Event management

For people involved in promoting awareness, appreciation and understanding of science and technology, events are an important way of reaching out to the wider public. These include indoor and outdoors festivals, exhibition openings, competition finals, conferences, workshops and seminars. Below is a list of some of the things you should consider when you are running an event. It would pay to develop a critical path which lists the items to be addressed and a date and person responsible appointed.

Venue booking and management

Book your venue, dates and times. Remember to include load in (set up) and load out (take down) times. Ensure that you have keys and addressed access issues. How many people will you have at your event? Make sure your venue has enough space!

Resource Consents

If you event is outdoors or in a public place eg a Park or reserve, car park etc then you may need to apply for a Resource Consent through Your local Council. Most council have an event department who will help you with resource consents of this nature. Again, these may take some time to get. If your event includes some sound or noise eg live music, bands..etc then you may also need a resource consent for noise control, once again work with you local council.

Traffic Management

If your event includes re-routing traffic and road closures you will need to work with the Traffic Planning Department at your Local Council, to gain resource consent. You will also need to do a Traffic Management Plan which addresses how you will manage the traffic, any road closures and parking issues. Some resource consents take a very long time, so work well in advance: 6 months at least.

If you need volunteers to help address traffic, try asking your local Lions or Rotary as they are very good at helping with that sort of thing. Provide them with bright yellow jerkins so that the public know who the helpers are, and hold a dedicated briefing meeting with them before the event. Advise your local Police of the event and ask them to have a presence. Your local roading company eg EXCEL could have road signs and road cones for you to use.

Equipment

What equipment will you need eg tables, chairs, lighting, sound equipment. Book these things well in advance as they are often in high demand. Consider whether you need a Public Address system (if one doesn’t come with your venue) and who is going to operate it. It is well worth booking a technician to come with the system if you are not used to using one.

Remember that if your event is outdoors you will need a power source, either from a properly installed mains extension or generator. Generators may create a noise problem and also needs fuelling. If it is an outdoor event you may need a stage. Some Councils have stages available for community/ public events, otherwise you can book them through staging or scaffolding companies. If at night times you will probably need extra lighting.

Health and Safety

All events need a Heath and Safety Plan. You can find attached here a guideline of what is required. The amount of detail required depends on the scale of your event and the number of people you are expecting.

Your Health and Safety Plan outlines what strategies and procedures you have in place for accidents and emergencies and identifies possible dangers, and what you have down to address these. This might include fire, accidents, earthquake, riots and protests..etc and you will also need to organise and evacuation plan. Always have fire extinguishers available on site. Some events will require public liability insurance.

First Aid

If you are expecting large numbers ask the Red Cross or St Johns volunteers to come on site with their caravans. Also consider Sun Protection, Shade Tents …etc. The Cancer Society will often attend summer outdoor events with free sunscreen and shade tents.

Lost Children

Have a lost children and lost property site located as part of your event.

Toilets

If expecting large numbers you may need to provide extra portaloos.

Site Desk

Appoint a site desk and a site desk monitor (some one who will stay there at all times) Sometimes it is a good idea to have people sign in and out when setting up the event.

Set up and Take Down

Draw up a production schedule which runs through the lead in time for the events. This should itemise who and what, so that everything is covered by your production/project team.

Security

Security is vital at events, particularly outdoor events. Appointing a security company may well be a large part of your budget but is worth it. Ensure that you and they have communications between the teams during the event, including training on how to use the equipment.

Personnel and Performers

Book your personnel well in advance. Often the success of an event is based on the professionalism of your MC, performers and it is wise to draw up contracts with performers, MCs etc, so that everyone is clear about who is doing what. A pre-event briefing is a very good idea where the team gets together and goes through what is going to happen. If you need help accessing performers contact the staff at Joule who have a wealth of contacts on performers. It is a good idea to have a back stage area for people working and helping to run the event with refreshments and food.

Bad Weather

Some events can have “rain days”, which is an option B date in case of bad weather. Other events are too difficult to re schedule and just have to be cancelled.

Sponsorship Representation

Ensure that your sponsors/partners have representation at your event via banners, signs speaking rights. Sponsors may also have ideas on how they would like to be “seen” at your event so work in with them to get a win:win.

Marketing

Booking your media representation ahead of time is always a good idea. For free community events remember to list your event on the community gig guides/ what’s on guides on the radio for free. Billboards are a great idea: some City Councils have billboards which they monitor. Posters and flyers are always good, but the key to their success is to distribute them well. There are companies which distribute flyers and posters around cafes, shops, libraries and on street sites on your behalf eg Sticky Fingers for Wellington, Phantom nationwide postering..etc. Don’t forget to add your event to your website!

Evaluation

Evaluating your event is very important, especially if you want to secure ongoing funding to run it again. Book a photographer/ video recorder and if possible have questionnaires/ surveys for people to fill in about the event.