Virtual Conference SOP's

Introduction & Event Goals

MBA CSEA conferences bring together schools and employers from across the globe for networking, learning, sharing, development and meaningful connections. While the in-person aspect of these events cannot be replaced through a virtual format, the Virtual Conference aims to replicate as many aspects of the conferences as possible through this event, while also taking advantage of the additional opportunities that a virtual atmosphere affords. Best practices regarding virtual engagement, as well as feedback from members and overarching themes consistent with the current times, will be utilized in order to maximize the succes of the event. The committee's goal is to remain nimble, responsive and flexible in order to ensure relevancy during uncertain times.


Overall Roles & Responsibilities

The Board of Directors has the responsibility of overseeing the business of the organization, and entrusts the Conference Committees with executing a successful event under the direction of the Executive Director with additional leadership collaboration from the Conference Co-Chairs and Board Liaison. Given the broad reach of the event, the need for collaboration among many teams, and the condensed timeframe to for execution, the conference is co-organized by volunteers and staff/consultants. The Executive Director serves as the primary lead coordinator and decision-maker when needed. Teams are organized as follows:
 
  • Conference Leadership Team
    Executive Director, Board Liaisons (as needed), Conference Chairs. This team will be led by the Executive Director, and will meet regularly to discuss progress and make collaborative decisions as needed.
  • Conference Committees
    Each individual conference committee (APAC, Europe, Global), will operate as a committee within the Virtual Conference Team. Each committee will work on their individual aspects of the event as a team, similar to how the in-person events operate. The Executive Director will attend all meetings in order to ensure cross-committee collaboration. Conference teams will consist of all volunteers for each respective team, with tasks being delegated as appropriate based on interest and role descriptions as noted below. Given the unique timing of the event planning, committee members may be asked to work within multiple areas of responsibility.

It is recommended that committee members review the SOP’s for all other areas in order to understand the full scope of the responsibilities and be able to assist if needed.

Consistency, collaboration and a team focus will be essential to the successful execution of the event. The Executive Director can assist with committee structure and delegation of tasks as needed in order to help ensure a manageable workload is maintained and volunteers are not overwhelmed.  

Collaboration tools utilized in the management of the event will be the same as for all other MBA CSEA projects:
 
  • Smartsheet for project management and timelines
  • OneDrive for file storage
  • Email and phone calls for committee communication.