Elevating the Conversation
The Global Certificate in Meetings and Business Events II is being rolled out worldwide and delivering international standards to logistics-minded meeting professionals.
By Michael Pinchera
Wanted: meeting and event project managers and logisticians interested in transferable, internationally standardized professional industry education and certification.
Over the course of the past two months, we’ve brought you up to speed on the MPI Knowledge Plan, MPI Global Training and the first level of the Global Certificate in Meetings and Business Events program. Now level two gets the spotlight—much deserved seeing as how there are currently eight sets of course dates planned for 2010 across three continents!
The Global Certificate in Meetings and Business Events II, designed for project managers who coordinate meeting and event logistics, provides meeting professionals with education focused on operations including the execution and application of core logistics from destination management to contract evaluation and negotiations, while working toward the knowledge requirements for passing the CMP exam.
Project Management
The complexity of the execution of any meeting or business event requires project management knowledge (see “The Five Principles of Project Management,” November 2009 One+). Knowing how to create a basic project plan using planning and tracking tools is essential to event success.
This program helps meeting professionals learn to create and manage a critical path of the various operational plans (e.g. marketing plan, resource plan, supplier timelines, etc.) and how to evaluate and audit events.
In this module, participants will learn to create a basic project plan using planning and tracking tools, identify specific tasks and projects required to achieve goals and objectives of an event, determine timelines and critical dates, create event briefs outlining relevant information for specific stakeholders, assign tasks to specific committees or individuals based on skills or areas of expertise, schedule regular review of critical path, take corrective action based on results of review, adjust critical path as needed and identify critical success factors for event.
Destination and Venue Management
When selecting a destination and venue, various elements must be taken into account to reach event objectives. This module will teach site selection as well as how to assess and manage risk on site. Through a real-life case study, participants will go through the different steps of selecting a destination and managing the onsite operations.
Following this module, participants will be able to determine the appropriate geographic location for the meeting/event, determine the appropriate venue for the meeting/event, conduct site inspection to determine viability of location and venue including potential offsite activities, conduct a pre-meeting/event briefing with suppliers and facility providers, assess risk management issues in order to determine needed insurance and operations and conduct a post-meeting/event review with suppliers and facility providers.
Meeting and Business Event Logistics
As we all know, the logistics around organizing a meeting or a business event are essential to the success of the meeting. If the basics are not right, delegate satisfaction and meeting goals will never be met. This two-day module takes participants through all the aspects of successful execution of meeting and business event logistics.
In this module, meeting professionals will learn to develop comprehensive meeting specifications using the appropriate templates, select the appropriate F&B for meetings and manage the potential related risk, as well as evaluate and manage financial risk and opportunities linked to F&B, make a full transportation plan as well as negotiate contracts with transportation suppliers, identify critical components of attendee management and their corresponding reports, identify basic components of an on-site meeting and registration process, identify basic components of a room block (e.g. arrival/departure patterns, peak nights, flow, room types), optimize people flow, learn how to integrate exhibition management in meeting or business events, contact, evaluate and contract speakers as well as handle onsite speaker management, determine requirements for staging and technical equipment, source staging and technical equipment, monitor technical installation and production operation and monitor risk management plans.
Budgeting
Money is important. To be successful, you need to be able to control your project budget and understand all variables and factors that can impact your budget and ultimately your bottom line. You’ll also need to be able to reconcile your budget with the actual costs that you incurred during your event.
In this module, meeting professionals will learn to compile data for a budget, conduct regular budget reviews, monitor budget performance, reconcile planned versus actual budget and create internal and external budgetary reports.
Contract Evaluation and Monitoring
You need to find a supplier for your event—where do you start? How do you write a RFP to which suppliers will reply? How do you evaluate their proposals? What goes in a standard contract? What are the clauses you cannot forget to include? How do you make sure your suppliers deliver what they promised? Find out in this module.
After participating in this module, participants will be able to identify requirements for a contract and integrate them into RFPs, evaluate the proposals, identify contractual obligations and timelines and integrate them into project plans, maintain a productive relationship with your suppliers and monitor and evaluate suppliers’ performance against contract.
MICHAEL PINCHERA is associate editor of One+.