Conference planning, management, and logistics.
Cygnus worked with The National Science Foundation (NSF) on this 2½-day meeting entitled “Building Partnerships for Change,” to foster better communication between 51 sites and 200+ participants, and for the implementation of systemic reform.
Activities included:
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Site selection and contract negotiations with the hotel;
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Pre-registration, registration, and determining and collecting registration fees;
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Handling speakers’ travel, lodging, and payment;
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Maintaining a meeting database and managing mailings to speakers and participants;
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Preparing and distributing pre-conference and on-site conference information packages;
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Preparing, printing, and producing the conference agenda and binder, as well as on-site materials such as signage, name badges, and tent cards;
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Providing on-site conference management including arrangements for meeting rooms and required audiovisual materials, and selecting menus and coordinating meal functions;
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Staffing the conference with three of Cygnus’ experienced conference department staff members for immediate on-site assistance;
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Preparing a report of the conference proceedings and conclusions, a conference evaluation report, and distributing post-conference reviewer materials; and
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Handling cost reimbursement.
Registration forms were tracked through Cygnus’ proprietary meetings database program, providing up-to-the-minute information about the number of participants from each site, paid vs. waived fees, hotel accommodations, and speaker information. In addition to offering on-site registration, Cygnus staff also provided additional receipts, replacement materials, directional information, administrative assistance to speakers, and answers to general questions.