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Global Conference SOP's

Updated August, 2024
 

The CSEA Global Conference is a complex, industry-leading event that serves the needs of the association and its broad member base. The Board of Directors has the responsibility of overseeing the business of the organization, and entrusts the Conference Committee with executing a successful event under the direction of the Executive Director with additional assistance from the Conference Co-chairs and Board Liaison (see the navigation tabs on the left side of the page for specific responsibilities). Given the broad reach of the event, the need for strong historical knowledge and continuity from year to year, and the amount of time needed for successful execution, the conference is co-organized by volunteers and staff, with the Executive Director serving as the primary decision-maker (unless otherwise noted). The Board of Directors also makes some conference-related decisions that have impliciations for budget, safety, and long-term impact. 
 
The roles and responsibilities outlined in this document serve as a guideline to assist in the event planning, answer common questions, and provide clarification based on prior years’ experience. All Conference Chairs will work closely with the Executive Director, Board Liaison, and other Conference Co-chairs to successfully deliver on the expectations. It is recommended that committee members review the SOP’s for all other areas in order to understand the full scope of the responsibilities. The Leadership Toolkit also serves as an important reference tool for this and other helpful information for volunteer leaders.

Learn about the evolution and importance of SOPs in this quick video:

 





Conference Goals

  1. Strategic Alignment: Assist with achieving the overall strategic goals of the CSEA, as established by the Board of Directors (which may vary from year to year). Ensure the organization’s mission, vision and values are carried through in all aspects of the event.

  2. Professional Development: provide educational and benchmarking opportunities for CSEA school and employer members.

  3. Networking: assist school and employer members with building connections and partnerships.

  4. Outreach: serve as a mechanism to market to and engage prospective members.


Overall Conference Committee Responsibilities

In addition to the tasks outlined in this document, all committees are expected to do the following to support the conference planning process:

  • Read and understand the SOP’s, Conference Policies and Conference Timeline (found in Smartsheet), and ask for clarification when needed. Conference Co-chairs should ensure that all members of their committee read and understand the SOPs and maintain an open line of communication with the Executive Director to ensure clarification is sought when needed. All questions about the SOPs and expectations should be brought to the Executive Director to ensure consistency and understanding.

  • Read, understand and follow the conference timeline as closely as possible and let the conference chairs and Executive Director know when circumstances prevent it from being followed. Flexibility may be needed regarding some tasks that are dependent upon other areas or factors outside of the commtitee or staff's control. 

  • Utilize conference planning and collaboration tools, including the online project management and file sharing systems provided by CSEA.

  • Keep all conference planning documents in the CSEA file sharing system (not a separate system that is owned or managed by a volunteer). This ensures ongoing access, historical continuity, and backup in case of data loss in other areas. 

  • Support the Marketing Committee’s efforts by inviting school and employer contacts to the conference and sharing information on social media when requested by the committee. 

  • In order to ensure the overall budget is maintained, all conference expenses must be approved by the Executive Director.

 

Committee Tools

The organization provides committees with a number of tools to assist with planning the event. 
 


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