Workshop Planning and Deliverables

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.

If you are interested in attending a workshop, please review the iDigBio Travel Policy. You can find upcoming workshops, symposia, and other events on the iDigBio Calendar.

Step 1 Proposal Process

• Conceive of an idea for a workshop with collaboration from colleagues and the biodiversity community.
• Check the iDigBio Calendar for your proposed dates.
• Review the summaries of previous iDigBio Workshops.
• Write your proposal following the instructions provided in the iDigBio Workshop Request Process document.
• Upload your proposal using iDigBio’s Workshop Proposal Webform for review by the iDigBio Steering Committee.

Step 2 Planning the Workshop

Once your proposal has been approved by the iDigBio Steering Committee, you should use the following list of deliverables to ensure that the workshop planning and execution proceeds without undue stress or missed deadlines for all staff involved. If you need a copy of the approved workshop proposal, contact the workshop organizer or the iDigBio Project Manager.

Calendar Entry

• Create an Outreach Event on the iDigBio Website with known meeting details, including: date, time, Adobe COnnect URL, agenda, instructions, etc.
• You may initially leave the outreach event as unpublished to reserve space on the calendar. Unpublished events are only visible to iDigBio staff when logged in to the website.
• Continue to update this page as more information becomes available.

Registration

• Create a registration form using Drupal, Google, or Qualtrics. Collect at least first name, last name, institution, email address, and badge name.
• Advertise your workshop using the [[IDigBio Listservs|iDigBio listservs] and other sources like NHCOLL-L to inform the community of the workshop. Be sure to include details about the agenda, place and time, and what support (if any) will be available, and what the qualifications are for support.
• 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. Cathy will coordinate travel for the approved registrants.
• Once the workshop is over, give the registration list to Molly Phillips to update our participant accounting database and Redmine and to Joanna McCaffrey to update the [[IDigBio Listservs|listservs]. Supply the list to Joanna as a spreadsheet, email in column one and whole person name in column two.
• Make sure that all approved registrants receive a copy of the iDigBio Travel Policy.

Set the deadline for registration and do not make exceptions.

Pre-Workshop Activities

• Make sure the hotel has enough rooms available for the workshop.
• Determine catering needs and send the catering contact info to Cathy.
• Determine audio/visual needs 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 your agenda. This would be a good time to start planning for your post-workshop survey too.

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. The following outlines the workshop support processes for iDigBio Core Staff.

90 Days Before Event

• Make sure the workshop is Published on the iDigBio Calendar.
• Make sure you know your total budget as presented in your workshop proposal.
• Cathy works with the workshop organizer and the iDigBio Project Manager to determine workshop dates, number of participants, number of facilitators, location, preferred hotel, etc.
• Cathy creates a workshop spreadsheet for participant and expense tracking.

• Get hotel estimates - lodging, meeting space, audio/visual, transportation, food (breakfast, lunch, coffee, snacks), etc.
  • Check on gaining early access to rooms prior to meeting to verify setup and any potential IT issues.
  • Hotel Suggestions:
    • The Holiday Inn is within easy walking distance
    • The Hilton is expensive but has great facilities
    • The Hampton Inn is located downtown (a short ride from iDigBio HQ on the Route 5 bus)
    • DO NOT USE the Paramount Plaza because we have had poor experiences there

• Determine meeting space requirements (main meeting, break-out sessions, etc.).
  • If at iDigBio HQ, confirm the [[Conference Facilities|large conference room] is available on the workshop dates by checking the checking web calendar or Outlook (FLMNH-IDB Conference Room). If it is available, create a meeting request and invite flmnh-idb-cr@ad.ufl.edu as an attendee (not as a resource).
  • You may also want to consider other on-campus venues. UF has many facilities available for rent. Some suggested facilities are:
    • Powell Hall also know as the "public" Florida Museum of Natural History
    • Reitz Union Auditorium is in the middle of campus
    • Harn Museum of Art located next door to Powell Hall
    • Emerson Hall located about 1/2 mile down University Avenue from iDigBio HQ

• Secure the hotel room block

• For any new vendors, be sure to complete the UF Vendor Application, UF Vendor Tax Information Form, and a copy of the vendor's Direct Billing Application.

• Cathy will get a contract or rooming agreement from the hotel.
  • Cathy sends the contract to the workshop organizer for review.
  • After review, [https://www.idigbio.org/contact/Cathy%20Bester Cathy forwards the contract to Shuronna Wilson at FLMNH who will then send it for approval by UF Purchasing. 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, Cathy returns the contract for signing by the hotel sales representative and then forwards the signed contract to Shuronna Wilson.

• Cathy submits P.O. Request to Shuronna Wilson for the hotel.
  • The P.O. Request must be signed by the iDigBio Project Manager or iDigBio Project Director.
  • When the P.O. is generated via myUFmarket, it will be sent to the vendor at which time Shuronna Wilson will send Cathy an FYI email.

60 Days Before Event

• Cathy gets a catering estimate and/or Banquet Event Orders (BEO) for social event buffets, receptions, etc. The estimate should include cost, seating arrangements, tables needed, alcohol, etc.
  • Cathy sends the estimate/BEO to the workshop organizer for review.
  • After review, Cathy fills out a P.O. Request and forwards it to Shuronna Wilson.
    • Catering estimates (i.e., no contract) do not require UF Purchasing approval. For local events, we recommend:
      • Classic Fare Catering
      • Celebrations Catering
    • BEOs are contracts and require approval by UF Purchasing via Shuronna Wilson. Be sure the contractor is listed as: University of Florida Board of Trustees on Behalf of its Florida Museum
  • When the contract is approved by UF Purchasing, Cathy returns for signing by the catering sales representative and then forwards the signed contract to Shuronna Wilson.
  • When the P.O. is generated via myUFmarket, it will be sent to the vendor at which time Shuronna Wilson will send Cathy 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 the approved copy on-hand during the event.

• Lunches and Snacks - vendors that can invoice us include:
  • Tempo Bistro To Go
  • Panera Bread
  • Crispers

• Gather travel information for each participant:
  • 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

• 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. See the iDigBio Travel Policy for additional details.
  • 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 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 prior to booking. See the iDigBio Travel Policy for additional details.
  • If applicable, attach conference registration form showing details of registration fees and what is included with registration.
  • Have the Project Manager sign each TAR as the Department Head.
  • Turn in the TAR for each participant to Shuronna Wilson. Keep a copy for iDigBio records.
  • Shuronna Wilson will add the UFIDs into the PeopleSoft system before Cathy can purchase airfares.

30 Days Before Event

• Cathy turns in the final rooming list to hotel. Make a copy and give to Shuronna Wilson for her records. Always include the rooming list as a reference when paying the invoice at a later date.

• Cathy finds airfare, best schedule and rate, and then emails each participant for their final approval.

• Once participant approves itinerary, Cathy books airfare online with P-Card, and then turns in receipts to Shuronna Wilson. 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. Cathy records the airfare amount on the workshop budget tracking spreadsheet.

• If anyone requires a rental car, work with Shuronna Wilson 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. See the iDigBio Travel Policy for additional details.

1 Week Before Event

• Cathy creates name tags and meeting folders.
  • Use FLMNH folders if possible (contact Paul Ramey)
  • Include some tourism info (from downtown tourism office), an iDigBio brochure, an FLMNH brochure (contact Griffin Sheehy), meeting info/agenda, and an iDigBio business card or the Project Manager's 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 via this webform.
  • Ask the workshop organizer if they want to have the [[IDigBio 10' Display|iDigBio trade show display] set up.

• Plan for coffee and snack breaks.
  • Purchase food and drink from Publix. DO NOT purchase Coke products as it violates university policy.
  • For local events, you can use Pascal’s across the street for coffee breaks.

• Contact hotel to discuss any details.
  • Ask for early access to the meeting space so that Kevin Love can setup A/V equipment.

Day of Event and 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.

• Work with Shari Ellis to create and disseminate a post-workshop evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the workshop. It is best that the survey be delivered to the participants via email on the last day of the workshop.

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. Afterwards, Shuronna will process the reimbursements and give checks to Cathy for distribution.

• Make sure to turn in an agenda and meal plan to Shuronna Wilson 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.

• Update the Sponsored Workshop Tracking list with the workshop name, dates, and names/affiliations of all participants.

Post-Workshop Activities

• Work with Shari Ellis to evaluate the results and share with the team any interesting findings, and discuss items for improvement.