For Events & Training Officers
Events and training
ARA offers an annual programme of continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for members and non-members. This includes events, training, webinars, Blogs and the ARA annual conference.
This is a key area of activity for committees and makes an invaluable contribution to the delivery of professional development for members. Committees are encouraged to focus on in-person events as they promote opportunities for record keepers to meet, connect, share knowledge and experiences, and feel part of the local professional community.
Social events. Social events are a great way to bring ARA members and non-members together, increase networking opportunities and help the ARA reach out and connect with all those in the record keeping sector. Social activities can be an added element to a CPD event or AGM. Refreshments help to promote networking, as do festive quizzes or similar opportunities that help create a positive and welcoming event.
The Role of the Events and Training officer
The Events and Training officer develops and delivers CPD opportunities. Duties include:
To develop and deliver events, training and other CPD activities, with an emphasis on in person events. Identify and book suitable venues and speakers.
Identify and recruit speakers.
Liaise with the ARA office on potential topics and other training/CPD insights gained from ARA member surveys.
Work with other committee members and ARA office to agree the budget to pay for the events and training, identify potential sponsorship opportunities and agree appropriate delegate fees.
Maintain good communication with other Events and Training officers and attend ARA-hosted online Events and Training Officer meetings.
Support from ARA Staff
Content for CPD and training events and general advice:
Head of Professional Standards & Development: chris.sheridan@archives.org.uk
Budgets and logistics (eg setting up on Eventbrite) :
Membership Manager Lorraine.logan@archives.org.uk
Publicity through ARA channels:
Head of Communications deborah.mason@archives.org.uk
Planning and delivering events and training
The planning and delivery of events and training is a key activity. This part of the guide builds on the experiences of previous volunteers, sharing insights to help you plan and deliver events with confidence.
What kind of events should you develop?
Committees, or individual Events and Training Officers, may consider a range of options including lunchtime webinars, in-person events (half day and full days) and social events. The Annual General Meeting is a key event in the committee’s calendar and other activities, including presentations and social activities can be built around it to attract wider interest.
Online or onsite
Events can be online, onsite (i.e. in a suitable venue) or hybrid (onsite and live broadcast via MS Teams).
Online: you may have some event topics that will work more effectively as a webinar. ARA uses MS Teams, which is relatively easy to use and there are plenty of short tutorials online to help you use the platform and its various functions. MS Teams also caters for larger online audiences (200+). However, your presenters/speakers may prefer smaller audiences, especially if there is a question-and-answer session planned. The role of the Events and Training Officers would be to support the online delegate experience by welcoming delegates, introducing the speaker, and managing the chat function and delegate questions. You should invite questions from delegates before the webinar. This will help identify key questions, which you might use to start the discussion with the speaker before opening questions to online delegates. Larger delegate numbers may require two volunteers to manage the questions and chat function.
Onsite: identify potential venues that could be available to you. This may include local employers, libraries and charitable venues that offer free or low cost facilities. Events organised by other membership organisations, such as CILIP, ICON, ICRI, PCOI, IRMS and Museums Association can help you identify suitable venues. Individual committee members may have meeting space available at their place of work. Venue hire will add to the overall cost of delivering an event so remember ARA is a registered charity in England, Wales and Scotland. Some venues will offer discounts to charities.
Some topics and speakers will attract more delegates than others, so the capacity of the venue may be relevant. You should also consider the following:
How close is the venue to public transport hubs?
Is there step-free access from the street into the building and inside the building to the room being hired?
Is there step-free access to accessible toilet(s) close to the room being hired?
Does the venue provide parking facilities? Is there on-site blue badge parking?
Is the space to be hired sufficiently sound insulated from environmental noise?
Is there a hearing loop?
Is there facility to adjust temperature and lighting?
If practical activities are planned, can the height of some worktables be adjusted?
Can the venue support the recording the presentation (with the permission of the speaker, or offer a hybrid option) for those unable to attend in person?
Does the venue offer free Wifi? If so, include the password in the opening welcome slide.
Deciding a topic or theme for your training or event
Almost any subject is valid continuing professional development (CPD), but some topics will be more current or popular than others. You may consider areas of interest to one or more of our three professional disciplines (archives, records management or archive conservation). ARA committees may collaborate in joint events. Committees considering events that include preservation and conservation are asked to contact ARA’s Preservation and Conservation Group for advice and potential contacts preservationandconservation@archives.org.uk.
You may want to focus on soft skills, helping members develop presentation skills, or CV and job interview skills. Whatever you decide the ARA office is able to guide you with every aspect of the development and delivery of your events. We also hold results of member skills surveys and workforce mapping data, and usually know what other events and training officers are planning. So, if you are looking for ideas then let us know before you consider planning a survey of your members. This will save time and help reduce the number of surveys in circulation.
We also support Events and Training Officers via the quarterly ARA Forum meetings.
Programme and speakers
Once you have decided on potential topics for an event (or series of events) you can begin to develop the programme and identify potential speakers. Consider using a more diverse range of speakers, such as those of different faith groups, social backgrounds, ethnic heritages, community groups, abilities and disabilities, genders and sexualities. This approach can bring new perspectives to familiar subjects. Speakers do not have to be subject experts; they can be practitioners sharing their own good practice or experience. Committee members, or their professional contacts, may be willing to give a presentation. Public speaking can be good CPD for those presenting.
When approaching speakers, provide a brief overview of the event. A clear idea of what you want to do is helpful, but you may also find that an open discussion with a potential speaker helps develop ideas. You should enquire about their availability, whether they will charge a fee, and any travel expenses that may need to be reimbursed. Ensure you have an agreement from the speaker by email. The ARA does not consider a contract necessary for speakers attending committee events. If the speaker prefers a contract then ask them to supply one. If preferred, the Chair or Treasurer may sign the contract. Ensure there is a reasonable cancellation clause in case the event needs to be postponed.
When thinking about half or full-day events, make sure you schedule sufficient time for breaks and include refreshments. If you are planning smaller sessions in different rooms, then build in time to accommodate attendees with reduced mobility.
Depending on the type of event (e.g. AGM), or if the programme is schedules for early evening, you may want to add social element and providing light refreshments. Food should cater for those with dietary restrictions and preferences.
Budget and delegate fees
If funds are required to deliver the event then you should include a budget proposal for the event in the committee’s action plan, and sent to the ARA’s Treasurer. The budget should include all known costs (for example, venue hire, refreshments, speakers fee and travel expenses, travel expenses for committee members attending in a supporting role, printing of delegate handouts). Templates for budgets and ARA’s expenses policy and expense form can be found in the [Forms, Templates, Resources ].section.
Event budget proposals may also be submitted once the action plan has been approved. This ensures Events and Training Officers have the flexibility to deliver an event at short notice and in addition to activities already set out in the action plan.
The budget proposal should also include proposals to raise income. This is most likely through delegate fees or sponsorship in kind (e.g. free venue hire). The appendix includes an example of a budget to help you develop your own.
It may be that the income generated from an event does not cover the cost of the event, but don’t be concerned. What is important is that a financial contribution is made, helping to offset the overall cost to ARA, and allowing ARA’s budget to be stretched a little further to help other events or projects organised by volunteering members.
The Events and Training Officer and Treasurer should decide appropriate fee level. This will depend on costs and the popularity of the event. The ARA is committed to providing affordable events and training, so ARA members should be offered a significant discount to reinforce the benefits of ARA membership. As a guide, provide a discount of 50%. You may also consider reserving some free or low cost places for delegates on low-incomes. More advice is available from ARA Head of Professional Standards and Development (see above for contact details).
Once ARA’s Honorary Treasurer has confirmed your budget to pay for the event, you can confirm dates with the speaker(s) and venue. We recommend you obtain email confirmations from speakers and from the venue you have hired. If your venue of choice requires a contract to be signed then you may do so on behalf of ARA. If preferred, the Chair or Treasurer may sign. Contact ARA to establish the best way to pay the speaker, venue and other associated costs.
Promoting the event
Ideally, you should begin promoting your event at least 6 weeks before the event date to ensure the best chance of attracting sufficient numbers. ARA has an account with Eventbrite, the platform to be used for all ARA event bookings, payments and compiling of delegate lists.
Once the programme and speakers are confirmed and venue hired (if an onsite event), Events and Training officers can add their event to the Eventbite website. ARA can provide login details on request. Alternatively, ARA can set up the event on your behalf. Please contact Lorraine Logan at lorraine.logan@archives.org.uk for advice and support. If the event is to be recorded then you must state this in the event details. You should include learning outcomes in the content you will use to describe the event. This will help delegates understand how the event will be of use them.
ARA’s training and events webpage features current and upcoming events and training. ARA promotes it regularly and widely. Please contact ARA’s Head of Communications, Deborah Mason at deborah.mason@archives.org.uk as soon as your event is live on Eventbrite to ensure we include it. She will also include the event in the relevant ARA Today bulletin, and can also include ‘Save the Date’ notices prior to Eventbrite being set up. ARA Today goes out on the first Wednesday of every month with the deadline for submission a week before.
The Committee’s Communications Officer should also promote the event through all communication channels open to them, including social media, listserves and email bulletins (Lorraine Logan can email to specific group and region lists if required). Communications officers are also encouraged to find new ways of reaching out to new audiences. This includes engaging with local CILIP, IRMS and other similar bodies that are active or related to recordkeeping.
Preparing and delivering the event
When hosting an online or onsite event remember that you are representing the ARA. Please act in a way that promotes a positive image of the ARA and the record keeping profession.
Before an online event you should;
Add a welcome slide, including the ARA logo, event title and committee contact details, as a first slide to the speaker’s presentation. This will ensure a smooth transition on to the presentation.
Email joining instructions 48 hours before the date of the event, with any notes or information. Inform delegates that it is their responsibility to ensure they join the event 5 minutes before the published start time. You will need to start the event promptly at the time advertised to keep to schedule.
You should consider a post event survey (use Google Forms or MS365 forms) to get feedback on the event, how it might be improved and ideas for future subjects.
If you have requested help from fellow committee members, assign roles to help you manage the event effectively. This might include admitting delegates to the event when they arrive and managing the chat function.
Join the event 30 minutes before the start time and invite the speakers and any helpers to do the same. Run through some of the slides and audio/video clips (if used) to ensure they work as expected. Remind speakers of the length of their presentation, and how you plan to manage questions and discussion.
At the start of the online event you should;
Welcome delegates and give a brief overview of the event and how questions or discussions will be managed. Encourage delegates to use the Chat function to ask questions and offer fellow delegates informal advice and insight.
Ask delegates to mute their microphones and switch off cameras (which helps reduce carbon footprints and can improve the sound quality for some). You can add this request to the joining instructions. The event organiser can also mute microphones remotely.
If the speaker has agreed to share their presentation slides, let delegates know they will be circulated after the event.
Introduce the speaker and any committee colleagues who are supporting you in delivering the event.
At the end of the online event you should:
Thank everyone for attending and for their input and contributions.
Add the committee’s contact details to the chat box.
Announce any upcoming activities and remind delegates that there are opportunities to join the committee and contribute to its activities.
Ask delegates to complete a short post-event survey (designed in advance of the event). Include a link in the chat box. If you are circulating the speaker’s presentation (as a pdf) to delegates, then include the survey link in the email.
Thank the speakers personally by email.
Before an onsite event you should:
Arrive at the venue an hour before the published start time. Some delegates will arrive early, so it is important to carry out the following actions and checks before the registration process begins. The larger the event, the more to consider:
Meet venue staff to confirm everything is as expected. Confirm location of training room(s), toilets, drinking water and health and safety information (fire exits, first-aid kits, details for appropriate contact person, etc).
Confirm with venue staff that the IT/AV equipment is working. If the event is hybrid then make sure everything is set up as required. Load presentations onto the laptop desktop and run through some of the presentation slides. Check any audio/video clips work and make sure you have a venue contact should you experience technical issues during the event. Have the first welcome slide with the event title displayed on the screen.
Arrange registration desk and refreshments. Put up any signage necessary to direct delegates to the correct rooms. Check with venue staff before attaching signage to walls. Welcome delegates and speakers as they arrive and strike through the name of each registering delegate. It may help to fix the attendance list to the registration table if a lot of delegates are expected. If you have opted for name badges, then order them by surname and ask delegates to find their badge. Make sure you have some spare badges in case you need to add a name by hand (for example, a colleague may have replaced the delegate originally booked). Have printed copies of the programme or handouts of the presentations available.
Once the speakers have arrived, show them the set up in the room they will present. Explain how the IT/AV equipment works and the location of their presentation (on the desktop). Arrange to give them a signal 5 minute signal at the end of their allotted presentation time. This will still leave time for questions and keep the event running on schedule. Provide water and glasses to keep the speakers refreshed.
At the start of the onsite event you should;
Welcome delegates (remember to mention that this is an event organised by the committee). Thank the delegates for attending and give a brief overview of the presentation (or programme if a half or full day event) and how questions or discussions will be managed. If the event is taking place in a region that recognises more than one official language (Irish, Scots Gaelic, Welsh, Ulster Scots, Manx) then it would be more inclusive to include a few words in whatever other languages are recognised in both the welcome and thank you messages, and on the opening and closing slides.
Advise delegates of fire evacuation procedures and location of toilets, drinking water and other facilities.
If speaker’s presentations are to be made available after the event (having obtained the speaker’s permission), advise delegates when they will be available and how they will receive them.
During the onsite event:
Introduce each speaker before their presentation. Give their name, organisation and title of presentation.
As highlighted earlier, give the speaker a 5 minute warning at the end of their allotted time. You can do by sitting in the front row and discreetly holding up an A4 piece of paper with ‘5 mins’ written in large text so the speaker can see it, but not be distracted.
Thank the speaker at the end of their presentation before inviting questions. Ensure you keep to the programme timings.
At the end of the onsite event:
Formally close the session thanking the speakers and delegate their contributions
Advise delegates that a feedback questionnaire will be emailed to them for comments and suggestions.
Announce any future plans and invite delegates to consider joining the committee. Make sure a contact email address is visible, either in the programme or on a closing slide.
Once delegates have started to leave thank the speakers again and if you agreed to cover expenses, then remind them how to claim them.