Section 3
Organization and Finance

3.1

Working Committee Organization

It is impossible to give specific advice about how best to structure the organization of the Conference, either in its preparatory stages or at the time when it takes place.  Local circumstances differ.  Experience shows that it is by no means unusual for the organization to change quite considerably over the 6-7 years that elapse between the initial decision to submit an application and the actual day of the Conference's opening.

In particular, individuals may move in or out of the organization during that time.  But the nature of the Conference is sufficiently well-established for certain key tasks to be readily identifiable, and the sooner the right people can be found to fill those key places in the organization, with a long term commitment, the better.  One of the first tasks of any organizing committee should be to identify those key posts, define their functions and allocate clear responsibilities to those chosen to fill them.

It is, in fact, quite a long haul to bring a World Orchid Conference to a successful conclusion.  Experience shows that the sustained commitment of what will probably be quite a small number of individuals, with appropriate interests and contacts, is the one most central requirement.  Success cannot be achieved bureaucratically, by organizations alone.

3.2

Health and Safety

Organizers shall establish procedures for the observance of local health and safety regulations to ensure the safety of workers and visitors.  It is recommended that a Health and Safety assessment is undertaken and that a Health and Safety Guide is produced and published and made available to all exhibitors and registrants before the event.

3.3

Insurance

It is very important to make clear where responsibility for insurance lies.  This should be carefully included in all printed matter sent out to registrants.  Arrangements for insurance for the registrants and exhibitors and for any losses by the organizers due to cancellation must also be carefully considered.  The WOC Trust bears no responsibility for any kind of insurance or refunds under any circumstances whatsoever.

3.4

Planning and Publicizing the Conference

Organizers should not start the publicity for their Conference until the Conference immediately preceding, but they should plan a major drive then, as there they have a captive audience of the people who are (internationally) most likely to want to attend.  They should have a well-manned and well-staged publicity booth, at which information can be given, and it is customary to arrange some sort of evening or early-evening hospitality event as well.

To get to that point, a great deal of work will already have had to be done, which is not something that can happen at the last minute.  Experience shows that once the bid has been successful and the Conference awarded to a prospective venue, it will take a sustained effort by the organizing committee and its members to be ready for their publicity debut at the following Conference.

Experience shows too that, while by this stage all the pivotal decisions will have to have been taken and all the critical arrangements put in place, many other matters remain still to be decided.

The most important tool for publicity and communication to all concerned is probably the use of a unique website, linked to the WOC Trust website and others.  But the printed word is also of vital importance for many people.

While it might be assumed that word about an upcoming WOC would be universally known through a website, publicity in various orchid journals, or displays at different shows around the world, this is not always the case.  It is very important that each host keep an accurate database** of registrants with their e-mail and physical addresses.  The final version should be sent to the President of the WOC Trust so it can be forwarded to the next organizing committee which will give them the ability to contact all those registrants to invite them to attend their Conference.  Those people that have attended a recent WOC are excellent candidates for future ones.

Much information can only be given in outline, and at this stage that is all that is required.  But the general attractions of the host city and country as places to visit can be emphasized, because this is a key point in selling the Conference internationally.  Posters should have been prepared and a "first circular" should be available either there on the spot or for mailing later to interested people.  The opportunity should be taken to recruit a mailing list of such people, including e-mail addresses.

The final Conference brochure should be available for worldwide distribution about two years (and not less than 18 months) before the date of the Conference.  It should contain detailed information that a prospective registrant or exhibitor will want to know about every aspect of the Conference, including accommodation, full social program, tours, all prices and much else besides.  (Organizers are encouraged to consult brochures from previous Conferences.)  It should contain the registration form, reservation form for exhibitors, and vendors and full payment instructions.  It is also important that on-line registration is available on the Conference web site as early as possible.

The publication of this brochure and the decisions that have to go into its preparation mark the important first stage in the work of organizing the Conference.  From this time onwards the plans for the Conference are set, and the work of the period up to the Conference itself will be the work of completing the implementation of what the brochure promises.

Once the brochure is available, the work of publicizing the Conference should accelerate.  Individual mailings should be made to people on the mailing list. Journals should be approached with offers of articles and advertisements.  Orchid organizations around the world should be asked to help.  Publicity booths should be staged at important orchid events internationally, manned where possible by people from the host country.  This is an area in which the Trustees of the WOC Trust can provide assistance.

Local publicity is a separate matter with an importance of its own, because paid attendance at the show plays a vital part in the success of every Conference.

The brochure does not need to contain the details of the lecture program, nor of the judging schedule.  General indications and their timetable should be given.  But the lecture program, in particular, should already be well advanced by this stage, and its completion is a major item of work from now on. It is not something that can be left to the last minute.  Invitations to speakers should go out not less than one year ahead of the Conference - preferably 18 months.  This is especially important in the case of orchid scientists, who will in most cases need at least that length of time to arrange a leave of absence and funding.

It is important to continually update the website.  Items such as the judging manual and the lecture program schedule with speakers indicated need to be online well before the conference takes place.

Some organizers have engaged conference/convention planning companies to assist in brochure preparation, other publicity and registration with limited success.  It should be emphasized that organizers should extensively review the credentials and record of such firms before taking such a decision.  This company is usually the only contact overseas visitors will have with the Conference planners prior to the event and during the event.  If the company does not have a clear understanding of the operation and purpose of the Conference and sufficient, competent staff to handle all advance inquiries promptly and accurately, an additional burden of confusion and frustration will be thrust upon the volunteer committee.  Some staff members should speak and write English, and adequate fax and e-mail facilities should be available to expedite communication.  This company may also man the information and registration booths during the Conference, so service-oriented personnel, preferably English-speaking, should be available.

3.5

Finance and Budget

The financial responsibility for the Conference rests entirely with the host organizers.  It is impossible to give general advice about how this responsibility is to be handled.  Local circumstances, the pattern of local costs, and local resources vary too widely.  The 1984 Miami Conference was run on strictly commercial lines.  Tokyo was effectively underwritten by a single large business enterprise.  The main burden in Auckland had to be borne by the many local orchid societies in New Zealand.  Glasgow relied heavily on the support of the local public authorities.  Shah Alam was largely financed by the state and federal governments.  There is no one pattern.

But there must be a budget, and there must be - somewhere - an organizing committee that is responsible for it.  It is that committee which takes the responsibility for making the bid to host the Conference in the first place.  The structure and the composition of that committee will, in addition to orchid interests, no doubt reflect the sources of the necessary financial backing.  That same committee is, of course, responsible to the Trust for the international success of the Conference.

The Trust has very limited funds, but small loans may be provided to help local hosts with start-up expenses.  These are usually given on an interest-free basis, but Conference organizers who avail themselves of such loans are expected to make a donation to the Trust after the successful completion of the Conference.  This donation is separate from the Capitation Fees described below.

Some general guidelines based on past experience can be given about what the main items of expenditure and income might be and about how the Conference budget might be constructed.

Registrants to the Conference are expected to pay their own way.  They themselves expect to do so.  Looked at from their point of view, there are three main costs: transportation to and from the Conference (airfares mainly), accommodation during the Conference and Conference expenses.  Many people coming from overseas will no doubt make a holiday out of it, but that is strictly their affair.  However, it is the overall cost that matters to them.

It is not the responsibility of the Conference organizers to bear the cost either of transportation or of accommodation, but they may be able to help with this by negotiating favorable rates with airlines or hotels.  That would be very welcome to the prospective registrants, but it has nothing to do with the Conference budget itself.

Conference expenses are another matter.  There is a well-established pattern that divides these into two.  There are certain Conference expenses which are effectively independent of registrant choice - administrative costs, hire of facilities, publicity, printing, etc. - and there are expenses in connection with the more peripheral activities and events (e.g. social events, tours) which from the registrant's point of view are optional extras.  It has generally been the practice to cost these optional items separately and to set additional charges for them, so that each event is (more or less) self-financing. But here again local circumstances differ.  There is no reason in principle why such events should not be priced in a way that will make a contribution to the overall Conference budget.  This has been done at one recent Conference.  It is a matter for the judgment of the organizers.

On the revenue side there is, first, a Conference Registration Fee.  It is usual to set this fee at a basic rate for early registrants and then to increase it by pre-announced steps as the date of the Conference approaches.  If possible the registration fee should be held to less than US$200 and in no case more than US$250 in order to attract the maximum number of full registrations.  The registrant's fee allows entry at all times to lectures and to the show; it provides a full set of Conference documentation; it enables suitably qualified registrants to take part in the judging; it entitles registrants to attend the opening reception and to buy tickets to attend other social events (e.g., the closing banquet) and to take part in tours.

Conference organizers are also required to provide in their financial planning for a Capitation Fee based on full-time registrant numbers, and an appropriate percentage of "companion registrant" fees if less than "full registrant's", to be paid directly to the Trust as scheduled by the Trust.  The capitation fee for full registrants at the 22nd Conference in 2017 will be published during the first quarter of 2010.

It may prove easier to get invited speakers to accept if some type of financial assistance is offered.  Several Conferences have offered free registration.

Recent Conferences have introduced "day registration".  This has been successful in enabling people (especially local people) who may not be able to attend the whole Conference to join in it for one or more days.  As long as such registration is carefully priced, it has proved a useful innovation.

Registration fees alone will obviously not cover all the central Conference and show costs.  Other sources of income include fees paid at the door by members of the public who visit the show, rental charges in the sales area, commercial sponsorship, donations and public subsidies.  Exactly which mixture of these is right is a matter of judgment for the organizers in the light of local conditions.

3.6

Hospitality and Assistance to Registrants

For many registrants, attending the Conference will be their first visit to the host country and something of an adventure.  Much of the success and subsequent reputation of the Conference depends on how welcome they are made to feel and on how easy and stress-free they find the arrangements during their stay in the country.  This should be a prime concern of the organizers.  A few tips follow.

It is appreciated if a Welcome Desk can be provided and manned at the local airport during appropriate arrival times.  Registration should be smoothly administered and easy.  An Assistance/Inquiry Desk should be provided in an accessible place throughout the Conference, manned at all reasonable hours. If the lectures and the show are in separate locations, it is helpful to have such an information point in each.  There should be somewhere that registrants can go to for help with information about tours and other extra-Conference activities, in particular.

Registrants will expect to be provided at registration with some kind of a case or bag containing all necessary (and some additional) documentation.  Since this will be taken home by most registrants as a souvenir of the Conference, it should be appropriately designed.  Other suitable souvenirs will be welcome.  Depending on the physical layout of the whole Conference, some leisure seating space private to registrants should if possible be provided at either the site of the lecture program or at the show or at both.  It will be appreciated if simple refreshments (e.g. coffee, cookies) are available there, even if a charge is made.  It is very desirable that restaurant facilities, preferably at various grades, be accessible from these locations.

Transport arrangements for registrants are extremely important and have sometimes been the cause of dissatisfaction and controversy.  If the show and the lecture program are held in separate locations, regular and convenient transportation between them should be provided.  Whether private Conference transportation from main hotels to Conference sites is provided will depend on what other arrangements are readily available locally but, particularly if there is any reason for registrants to fear for their personal security (perhaps in a country where the language is unfamiliar), such private transportation should be provided.  The same considerations make the provision of transportation to and from the main social events (which may well be held at night) a necessity in most cases.

Whether and on what basis any charge is made for such Conference transportation is a matter for the organizers and will no doubt be decided within the general budget framework.  It is customary for the cost of transportation connected with main social events to be covered by the fee levied for such events.  Whether any charge is made for other Conference transportation is less important to registrants than that it should be available where it is believed to be needed and that the transportation arrangements themselves should be both well-publicized in advance and easy and convenient to use.

3.7

Hotels

A good range of choice of hotel and other accommodation should be offered.  Some of the people attending a WOC are either personally well off or have some financial backing from a business or from an institution.  But many are not so well placed - from certain countries in particular and among the younger ones.  For them the all-in cost of attending the Conference will be a matter of great difficulty, quite possibly involving considerable personal sacrifice.

It is the policy of the Trust to encourage genuinely worldwide participation in the Conference as far as possible and to avoid it being seen as a "rich man's event".  The accommodation offered to prospective registrants should therefore include five-star hotels but should also offer such low-cost accommodation as bed and breakfast rooms and student halls of residence (where suitable ones are locally available) and a range of options in between.