Hello, I'm James Cattell and I help run the United Kingdom Government Camp(UKGovCamp).I attended my 1st unconference in June 2010. Since then, I've found traditional conferences difficult to attend for 1 simple reason - they're designed to meet sponsor's needs, not the needs of the people attending the conference.
Traditional conference agendas are set in advance. Organisers invite people to speak on certain topics. Sometimes there's a question and answer session at the end. Maybe even a panel discussion. But the focus is on the people invited to talk and the sponsors who want to sell you stuff.
Open space events(also known as unconferences) focus on the people who turn up. Attendees set their own agenda and lead their own discussions. Anyone can pitch and discuss anything.
I’ve attended and run many open space events, both in and outside government. People started asking me how to organise and run them. This post gathers together everything I know in 1 place, with input from lots of fellow open space organisers.
A blog post might not be the best place to publish what’s effectively guidance, but it’s the best place to start. One reason for publishing this information here, in this format, is to get feedback from others about how best to iterate it in future.
Make it free to attend
Open Space events can be held anywhere. Any public space with breakout areas will do. Run this way, the only costs are attendees time and expenses. It’s much better to get a sponsor to cover the costs than it is to charge attendees an entry fee. In most cases, the point of an open space event is to aggregate many minds in one place and focus their attention on a particular theme - you’re asking for their help, so don’t make them pay for the privilege.
How to find sponsors
If you've got costs, you'll need sponsors.
Start close to home - see if your employer or their suppliers will help. To spread your search wider, I recommend starting at www.ukgovcamp/grants
Sponsoring an open space event isn’t the same as sponsoring a normal conference. Sponsors don’t have the same expectations that sponsors of normal conferences have. They’re there for the community and because they believe in taking action.
Let's take UKGovCamp as an example. In the intros at the beginning of the day we make it clear that:
sales pitches are not allowed
presentations are frowned upon
people won’t be allowed to hog sessions
Sponsors are still welcome to come, setup a stall and talk to attendees. We'll happily project their details onto screens, promote them on social media and even put their logo on a t-shirt. But they don't get to hog the stage and tell us all about their products and services. We make this clear upfront, before we take any sponsorship money off them.
Make time to deal with the consequences of sponsorship
Once you’ve got sponsors, you’ll need time to do the work that comes with them.
You'll need to raise purchase orders, do invoicing and reconciliation. Have a deadline for sponsors to pay up, before the event if possible(we've had a couple of UKGovCamp sponsors who never paid up).
If you've attracted government sponsors, you may need to allow extra time. If you're not aware of their timescales then ask.
Promote your sponsors
You'll need their logos in full colour for webpages + black & white for t-shirts. Go for a resolution of 300 dots per inch(dpi). Give your sponsors a schedule of things they need to give you(logos should be the first thing). Setup a social media schedule of promotional messages and ask friends and colleagues to re-share them.
Do a balance sheet of sponsorship, expenses, running costs, etc. Be totally transparent with this - put it on the web. At UKGovCamp, we've used internet facing collaborative documents which sponsors can add themselves to.
Many sponsors will want to send banners and swag. Ask your venue for a named contact and full delivery address. Then tell your sponsors details for the pre and post event deliveries.
Make the theme clear
You'll need a short summary of what your event is about. Think about the people who'll want to come and the things they'll want to discuss. Here are some examples:
"For people interested in how the public sector does digital, data and technology" - UKGovCamp
"It’s a two-day, weekend event, entirely devoted to Open Data" - OpenDataCamp
"An event in Wales where you will discuss, create and innovate – looking at how technology, new thinking and public services can improve society" - GovCampCymru
Make sure you test the language with friends, colleagues and strangers. See if it makes sense and iterate if not. Feel free to try it out on social media, which has the added benefit of drumming up interest.
Make it easy for people to plan ahead
Most open space events are 1 or 2 days long. Pick a date well in advance that doesn't conflict with other big or similar events. If you have a comms team then ask them for help. Search the internet for stuff happening on your date(s). If your event is happening on a weekend(and many of them do) consider sports events that it might clash with. Remember to check for Bank holidays and other annual events.
You need to allow enough lead time for people to book childcare, travel and accommodation. Remember - the earlier people can book, the cheaper things are. If you can pick a date that's at least 12 weeks in the future.
Plan for the right number of people
You have 2 options:
find out how many people want to come
pick a number you think you can manage
Option 1 means you'll need to survey people. If you do this, remember to advise people this doesn't guarantee them a ticket - you're just gauging numbers. There are lots of services you can use such as Google Forms andSurvey Monkey. Once your form is setup, test it with a bunch of people. Then iterate your form and test it again. Once you're happy, promote the form using social media, mailing lists, posters and via community leaders. Feel free to get as creative as possible - sticky notes in lifts if needs be!
Option 2 means just picking a number and sticking to it. Although I've yet to run an event for more than 700 people, anything is possible. I recommend starting small until you get the hang of it(unless you get someone like me to help you). It's worth having a look at Dunbar's number, which may influence your decision.
Pick a location that’s easy for people to get to
Before you decide on a venue, you need to decide on a general location. Big cities are obvious choices, but it really depends on your attendees. If you're going to survey people then ask what they prefer. Then you can make an informed choice. If you can, and if it suits your audience, try and get out of London.
Pick a venue that’s easy for people to access
The venue needs to:
be available on the date(s) of your event
be able to hold your maximum number of attendees
Make it free to attend
How to find sponsors
Make time to deal with the consequences of sponsorship
Promote your sponsors
Make the theme clear
Make it easy for people to plan ahead
Plan for the right number of people
Pick a location that’s easy for people to get to
Pick a venue that’s easy for people to access