Strategies for Planning Effective

Scientific Workshops

Amanda StaudtNational Wildlife Federation

Friday, April 13, 2007

Introductions and opening remarks Introductions:

Who are you? What do you work on? Tell us about a memorable

scientific workshop experience (positive or negative)

Opening remarks What is a scientific workshop? What makes scientific workshops challenging to plan? Managing expectations Everyone is busy!

Outline: Setting clear objectives Crafting the agenda

Practice activity Guidance to speakers and participants Advertising

BREAK

Seamless logistics Facilitating discussions

Practice activity Follow up

What are some topics of workshops that you would like to attend? Pick top 5 ideas for use during practice activities

PLANNING

DURING THE WORKSHOP

AFTER THE EVENT

Setting clear objectives for the workshop Meeting some stated need Some common goals of workshops include

sharing info among colleagues sharing info among different groups of experts

(e.g., cross disciplinary; science-policy) examining a problem and looking for a solution scoping a new area/project

Attainable Communicated to everyone at the outset

Setting clear objectives for the workshop: Some examples2. Understanding and Improving

Forecasts of Rapid Changes in Hurricane Intensity

4. A National Integrated Drought Information System

9. Assimilating Ecological, Biological, and Geosciences Process Studies and other Data Sources into Climate Models

10. Intersection of the Carbon and Water Cycles

18. Space Weather Forecasting

19. Improving the Skill of Precipitation Forecasts

A1. Developing a National Strategy for Seasonal-to-Interannual Forecasts

A5. Oceanic Drivers for Seasonal-to-Decadal Climate Variability in the Mid- and High-Latitudes

sharing info among

colleagues

sharing info among

different groups of experts

examining a problem and looking for a

solution

scoping a new area/project

Crafting the agenda (1) How best to meet the objectives?

Some different variants, which you can mix and match: Seminar style

a long presentation followed by Q&A good for conveying background context, setting the stage

Conference style 12-15 minute talks, followed by 1-3 minutes for discussion/Q&A

Panels 3 or more panelists who give short remarks followed by a monitored

discussion/Q&A period good for topics that need a lot of discussion

Breakout groups good for working sessions to refine themes, discuss implications,

develop action items, etc. from plenary discussions Concurrent sessions on different topics Respondents/discussants Paper/abstracts in advance Training sessions/opportunities interspersed

Crafting the agenda (2) Intro/stage-setting presentations

Welcome/logistics: typically best done by the master organizer

Ensuring that everyone understands the objectives: typically best done by the chair/facilitator

Setting the right tone and giving background context: typically best done by an invited, “keynote” speaker or two

Positive Constructive Energizing Outraged Others?

Tiny tip: Calling it a “keynote presentation” can help you to get a bigger name speaker who might not otherwise be interested in attending the workshop!

Crafting the agenda (3) Building in time for discussion

One reason why everyone is gathered (we could all read about each other’s work from the comfort of our homes)

Tendency to shortchange this part of a meeting because Individual presenters always want more time Large time chunks on the schedule with no

specific agenda make organizers nervous Have faith that participants

will participate: they are there because they WANT to talk about this stuff

Don’t overbook

Workshop Woe:So many talks

crammed in thatthere’s no way to

digest theinformation!

Tiny tip: Speakers usually will fill all of their allotted time, even if some is designated for discussion. Give them a shorter time to speak and build in 20-30 min. specifically for discussion after every 3-4 speakers.

Crafting the agenda (4) Build in breaks

No more than 2 hours between breaks 15-20 minutes is a good amount of time

Long enough to use restroom, get a beverage/cookie, chat with colleagues briefly

Not so long that there’s a temptation to squeeze in a conference call or get distracted by other work

It’s not wasted time! Participants have a chance to recharge Participants have a chance to interact

Tiny tip: If you notice lots of folks starting to slip out, it’s time for a break!

Crafting the agenda (5):Some examples Earth-Atmosphere Interactions: Understanding

and Responding to Multiple Environmental Stresses

Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Strategic Planning Workshop

Climate Research Committee Forum: Development of Integrated Earth System Analysis Capability

Archiving and Accessing Environmental and Geospatial Data at NOAA: NOAA Data User – Manager Forum

Climate Change and U.S. Transportation

Practice Activity:Design your own agenda! Groups of 5-6 people for each topic

Join a group on a topic that you know something about

Develop an agenda for a 2-day workshop on your topic What are the objectives of your workshop? What perspectives and information will be

necessary to meet those objectives? How will you organize the workshop time (e.g.,

presentations, panels, break-out groups)?

Guidance to speakers in advance One-on-one interaction with speakers

to ensure clear expectations

What does this involve? At least: Written (e-mail is fine) + oral invitation Follow up ASAP with travel information (if needed) Follow up about 1 month before

Who else is on the agenda Reiterate details about timing, logistics What are some topics/issues that you

want to make sure are brought out during the workshop

Follow up about 1 week before Final agenda And last minute questions

May need to work more closely with speakers if it is important to meet certain objectives during the workshop.

Workshop Woe:Speaker gives a

standard talk that has little to dowith the stated

objectives

Tiny tip: Setting a limit to the number of slides can ensure that speakers stay within time limits and stick to the topic

Guidance to participants in advance Briefing materials for participants

Are they necessary? How much?

Assume that they will be read (more likely skimmed!) on the airplane

What? Might need more information if bringing together

people from different disciplines/perspectives: background material helps ensure that participants are bringing some shared knowledge to the table

If many speakers are going to be referring to one or more landmark studies, include some info about it

Advertising to ensure good participation Short and focused e-mail contact, with additional

materials available upon request or online Targeting desired participants How frequently to advertise

1. As soon as you know the workshop is definitely happening, send out a “Save the Date” and perhaps inquire as to interest/availability

2. 3-6 months in advance, contact potential attendees with information about logistics (registration, accommodations, travel, etc.) and preliminary details about the agenda

3. 2 weeks before any deadlines for accommodations, registration, etc., send out a reminder

4. 2 weeks before the workshop, send out final (or near final) agenda

5. 2-3 days before, send out a final reminder

BREAK

Seamless logistics (1) Attention to details is key!! Seems obvious, but common source of problems Choose a location that is conducive to attaining meeting

objectives Focused on a specific deliverable: avoid distractions Getting creative juices flowing: relaxing but invigorating

setting If topic is controversial, pick a neutral setting Enough space, but not too much

Where will people sit and how will it affect the dynamic? Name tags, tent cards, signing in Start on time, keep to the schedule How will one contact the

organizers during the meeting? Meals, coffee, water, snacks

Tiny tip: If participants need to go offsite for lunch, then you need to build in extra time

Seamless logistics (2) Internet availability: pros and cons A/V: minimize time wasted by being

prepared Advancing slides Loading presentations

in advance Speaker see the slides

and the audience Laser pointers

Workshop Woe:Everyone is excited toget started, but has to

wait for the speakerto load his presentation,

figure out how toadvance the slides, &

work the pointer.

Seamless logistics (3) Delegating responsibilities during the

workshop Logistics Master organizer Chair/facilitator Recorder/note taker

Sometimes good to have different people for different sessions

Doorkeeper/meeter-and-greeter

Facilitating discussion (1) Setting ground rules

How does one get recognized to speak? Is interrupting presenters okay? Managing the time

Ways to engage the full group Round robin Make sure everyone has a

chance to speak at the beginning (less daunting to speak later)

Breaking into smaller groups Active agreement

Tiny tip: If participants have tent cards, then standing them on end can be a good way to indicate when one wants to talk.

Facilitating discussion (2) Important role of the chair/facilitator

What the chair/facilitator should do: Set a positive, constructive tone Make sure the discussions don’t go off track Remain content neutral Listen actively to all group members Seek involvement and participation from everyone Seek agreement and understanding among group

members by effectively paraphrasing or synthesizing major themes of discussion

Navigate the way by guiding the process toward desired outcomes

Help maintain ground rules Keep to the time specifications of the agenda OR

clearly explain reasonable changes to agenda

Facilitating discussion (3) Important role of the chair/facilitator

What the chair/facilitator should NOT do: Be a presenter Be responsible for logistics Take advantage of position and

dominate the conversation Judge or evaluate ideas

generated by the group Play favorites

Workshop Woe:Chair who has

predetermined the outcome of thediscussions and

refuses to consideralternative points

of view.

Practice Activity: Have a Facilitated Discussion Rejoin your group from earlier Pretend that you’re attending the

workshop that you planned Pick one of the discussion periods and

have a discussion on the topic. One person should be the facilitator, making

sure that everyone gets an opportunity to contribute

Another person should be the recorder, looking for opportunities to synthesize the group’s comments

Follow up Thank you notes to speakers Thank you and/or update to sponsors E-mail to all participants thanking them for their

involvement and perhaps recapping major outcomes/action items

Make meeting materials and outcomes available to participants and possibly other interested parties who were unable to attend

Follow through on any action items Workshop evaluation

Were the objectives met? Surveys to assess participants opinions

Development of deliverables

Deliverables (1) In general, participants like to have longer-lasting

value/outputs Presenters tend to be better prepared Participants tend to be more engaged (because they

know their comments can have an impact on the output) Provides some focus to the discussions

In some cases, knowing that there are no written outputs can create a sense of intellectual freedom (e.g., Gordon Conferences)

Consider how formal the outputs need to be

Deliverables (2) Some options for deliverables

Rapporteur presentations/reports e.g., CCSP workshop

http://climatescience.gov/Library/workshop2002/default.htm

Minutes e.g., CRC meetings

Reports e.g., BASC summer studies, AMS policy colloquiums

Webposting lots of examples

Summary Workshops are an excellent way for scientific

experts to interact and collectively work toward stated objectives

Careful planning of the agenda can enable a workshop to meet the objectives

Attention to logistical details can improve the workshop experience for all participants

A well facilitated discussion is an important component of an effective meeting

Consider developing workshop deliverables to create longer lasting value