DrupalCon organisers' guideline

This WIKI is meant as a guideline for DrupalCon organisers. I have taken over some of the structure and information that the people at Plone published at http://plone.org/events/conferences/seattle-2006/evaluation/lessons-learned. Some of the topics and assumptions come from the DrupalCon BOF we had at DrupalCon in Barcelona. Feel free to dive in and add your ideas.

Thank-you for putting this together. It was used extensively in the development of: http://association.drupal.org/Drupal-conference-proposals-2008-2009

Who decides about DrupalCon dates and locations?

The Drupal Association welcomes proposals from aspiring DrupalCon organizers. To this date, the usual theme was that there is a spring event somewhere in northern America and in the fall there is an event in Europe. This is not a hard rule though. The association accepts and votes on proposals as they arrive.

In the future, the association might define the dates and look for locations early on, so that people can submit proposals for the dates defined.

Location

Choose a location which is easy to reach. If attendees need to hop through complex visa applications, or the city itself is hard to reach by transport, think your proposal through again. It is a good idea to think about having enough housing in the city, possibly close to the venue. If there are tourist attractions in the city, or extra programs around the event, you can attract more people to come. Some people even bring their significant other, or even kids, if the location looks like fun to stay.

Venue

Depending on the timing, location, pricing and some other factors, attendance needs to be predicted. You need to find a venue which can host the different "attractions" which come with a DrupalCon, and can accommodate as many people as you expect will attend. Usual attractions include session rooms, BoF rooms (small work group rooms), huge space for hacking and hanging out (with plenty of power outlets). And of course the venue should have rock solid wireless internet all around. Also if you don't plan on a long lunch break in the middle of the day for people to go out for lunch, you need to think about some lunch facility at the venue. This list is probably not too surprising.

It is important to mention here that if you charge a considerable amount for attendance, people will be more likely to show up. At free to attend events, it usually happens that 30-50% of registrants will simply not show up. Registration price is a simple tool to help you plan on attendance.

1. Budget
   
   
   

   1. Catering

      
      

   
   

   2. Sponsorship

      
      

   
   

   3. Pricing

      
      

   
   

   4. Scholarships

      
      

   
   


2. Conference website
   



3. Logistics
   
   
   

   1. Projectors

      
      

   
   

   2. Sound system

      
      

   
   

   3. Registration table

      
      

   
   

   4. Signage

      
      

   
   

   5. Registration package

      
      
      
      

      1. T-shirts

         
         

      
      

      2. Sponsor materials

         
         

      
      

      3. Name tags

         
         

      
      

      4. Brochure

         
         

      
      

      5. Freebies

         
         

      
      

      6. Map

         
         

      
      
   
   

   6. Banners

      
      

   
   

   7. WIFI

      
      

   
   

   8. On Conference communication

      
      

   
   


4. Program
   
   
   

   1. Assumptions

      
      

   
   

   2. Conference agenda

      
      
      
      

      1. Fixed sessions

         
         

      
      

      2. Invited talks

         
         

      
      

      3. Call for proposals

         
         

      
      

      4. Speaker compensation

         
         

      
      

      5. Program committee

         
         

      
      

      6. Evaluating proposals

         
         

      
      

      7. Different conference tracks

         
         

      
      
   
   

   3. Agenda logistics

      
      
      
      

      1. Distributing up-to-date agenda

         
         

      
      

      2. Singup for talks

         
         

      
      
   
   

   4. Side events

      
      
      
      

      1. Pre-conference training sessions

         
         

      
      

      2. Partnering

         
         

      
      

      3. Social events

         
         

      
      

      4. Cultural program

         
         

      
      

      5. Events for non-Drupal partners

         
         

      
      
   
   


5. Dissemination
   
   
   

   1. Presentations

      
      

   
   

   2. Video

      
      

   
   

   3. aggregators

      
      

   
   


6. Marketing
   



7. Registration
   
   
   

   1. Contact information sharing

      
      

   
   

   2. Visa letters

      
      

   
   


8. Housing
   



9. Time line