National Annual Conference

Approval Date: December 2014
Review Date: June 2017
Review By: Finance Committee
This Regulation is to give affect to the past decisions of the Board relating to annual conferences.

Steering Committee

Board will establish a Steering Committee to be responsible for the appointment of an external conference organiser, the budget including setting the conference fees, approval of the venue and to deal with any queries form the National Scientific Program Committee.  This Committee will make recommendations to Board for the engagement of an external conference organiser and any budget issues that may arise will be referred to the Finance and Audit Committee.

National Scientific Program Committee

Board will establish aNational Scientific Program Committee to be responsible for the program content of the annual scientific meeting (Annual Conference) including any calls for posters, abstracts etc. This Committee will make recommendations to Steering Committee for and will liaise with the jurisdictional committee responsible to host the annual scientific conference on all matters relating to the conduct of the conference.

RACMA Jurisdictional Committee

There will be a six year cycle of jurisdictional committees responsible to host and to organise the RACMA annual conference. The larger Committees of NSW, Queensland and Victoria may host a stand alone conference. In each alternate year, one of the smaller jurisdictional committees will host the conference with the possibility of collaboration with another partner if it is deemed to be in the best interests of RACMA and approved by the board.

As at December 2014, the cycle will be as follows:
 

Collaboration with other organisations

Smaller jurisdictional committees are enabled to combine with an appropriate other college or organisation to ensure the conduct of a viable annual conference. Such appropriate organisations will be approved by the Board. In addition there may be organisations overseas with whom the College may decide to conduct international conferences, e.g. HKCCM, WFMM.

Where there is to be collaboration, RACMA will provide input at the national level to the program content and the jurisdictional committee will provide support on local matters during planning and in its conduct as appropriate.

The host jurisdiction will be responsible to:

Assist identify the appropriate venue
Identify and invite (via a President’s letter) the Langford Orator 
Develop the program of in-conference social activities in conjunction with the National Scientific Program Committee
Meet, collect and greet all guest speakers, visiting speakers and award winners
Respond to National Scientific Program Committee requests for session chairs and advise these to the conference organisers
Organise gifts if required
Regular liaison with the external conference organiser and the National Scientific Program Committee is also required. 

Board Finance and Audit Committee

The Finance and Audit Committee will approve the annual conference budget (prepared by the external conference organiser) and recommend to the Board the adoption of the budget.

The Finance and Audit Committee will approve an annual ‘float’ of $15,000 to the external conference organiser, sourced from the College budget.

A final financial report of the annual conference will be received by the Finance Committee. All proceeds from the annual conference will go to the College.

 External Conference Organiser

When appointing a conference organiser, three quotations will be sought and the conference organiser selected should meet the following criteria:

–       The professional conference organiser will be an accredited conference management company with the Meetings Industry Association of Australia;
–       The company will provide a submission to the Steering Committee, outlining detailed planning for the marketing, business and financial management of the conference;
–      The company will provide referees for the Steering Committee which testify to their proven record in management of past conferences comparable to the requirements of RACMA and
–          Following Board approval, a contract will be signed between RACMA and the conference organiser by the Chief Executive.
–          The conference organiser will be market tested every three years.

Selection of the Conference Organiser

The Steering Committee may, within its discretion, seek to interview any of the professional conference organisers in order to aid the selection process.  

The professional conference organisers should provide thefollowing conference management services:

1.         Development of a business plan for the conference including promotion, marketing, timetable for key planning dates, sponsorship strategy, and registration and financial management;
2.         Planning and monitoring of all financial aspects including management of registration revenue and related accommodation, travel and sponsorship monies;
3.         Recommendations for appropriate venue and contract with venue proprietors and all ancillary service providers;
4.         Participation in meetings of the Steering and National Scientific Program Committee as required and regular reporting on progress and financial management to the Committee;
5.         Coordination of speakers and related abstracts, papers and audio-visual needs;
6.         Preparation of registration brochure, conference proceedings, delegate satchels and other relevant materials;
7.         Development and coordination of sponsorships and trade exhibition displays;
8.         Coordination of social program, accompanying person’s program and conference requirements relating to lunches, conference dinner and welcome receptions.
9.         Coordination of accommodation requirements for delegates;
10.        Coordination of national office requirements including arrangements for special meetings and ceremonies
11.        On-site management including coordination of conference arrangements for the conference period, registration of delegates and liaison with speakers, College and venue staff; and
12.       Any other duties as directed by the Steering Committee or National Scientific Program Committee, or the College, necessary for the efficient and proper organisation of the conference.


Conference Fees

Conference fees will be set by the Steering Committee in liaison with the conference organiser and the Finance and Audit Committee.

There should be a clear statement regarding refunds of fees for non attendees at the annual conference in the advertising brochure.

Recognition for CEP 

8 points per full time day of attendance will be recognised for a Fellow or AFRACMA who registers to attend the annual conference.

Conference Timing

It has been traditional to hold the conference in September/October each year. There may be circumstances when the Board decides to vary this timing.


Adjunct Events

The following events are traditionally held in conjunction with the Annual Conference:

Board Meeting with Jurisdictional Committees
AGM
Langford Orator and Graduation Ceremony
Spring (CPD) Institutes/Festival: workshops and master classes

Issued:  October 2017