Is this conference worth it?
Work out whether the ticket price and time out of the office are justified, then build the case to your employer.
Read the attending guide →The practical UK guide to conferences
This site works from cost bands, named standards and worked examples, whether you're deciding if a ticket is worth it, building a programme, or getting ready to speak.
Read the guide to attending a conference Read the guide to organising a conferenceThree ways to use this guide
Attending, organising and speaking each raise a different set of questions. Pick the one that matches where you are right now.
Building a programme that works
Venue contracts, ticket pricing, speaker selection and the costs nobody budgets for, in the order you'll actually face them.
Read the organising guide →How do you get selected?
What a call for papers actually looks for, and how to spot a pay-to-speak programme before you commit to one.
Read the speaking guide →
What's different here
Judgements you can check
-
COST OF ATTENDING
A conference ticket is rarely the real cost of attending
Travel, hotel nights and the day you're not working often outweigh the ticket fee itself.
Read how to make the case to your employer -
PROGRAMME DESIGN
A programme built to fill slots isn't one built around learning
The difference is visible in the agenda before a single delegate arrives.
Read how programmes get designed -
CALL FOR PAPERS
Pay-to-speak schemes are worth spotting before you submit a proposal
Some call-for-papers programmes disguise a sponsorship slot as an open opportunity.
Read how to spot one -
ACCESSIBILITY
The Equality Act 2010 puts a duty on organisers to adjust
What counts as reasonable depends on the size of the event and what's practicable to provide.
Equality Act 2010
Read what reasonable adjustment means here -
TICKET PRICING
Early-bird pricing only works when the deadline is real
A discount that resets every week is full price wearing a costume.
Read how break-even pricing works -
HYBRID EVENTS
Hybrid events usually shortchange remote attendees on a normal budget
Matching the in-room experience for people watching a screen tends to roughly double the AV budget.
Read what a fair hybrid budget covers
Start with the question you have right now
Deciding whether a ticket is worth it, planning a programme from a blank page, or working out how to get chosen to speak — each question has its own guide, with cost bands, named standards and judgements you can check.