AIVC Conference Weekend

The AIVC Conference Weekend occurs around Easter time and is an opportunity for members of clubs throughout the country to get together for a social weekend.  The weekend also incorporates the Conference which is the Annual General Meeting of the member clubs of the Association.

The Conference part of the weekend is held in a fully equipped conferencing centre, hotel conference suite or the lecture facilities of a higher education establishment depending on the venue chosen for the National Weekend.  The Conference business sessions and discussion groups take place on the Saturday and Sunday mornings with the rest of the weekend devoted to social activities.

Conference delegates' responsibilities

Conference is the most important event in the Association calendar and should have a prominent position in your Club's diary.

Whilst the intention is that the delegates and observers should enjoy the weekend (otherwise no-one would bother to attend) it should not be forgotten that the prime purpose of Conference is to formulate Association policy and fix the levy. Total costs amount to many thousands of pounds when combined with the cost of each Club sending two delegates to Conference. With this in mind, it is important that Clubs receive value for money, it is therefore desirable that participants arrive fully prepared for the formal proceedings. They are expected to report back to their Clubs afterwards.

Before the Conference

Delegates should therefore:

• Read the Officers' reports and make a note of any questions or queries that they have
• Read the treasurer's report draft budget and accounts, and note any questions
• Study and consider the Motions for debate, seek the views of their Club; make a list of the advantages and disadvantages.
• They should not make an irrevocable decision one way or the other until they attend Conference as the final motion may be amended by discussion at Conference.
• Write down any questions they have for those people standing for election as Association Committee Members
• Ensure their Club committee - or even the whole Club - has an opportunity to study the relevant material sent regarding Conference.
• Remember: AIVC is run by volunteers who only have the same amount of spare time to do their job as you have.
• As a delegate you represent your Club: you should get a consensus of opinion from your Club Committee.
• If you have any questions for the AIVC Committee, you may submit these in advance to be answered on the day.

Asking questions that require research

It is important that you submit any questions in advance if the answer to your question involves any research, or if it involves financial aspects that may need to be calculated. Verbal questions on the day are accepted but make sure you think out what you want to ask beforehand.

How is the National Weekend and Conference organized?

The AIVC Committee provide assistance where necessary to help Clubs identify suitable venues for Conference that provide sufficient good quality facilities and activities for weekend visitors and conference delegates.  Clubs are encouraged to make suggestions for venues that will meet these requirements and put forward a Conference Organiser to manage all aspects of the Conference weekend.

Finding a venue for the National Conference

To qualify as a possible venue for the national weekend, the establishment must be able to provide at least 50 residential places for a minimum of Friday and Saturday nights.  This must be on a weekend between 15th March and 30th April (constitution requirement) excluding Easter weekend.   It must also be in a location that can provide sufficient leisure and recreation facilities within easy reach for delegates and visitors.

If possible though, it is preferred that the establishment should be able to provide up to 100 residential places for up to 3 nights. This is so that club members can also join in with the weekend.

Appointment of a host club

Before confirming a possible venue for Conference, a club will submit a proposal to the AIVC Conference or Committee to become the host club for the next Conference weekend.

Outside of the Conference business sessions, the host Club generally arranges visits to local places of interest. They will also arrange the Saturday evening entertainment for all delegates, weekend visitors and members of the local clubs.

The AIVC generally allows the host club to retain any profits generated from events organised over the Conference weekend. In exceptional circumstances, the AIVC may provide financial support for events over the weekend, provided this has been agreed in advance with the AIVC Committee through the AIVC Treasurer.

Can you find a Conference venue?

From the experience of many Conference Organizers the answer must be a resounding YES. Virtually anyone who is an IVC member will be capable of doing it. You will find the venue will do most of the work for us, since they are providing the accommodation, meals, rooms for business, audio visual facilities, etc. All you need to do is contact one or two suitable places and see what their prices are for a weekend, with meals from Friday evening through to Sunday lunch. You will need to go and have a look but this usually means a free lunch.

You may also need to contact a reasonable coach firm if you are organizing a Saturday afternoon trip out. Finding a good band for the Saturday evening should also not be too difficult as the venues often hold lists of local entertainers they use for their own functions.

The venue for the next Conference is voted on at a preceding Conference from proposals presented by one or more member clubs. The club organizing the Conference chooses a Conference Organizer who will have overall responsibility for the Conference weekend. The Conference Organizer may attend all AIVC Committee meetings as a non-executive member of the Association Committee. The main Conference business sessions are the responsibility of the Association Committee through the AIVC Secretary and AIVC Treasurer. As such the Association Committee offers advice and guidance to the Conference Organizer; it may even give direct instructions where necessary.

Finding a National Conference Sponsor

Sponsorship may be easier than you think. Many companies and organizations are likely to be very interested in cheap nation-wide publicity to professional people for the sake of some folders and/or photocopying.

Getting help from club members

Finally you may be worried about getting help from other people. Well you don't need a lot of this and its mainly on the Friday night plus taking minutes on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Many Conference Organizers have found that being almost a "one man band" as regards the actual organization often works very well.

The Role of the Conference Organizer with the AIVC Committee

The Association Secretary may be very busy around Conference; so Conference Organizers may find themselves acting as extensions of the Association Secretary! The Association Treasurer is in a position to give advice on many aspects of the Conference accounts. There are records with the Association of previous Conference costs and these may be useful. The Association Treasurer's experience and knowledge is important when projecting an estimate of costs and funding for Conference. The Association Chair is in charge of the Annual General Meeting; and may ask the Conference Organizer to visit the Conference site, do some fact finding and general trouble-shooting.

The other Officers will all be able to help in some capacity, i.e. the News Officer can supply mailing lists and/or address labels for all the Association Clubs. The News Editor will also print articles about Conference and booking forms in Newslines. Communicating with Clubs about Conference and what they can expect from the weekend is important.

All the Officers will have work to do for Conference; reports will be published, and the Organizer must make sure that they are co-coordinated and distributed correctly in the Conference Packs.

The role of the Conference Organizer with the AIVC Regional Organizers (ROs)
The Conference Organizer may, if they wish, use the Regional Organizers for the initial collection of booking forms and cheques for Conference from the clubs in the RO's area. The ROs will then pass the booking forms and cheques onto the Conference Organizer as required.

In recognition of this effort, the AIVC Committee may be able to provide assistance to an RO wishing to attend the National IVC Weekend and Conference who is not being paid for by their club as a delegate or observer. Any RO making use of this assistance should also be prepared to provide any reasonable help required by the Conference Organizer over the weekend.

The Role of the Conference Organizer with Member Clubs

Many IVCs are intelligent well-run organizations. Some Clubs however are a little bit muddled. Committees come and go, and when they go some take the paper work with them. Ignorance of Conference and the Association role can turn a problem into a crisis or at least put a Club in an isolated position.

The Conference Organizer should approach these island communities with certainty and warmth. He or she will be in a position to offer advice about the Association and its Officers and their ability to help.

Any Club committee post can become isolated and cold, so it is important that people be given the opportunity to meet similar Committee members from other Clubs. The Conference activities and Saturday night social provide a good atmosphere for unwinding and enjoying some chat. The maximum benefit results if the Organizer encourages as many Club committee members as possible to come to Conference. Not every one will want to attend the whole conference but places can be available for the activities and the social evening.

The Conference Organizer's Domestic Duties

The Conference Organizer and AIVC Treasurer are responsible for all accounting for Conference. This means:

• costing of Conference and weekend facilities, catering and accommodation
• receiving booking payments
• paying bills arising , i.e. venue etc.
• running the Conference account and preparing a financial report for AIVC

All reasonable facilities expected for Conference should be made available. These may include:

• flip charts
• microphones and PA equipment
• notice boards
• outside phones
• photocopying
• projectors and screens
• video and monitor
• whiteboards and markers

The Conference Organizer will be on duty for the entire period of Conference! To ease the strain, a help-desk may be set up with extra people from the host Club co-ordinating facilities.

The host Club is in the best position to help run Conference. A sub-committee may be appointed to help the Conference Organizer with their duties. This committee might consist of the Treasurer, Secretary and Organizer as chair. Extra host club members may be appointed to the sub-committee for specific tasks such as social and activity Organizers.

The Saturday night event is no longer part of Conference but is a 'normal' AIVC Weekend Saturday night for the host club (albeit with a large captive audience). The host club is therefore responsible for all the organization of the Saturday night event, for collecting receipts and for paying all expenses. The division of labor for this (within the host club) is up to the host club. The Conference Organizer would normally purchase tickets for this event on behalf of delegates and observers out of the booking fees received from them.

Final thoughts

There may develop problems from those nominated to help the Conference Organizer proper. One problem which has occurred more than once has been a "charge" at the Organiser's post. This may happen when the Association are happy with the Organizer's reports but the local Club members decide to take over. It is important to remember that the host club has the mandate of the Association to organize Conference and is responsible to the Association via its Officers. Objectives set by the Association (via its Officers) must be met.

A change of Organizer must be carried out only when necessary with the full approval of the host club's committee.

I feel I could write much more. I have fond memories of my year plus as an Association Officer. Remember one of the trials of organizing any event in IVC is the criticism (usually undeserved) it generates. This can be an unwanted side of being the Conference Organiser.

Based on the report of Steve Collingham (AIVC Conference Organiser 1992)
Updated by Bob Clifford (AIVC Chairman, 1999-2002)

Organizing the AIVC Conference - a different perspective

Conference is a project, with a beginning, middle and end, with objectives to be met using resources. In contrast, the role of an officer is a process, chopped up into twelve month intervals by the AGM. A conference organizer is, rather, a project manager.

The objectives for Conference are mostly implicit - accommodation for those that want to come, a room large enough to take the plenary sessions, rooms for discussion groups - but also come explicitly from AIVC officers and delegates; vegetarian food, a recording of the sessions, an office in which to store equipment, access to a photocopier. Like any project, the most troublesome objectives are those that emerge or change at the last minute so it is worth soliciting hard in advance, e.g. with AIVC officers, just what it is they want. And like any project, you can control any two out of cost, timescale and quality but never all three at the same time.

The resources are money and people. The money comes mostly from the fees of delegates although AIVC will fund certain aspects. The people come mostly from the local IVC although some will be hired; and again, AIVC officers may help.

The role of conference organizer is ambivalent. Conference assigns conference to a club; the club determines the conference organizer. (The authority of the conference organizer stems from this and not from the officers or committee of AIVC). The conference organizer is not ex officio an officer of AIVC, although they are usually most welcome at AIVC officers' meetings. Nor is the post an official one in the local IVC, although they may hold another post that is. Yet they are the go-between, representing AIVC to IVC and vice versa, using predominantly the resources of the latter to meet mostly the requirements of the former. The danger is of getting too far away from one or too close to the other and this is something consciously to work at, keeping in contact with both more often than there is any specific need to.

The conference organizer needs also to identify the main point of contact with the AIVC Committee (be that Secretary, Chairman or whoever) since, once again, that is not formally defined. This makes it important that the conference organizer attends AIVC officers' meetings; especially in April (to determine the requirements), in November (to spell out and get agreement to the price and to the timetable for the run-up to conference) and January (to make the timetable happen and to pick up any late changes).

Conference has a long gestation; e.g. I started work on conference organization in April 1992, 12 months before Manchester was awarded the conference and even longer before I was nominated as conference organizer. The work finished well after the conference itself in April 1994, and some aspects hung on until the next conference in April 1995. So I was 1994 conference organizer, in practice if not in title, for three years. That said, the bulk of the work falls in the weeks just before conference itself, when the bookings come in and when the deadline for bookings has passed.

An office in IVC or AIVC is an ongoing process, divided up into 12 month intervals by AGMs or financial years. So the Chairman and Treasurer of the local IVC may change at the AGM which falls during the year preceding conference; the chairman and secretary of AIVC may change at the conference itself so that agreements made - about minutes and accounts for example - may need renegotiating if and when the occupants of those posts change. After conference, the conference organizer wants to wrap things up just when there is a new beginning for the AIVC officers.

The timetable for the weekend largely draws up itself. Given that there are two business sessions on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and that there are discussion groups on Friday evening, Saturday before lunch and Saturday late afternoon, then there is little scope for variation. Obviously there are Saturday afternoon excursions and Saturday evening dancing (a local club event and not an AIVC one); it would be nice to have a running activity to complement the running buffet on Friday evening, and for a more gradual wind down on Sunday afternoon. One day someone will have a revolutionary and obvious idea of how to reshape the weekend but at the moment I cannot see it!

The AIVC Constitution and Standing Orders have several clauses which define what is expected around and at conference and it is the conference organizer who has the most incentive to make them happen, even if it is not all their responsibility. Equally, the AIVC committee minutes of the preceding year are worth reading to see what came up when relating to conference. There is the one conference bank account which passes, at some point in the year, from one organizer to their successor.

Projects need a plan of what needs doing when; this may come as a surprise to some officers. Working back from the date of conference itself, there is a self-evident timing about when material needs to be prepared; notice of meeting, draft agenda, final agenda, accounts, draft budgets and officers reports. The dates are not obvious until the plan exists; the dates are earlier than the officers expect, such as November for the draft agenda. If the officers concerned have done it before, they may remember this; if not, they will certainly be unaware of it.

There should be two documents available for each conference delegate, one putting last year's conference to bed, the other providing information pertinent to the business of this year's. The former should be prepared by the AIVC Secretary within three months of the previous year's conference and have been sent out to all clubs via the club secretary.

The latter contains the officer's reports and matter for discussion groups and may be prepared by the AIVC Secretary, may be by the Conference Organizer; this needs to be negotiated.

Booking forms need to be sent out en masse, at least three to each club. The form needs to be accompanied by information selling conference to the recipient. Maybe they have been ten times before and are just waiting for the form in order to book. Maybe they have never heard of conference and if only they knew, would have come before. So some description of what conference is is worthwhile. Potential delegates need to be told that conference is happening. In some clubs, the ALO does an excellent job of making this information available to interested parties. In other clubs it may be the secretary. In others it is the chairman that takes responsibility for interfacing with the outside world. Unless you know a club well, you will not know which approach will give the best return so you try them all; e.g. mail shot the ALO via the MDO in the December or January mailing; the Secretary direct; and the Chairman or other officer if one came to the previous conference.

Tom Petch - 1994 Conference Organiser

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