Recommendations and Action Plan
for
Meeting Management Services
Presented to
American Association for the History of Nursing
From
10200 W. 44th Avenue, Suite 304
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
303-422-2615
www.resourcenter.com
This proposal and any attachments are the sole property of the Resource Center for Associations and are not to be shared with or used by anyone other than the Board of Directors of the American Association for the History of Nursing.
Copyright © 2012
Resource Center for Associations
Section I: Overview of Service Needs
The purpose of this proposal is to expand the services offered by the Resource Center for Associations (RC) to the American Association for the History of Nursing (AAHN) to include logistical meeting management services. The current arrangement for meeting management utilizes host schools to plan for and provide both the educational content and logistical management for the AAHN Annual Meeting. This proposal maintains the host school concept for the educational content which shifts each year from one host school to another and provides for centralized management of all logistical needs for the Annual Meeting. For purposes of this proposal, logistical services are defined as:
4 Hotel negotiations and contracting
4 Contract management for audiovisual, catering, and all other meeting service providers
4 Design, implementation, and execution of the online registration process in tandem with the AAHN membership database
4 Print and online marketing in coordination with the host school and AAHN Program Planning Committee
4 Management of all onsite meeting logistics including registration, hotel, and meeting provider logistics
Following is an overview of the meeting management services that we propose specific to the needs of AAHN for your consideration:
4 Conference and Meeting Management: We are excited about the prospect of expanding our services into the area of meeting management for AAHN and believe that the combining of this aspect with the other services we provide will help to achieve a number of other objectives of the organization. RC has a long history of providing successful meeting planning, marketing, and the execution of the overall meeting and related events. Our experience encompasses both live and virtual meetings and ranges from small to large events, local to international locations, and single hotel to multi-facility conventions. RC offers a seamless meeting registration process through its membership data management system providing a member-friendly atmosphere for individuals to register online for conferences, Webinars, seminars, and specific events as appropriate. Not only does our system provide an easy online meeting registration environment, by coordinating this process through individual membership records, AAHN would automatically maintain important data on member and nonmember attendance and participation data for future reference and planning purposes.
Action Plan:
ü Meeting and Event Registration
As noted above, our systems are designed to manage your meeting registrations requirements for online registration. RC will provide full pre-meeting registration services including the processing of registrations, selection of individual events or courses/sessions, preparation of registration lists, regular data tracking reports, full budget tracking and analysis, and preparation of all registration material for such items as name badges, registration lists, attendant itineraries, and other services as appropriate.
ü On-site Meeting Management
Our staff would be available to manage the on-site meeting registration process. We would be on-site prior to opening and through closure of the meeting, assuring that every detail is attended to and that your meeting registration process runs smoothly.
ü Event Provider Contract Management
RC has an exceptional track record of identifying, negotiating, and contracting with hotels, event facilities, and other service provider to meet the needs of our clients. Meeting space and other event requirements can impose severe restrictions on the availability of meeting facilities, a challenge we have consistently met for our clients. Our contract negotiations include all aspects of the meeting, including sleeping room rates, VIP upgrades, reduced staff rates, food and beverage costs, meeting room rentals, AV needs, room blocks, disaster recovery, and considerations for attrition. It is RC’s policy to negotiate in the best interest of our clients and we do not take commissions on hotel accommodation or other contracted services.
ü Scope of Meeting Management Services
RC manages all aspects of meeting services, including, but not limited to, the following:
4 Coordinate all meeting logistics.
4 Negotiate and contract with conference hotel and/or other meeting facilities
4 Act as staff liaison with meetings and facility personnel.
4 Create the conference budget in coordination with the host school for approval by the AAHN Board of Directors.
4 Provide ongoing budget monitoring.
4 Oversee and manage the total exhibit/sponsorship program as appropriate.
4 Arrange for and coordinate logistics for pre-conference workshops as appropriate.
4 Organize and coordinate all food and beverage functions in coordination with host school.
4 Work with appropriate volunteers and/or host school representatives to ensure that speaker requirement are met.
4 Contract with and oversee audio-visual services.
4 Coordinate all marketing activities in coordination with host school and other AAHN volunteers as appropriate.
4 Prepare preliminary and on-site programs.
4 Oversee shipping of all materials to and from the meeting site.
4 Coordinate all arrangements for meeting room setups.
4 Contract with and facilitate all optional activities and special events in coordination with host school and other AAHN volunteers as appropriate.
4 Manage the abstract submission/collection process and dissemination to reviewers as appropriate.
4 Providing a complete post meeting financial report with reasonable detail of all income and expenses.
4 Host School Relationship: To ensure the viability of the relationship established with each host school, they will maintain responsibility for the following:
ü Determining the educational content needs for the intended audience.
ü Identifying speakers and topics to meet the determined content needs
ü Securing speaker agreements and determining appropriate delivery methods working within an approved budget.
ü Acquiring all necessary documentation as needed to qualify for Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) credits.
ü Applying for and securing CNE credits.
ü Developing a conference schedule working with a mutually agreed upon timeline establish in cooperation with RC.
ü Supplying RC with all program content including educational and social information needed to properly promote the meeting within mutually agreed upon timelines.
ü Assisting in the ongoing marketing of the meeting by providing text highlighting specific presentations, local attractions, and information about special events within mutually agreed upon timelines.
ü Conducting all necessary content and presentation evaluations, tabulating, and sharing the results with the AAHN Board of Directors, RC, and speakers as appropriate.
ü Underwriting the cost of the opening reception.
ü Coordinate the acquisition and presentation of all live and silent auction items.
ü Work collaboratively with RC and AAHN Board representative(s) to coordinate activities associated with the live and silent auctions, store, book exhibits/signings and poster session.
ü Identify local tours and other activities of interest and coordinate with RC for the contracting, registration, and marketing of such events.
4 Proposed Budget: Based on our research and knowledge of meeting and event services, we offer the attached budget projection for your consideration. This projection is based on attendance data and pricing from the 2011 and 2012 AAHN Annual Meetings. It also takes into account current pricing information for such items as audiovisual, food and beverage, printing, and other related services. You will note that sponsorship has been included from the host school for a reception and from the Eleanor Herrmann Lecture fund for the keynote speaker. The host school sponsorship is provided at a rate that offsets the cost of the reception.
The overall budget projection is to breakeven. We believe, however, that this is a conservative estimate. Through a more coordinated and centralized planning effort, AAHN should see growth in attendance for its meetings going forward. And as a result, we believe that AAHN could see membership growth as a result of a more strategic marketing effort, convenience of the RC meeting registration process, and the ability to utilized data collected through the system for use educating a broader segment of the nursing community about AAHN services and activities.
The intent, as in the past, is to share the net proceeds equally with the host school providing an incentive for them to contribute significantly to the marketing efforts of the meeting. This coordinated marketing effort should, in turn, help to build AAHN’s ongoing prospect list of potential members for the future.
Section II Proposed Fees
Se IV: Sts
Guiding Principles:
Our proposed fee encompasses such elements as staff salaries; benefits and related taxes; use of all related equipment including our database system, computers, related software services, all costs related to occupancy, furniture, and other usual overhead services. In addition, they include RC’s extensive disaster recovery systems that provides nightly offsite backup of our entire server systems, offsite continual monitoring and management of our network, and all related equipment and software required to protect your data and information.
Our pricing also takes into account the level of expertise that we bring to the table with our years of experience and knowledge in providing the services that are included in this proposal. Pricing for future years beyond those specified below will be established as part of the annual budgeting process and will take into account any changes in the Scope of Work, cost of living adjustments, and costs of doing business.
Proposed Fees:
RC proposes a phased in approach as follows:
1. For the year 2013: a flat fee of $3,750 to cover partial services to include;
a. Preparation and dissemination of hotel and meeting facility requests for proposals (RFP) for the 2014 AAHN Annual Meeting.
b. Hotel and meeting facility negotiations and final contracting .
c. Working with the local arrangements committee (LAC) to begin the program layout and scheduling of events.
d. All other related services from the above proposed Scope of Work in preparation for the 2014 meeting as appropriate.
- For the years 2014 and 2015: a flat fee of $7,500 for each year, 2014 and 2015, specific to the Scope of Meeting Management Services as provided for in this proposal.
3. The above fees are in addition to the existing fees now in place or as negotiated for any future general association management service fees.
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