Running Conferences – Quick Guide for Sections

Ed Perkins, R6 Conference and Events ChairDavid Koehler, R4 Conferences Co-chairBernie Sander, R4 Conferences Co-chairMike Siok, R5 Conferences ChairFrancis Grosz, R5 DirectorCharles Rubenstein, IEEE-USA Conferences ChairR4-R5-R6 Joint Meeting30-Jan-2016

Agenda

Conference Concepts– Key Steps– Rules and More Rules– Financial Modeling and Pricing

“Big C” conferences (papers)Venues & ContractsRegistrationPublicity, Exhibits & MarketingSponsorshipsWorking with SocietiesTrainingPanel Q+A

Why Conferences?

"The prime objective of IEEE conferences is to provide IEEE members, other individuals and organizations with information and exhibits to assist in the advancement of electrical and electronics engineering and the related arts and sciences."

(IEEE Policy 10.1.1)

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Concepts – Types of Meetings

IEEE Policy 10IEEE conducts three basic types of meetings: – Conferences, Symposia, Workshops,

Tutorials, Short Courses, Expositions, Conventions.

– Standards Meetings. – Other: administrative meetings and small

technical, professional, educational and social meetings. [Section/Chapter meetings]

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Concepts - Terminology

SponsorshipConference Organizing Committee Memorandum of Understanding/Agreement (MoU/MoA) Approvals – from all sponsoring organizationsCross endorsement (not sponsorship)Conference Filing / ICXClosing

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Concepts: What is a Conference?

MGA Ops Manual 10.3:technical or professional meetings that have a budgeted income/expense of greater than $25K USD. Symposia, Workshops, Short courses, Expositions, Conventions, and/or Tutorials. Conferences are sponsored by one or more IEEE organizational units and/or other not-for-profit organizations.Both members and non-members of the IEEE generally attend conferences. Attendees generally pay to attend. Conferences are typically self-supporting and frequently generate a surplus.

Types of Conferences

• ‘No papers’ Industry Conferences & Workshops• ‘Talking Heads’ small academic conferences• Section Chapter ‘DL’ conferences• PACE Events:

• Career Development Workshops• S-PAx

• Financial vs. Technical Co-Sponsorships (FCS vs. TCS)

• The future of IEEE Technical Co-Sponsorships

7Slide Courtesy Charles Rubenstein

New IEEE Policy 10 Rules for TCSIn the past, an IEEE MGA Organizational Unit (OU) such as a region, section or section chapter, could technically co-sponsor (TCS) a non-IEEE conference presented by not-for-profit organizations and universities without any cost to MGA or the OU.Beginning in 2016, any MGA OU that technically co-sponsors a non-IEEE conference is subject to a ‘registration’ fee calculated 3% of the average registration fee times the number of papers going into the Xplore database. This charge is not to be taken lightly as we are talking about hundreds of dollars per conference that has no IEEE financial co-sponsorship.

For MGA OUs, unless otherwise provided for in the MOU, any post-conference IP income from papers, etc., goes to the MGA.

As of this writing, MGA has not yet created the process for collecting these charges from the conference or OU.

Slide Courtesy Charles Rubenstein

Organizing an IEEE Conferencehttp://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers

Key Steps to Conference Setup

Determine Conference Topic, Scope and DatesSelection of General ChairSetup Conference Committee (get help)Obtain Sponsorships ($$, help)Obtain Cooperation of Technical/Professional OUsCreate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)Submit your Information Schedule to IEEE Conference Services (to be “official”) (req. to publish in Xplore)Establish Financial Responsibility (bank account, etc.)Setup Conference Publications (CD, handout, Xplore, ?)Contract Review & Execution (venue, papers, etc.)Call for Papers/Speakers/…

Key Things to Know About

MGA rulesIEEE Conferences rulesSponsorships and MOUsContractsInsurancePapers review process rulesRegistration fee rulesProper use of IEEE logoUse of the IEEE Conferences web site

RulesMGA – MGA Ops Manual Section 10http://www.ieee.org/documents/section_10_november_2013.pdf

IEEE – Policy Manual Section 10 https://www.ieee.org/documents/ieee_policies.pdfConferences Portalhttp://www.ieee.org/conferences

Insurance http://www.ieee.org/web/conferences/organizers/insurance_info.htmlMOUs http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/memorandum_of_understanding.htmlTimeline http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/

organizers/high_level_conference_timeline.pdf

More Rules

Conference Chair and Treasurer must complete and submit a Principles of Business Conduct and Conflict of Interest (POBC/COI) form (good practice)General Chair must be a member of IEEE Published papers must conform to IEEE Peer Review policy (quality)Published paper authors cannot “no show”Member/non-member fee differential requiredStudent/Life Member fee differential required

Financial Modeling

The most critical aspect of your conferenceUse Spreadsheet – include costs and revenue projectionsCosts: Fixed and VariableRevenue: Attendees by Fee type(s)Can easily alter amounts and see effect

Pricing – Simple ModelDetermine Fixed Costs– Room– A/V– Speaker Fee(s)– Publicity expense

Determine Variable Costs (include speakers!)– Food– Handouts– Misc: Nametags, pens, pads

Set Break-even at 50% of anticipated audience

Example Seminar Budget Financial Model

Send email for copy

IEEE “Big C” Conference Timeline

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https://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/high_level_conference_timeline.pdf

“Big C” Conference Setup

Determine sponsors, co-sponsorsNegotiate MOU, date(s)Conference Organizing CommitteeProgram CommitteeFile conference (ICX)Venue & contract approvalBudget & bank accountPublications – LOA, PDFXpressWebsiteRegistration

Program Development– Tracks– Call for Papers – Session planning– Manuscript templates– Paper management– Copyright– Reviewers

Quality: Reviews, Plagiarism, Prohibited AuthorsProceedings & programConference Presentation PublicationClosing

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After the Conference

Pay all bills, loansDetermine surplus/loss– no shows/not paid?– need actuals – costs and revenue

Distribute fundsClose bank account (if any)Create final accounting report for Section TreasurerPerform audit if required by IEEE

Selecting the VenueMeeting Location– Hotel ($$$)

All Day meeting packages, room rental fees, F&B minimums, hotel room nights.

– Meeting Center ($$) Room rental fees, catering charges.

– University ($) Room rental fees, catering charges.

– Company ($) Catering charges

Selecting the Venue

Consider Parking Consider Ease of AccessKnow local area special event datesKnow your target audienceVendor expo, career fair, awards, etc.Tour perspective venues prior to booking

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Contracts

Contracts valued over US $25K must be forwarded to IEEE Conferences for review & execution. IEEE Conferences staff review hotel/convention center contracts to ensure that your conference is receiving the best possible services and rates. You will still negotiate contracts based on your needs, provide initial approval but shall not give final approval or "execute" these contracts. All Conference Contracts with a value of less than US $25K shall be maintained in a readily accessible file at IEEE Conference Services. It is the responsibility of the conference chair to promptly send a copy of the contract, when executed, to IEEE Conference Services for retention.

Registration Options

vTools (lightweight, PayPal based, deposits to Section CB account)IEEE RegOnline (DIY, transaction fees, deposits into CB account)IEEE Cvent (development fee, transaction fees)RegOnline (DIY, need merchant account)

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Value-added Features

IEEE CEUs/PDHs (1 CEU = 10 PDH)Available from EAB– Online application form– Instructor bio, syllabus/agenda, learning

objectives, evaluation processEAB determines CEUsEvaluation form for participantsReport roster and evaluations to EABEAB sends certificates

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http://www.ieee.org/education_careers/education/ceus/application.html

Publicity, Exhibits & Marketing

Publicity– IEEE enotice– Dedicated IEEE listserv– Region news– Sponsor mailings– Press releases

Exhibits– Exhibitor Prospectus– Exhibitor Packages– Sales & Marketing

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Publicity, Exhibits & Marketing

Marketing– Flyers at meetings– Emails– Press releases– Networking events– Use Social Media (LinkedIN/FB/Twitter)

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Sponsorship TypesSponsorship relates to the responsibilities and accountabilities with respect to the financial, technical, publicity, and administrative aspects of a conference.

Determine type of sponsorship• Sole sponsorship

100% Financial• Co-sponsorship*

Less than 100% Financial• Technical co-sponsorship/Technical cooperation*

0% Financial involvement* Requires Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Motivation for Region sponsoring Conferences within Region

Provide Technical and Professional Training – Region Members– Potential Members (Use to recruit)

Generate Revenue – Support Programs in sections and

chapters– Support Programs in region

Region 4 Value Proposition(Why Partner with the Region?)

Provide region wide marketing Provide Region 4 committee support

(technical, PACE, MD, WIE, YP, etc.) Seed money Contract review and vetting process.

Sponsorship Alternatives Grow/modify existing conference (like EIT) -  

– Risk to Program That Works for some members? Partner with Societies on existing and potential

conferences– Society Interest?, Value of personal relationships– Some Societies More Receptive to Partnering –PES, PSE,

IAS, IEMS– Create Region and Section Value Propostion and

Viewbook (Venue history and Hotel Information) Partner With Affinity Groups on Forums in Region?

– WIE Forum? New Conference Owned by Region with Section

Partnership– Smart Grid Conference with PES Chapter – Chicago

Section

Items to consider in planning Topic or Focus of Conference

– Of Interest to members– Fills a niche or need – members willing to pay registration fee?  Does it

compete with existing conferences (technical area or calendar proximity) or learning opportunities

– Opportunity/interest on the part of exhibitors for product display and job opportunities.

Resources Required to Implement– Strong leadership in Conference Chair- not necessarily a part of the

Region conference committee, may be a local section member assisting with coordinating local logistics, etc.

– Chapter and Section support (IAS and SEM example of what works)– Don’t overcommit available resources – perhaps get one conference done

before adding additional.– Include IEEE-USA as co-sponsor for region owned or supported

conferences? – May limit to one day at start, could grow to a two day multi-track event..

Division of Revenue assumes successful conference– Use MOU models from other conferences for conferences owned by region

– like GreenTech or SusTech as model of revenue division - ~40% Region, ~50% Section(s) and Chapters, 10% IEEE-USA

IEEE Brand & Logo Use

Sole sponsorship conferences, the rights to the conference name, slogan, copyright for publications, and/or logo are owned by IEEE and not conference committees. The conference title must include IEEE for identification purposes. IEEE logo must appear on all promotional material and publications along with the organizational unit logo(s).

Co-sponsored conferences, (min 25%) recommended the IEEE logo be used in all conference publications and announcements.

Technical co-sponsored, IEEE name may not be used in the conference title; brand/logo may be used in conference publications and promotional materials

Obtaining Approvalshttp://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/getting_approval.html

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Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/memorandum_of_understanding.html

For sponsors, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sets forth the relationship and obligations of all involved parties. Now handled via ICX.

IEEE Conference Application (ICX)http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organize

rs/conference_application_form.html

http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/icx_required_information_checklist.pdf

Conference Application

• Registers your conference with the IEEE• Assigned a conference record number• Initiates insurance, budget and publishing

processes• Updates/changes can be e-mailed to

conference-services@ieee.org• Sponsorship confirmation with IEEE OUs

IEEE Conference Search

Allows potential attendees to search and find more information about your conference. Listing validates your conference as an IEEE conference.

Best Practices for Working with IEEE Society Conferences

New Orleans TBD

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We’re Here to help…The IEEE-USA Conferences CommitteeVoting:Charles Rubenstein, Chair (c.rubenstein@ieee.org)Five Voting Members (appointments in process):

Dave Green, Mike Andrews, Felecia Harlow, Steve Bourg,Scott Tomashiro,* Guru Madhavan (VP Prof Activities)

Non-Voting:The six (6) Regional Conference Coordinators:Region 1: Charles Rubenstein Region 2: Bob RassaRegion 3: Sean Haynes Region 4: Bernie SandersRegion 5: Mike Siok Region 6: Ed PerkinsChair/Reps of FCS and TCS conferences

* Re: Virtual Conferences

IEEE-USA Conference Calendar with link to IEEE-USA ConferenceBrief

http://ieeeusa.org/conferences

Traininghttp://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/conference_organizer_education.html

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Panel Q+A

Panelists• Ed Perkins, R6 Conference and Events Chair• David Koehler, R4 Conferences Co-chair• Bernie Sander, R4 Conferences Co-chair• Mike Siok, R5 Conferences Chair• Francis Grosz, R5 Director• Charles Rubenstein IEEE-USA Conferences Chair

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Resources Conference Application

http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/conf_app.html Conference Financial Management and Reporting

http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/managing_conference_finances.html Technical Program

http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/planning_technical_program.html Conference Publications

http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/publishing_conference_papers.html Registration

http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/managing_registration.htmlPanel of Conference Organizers (POCO)http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/poco/index.htmlConference Organizers Toolkithttp://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/conference_organizer_toolkit.html

Required Documentationhttp://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conference_organizer_quick_links.html

Conference Education Programhttp://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/conference_organizer_education.html

Contactshttp://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/conference_organizer_contacts.htmlBrowse back issues of the Conference Organizers' Newsletterhttp://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/organizers/conf_app.html

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Thank You!