Conference Chair

Welcome to the Conference Chair’s planning timeline. As the Conference Chair, your role is to ensure that your committee stays on track and to facilitate communication between committee members and the Science Atlantic office.

Recruit volunteers early, step in when a task has fallen to the side, and provide continuing support to your team members throughout the year.

Browse the tabs below to navigate through the planning process and post-planning responsibilities for this role.

Step 1

Month 1

Establish an organizing committee that includes both faculty and students. View the volunteer job summaries.
Note: People may be assigned multiple roles, but there should be at least 3-5 core committee members to share the work, plus additional volunteers on-site for the event itself.
Let your Dean and Department Chair know you will be hosting the conference.
Contact your Committee Chair when selecting your event date. View Committee Chair responsibilities.
Establish a committee meeting schedule (increase meeting frequency as the conference date approaches).
Appoint a committee minute taker.
Contact Science Atlantic (conferences@scienceatlantic.ca) to inform us of the conference’s location, date, and organizer contact information.
Note: You should also review Science Atlantic’s policies.

Month 2 and 3

Confirm roles and responsibilities of organizing committee members.
Ensure all volunteers have access to this planning guide: provide the website URL, group login ID and password
To access these individual timelines, select a category from the menu above or view the master timeline.
Obtain a copy of the previous year’s draft final report and financial statement, available on CIAB under “Resources” or contact conferences@scienceatlantic.ca.

Step 2

Month 6

Communicate with each of your volunteers regarding their responsibilities; familiarize yourself with their tasks and timeline.
Submit a progress report to Science Atlantic and the Science Atlantic Committee Chair providing an update on how things are going and to voice any concerns.

Month 8

Review the conference final report checklist and note key points.

Step 3

Months 9, 10, and 11

Check in with your volunteers periodically.
Consider moving to monthly and eventually weekly planning meetings.

Step 4

1 Week Before

Pre-conference logistics meeting: Establish responsibilities of each committee member and volunteers on conference days. Ie.assign registration desk volunteers, photographers, etc.
Review the master timeline with the team
Gather and share everyone’s cell phone numbers to facilitate communication during the conference.

During Conference

Be visible and available for team members and conference participants.
Try to avoid being responsible for specific tasks; delegate as much as possible so you can remain available when unavoidable or overlooked situations arise.

Step 5

1 Week After

Have a debrief meeting promptly after the event.
Identify tasks to be done and recommendations for future organizers.
Organize a thank you party for volunteers.

1 Month After

Draft conference final report and submit to both Science Atlantic and next year’s organizers.

Be sure to gather feedback from each team members.
Be sure to include recommendations!
Note: If your final report is not submitted, Science Atlantic will contact the appropriate Dean to ensure that necessary information is provided.

3 Months After

Provide final financial report to Science Atlantic and next year’s organizers.

Note: If your final financial report is not submitted, Science Atlantic will contact the appropriate Dean to ensure that necessary information is provided