Training modules/dashboard/slides/12202-venue-challenges

Venue Challenges

An editathon in Edingburgh that the provided more than just food and drink.

Common venue planning challenges that event runners encounter include:

• Ensuring that timing of the event and access to the venue are well documented for attendees.
  • Some partners or host organizations will have limitations on how you access the spaces or will require ending the event at a particular time.
  • If access to the space will be limited, make sure to create clear instructions for how to gain access for the event or if people planning to attend end up arriving late to the venue.
  • Consider if the design of the space will prevent participation from potential participants, including people with limited mobility.
• Providing comforts and other support for the participants:
  • Ensuring that food and drink, such as coffee, tea, and water, are available throughout the event. Food both sustains energy during the event and provides motivation and reward for attending the event. Though not all events include food, including food greatly increases morale and energy throughout the event.
  • Deciding if you plan on including childcare at the event. Childcare is particularly important for audiences who are likely to have young families.
  • Deciding if you want to include swag or other materials that can be handed out to participants.
• Identifying if the partner/host organization wants to provide either a presentation by one of the experts on the event topic or a “backstage pass” of the institution’s operations. These thematic opportunities allow the partner or host to share some of their mission and role in the event with participants.