Conference checklist

Tick as you go; your progress appears in My Planner. Print it for the production binder and give a copy to whoever runs registration.

How to use this list

The list follows the same phases as the conference planning timeline, so the two documents can be worked side by side. It is deliberately long. A conference has more moving parts than a wedding of the same size because every delegate is also a customer, every speaker is a small production, and every sponsor has a contract. Delete the lines that do not apply to you rather than skipping them silently; a one-day workshop has no room block, but writing “n/a” next to the line is how you remember you decided that.

Three habits make the list work. First, give every line a named owner, even when the owner is you. Second, when a line depends on a venue document (the AV house rules, the BEO, the load-in schedule), attach the document or note where it lives; a checklist that says “AV confirmed” with nothing behind it is a false comfort. Third, re-run the accessibility lines at the final walk-through, not just at the planning stage, because rooms get re-set and a step-free route can disappear behind a sponsor’s banner.

The items under “Legal, privacy and risk” are the ones most often missed by first-time organizers. The registration list is personal information under PIPEDA; photography needs notice on the registration form and signage at the door; a reception with a bar at an unlicensed venue needs a Special Occasion Permit applied for at least 10 days ahead for a private event; and the AODA customer-service standard applies to your organization whether or not anyone asks for an accommodation. None of these is difficult. All of them are late if discovered the week before.