communication+support+checklist+for+events

toc //On this page, you can find inforrmation about a) event logistics b) possible event support provided by ILRI comms and c) resources and experiences from our practice.//


 * How to design and organize an engaging event, conversation or workshop? **

ILRI provides extensive support for the organization of engaging events as this list of supported events testifies. Find out what kind of **communication support you can get for events and meetings your organize** (below). It will guide you step by step through the process of planning and running an event.

As part of our 'Komms Klinics' training services, ILRI Comms have been running some training courses on organizing and running engaging events and conversations. See the presentation ' ** Organizing effective events and conversations ** '.

Logistics are an important part of events - check this **event logistics checklist** to save some time and sweat.

= 1. What communication support can you get for events and meetings you organize? =

(//Please note: for Nairobi staff, t////his checklist will be added to the ILRI - CATERING & CONFERENCING EVENT ORDER FORM. Find more information about this here//).

The ILRI comms team offers support:
 * 1) **Before the event** (to organize the event, its design and to engage audiences around conversations and documents)
 * 2) **During the event** (to facilitate and document the event)
 * 3) **After the event** (to report about the event and archive/store information)

** PRE EVENT SERVICES ** ||   || ** DURING THE EVENT ** ||   || ** POST EVENT SERVICES ** ||   ||
 * Get your event promoted (on the ILRI Website, Yammer, Google calendar, Coffee mornings etc.) ||  || Rapporteuring ||   || Production of short audio interviews. ||   ||
 * Graphic Design - including badges (hereby a [[file:badge.pptx|blank template]]) ||  || Blogging ||   || Production of short a video interviews. ||   ||
 * Bulk Printing services ||  || Twitter ||   || Production of Photo Films ||   ||
 * Poster printing and erection ||  || Flickr ||   || Production of event reports ||   ||
 * Assembling of documents ||  || Pinterest ||   || Assembling of event photos on Pinterest/ Flickr ||   ||
 * Media Advisory ||  || Photography ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ||  || Slide share ||   ||   ||   ||
 * **Get your event designed or advised on** ||  || Wikis ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ||  || **Facilitation** ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ||  || **Chart writing** ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ||  || Raw documentation ||   ||   ||   ||

Support before the event
Bad events lack information about what the event is and how to attend it. Get all the information your participants and partners need in one place: the agenda, logistical details, specific information about each session planned, the list of participants, interesting documents to read etc. We can set up a wiki page for your event to keep all that information in one place and make sure people don't get lost in the process.
 * Keep it clear for all: Get your event properly planned**:

Next to planning, promoting your event ensures you get the attention of the participants you want and the coverage you need. We promote your events through various channels: face-to-face (bilaterally and at coffee mornings), online (via emails, Yammer, EventBrite),on our events calendar, Kampus Kalendar and digital signage screens around the campus to make sure you get maximum participation and visibility. We can set up these promotion channels and keep you informed about the participants expected so you know exactly who comes to your event.
 * Inform your participants and partners about your event: get it promoted**:

This event matters for a wider audience? Get the word audience through media coverage (radio, television, newspapers etc.). We can arrange contact with local, national and international media to ensure maximum coverage of your event within your budget constraints.
 * Let the world know you are running this important event:** **Prepare media engagement**:

You have interesting resources and publications to showcase and use for the event, make sure they are put together and available for participants beforehand. We provide layout, design, copy-editing, peer review support to make sure relevant publications are lined up for participants. We can also help you think about the type of documents that you might want to assemble.
 * Have your reading list ready: Get key publications assembled and printed**:

A picture is worth thousand words. A poster can be the most effective way to convey lots of complex information. We can design and realize the poster to serve your needs.
 * Share your message effectively: Get posters developed and erected**:

It is costly to bring people together. The last thing you want is achieving no result. We can help you design your event and think through the outcomes and types of sessions you want to ensure you achieve your expected results and ensure maximum engagement for your participants, to make great use of their, and your time.
 * Get** **maximum return on investment for you and your participants:** **Design an effective event with professional guidance**:

We can design interactions before the event, online and/or offline, so that you and your participants are all geared up to the event and come well prepared.
 * Get everyone well prepared and start the conversation before, for maximum engagement during: Engage your audiences (staff, partners, external audiences) upfront**:

Support during the event
A facilitator will help you achieve the results that matter for you and your participants, in a flexible way, so that you can focus on what matters: the content of the workshop. To hire a facilitator please contact: Ewen Le Borgne at: e.leborgne@cgiar.org or Tsehay Gashaw at: t.gashaw@cgiar.org To hire a graphic facilitator/recorder, check this page.
 * Focus on the content discussions and get great results and a great interaction: Have your event properly facilitated**:

We can provide you with live documentation of sessions, on a wiki or offline document, and capturing all the presentations and documents presented. You will not have to worry about taking notes and keeping traces of the conversations: we will do that for you, so you can focus on the conversations. This can also entail chart-writing in plenary sessions for all event participants to see progress in the conversations.
 * Forget about taking notes: Get live documentation of the event sessions**:

Social reporters are there to bring life to your documentation: audio or video interviews, great quality pictures, Yammer updates, Tweets, blog posts, which add depth and voice to the notes of your conversations, and to capture extra information. We have a team of social reporters that can help you capture that information in professional ways.
 * Capture lively snippets:** **Hire social reporters**

Support after the event
All the notes and documentation you will have captured during the event can inform many people out there. Make sure that your event helps others in their work. Our social reporters can ensure that blog posts, pictures, films, podcasts and other audio files are all easy to find and promoted online and offline to ensure maximum buzz about your event and its results afterwards, and more importantly to inform others' learning about interesting work you have done in your event...
 * Get the word out and about: Hire social reporters for the last mile**:

After an event, everyone goes back to business, and quickly forgets about the event, only to find out later that they would have liked to find the notes from the event. Combined with social reporting or documentation, we can support the archiving/storing and longer term documentation of your event so that people can easily find results of your event without having to delve through pages of documentation.
 * Help others use the learning and results from your events by keeping traces of everything: Organize great archiving and documentation**:

The form is normally sent to lead event organizers to confirm the specific services they might need from ILRI Catering and conferencing department.
 * For Nairobi staff using the ILRI catering & conferencing event order form: **
 * 1) The lead event organizer will tick against any preferred communication support service they might require for the event.
 * 2) The catering and conference Manager will send a copy of the event order form to me once, they notify her of the needed service, then i will communicate to the communications team to find out who can take up the task.
 * 3) Communication service charges will be discussed with the lead event organizers before the service is rendered.

What if you want to do it yourself?
You are naturally welcome to do it on your own / with your team. However we strongly recommend you follow standard ILRI comms practices. For d ocumentation and social reporting over events these entail the following:


 * 1) Use a wiki page – this normally has the agenda (in advance) other background info, participant info
 * 2) During, or soon after the event, the wiki has notes added (direct in pages or as word files etc)
 * 3) Any photos are added to Flickr and linked from the wiki
 * 4) Any posters or ppts are added to Slideshare, and linked from the wiki [these need to be made consistent]. They are also added to cgspace
 * 5) Same for any video materials – these go to Youtube (and are also linked from cgspace)
 * 6) There are guidelines/standards for youtube, flickr, slideshare that need to be followed
 * 7) The wiki may also link to tweets if there are any
 * 8) If there’s a ‘report’ of the meeting, for more public record, this should be formatted and added to cgspace
 * 9) Blogposts from/about the event link to any/all of these materials as and when

=2. Some reflections about ILRI experiences in supporting/facilitating/documenting events=
 * Creative (graphic) facilitation to support a dairy value chain seminar (October 2014)
 * Facilitating large events – Lessons from the ict4ag Rwanda conference (November 2013)
 * Climate Change Knowledge Exchange: Great conversations, good learning, but one step missing for transformation and action? (March 2013)
 * Reporting and communication help power FAO agriknowledge ShareFair in Addis Ababa (November 2012)
 * Communication and facilitation at the heart of Africa RISING meetings (November 2012)
 * Facilitating multi-stakeholder processes: Training around uncertainty and complexity (August 2012)
 * ILRI ‘communications’ powers the Livestock Exchange event (November 2011)


 * See a complete list of all events supported by ILRI Comms since 2009.**

We also recommend making use of graphic facilitation/recording if your budget allows ;)

=**3. Other resources on the organization and running/facilitation of engaging events**:=
 * Facilitation for development (Knowledge Management for Development Journal special issue)
 * And specifically the article: Blogosphere review: facilitating interactions through blogs and posts
 * The Knowledge Sharing Toolkit provides guidelines for various knowledge sharing approaches that can be used in events
 * Liberating Structures (a recent manual on facilitation and collective action)
 * More resources can be found in the ILRI Komms Klinics presentation: Organizing effective events and conversations
 * The chemistry of magical facilitation (1) – mind the BOSSY HERALD
 * The chemistry of magical facilitation (2) – put the BOSSY HERALD to play for you
 * The chemistry of magical facilitation (2b) – And play more with the BOSSY HERALD!
 * [[file:Workshop checklist.doc|Workshop checklist]] for event development by IUCN
 * Venue checklist / what you want to know: @http://welearnsomething.blogspot.com/2009/07/venue-checklist-what-you-want-to-know.html