Below are guidelinese useful to event planners. The Managing Directors are ultimately responsible for overseeing the execution of all event planning, so contact them for questions or assistance.

Setting the Date and Time
Picking a Location
Reserving Tables
Reserving Audio/Visual Equipment
Ordering Food
Advertising
Parking

At the Event
After the Event
Sponsorship Issues

 

Setting the Date and Time:

• Middle of the week is best, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
• Avoid days just before or after weekends or holidays
• Late afternoon is best for large events, 5pm - 6pm or so
• Lunch is ok for small seminars and small Company Spotlights
• Lecture portion of event should not last longer than 1 hour or people will begin to leave in the middle of the presentation.
• Check the HMS calendar and the general Harvard Calendar for any conflicting events, holidays, or exams.
• Multiple events in the same week is not advisable.

Picking a Location:

• The Cannon room is the right size for most Company spotlights. It is easy to book online, but is one of the more diffucult rooms for off campus members to locate. To reserve the Cannon Room, Bldg C, use the online form: http://134.174.168.221/cannonrm
• The MEC Amphitheater is ideal for most events that will have  60-150 people. 
• Amphitheater D is better for larger crowds. 
• To reserve a room on the HMS campus (except for the Cannon Rm), contact:  room_scheduling@hms.harvard.edu
  Please be sure to include the following information:
  • name of the event
  • estimated attendance
  • date
  • start/end time
  • building and/or room preference
  • your name, address and phone number
• If an amphitheater is already reserved for the time you want, find out for what event, because it might be a source of conflict.

Tables and chairs:

• To reserve tables for an event, call Facilities Maintenance (432-0701) and specify the room, date, time, number of tables, and positioning within the room.

Audio/Visual Equipment:

• Find out what kind of presentation the speaker will be making-most use powerpoint on a laptop
• Contact the Media Office in MEC 158 (Bob Jacques, Bob_jacques@hms.harvard.edu , 432-3899)
• Request a wireless microphone.
• Request a laser pointer.
• Request the necessary equipment. This might include an overhead projector, slide projector, LCD projector.
• If the event will be held afterhours (5pm or later), make sure that you request to meet with a technician before the event (4:30 or so) to set up the equipment. They are instructed to only wait 15 minutes for you to show up, so it is imperative that you are on time.
• If there is a possibility that the presenter's computer will not be compatible with LCD projector, suggest that he/she email the powerpoint presentation to a Managing Director who may have a compatible computer.
• The Media Office will require that you pay for the equipment and possibly the technician's time beforehand. They usually ask for a 33 digit billing code. WE DO NOT HAVE A BILLING CODE. Ask them to send the bill to the Biotech Club- they should have our address on file.
• You might be asked to ensure the safety of the equipment after the event and to return it to a safe room.  After the event, you may need to find a security guard to lock the projection room if you used it.

Advertising:

• Failure on your part to submit event information or in getting the pertinent information from the company seriously jeapordizes the success of an event. If we only have the information in our hands for 2 weeks prior to an event, posters and our bulletin are the only means of promotion and we miss out on promotion with most of our advertising partners. The biggest problem comes from company Marketing/PR departments that will spend extensive amounts of times crafting an event description that we cannot use. You should instead try to communicate with the speaker directly and come up with a good title and a 4-5 line description that succinctly captures why the company and the speaker have an interesting story for our audience.
• Event Planner's Responsibilities:
  • 6 Weeks in Advance:
    • Draft a description of the event. Check out the Past Events Page to get an idea of how these event descriptions are formatted. You should get to know the presenter a bit (a brief phone interview will suffice) so that you can intelligently write about him/her.
    • Submit the event to the bulletin and online calendar.
    • Convert the description into an flyer. Request a past flyer document from the Managing Director or another Director and substitute the appropriate information. Make sure to include the most current list of sponsors from the footer of a recent Boston Biotech Bulletin
• Managing Director's Responsibilities:
  • 5 Weeks in Advance:
    • Review posted event description and approve for inclusion online and in the bulletin
    • Use description to prepare poster and distribute to poster hanging team. If the event is located on a campus other than HMS, make sure posters get put up there.  Many of the people who attend events do not receive the Bulletin; they come because they see posters. Thus, the more posters there are up, the more people show up.
    • Send an abridged version of the email to the Quad Bulletin, which goes to everyone with an hms.harvard.edu address (postdocs, students, faculty, and staff). It is sent every Monday morning and you must submit your notice by Friday 10AM of the previous week. Send your email to public_affairs@hms.harvard.edu.
    • Submit the event to BioWeek, the deadline is the wednesday the week before the event. They mail it on Thursdays.

Ordering Food:

• For moderately sized events such as Company Spotlights, assume 70 people will show up (maintain these proportions for events of any size).  This translates into: 

  Main Food

  • 18 pizzas

  Drinks

  • 7 bottles of soda (2-Liter size). Assortment of regular, diet, and non-soda.
  • 2 bottles of water (1 or 1.5 Liter size), 
    
• Try to negotiate a discount since you are ordering in bulk.
• Napkins, plates, cups, etc, if necessary. Most food vendors provide these, but make sure to ask.  Domino's frequently forgets.
• Have the food arrive 20-30 minutes before the event.  You will probaly have to meet the delivery person at the door.  Use 260 Longwood (MEC) as the delivery address for the medical school because most drivers know where it is.
• Domino's: 424-9000, pizza
  Mississippi's: 566-6789, sandwiches.
  Village Pizza House: 731-4210, pizza
  Village Fare Pizza: 739-2774, pizza
  Rebecca's Cafe: 731-1300, gourmet desserts
• Call to confirm the order the day of the event.
• Purchase drinks from 7-11 (or other convenience store) only a few hours before the event at the earliest so that they stay cold.

Parking for the speaker:

• The speaker may park in a local garage such as Children's Hospital and they will be reimbursed if they present the receipt (unless it is inconvenient for them to do so in which case they may be reimbursed out of petty cash without a receipt).

At the Event:

• Have the speaker arrive at the event about 20-30 minutes early to make sure sut-up goes smoothly.
• Have food arrive 20-30 minutes early.
• Carry a cell-phone in case you need to contact the food vendor or a Director for assistance.
• Place food and drinks  in front of room and make available to attendees as soon as it arrives.
• Write www.thebiotechclub.org and GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Club on the board next to the projection screen.  If relevant, write your email address.
• A few minutes after the announced starting time, introduce yourself, introduce the club, invite people to sign up online to become members, and then introduce the speaker.
• After the speaker has finished, thank the speaker and invite questions from the audience.  If event is running late, only allow a few questions at the most and then invite the audience to come down meet the speaker and partake of desserts.

After the Event:

• You may keep the leftover food. Leave the room clean or the club will be charged.
• If appropriate, arrange for an Executive-Speaker dinner/drinks hour after the event. Assess whether the speaker and the club Directors are interested. This option allows the Directors and the EB Members responsible for planning the event to network with the presenters. The club covers the costs.
• Send a thank you email that same night or the next morning.
• Try to obtain an electronic version of the presentation so that it can be added to the website.

Sponsorship Issues:

• If speakers are interested in sponsoring the club, direct them to the Sponsor Information page or have them speak with a Managing Director.  Only a Managing Director has the authority to discuss aspects of sponsorship not clearly covered on the Sponsor Information page.