In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, Mark Z. writes:
I was wondering if you can run a post describing how to run a conference. I want to hold a conference and I am at a new college (just got a TT job) and I know nothing of expenses, financing, logistics, lodging, room reservations, invitations, keynote speakers, timing, reasonable accommodations, etc. Is there anyone out there with good experience doing this that can share? I realize that some of this is college and location specific, but there must be some general best practices. I am also considering piggy-backing off another conference. That sounds easier, are there serious drawbacks?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Although we recently had a helpful guest-post by Alex Grzankowski on how to organize good conferences (in terms of how many talks there should be per day, when they should start and end, etc.), Alex's post didn't address some of Mark Z.'s central concerns: namely, the nitty-gritty logistical details of putting a conference together (viz. expenses, financing, lodging, etc.). Given how difficult it can be to put together a good conference (like many people, I've been to some really well-organized ones, as well as some logistical disasters), I think it might indeed be good to have a thread on this! Anyone have any tips on these matters?
I don't have a ton of conference-organizing experience myself. I've organized some annual interdisciplinary human rights conferences at my university. Readers may also recall that I organized several annual Philosophers' Cocoon Philosophy Conferences, which have unfortunately fallen by the wayside due to my overall workload. One thing I will say is that although most conferences seem pretty elaborate (and so, both expensive and logistically difficult), I think it is possible to run a pretty good conference on a shoestring budget and without a ton of logistical planning. For example, for the Cocoon conferences I ran, I basically just created a website with relevant information (including hotels) and then purchased several hundred dollars worth of coffee, snacks, and so on. That was more or less it. Although the Cocoon conferences were a pretty low-key and low-budget affair, most of the feedback I received (both first-hand and through other people telling me they heard about the conference from others) was very positive. On the other hand, I have been to some low-budget conferences that were not very pleasant experiences (e.g. no coffee!), so my sense is that if you do run a low-budget conference, it's important to make sure that the essentials (coffee, conference website/info, accessibility, etc.) are well handled.
One other thing I would really suggest--which we did at the Cocoon conference each year, but I have not seen at other conferences--is to set aside some number of talks as (potentially) Skype presentations. Here's why. My sense is that unequal access to conference travel funding is a source of real, unfair inequity in the profession. I know some people who seem to have funding to travel to dozens of conferences per year. I don't know how they pull that off. What I do know is that people at smaller, less well-funded, less prestigious schools have nothing like those opportunities available to them, and that this can be a real hardship in their career (in terms of sharing their work, getting feedback, and so on). I myself have had had to turn down multiple conference invites most of my years in the profession because of running out of funding (and my sense is that my school is actually pretty good about conference funding!). Anyway, my hope is that more conferences will begin offering Skype options to invitees who otherwise cannot afford to attend.
However, this is about the extent of my knowledge about putting together conferences, and it's not much. So what about you all? Any of you have any experience with conference organizing, particularly the logistics involved?
Two examples of how to approach conference accessibility:
Guidelines for Accessible Conferences A guide by the British Philosophical Association and the Society for Women in Philosophy UK
https://www.bpa.ac.uk/uploads/2018/BPA:SWIP%20Guidelines%20for%20Accessible%20Conferences.pdf
Universal Design and Conference Accessibility
https://philosophycommons.typepad.com/disability_and_disadvanta/2016/04/universal-design-and-conference-accessibility.html
Posted by: Daniel Brunson | 09/09/2019 at 11:58 AM
I am not fond of organizing things, but did a successful small conference a couple of years ago. Things are indeed often location/school specific. Here are a couple of things that were super helpful for m.
1. Find a partner. At many universities there may be centers and units that run lots of conferences and meetings. Find their key person and take them to coffee or lunch to pick their brain. Just ask them to walk you through it and take notes. They are a fount of implicit knowledge. They will know stuff about venues on campus, catering (if that's an option, even for coffee), hotel rooms (e.g., if you can get state rates at nearby hotels, and which), pitfalls, printing, source of money, whatever. And ask questions. I did this and the person was a lifeline--often just to say, "yeah, it's fine."
2. Related to 1. Find what the campus sources of speaker funds is. Person in 1 is likely to know. Apply to several, and if you can secure even a pittance from your department, the campus sources are likely to chip in. They like to be part of something that will be successful, and if someone else is already contributing, they will be more likely to provide funding.
3. see if you can combine with a speaker series (e.g., your department or college). If you can combine (say) a keynote with something else, it boosts interest and turnout, and it may be cost efficient.
4. Invite people WAY in advance.
Posted by: Philosadjacent | 09/09/2019 at 12:52 PM
Do make sure that there's no person or office at your school devoted to helping with the logistics. A friend of mine organized the entire thing by herself, and THEN learned that there is an office at her university which would have helped significantly.
Posted by: bebe | 09/09/2019 at 09:43 PM
Find someone (preferably at your own university, not necessarily in your discipline) who has organized a conference of roughly the magnitude you’re intending. Ask for a copy of their budget. It’s a small initial ask, but should give you some important information, ideas, and follow-up questions for them.
Posted by: Mike Titelbaum | 09/13/2019 at 06:52 AM