Facilitating an online conference

Knowledge Bite: online conferences

Planning, running and capturing the benefits of online conferencesStrategy and Development Unit,

IDeA

Who are we? What’s our story?

• Strategy and Development Unit - turning Policy into Practice

• Facilitate largest community of practice Policy and Performance, over 1600 members

Who are we? What’s our story?

• Have organised five online conferences using simple, free, available tools

• Have advised on others, completed and planned

Advantages of online conferences• “Cheap to run” • Can be organised and launched quickly• People can dip in and out• Conversations “pre-captured”• Easy to disseminate proceedings and

distil knowledge for other products• Green• No curly sandwiches!

Disadvantages• It’s a lot more work

than you think• Not everyone gets it• People don’t make

time for online the same way as face-to-face (for now)

• Don’t be tempted to use it to replace an under-subscribed face-to-face event

Flex* by teepole on Flickr

Planning an online conference

Getting started

• Scoping your event•subject•audience•demand•purpose

We demand donutz by cobalt 123 on Flickr

Team building

• Identify roles•organisers•facilitators•experts•champions•support

red team by atomic shed on Flickr

Almost the same as a face-to-face• Venue• Speakers• Agenda

programme• Promotion• Registration

The Venue, After by Stewart on Flickr

Where it differs• “Speakers” are

actually writers, it’s a different skill

• May have to explain “speaker” and other roles

• Currently, need to do a lot more explaining about what it is and how it will work

Helping Hands by darkmatter on Flickr

A continuous workstream• Promote via IDeA

Knowledge, other Communities of Practice and existing networks

• Tie in to other face-to-face events, newly published guidance, etc.

• Plan ahead about using proceedings

Colourful Ribbons, by PieterMusterd on Flickr

More than just text?• Video• Audio• Photos• Slideshare

More than just presentations• “Hot seat”

approach, present and come back for questions?

• Expert panels• Encourage new

topics from participants

Expert spotting by pbo31on Flickr

Facilitating an online conference

Aims of facilitation• Bring in lots of

different views• Promote a lively

conversation• Buzz - Make it feel

spontaneous and fresh• Share knowledge

about real practice among practitioners.

• Keep the “graft” backstage

In the hive, 1 by Max xx on Flickr

An example

The ideal facilitator• Good writer• Just enough to tech

savvy to work the CoP

• Flexible• Some knowledge of

the topic

Flexible by Lhoretse on Flickr

The role• Keep an eye on

proceedings• Be prepared to

step back• Be ready to step in

The role• Prompt for more

detail• You have an

opinion, too!• Hand holding

If you build it, they will come• Right topic, right time,

decent promotion - they will come, but maybe not til late

• Switch on those alerts!

• Drive traffic with email updates

• Back channel• Not too proud to beg

Venice channel by Ipiepiora on Flickr

Using all the features of the CoP• Forums

• main activity• Events

• flag the programme ahead

• Members• drive that traffic

through daily email updates

Using all the features of the CoP• Wiki

•use to build navigation, store updates

• Blog•why stop promoting? News and

views.• Document library?

•Store supplementary information

Ups and downs• What’s great

• Flexible, fun approach

• You can do it in your jim-jams

• What’s not so great• “On” for the period

of the conference• Colleagues may not

respect that you’re facilitating an event

Simplicity pjs 2019, by carbonated on Flickr

Capturing the benefits

Key benefits• Written outcomes

• plan ahead to capture proceedings

• disseminate through CoPs

• get more emerging practice and “hard lessons”

Wishes away by davebluedevil on Flickr

Case study: customer insightFace-to-face

eventMarch

Online conference

June

Long standingIDeA/LGA role

Place Survey&

CAA

Further CI guidancecommissioned

Online consultation

Conferencereport

published to Knowledge

Guidance promoted

A real CoP!LGCIF

Case study: Performance Management• PMMI project - Audit Commission & IDeA• Three online conferences, took place in

closed discussion forum• Engaged real Members online! - through

CfPS - open discussion forum• Lead to conference reports, material for

guidance, tools and presentations• Integrated with action research

Benefits of the conference itself

• New members to your main conference platform and old members energised.

• For CI conference • 80% satisfied • 100% would

recommend another conference

• 90% liked the email updates

Adrian with sparklers by Craig Anderson on Flickr

Additional materials to share

• FAQ• Project plan• Feedback survey• Evaluation reports• All to be found in the CoP Facilitators

CoP