GUIDE. Public Education Seminar Planning

Transcription

1 GUIDE for Public Education Seminar Planning Navy League of the United States April Wilson Boulevard Arlington, Virginia

2 Table of Contents Overview. 4 General Process Description 4 Selecting a Theme.5 Recruiting Seminar Partners.. 5 Establishing the Seminar topics and selecting/inviting speakers.. 6 Selecting a location and date for the Seminar.. 7 Resolve Financing... 7 Completion of Seminar Planning using the NLUS Event Planning Guide. 8 Evaluation Form /21/2009 3

3 Overview Navy League Public Education Seminar Planning Guide Public Education is a vital component of the Navy League s Mission Statement: A civilian organization dedicated to informing the American people and their government that the United States of America is a maritime nation and that its national defense and economic well being are dependent upon strong sea services United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard and United States Merchant Marine Navy League councils are the local organization in communities around the United States that are responsible for delivering this message to local citizens and their elected officials. To be effective, a Public Education Seminar conducted in a local community must be relevant to that community. We are a charitable, educational organization that can involve other public and private organizations, and other community-minded groups in our seminars. This guide is designed to assist a local council in establishing a Public Education Seminar in their community utilizing the combined resources of the Navy League, including Headquarters staff members and the following published Guides: Event Planning Guide Public Relations Guide General Process Description The following steps must be completed to conduct a Public Education Seminar in a local council s community: 1. Select a Theme. 2. Recruit Seminar partners. 3. Establish Seminar topics, then select and recruit speakers for each topic. 4. Select a location and date for the Seminar. 5. Resolve Financing. 6. Complete event planning activities using the NLUS Event Planning Guide and Public Relations Guide. Each of these steps is discussed in more detail below. 7/21/2009 4

4 Step One Select a Theme Selecting an appropriate theme may be the most important step that affects the success of your Seminar. Remember, your Seminar must be of interest to the public at large and the elected leaders in your community in order to achieve the objectives in the Mission Statement. What are the topics on the minds of our citizens today? Can we organize a Seminar that will satisfy their interest and/or concerns? These questions must be answered before selecting a theme. Several possible themes are listed below; there are many others that may be more appropriate for your community. Disaster Recovery Is you community ready for a disaster, such as a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, flood or terrorist attack? Would the Sea Services be involved in recovery operations? For example, Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the broad capabilities of the US Navy and Coast Guard for disaster recovery. If your community has a commercial port, what is the economic cost of ceasing port operations during the recovery operations? Are members of your community aware of the Homeland Security Department s Disaster Recovery Plan? Is your community prepared for chemical, biological of nuclear attack? Sharing Military Technology Many capabilities citizens take for granted today were originally developed for the military. Much of the advanced technology in use today has vast commercial potential that has not yet evolved. Are your citizens interested in a peek at the future? Do you have research capabilities in your community that might be participating in the development of this technology for commercial applications? What is the value of this research to your community s economy? The Environment and the Military Do people in your community know that the Sea Services are excellent stewards of our natural resources better than most private and public organizations? If not, why not share this information with them and the media in your community? Do they know the affect on military readiness that environmental protection has on our Sea Services? Do they know the critical responsibilities the US Coast Guard has for environmental protection on our waterways? Medical Advances Treatment procedures in hospitals for trauma, prosthetics and triage have advanced significantly because of the need to treat wounded military personnel. Is your community prepared for mass casualties? Have the successful treatments developed to save the lives of military personnel migrated into your local hospitals and the medical community? Can the Navy League help shed some light on this issue to improve the transfer of medical improvements? 7/21/2009 5

5 Step Two Recruit Seminar Partners An essential ingredient of public education is to involve other important organizations in your Seminar. There are three categories of organizations that should be considered: Colleges and Universities Colleges and universities can provide several elements of a successful public education seminar. First, the professors have expertise in many areas and like to talk about it. Therefore, a college or university is a rich source of potential speakers. Second, colleges and universities often have the facilities to handle large crowds, including meeting space and parking. Third, money talks. If you partner with a college or university, you will have to share any net profit from the Seminar. In exchange, you may be able to use the facilities without additional charge (or for nominal charges). The Business Community Many local companies will be interested in the Seminar Theme because they may have an existing line of business that supports the theme, or may want to develop a line of business from the theme. Business leaders can serve as speakers, a business can provide facilities for the Seminar, and many companies may be willing to contribute money to support the Seminar in exchange for visibility at the Seminar. Public Organizations A wide spectrum of public service organizations may be directly involved in the theme and thus willing to support your Seminar. Examples include police, firefighters, community planners (e.g. disaster preparedness), public health and environmental protection. Step Three Establish Seminar Topics, Select and Recruit Speakers The topics are normally presented in a panel format, with attendees having the opportunity to ask questions of the panel. The number of panels to organize depends on the length of your Seminar. A panel presentation should allow three hours to deliver the material and answer questions. Therefore, a full day Seminar can plan for two panel topics, while a 1-1/2 day Seminar can plan for three panel topics. The theme selected may have multiple elements that are suitable for a panel topic. Thus, the elements of the theme may have more influence on the length of the Seminar that just picking a length and filling in the space. Your partners should be deeply involved with this planning step, since they will provide many of the speakers and may have space limitations. The council should focus on determining who in the Sea Services should be invited to participate on these panels. Ideally, each panel should have a sea service speaker to address the contribution of the sea services to the topic. Visibility for the corporate partners or sponsors is also important, so speakers should be 7/21/2009 6

6 included from this source. Finally, public sector leaders, since they represent the local community, should be included on all panels. Each panel will require a moderator with knowledge of the panel topic. Partner resources are most appropriate for this assignment in most cases. Step Four Select a Location and Date for the Seminar The location of the Seminar and the date are controlled by the availability of facilities and speakers. Your partners are the first source for a location and should be asked to provide several dates when their facilities are available. Speakers should have been selected for their expertise on the panel topic. However, it is important to remain flexible, as rarely will your proposed speakers all be available for the same dates. Alternate speakers should be identified in Step Three to account for this expectation. Speaker invitations should be issued well in advance (4-6 months) so that you have time to seek alternate speakers if your choice is not available. Speakers who cannot fit the Seminar into their schedule can be asked to suggest alternate speakers. Last minute cancellations are unavoidable, so requesting that the speaker who cancels to suggest an alternate is not unreasonable. Generally, the public at large is less likely to participate on weekends because of conflict with family activities. A Seminar during the work week, perhaps using an afternoon and evening panel format, may be the best approach for getting maximum participation. Step Five Resolve Financing Financing must be a significant consideration for a public education seminar. First, if we want the public at large to attend, the event must be LOW COST. Free is often proposed, but people consider Is my time worth what I pay for an event? Free often means their attendance isn t worth their time (If it s free, it isn t worth much). A modest fee (perhaps $10) with some refreshments is recommended. A benefit of a fee is you then can justify having attendees REGISTER, which provides the host council with names and contact information for potential recruiting for membership. Another suggestion is to select a major speaker to attend to address a luncheon or dinner during or after the seminar. The meal would have a fee, which may be subsidized by a SPONSOR to increase attendance. Business members who provide services related to the seminar issue can be invited to sponsor the event in exchange for a booth or a featured spot on PSAs and other public relations actions. If adequate numbers of sponsors are recruited, the event may need no other financial support. 7/21/2009 7

7 Establishing a Finance Committee is often required with the following duties: budget preparation, setting up a separate bank account for the event, monitoring the solicitation of bids by other committees, maintaining signed contracts, verifying invoices and making payments. Members of this committee monitor accounting services, if used. Step 6 - Complete event planning activities using the NLUS Event Planning Guide and Public Relations Guide Once the first five steps are complete, detailed planning begins. The Navy League Event Planning Guide is an excellent, detailed description of the steps involved in completing the planning for a major event. Navy League Headquarters staff may also be able to assist in planning. Finally, there are many event planners available to complete this planning, some of who will work on a contingency basis. Contact the Senior Director of Regional Activities for a referral in this regard. 7/21/2009 8

8 EVALUATION FORM (Circle your response): EVENT: LOCATION: DATE: 1. Topic (Theme) interesting and current? YES NO 2. Was purpose of event clear? YES NO 3. Were Panel Members knowledgeable? YES NO 4. Was presentation logical and informative? YES NO 5. Was this an appropriate location? YES NO 6. Were sound and visual equipment effective? YES NO 7. Was parking adequate? YES NO 8. Do you believe the event to have been worthwhile? YES NO COMMENTS: 7/21/2009 9