By Lance A. Simon, CGMP, GVEP Sitting on my desk is my company’s RFI response to a government agency for converting their upcoming 1,500 attendee annual meeting into a 100% online/virtual format. Meanwhile, in the Washington Post, there are more high-level resignations for conference over-expenditures, and reports that “now-looming spending reductions [are] set to hitRead… Read more »
By Lance A. Simon, CGMP, GVEP The SGMP National Chapter (NATCAP) monthly meetings are always interesting, but this week’s session was particularly interactive, even raucous. The discussion was about the use of government facilities as meeting spaces. The star panel presenter was Ms. Pathina Fitzgerald, Project Manager for GSA’s fledgling Federal Meeting Facilities Tool (FMFT)Read… Read more »
What happened in 1974? Where does a hybrid conference occur? And why should you care about avatars? Never have meeting planners needed to know more about virtual meetings. Costs for in-person conferences are rising, but attendance isn’t. Both the media and legislators are scrutinizing government meeting expenditures. The White House has directed agencies to cutRead… Read more »
People, Profits, and So What? Virtual Events: State of the Sector A panel of experts debates the latest research on virtual conferences Thursday, May 31, 2:00pm – 3:15pm Eastern time Free Educational Webinar Series from iCohere 1.25 Hour CAE credit Space is strictly limited to 200 live attendees. No vendors please. Register Now Please joinRead… Read more »
Does this sound like you? • You have almost no experience with planning and implementing virtual meetings, but you’re considering offering one in the next 12 months. • You’re not particularly concerned about security issues for virtual meetings. • You know you want your training scheduled between 2-4pm Eastern. Based on the first responses toRead… Read more »
By Lance Simon and Judith Nielsen http://gov.icohere.com In February, 2012, the United States Forest Service held a hybrid conference – part virtual, part physical, and all-around a success. Attendance was more than double that of previous conferences, the Agency saved as much as $950,000 in travel and facility costs, the conference received high praise fromRead… Read more »
By Lance Simon and Judith Nielsen http://gov.icohere.com In February, 2012, the United States Forest Service held a hybrid conference that was 96% remote, 4% on-site and 100% successful. It saved the Agency almost a million dollars in costs, doubled attendance rates, helped it “walk its talk” by saving hundreds of metric tons of CO2 emissions,Read… Read more »
By Lance Simon and Judith Nielsen http://gov.icohere.com It was a conference with a conscience. The title: The Sustainable Operations Summit. The objectives: Highlight sustainable operations occurring throughout the Agency, integrate more of them into existing programs, and dialogue with other agencies and partners about how to collectively further sustainability goals. The topics: biodiesel infrastructures, theRead… Read more »
By Lance Simon and Judith Nielsen http://gov.icohere.com If you think the United States Forest Service is just in the business of saving trees, think again. The nation’s conservator of forests and parklands is also pretty good at saving money, especially when it comes to government conferences. In its 2012 national conference entitled The Sustainable OperationsRead… Read more »