot of stress,
particularly in the beginning of the meeting while you are getting used to the
facilities.
Tell the
lecturers how they are to bring their computer presentations. This is usually best brought on a CD
that can be quickly loaded onto one of the computers used at the meeting. Floppy discs are too small, and not all
computers have disc drives. Check
which version you have of presentation programmes like Powerpoint. This should be specified to all
lecturers. If possible, install a
version on the meeting’s machines that will cope with all possible
versions likely to be used. Try
and get lecturers to send their presentations in advance, although this is
difficult! At the least, insist
that they bring backup in the form of overhead transparencies or 35 mm
slides.
Remember to
bring battery chargers for all equipment needing them. Just as important, remember to use them
during presentations, so computers don't power down during the
talk!
Bring
plenty of extra cables (SCART and S-VHS video cables, computer power cables and
extension leads) and adapters in case foreign lecturers forget to bring
them.
Make sure
you have some spare light bulbs and cassettes for slide projectors, and one
extra LCD projector in case of failure.
10.
Security
Consider
the need for security and whether it is necessary to hire extra staff. Choose a
company that is familiar with the nature of the anticipated problem (and
preferably with the venue), even if they are more expensive than competing
companies. Inform the local police
and venue well in advance of the nature of the meeting, and check for the
likelihood of demonstrations.
11.
Miscellaneous
Make a list
of mobile phone numbers to everyone in the organising committee, and give
copies of this list to all members, as well as the hotel desk and the technical
support team. It can take
surprisingly long to trace people in an emergency, even in small hotels. Make sure that all key members of the
organising
committee have communications equipment.
Have a
meeting noticeboard and encourage the delegates to check it regularly. Don’t however trust this board
for important messages: make an announcement when everyone is present (count
heads if necessary). If there are
foreign participants, make sure everyone understands.
If
participants are to use public transport between venues, make sure you have
given them enough information, and try it out in advance, on the relevant day
of the week (tram times may be very different at weekends). If you are sending participants
information in advance, make sure the transport timetable will still be valid
at the time of the meeting! Choose
accommodation that is suitably situated, e.g. on the same tramlines as the
meeting venue, so delegates can just follow the lines if they prefer to
walk. Consider giving them
week-tickets or the equivalent.
Set aside a
few minutes at the start of each day for a short “housekeeping”
talk, to update participants on practical details. This also gives you an opportunity to address and explain
issues about which delegates are beginning to get annoyed, before they become
major issues. Avoid changing the
times or venues of events, but if this is inevitable make sure that these are
clearly announced and signposted, both at the original venue and the new
one.
Keep to the
schedule, so delegates can plan phone calls and meetings between lectures, and
make sure that lunch and coffee breaks are respected. It is a great advantage if parallel sesions start and end at
the same time, so people can change sessions with a minimum of disturbance or
irritation.
Write down
all messages and things you want to remember, preferably on a copy of the
programme so you can recall them at the correct time.
Write the
speeches you will be holding (e.g. for the opening session, congress banquet
and closing session) before the meeting starts. You won't have enough time to do this properly during the
meeting, and you will probably forget important people you should have
thanked. However, be ready to
update these manuscripts with details, particularly humorous ones, from the
meeting as it progresses.
Get enough
sleep, and eat a solid breakfast in peace. That may be your last chance to get a square meal and
eat it undisturbed, and it is essential to get the energy you need at the
beginning of the day. In addition, drink plenty of water (not beer or soft
drinks!) during the day: dehydration will make you feel more tired, make you more
prone to headaches and will reduce your ability to
concentrate.
Keep a
finger on the pulse of the meeting.
It is a good idea to use contacts within the different participant
categories (e.g. lecturers, scientific staff, technicians and exhibitors) who
will report to the organising committee if things start going wrong. Choose these contacts carefully, so
they really mingle with their group, and choose people with a good knowledge of
psychology, who can themselves help to defuse potential
problems.
Try to
correct any problems that arise as soon as possible, and make it clear to the
delegates that you take their remarks seriously and are acting on them. The fact that you are enjoying yourself
does not necessarily mean that the delegates are. Tell them that the meeting is for them, so they must help
make it a success, i.e. make sure they realise that they have some of the
responsibility for a successful meeting.
Show that you are working hard. Don’t be overheard saying that everything is
going fine, because there is bound to be someone who doesn’t agree with
you! Don’t appear arrogant
or unethical, and take care of your own reputation: it is important that the
chairman of the meeting is respected and authoratitive at all times.
Don’t
relax until the meeting is over.
The participants’ last impressions are equally important, and
these may be the lasting images they have of your meeting.
Allocate
enough time to attend to the necessary paperwork once the meeting is over, and
complete
this while everything is still fresh in your mind.
Finally, be
prepared for a feeling of anticlimax once the “adrenaline kick” is
over. If all has gone well, it can
be an effort to get back to the mundane business of everyday
life.
Good luck!
We welcome
comments and further suggestions, which may be sent to the authors c/o adrian.smith@veths.no