Workshop Planning and Deliverables

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iDigBio Workshop Planning - For Workshop Planners and Organizers

iDigBio coordinates its outreach efforts through the support of workshops, symposia, and other events. Workshops are distinct meeting events, held virtually and/or onsite, that focus on producing clear deliverables and addressing clear objectives. Workshops are often supported by a Working Group. In these cases, the Working Group executes the planning of the event and ensures carry-through on the outcomes and action items from the Workshop. In situations where a Working Group is not required to continue collaboration following the Workshop, a Planning Group should still be included in the application to coordinate, plan, and follow through on the Workshop.

Every workshop planner should make themselves familiar with the process outlined below, especially with respect to the deliverables.

Step 1 Proposal Process

Step 2 Planning the Workshop

Once the proposal has been accepted, you should use the following list of deliverables to ensure that the workshop planning and execution proceeds without undue stress and blown deadlines for all involved.

Registration

  • Either via Drupal or a Google form collect registration info, use the iDigBio listservs and other sources like nh-coll to inform the community of the workshop, with details of agenda, place and time, and what support if any will be available, and what the qualifications are for support. Collect at least first name, last name, institution, email address, and badge name. When the registration has been closed, decide who is on the approved list. There may be registrants who do not qualify for support. Follow up with the successful registrants to confirm their status. Give the contact information to Cathy Bester. This is important to make sure it is complete and accurate, as it is used by other staff to help keep project accounting for NSF. She will coordinate travel for the approved registrants.
  • Once the workshop is over, give the registration list to Molly to update the accounting, to update the Redmine Wiki, and to Joanna to update the listservs. Supply the list to Joanna as a spreadsheet, email in column one and whole person name in column two.

Set the deadline for registration and do not make exceptions.

Pre-Workshop Activities

  • Make sure the hotel has enough rooms available for the workshop, send the catering contact info to Cathy.
  • Get A/V contacts for the workshop venue and coordinate with Kevin Love for his availability.
  • Work with Shari Ellis to create and disseminate a pre-workshop evaluation to fine tune the details of the agenda.

Workshop Contents

  • Coordinate with workshop presenters to make sure they are in sync with the overall desired intent of the workshop.

Workshop Planning Timeline

Use this timeline to make sure you have all necessary elements of the workshop complete for all parties involved in the in-house planning.

Workshop Planning Checklist

iDigBio Core Staff Process for Workshop Support

90 Days Before Event
  • Get a copy of the approved workshop proposal from the workshop organizer or "Project Manager":David Jennings .
  • Determine budget from workshop proposal.
  • Work with the workshop organizer and the "Project Manager":David Jennings to determine workshop dates, number of participants, number of facilitators, location, preferred hotel, etc.
  • Create workshop spreadsheet for participant/expense tracking.
  • Determine meeting space requirements (main meeting, break-out sessions, etc.).
    • If at iDigBio HQ, confirm the main conference room is available on the workshop dates via Outlook (FLMNH-IDB Conference Room).
    • You may also want to consider other on-campus venues (see list below).
  • Secure hotel room block
  • For any new vendors, be sure to complete the Vendor Application, Vendor Tax Information Form, and Direct Billing Application.
  • Get a contract or rooming agreement from the hotel.
    • Send the contract to the Workshop Organizer for review.
    • After review, forward the contract to Shuronna Wilson: mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu at FLMNH and Carole Wimmer: mailto:cwimmer@ufl.edu at UF Purchasing for approval. Be sure to list the contractor as: University of Florida Board of Trustees on Behalf of its Florida Museum
    • When contract is approved by UF Purchasing, return for signing by the hotel sales representative, then forward signed contract to Shuronna Wilson: mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu.
60 Days Before Event
  • Catering estimate / Banquet Event Orders (BEO) for social event buffets/receptions/etc. - get estimate, seating arrangements, tables needed, alcohol, etc.
    • Send the estimate/BEO to the Workshop Organizer for review.
    • After review, fill out a P.O. request and forward to "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu at FLMNH
      • Catering estimates (i.e., no contract) do not require UF Purchasing approval. For local events, use "Celebrations Catering":http://celebrations-everything.com/catering/ .
      • BEOs are contracts and require approval by UF Purchasing via "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu. Be sure the contractor is listed as: University of Florida Board of Trustees on Behalf of its Florida Museum
    • When contract is approved by UF Purchasing, return for signing by the hotel sales representative, then forward signed contract to "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu .
    • When the P.O. is generated via myufmarket, it will be sent to the vendor at which time "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu will send the Project Assistant an FYI email.
  • If an event is held at Dickinson Hall and alcohol will be served, be sure to get an event alcohol approval form filled out and approved, be sure to have on-hand during the event.
  • Gather travel information for each participant (see list below) and complete a Travel Authorization Request (TAR) for each participant who will require any funds, reimbursement or otherwise. UF and FSU employees who are participants will not have a TAR.
    • Search through past workshop documentation to gather any travel information and/or UFIDs that we already have. This eases the burden on both the participant and the museum administrative staff.
    • If required, provide the traveler's name and DOB to "April Johnson":mailto:ajohnson@flmnh.ufl.edu and request a UFID Number for the participant’s TAR.
    • If anyone wishes to stay longer, or has unusual flight requests, a cost comparison will be required and discussed with "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu prior to booking.
    • If applicable, attach conference registration form showing details of registration fees and what is included with registration.
    • Have the "Project Manager":mailto:djennings@flmnh.ufl.edu sign each TAR as the Department Head.
    • Turn in the TAR for each participant to "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu . Keep a copy for iDigBio records.
    • "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu will add the UFIDs into the PeopleSoft system before the Project Assistant can purchase airfares.
30 Days Before Event
  • Turn in rooming list to hotel. Make a copy and give to "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu for her records. Always include the rooming list as a reference when paying the invoice at a later date.
  • Find airfare, best schedule and rate, and then email participant for their final approval.
  • Once participant approves itinerary, book airfare with p-card online, turn in receipts to "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu . If for any reason there is a misspelling of someone's name on the airfare, call the airline so they can alert the TSA to avoid any issues.
  • If anyone requires a rental car, work with "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu to acquire a voucher to mail via the postal service to the participant to use at the counter when picking up the vehicle. Otherwise they will not receive the state rental rate and there may be issues with reimbursement procedures.
1 Week Before Event
  • Create name tags and meeting folders - use FLMNH folders (if possible, see "Paul Ramey":mailto:pramey@flmnh.ufl.edu ) and include some tourism info (from downtown tourism office), an iDigBio brochure (see "Cathy Bester":mailto:cbester@flmnh.ufl.edu ), FLMNH brochure (see "Griffin Sheehy":mailto:gsheehy@flmnh.ufl.edu ), meeting info/agenda, and "Project Manager’s":mailto:djennings@flmnh.ufl.edu business card. Check with workshop organizer regarding what information goes onto the name tags; be sure to use larger font size for participant names. Be sure to include any helpful maps such as walking maps or local restaurant maps. You may want to have iDigBio posters available for participants to take; you can also offer them to be mailed. Ask the workshop organizer if they want to have the iDigBio trade show display set up.
  • Plan for coffee and snack breaks - purchase food and drink from "Publix":http://www.publix.com/ . DO NOT purchase Coke products as it violates university policy. For local events, you can use "Pascal’s":http://www.pascalscoffee.com/ across the street for coffee breaks.
  • Contact hotel to discuss any details. Ask for early access to the meeting space so that "Kevin Love":mailto:klove@flmnh.ufl.edu can test A/V equipment.
Day of Event / During Event
  • Be present during participant check-in on the first workshop day to handout workshop folders and name badges.
  • Work with the organizer to provide logistics and support as necessary.
Day After Event
  • Immediately after the event, follow-up with participants regarding reimbursement procedures and have them submit their original receipts. Turn in all receipts to "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu . Afterwards, "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu will process the reimbursements and give checks to the Project Assistant for distribution.
  • Make sure to turn in an agenda and meal plan to "Shuronna Wilson":mailto:swilson@flmnh.ufl.edu at the completion of all workshops so it is clear to her which meals participants get reimbursed for, meals that aren't included as workshop functions/events.

Data Needed from Attendees to Book Travel

  • Full name as it appears on travel documentation - driver's license or passport - may need additional documentation for international travelers
  • DOB - month/day/year format
  • Dates of travel
  • Name and three letter code of the airport the attendee will be departing from
  • Name and three letter code of the airport the attendee will be flying into upon their return
  • Send flight itinerary to attendee for approval prior to booking

On-Campus Venues

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 Information about workshops and how to apply is on this webpage (iDigBio -> Education -> Workshops): https://www.idigbio.org/calendar/workshops

· On that page, there is a link to the workshop request process: https://www.idigbio.org/content/idigbio-workshop-request-process

· You should also review the iDigBio Travel Policy because your participants will need to abide by this policy: https://www.idigbio.org/content/idigbio-travel-policy

· You should also review the general timeline of our internal workshop workflow: https://www.idigbio.org/redmine/projects/website/wiki/Workshop_Planning_Checklist_and_Documentation

Post-Workshop Activities

  • Work with Shari Ellis to create and disseminate a post-workshop evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the workshop.
  • Evaluate the results and share with the team any interesting findings, and discuss items for improvement.
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