Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the FAQ for Conference-in-a-Box! Below you will find several categories containing the most frequently asked questions by past conference planning teams.

If you have a question that is not answered here, please email conferences@scienceatlantic.ca. We will be updating the FAQ as questions arise.

Finances

Over the years we have run into numerous problems when groups use external bank accounts:

  • Organizers graduating without passing banking information on to anyone
  • Bills arriving late resulting in the Dean’s office or department having to pay them
  • Banks not allowing changes in signing officers without the old officers present
  • Once the conference is over, no one is aware that the bank account existed and the money is “lost”

Interesting fact: As of December 2013, the Bank of Canada was holding approximately 1.4 million unclaimed account balances, worth over $500 million in total (http://www.bankofcanada.ca/unclaimed-balances/).

This is in addition to dormant accounts opened within the last 10 years at commercial banks.
(You can search the database of unclaimed accounts at http://ucbswww.bank-banque-canada.ca/scripts/search_english.cfm).

Using a university financial account:

  • Is simple: it’s already set up
  • Increases accountability and transparency:  all money goes through an established financial system
  • Simplifies record keeping and reporting
  • Reduces your personal risk for being responsible for the funds
  • Increases the efficiency of using the funds for the conference and related activities

Funding from the conference must be used in accordance with the reason the money was collected. This means that the funds must be used for activities related to your conference or a future conference or similar activity. For more information, please see the Holding Account Policy hereps://scienceatlantic.ca/about/constitutionandpolicies/holdingaccount/.

Following your conference:

  • Ensure all bills have been paid and that any travel reimbursements promised to students have been confirmed
  • Send your final financial statement (using the template found here) to conferences@scienceatlantic.ca and to the coordinators for the next conference
  • If students are to be reimbursed for travel but you are not doing it directly, provide their names and email addresses to Science Atlantic for sending reimbursements
  • Mail any surplus funds via cheque to the Science Atlantic office at the following address:

Science Atlantic
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Dalhousie University
LSC Room 1376
PO Box 15000
Halifax, NS B3H 4R2

Science Atlantic does not charge tax on event registrations. If you are arranging for delegates to pay through your university’s finance department, the university may require that tax be charged. Be sure to discuss this before you post your registration link, as this can increase your cost substantially. For further details, download the HST exemption letter found here.

When conferences are held at MUN, Science Atlantic will provide limited additional support for student travel to the conference organizers. Organizers at MUN should contact conferences@scienceatlantic.ca for details.

Individual committees may decide to provide travel for students from their own funds. Check with your Science Atlantic Committee Chair.

That depends.

You are responsible to pay tax on goods and services used for the conference. When you set the ticket price for your banquet, you must first determine how much each meal will cost including tax and gratuity.

If you are using the financial account set up through your Dean’s office to pay your bills, the tax procedures will follow the procedures for your institution. Most universities will calculate a reduced tax rate on expenses charged through the university system.

If you are using an external hotel or restaurant, check with your finance office regarding how the tax will be calculated. Determine what the final amount you must pay will be and adjust your banquet ticket prices accordingly.

The Dean’s office at each institution has an account set up for Science Atlantic conferences. Contact their office for details. Ideally, all funds should be managed through the Dean’s office, to improve accountability, reduce tax rates, and simplify payment and reporting. Click here for information on how to open an account through your university.

Thinking about using a regular bank account? Click here for information on personal bank account use.

Upon request, Science Atlantic provides some start-up conference funding. Your first draft budget (template in the Treasurer’s timeline, here) and request should come well before your conference (four or more months before the event).

Transfer of funds is not automatic! The funds will be released once the budget has been reviewed and approved by your Committee Chair and the Science Atlantic Executive Director.

Last year’s conference may also have generated a surplus. If so, the funds are held in a Science Atlantic Holding Account. If needed, you can request these funds. This should not happen until after you have submitted your initial budget and it is apparent that there is no other way to make your budget balance.

Yes.

We recommend that you arrange to use the Science Atlantic PayPal account, which has a reduced charitable fee of 1.9% (rather than the regular 2.9% fee) and eliminates the need for you to create an external bank account for PayPal fund transfers. To arrange this, contact conferences@scienceatlantic.ca as soon as you know you wish to use PayPal, but no later than one month before your registration will open.

The recommended value for a guest speaker is on average $50; however, this may be increased for local speakers, as you will not be covering their travel expenses. A safe option is a book related to the speaker’s field, or something related to your community if they are not local.

Registration

If you wish to have a registration deleted, you will need to contact Science Atlantic (conferences@scienceatlantic.ca) with the name of the person wishing to have their registration removed.

If your conference is using PayPal for registration payments, please contact Science Atlantic (conferences@scienceatlantic.ca) with the name of the person requiring a refund to have their payment reversed. There is a $0.30 charge for each refund that PayPal issues.

If an individual is unable to attend the conference and provides email notice to the conference organizer no later than one week before the event, he/she is eligible for a refund (at your discretion). If the cancellation occurs within a week of the conference, no reimbursement will occur.

In the event of a late cancellation, registration may be transferred to someone currently unregistered. For more information on registration fees and cancellations, click here.

If a person does not show up they are still required to pay, since you have paid for food and items on their behalf. Send them an invoice and refer to the cancellation policy here). If they are a student, you may wish to contact their supervisor as well about obtaining payment.

Working under the assumption that 2/3 of your participants are students and 2 will be in each room, you should book half as many rooms as you have students, along with 1 room for each faculty member.

You should not be obligated to pay for unfilled rooms in your block reservation. Be sure to discuss this with your hotel prior to signing any contracts.

Awards

The award cheques are written and mailed directly from the Science Atlantic office.

Science Atlantic requires the award information as soon as possible after the conference. If you use the Online Awards System to record the winners, this information is automatically collected for you. If you do not, you must fill in the award winners’ spreadsheet and email it to conferences@scienceatlantic.ca.

There are a number of awards given each year at the Science Atlantic conferences. The value and criteria for most recurring awards are listed on the Science Atlantic awards page, found here. As well, conference coordinators may receive awards for one time only (such as text books from publishers). These are at your discretion.

Miscellaneous

Are some of the conference events occurring at the hotel? If so, it is in the hotel’s best interest to allow your conference members to stay at their hotel rather than at a different hotel, if they let the rate lapse.

Phone your hotel contact. Calling your hotel is the best way to ensure a quick response, allowing for ample time for your attendees to book rooms.

Note:

When negotiating your hotel contract, it is advised that continental breakfast be included rather than providing a separate breakfast at the event. This will save the organizers money, and provide more flexibility for the attendees.

Due to the large amount of rooms being booked, you may be able to ask for a couple complementary rooms for organizers or special guests. Keep this in mind when comparing hotel options.

All PowerPoints should be loaded onto the equipment being used in the presentation room(s) ahead of time. Since some students may be modifying their presentations up till the conference itself, plan to do this the morning of the conference.

Communicate by email with the presenters before the conference letting them know how to submit their PowerPoints (options below):

  • Emphasize that students must provide the final version of their presentation as it cannot be changed once it is uploaded to the system.
  • In all cases, make sure the students label their files with their names
  • Ask students to provide .pps files rather than .ppt files to reduce last-minute technical problems.

How to collect the presentations:

  • Option 1: set up a Dropbox or Google Drive account for students to upload their presentations
  • Option 2:  have students email their presentations to one person
  • Option 3: allow students to bring their presentations on flash drives and give them to the designated person during registration

Running your conference through Science Atlantic provides several benefits, including liability insurance and legal standing, as well as access to awards funding and conference start-up funds (if needed). Moreover, the conference planning guide, a conference website template, and the Online Awards System are built specifically for these conferences.

Brand awareness developed through using the name helps to create recognition for the event, and our Annual Report and Awards Yearbook showcase award winners and sponsors, providing additional exposure. Science Atlantic is proud to provide you with organizational support when needed, and to manage the student awards for your conference. Finally, Science Atlantic staff is in contact with your institution’s Dean to ensure that all aspects of your conference run as smoothly as possible.

Sending out posters to the institutions is not required – your focus should be on ensuring that people are aware of your conference, not specifically on posters. This can be done through email announcements, forwarding electronic posters, creating webpages, etc.

The report is delivered directly to Science Atlantic and the Committee Chair, and is then provided to future organizers of the conference. It includes invaluable information for future conference organizers, such as your financial report and sponsors, as well as helpful tips (local contacts, suppliers, etc.) to create a smoother conference planning experience in future years.

To see more about the final report, click here for the final report checklist.

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To get a login for CIAB and the Awards System, you must contact conferences@scienceatlantic.ca.

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