Planning and Organizing a

Conference
 What is a
conference?

20XX Contoso business plan 2

 What is a conference?
A conference is a gathering of people with a common interest
or background, with the purpose of allowing them to meet one
another and to learn about and discuss issues, ideas, and work
that focus on a topic of mutual concern.

20XX Contoso business plan 3

There are different types of conferences:

Academic

Professional association

Training

Issue- or problem-related
ACADEMIC CONFERENCE

Most academic conferences are centered around a single subject, and

sometimes on a single topic within that subject. The format usually
involves graduate students and academics presenting their research,
work, and theories, and defending, expanding, or changing them in
response to questions, criticism, and other feedback from colleagues.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
CONFERENCES
These are similar to academic conferences in some ways, but
presentations tend to be focused more on practical issues, both having to
do with the actual work participants do, and with regulations, funding,
and other forces that affect the profession.
TRAINING CONFERENCES

A training conference may be run by a professional association, but is at

least as likely to be conducted by an industry or industry organization, a
state or federal agency, or a local coalition or initiative. As might be
expected, its purpose is training, and so it might include workshops on
methods and techniques, information on new regulations, or simply an
exchange of experience and methods among people from a number of
different organizations.
ISSUE- OR PROBLEM-RELATED
CONFERENCES
These might be convened by almost any association, organization, institution, or
citizens’ group to focus on a particular concern. Such conferences range from
“Education Summits” called by the President of the U.S. and attended by
politicians, school superintendents from large cities, and eminent thinkers (but often
no teachers or students), to local-coalition-sponsored events focusing on child abuse
in the community. The purpose here may be to inform and energize people about the
issue, to create a critical mass of concern about it, or to develop strategies for
approaching it.
 HOW DO YOU
ORGANIZE A CONFERENCE?
 DECIDE A THEME

Every great conference needs a theme. What’s the unifying

message that your speakers will deliver? The best themes
should be catchy, relatable, and trigger an emotional
response. You want the conference to inspire and stimulate
conversation. The theme has to pick up on it.

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 ASSEMBLE YOUR TEAM
You need a dedicated team of people to assume responsibility for different aspects of planning, negotiations, and
promotions. Your core team will likely include:

1. Planning team. Conference venue, accommodation, activities, catering.

2. Administration team. Budgeting, attendee registration, ticket sales. This team/person will also be the main
point of contact for persons related to the conference.

3. Marketing team. Contacting the media, creating promotional material, managing your website, blog, and social
media activities.

4. Sponsorships team. In charge of securing sponsors, applying for grants, and fundraising.

5. Volunteers. Helping with all on-site activities on the day of the conference; door management, ticket scanning,
keeping track of the guest list, etc.
 PREPARE A BUDGET AND BUSINESS
PLAN
Whether your conference is funded by sponsor or not, you’ll have to put together a budget. You
need to know where your money is being earned and spent. Common items you want to budget
for:
Venue Accommodation
Transportation Catering
Speaker fees Activities
Marketing Team members
 CHOOSE YOUR SPEAKERS

No matter what your niche is, it is very likely that the

quality of the speakers can make the conference
successful. In many fields the speakers are the stars
of the conference, and attendance can be affected by
their quality. If good speakers are hard to find, plan
in advance.
 TALK TO THE VENUE

If planning a successful conference is a daunting

task for you, or if you don’t have great experience
and they are more than willing to share it with you
because your success is the venues success too.
 FOCUS ON VISITOR EXPERIENCE

Live events are very relevant in today’s market; while advancing

technologies have enhanced our industry, they can’t be replaced the
element of human interaction. Engaging content, clear objectives that
makes your event unique, different or better than your competitors
are all compelling reasons for visitor attendance. Careful
consideration should be given to visitor experience and engagement
to maximize ROI and drive customer retention.
 WHAT TO DO

• Publicize the conference.

• Register participants.
• Recruit presenters.
• Run the conference.
• Evaluate the conference.
WORKS CITED
 ---. ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/training-and-technical-assistance/conferences/
main. Accessed 20 Sept. 2022.
 “The Conference Planning Checklist.” Tagvenue.com Blog,
www.tagvenue.com/blog/how-to-organise-a-conference-checklist. Accessed 30 Sept. 2022.
 “How to Conduct Seminars and Conferences | Checklist & Guide.” Ted McGrath Brands, 25
Aug. 2017, tedmcgrathbrands.com/conduct-seminars-conferences.