1. Bulletin/message board and mail board.

2. Sign indicating location of the registration desk.

3. Desk and chairs.

4. Completed and coded (‘problem’ or ‘message’) portfolio sets for registered participants. These sets may include: list of registered participants; note pad and pen; name tag and holder; tickets; refunds and/or financial support (with receipts to be signed); updated meeting information; local information and/ or advertisements (with coupons for discounts).

5. Portfolio sets for late registrants, containing the same as in (4), but also program and abstracts. Tickets may have to be added.

6. Calculators with printout paper (important for instant check of calculations!).

7. Computer with diskettes, printer, printer paper. If there are security problems, use a laptop (notebook) type computer that can be taken easily to a safe place.

8. Typewriter with large typefaces for name tags.

9. Pencils, pens and markers.

10. Note pads and other paper, folders and envelopes.

11. Sticky tape, scissors and thumb tacks (for boards).

12. Stapler with extra staples, paper clips, hole punch.

13. Receipts and other forms.

14. Tickets for various events.

15. Cash box for money and change.

16. Copies of the list of participants.

17. Copies of program and abstract volume.

18. Maps and local information, including telephone numbers of taxis, ambulance and police.

19. Copies of hotel reservations for participants.

20. Telephone.

21. Spare frames for slides.

22. Spare foils and markers for overhead projections.

23. Address list of all members of the Society.

24. Mobile phone (cell phone).

Initial consultations

When preparing the budget of a meeting, it helps to consult with those who have organized a similar event before. Ask them for a general, rough breakdown of their budget, and suggestions they may have for you. But don't insist on seeing their files; that may be the end of their cooperation. The organizers of a scientific meeting, like anyone carrying major responsibilities, may have to make pragmatic decisions. Just think how you, as a department chairman, would react if a visitor asked you to show him the files with individual salaries and budget allocations, or how you would feel if he were to ask you to mail him copies. The issue here is not irregularities or unfairness; the issue is that tough decisions, based on complex circumstances, can easily by misinterpreted or misrepresented.

Instant savings

One of the first steps in your budget preparation should be an estimate of the savings. As good old Benjamin Franklin noted: ‘A penny saved is a penny earned.’ The sad fact is, however, that many organizers inflate the meeting costs by neglecting opportunities to save money, and then are unhappy when people do not come because they can't afford it. How does one save money right from the start? First of all, one does not spend money on unnecessary frills such as memorabilia, expensive posters or announcements on multi-colored paper. Just think how many hours of typist's time you could pay for with the funds allocated for this self-glorification! If a photographer requests permission to take pictures, allow it with the proviso that he bears the financial risk. Do not commit any funds, unless you are ordering official group photographs.

Are you sure?

Experience and commitment

The preceding examples suggest that the prospective organizer of a scientific meeting had better look before leaping. To run a major meeting without prior experience would be foolish, no matter how much your friends encourage you. If you hope to muddle through, you are inviting disaster. Remember: the reputation from an unsuccessful meeting may stick with you for a long time.

For the novice, there are several ways to gain experience. One is to assist in the preparation of a major convention. Just carrying a minor responsibility, watching the progress of the preparations, and learning how unexpected problems are handled provides invaluable insights.

Another way to start out is to organize a special session, or a small symposium for a major meeting. Dealing with six speakers from the first letter of invitation to the receipt of the last manuscript is a good introduction to handling different, and more likely difficult, personalities.

You can also try it the harder way. The first scientific meeting I organized was a regional conference with more than a hundred participants. I had no experience, and major problems arose during the first morning: (1) The registration desk had been set up too late; some participants never returned to pay their fees. (2) Students and some of the faculty of the host institution appeared unexpectedly, refused to pay fees for an event in ‘their’ lecture room, and caused overcrowding. (3) The service in charge of coffee and cookies appeared when the morning break was over, almost at lunch time.

A frequent mistake made in the design of posters is an overabundance of text. On the other hand, in the information on poster boards, the most serious omission is the lack of precise dimensions of the usable area. The usable area of a poster board will be smaller than the total size if the board extends almost to the floor. Furthermore, the dimensions of poster boards vary greatly and thus may demand a differing design of the title and list of authors' names.

The following example applies to the more user-friendly type of poster board. However, the dimensions of boards may be different (e.g., 1.2 meters (4 feet) wide and 1.5 meters (5 feet) high), which obviously saves space in the exhibition area.

Specific instructions

1. The poster board (usable area starting 2 feet = about 0.6 meters above ground) is 6 feet (about 1.8 meters) wide and 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) high.

2. Keep text to a minimum. Use less than a total of 1000 words for the poster (including legends of figures, and tables), and avoid redundancies.

3. The title should be concise and readable from a distance of at least 7 feet (about 2.1 meters). Use a bold and black typeface, about 1/4 inches (about 30 millimeters) high.

4. The names of the authors should be somewhat smaller, about 15–20 millimeters high.

5. The text type should be no less than 5 millimeters for capitals and taller letters such as 1 or b.

6. Bear in mind that your illustrations may be inspected from a distance of 1 meter (about 3 feet) or more. Keep them simple and use (but don't overuse) color whenever helpful.

You have probably come across one or more of the following:

Forms that must have been designed by morons. Lines for some items are too short, while ample space is wasted elsewhere. Some lines are so narrow that typing becomes a hit-and-miss experience. The questions are confusing.

Nametags written in a letter size that makes reading from a normal conversation distance impossible.

Tickets, issued for different events, meals or drinks, that are so similar that you confuse them.

Signs, supposed to direct you to buses waiting at the airport, that can not be found.

Of course, at your meeting, it will be different. You will personally supervise the design of forms, tags, tickets, signs and stickers.

Forms

General layout

Some common-sense rules for the design of forms:

Rule # 1: Keep the requested information to an ‘optimal minimum.’ In modern societies, people are overexposed to requests for information. Many have become allergic to this harassment and no longer concentrate when faced with numerous questions, no matter what the purpose of the form. This could become your problem. For instance, when a single missing digit of a credit card number requires expensive overseas calls.

Rule # 2: Ask simple, clear questions.

Rule # 3: Give unambiguous instructions.

As discussed in Section 18.1.2, this is particularly important for international meetings when writing dates, amounts in foreign currencies, telephone numbers and personal names.

Rule # 4: Use a system that double-checks all calculations. Whenever there is the slightest chance of confusion, set up forms so that numbers (days, amounts of money, etc.) are checked horizontally and vertically (see Appendix P).

This example of a contract between a large society and a congress hotel is abbreviated and slightly modified from the original. However, numbers of persons and rooms and amounts of money are unchanged. Note that (a) the agreement was made four years before the meeting, (b) the expected attendance at the meeting is considerable, and (c) between Christmas and New Year the guestroom occupancy of many hotels is low, while catered functions are strongly increased. Thus, the hotel commits itself very early to room rates (which usually go up), and also agrees to two parties free of charge (at a time when space for social functions may have brought a profit).

Agreement

Agreement made this 5th day of January, 1995, between The Tombstone Resorts Hotel in Last Rites, Arizona, hereinafter referred to as the Hotel, and the Tobacco Friends Society, hereinafter referred to as the Society.

Purpose of agreement

The agreement specifies the terms under which the Hotel will provide rooms, suites, function spaces, and specified other services for the 1998 Meeting of the Tobacco Friends Society, to be held December 27–30, 1998.

Rooms reserved

(1) The Hotel will hold 1000 rooms available to the Society from December 26 to December 31, 1998. Those rooms not reserved by December 7, 1998 may be made available to persons other than meeting participants; however, participants may continue to book rooms at the special convention rates as long as space is available. It is understood that 700 rooms is a more typical usage for the Society, and 1000 rooms is in anticipation of growth by 1998.

Basic strategies

I have never met a colleague who loved fund raising. However, since the organizer of a scientific meeting is unlikely to escape it, you should consider the following points:

1. Whom to ask.

2. How much to ask for.

3. What you can offer in return.

It is amazing how many people approach potential sponsors like children writing to Santa Claus. Even worse, they send more or less the same letter to anyone they consider a potential sponsor. This shotgun approach is senseless. Remember that you are dealing with people or committees with differing interests. Make sure that you tell them what they want and need to know. This requires carefully written, custom-tailored letters and applications, and a concise style.

The first job of a good fund raiser is to identify sources worth contacting. It may pay to ask colleagues who have recently run a meeting similar to the one that is envisioned. Usually, these colleagues have no interest in fund raising for the time being; thus, they may be willing to share their experiences. Perhaps, they will not disclose all the details, but they may provide names and addresses of potential sponsors. Another way of finding sources of support is to look up the acknowledgments in the programs, abstract volumes and/or proceedings of recent meetings. Last but not least, the advertisements of firms in scientific journals often give a clue.

Once you have identified potential sources of funds, it is crucial to find out who to talk or write to. Some corporations have such a turnover of their management that a ‘Who is Who’ edition from January may be largely obsolete by July.

Dear Colleague,

It is my pleasure to invite you to participate in a Socratic Workshop, entitled, which will be held in a local restaurant on the evening of Tuesday, May 16, beginning at 8 : 30 pm. Drs XX (UK) and YY (Japan) have kindly agreed to act as the ‘leaders’ of the workshop.

The Socratic Workshops are an attempt to break away from the traditional format, and to open new and better avenues of communication. They have been developed from many discussions with colleagues who unanimously felt that we need more time, and a relaxed, informal atmosphere to get to know each other, to ask questions and to exchange ideas. Since this is a new format, it is unlikely that everything will be perfect; however, I hope that your participation and cooperation with the workshop leaders will make it a success that can be built upon in future meetings.

The workshops have been scheduled to last about three hours. They will begin with an informal cocktail period, followed by a seated dinner (á la carte), and subsequent discussions. The idea of the workshops is to communicate, ask questions and engage in fruitful interactions. This precludes the use of slide presentations; the latter would make it too tempting to engage in lengthy monologues, which is exactly what we do not want. However, flip-charts (blackboard substitutes) will be available. The workshop leaders have received suggestions concerning the conduct of the workshops, and they will decide on details of the evening.

Smaller and specialized meetings may only need one or two announcements, the second one containing the final program. For major meetings, especially international conferences, more announcements are advisable. They are outlined in the following. Note that the ‘preliminary program,’ which is important for the turnout at the meeting, requires some detailed information. If possible, set up World Wide Web pages and keep the information updated. Perhaps, you can add the abstracts later on. The points discussed in this chapter apply to a major international conference. They may serve as a checklist from which to select the relevant ones for your specific meeting.

First announcement

The first announcement should be mailed as early as possible. It may be mailed in two versions: (1) A brief ‘summary’ of the ‘tentative program’ which goes to scientific journals and secretaries of societies for inclusion in society newsletters. (2) A somewhat more specific outline in the form of a flier that will be mailed to prospective participants, institutions, etc. If your meeting is one of the regularly held conferences, the flier may not be necessary if the ‘summary’ mentions the date at which the ‘preliminary program’ will be mailed.

Since you want the ‘summary’ published without charges, it should contain a maximum of information, with a minimum of words, on the following:

1. title of the meeting;

2. precise location;

3. precise dates;

4. focus of the meeting;

5. scientific program;

6. rules for participation;

7. date of further information;

8. address for inquiries.

Example:

‘The Third International Conference on Surplus Livestock’ will be held at the OCEANVIEW HOTEL in Bongout, Lavachia, on March 19–24, 2001.

Dear Colleague,

I hate this letter as much as you will certainly do. However, being responsible for the publication of the proceedings of the symposium, I have ‘to bite the bullet.’

As you know from our recent telephone conversations, we are almost ready to hand in the more than 100 manuscripts of the symposium talks to the publisher; and at this moment, there are only a few contributions outstanding. However, without these remaining manuscripts, my coeditors and I are unable to prepare the index for the approx. 900 pages of this volume.

Please, understand that several hundred people from more than 40 nations have already paid $85 for the proceedings, and that we don't need an avalanche of justifiably nasty letters from all over the world. Also, please recall that we have a signed agreement with the publisher which, when broken by us, gives him the liberty to postpone the publication until convenient for him; and if the volumes do not appear this year, they will be almost obsolete. Finally, I must mention that I promised the National Science Foundation the publication of the proceedings in 1990. This promise was certainly considered when they decided on the travel grant award, from which you will receive a total of $600. I do not wish to withhold travel funds from manuscript delinquents; however, as you know, I will have to justify the distribution of the funds in the final report, and I have a tendency to be brutally frank and outspoken.

Among the free lessons life has to offer, the mistakes of our fellow men are perhaps the best ones. The following tale may make the point. Let's pretend it is a figment of imagination.

A large society met happily, year after year, at their annual convention. There were many short talks each lasting twelve minutes, followed by three minutes of discussion. Every member was eligible to give a talk. While all seemed smooth sailing, some people began worrying about the quality of the presentations. They soon came up with a splendid idea that was immediately implemented: abstracts had to be submitted to committees which selected papers for platform presentation. Abstracts considered unworthy of the highest honors were just printed; no talk was allowed. The efficient secretary of the society mailed the decision on a postcard to all concerned. In this way, he saved the expenses for regular letters, and the members did not have to open envelopes.

As the mail arrived, there was happiness in some quarters. In others, weeping and gnashing of teeth; especially where technicians handed the mail to their masters with comments like ‘Your talk has been rejected.’ Devastated by the bad tidings as only sensitive scientists can be, some members went no more to the society's meetings; others, of a more flexible mind, went to pay homage to superior colleagues.

And what a surprise it was! One rejectee, a professor by rank, went to a session where he would have loved to give a talk. He entered the large room while it was dark; only the slide projections were visible.

The unprecedented speed of recent scientific progress makes personal interactions between colleagues more important than ever. This is reflected in the growing number of meetings, ranging from small, highly specialized research conferences to large conventions with many facets, including a job market. Unfortunately though, many meetings are marred by major flaws that could have been avoided by expert advice. Of these, the most common ones stem from an underestimation of the necessary time and resources. Serious problems are almost certain when societies persuade inexperienced colleagues to run major meetings. In some cases, the participants will never learn of these problems. In other cases, tactful participants will not tell the organizer about them. Thus, a tradition of mistakes is often perpetuated.

This book cannot guarantee successful meetings. However, it should help to reduce avoidable problems. The author has had many years to make mistakes, and he has availed himself of this opportunity, as will be obvious from personal experiences given throughout the text. He apologizes for this lack of modesty. On the other hand, he often refrained from rubbing salt into the wounds of colleagues, tempting though it was. May this kindness induce them to buy, and not just borrow, this useful publication.

If you wish to attract as many participants as possible, you need a meeting site that is appealing to accompanists. However, a large number of accompanists requires the design of a special program for them. This is not a job to be taken lightly. Accompanists come with certain expectations; if they are disappointed – and this can happen easily – their mood will affect their partners. And you don't want this to happen.

Today, accompanists will be of either sex, a fact that requires some consideration. For example, male accompanists will not be interested in a lengthy fashion show (for outer garments), or in places where women try on and out everything from rings to shoes, handbags, belts and muu-muu. On the other hand, a local baseball or soccer game may not attract too many female accompanists. Also, the organizer may have to bow to tradition; for example, when the annual convention of an older society has a ‘hospitality suite’ with complimentary beverages, cookies etc. If you deprive the regular accompanists of that cozy place for their small talk, you may as well be dead. So, bite the bullet and pay for the dark fluid that is often mislabelled ‘coffee’ as well as soft drinks.

Misconceptions can easily initiate a chain reaction of complaints. At a meeting in a major city, older accompanists were disappointed that the downtown(!) convention hotel was not close enough to the main shopping area. The distance was about seven blocks, and that was not considered ‘walking distance.’ From this experience, it appears important to point out the distance between meeting site and shopping areas in the early announcements.