Is This Conference Worth Going To? — conferences.co.uk
How to read a conference programme critically, spot pay-to-speak tracks, weigh total cost against the real value, and decide honestly before you commit.
Six guides for the decisions that actually shape a conference
Programme design, speakers, venues and costs, ticket pricing, accessibility and codes of conduct, and running an event online or hybrid. Each guide is written to be acted on.
Only attending rather than organising? Read Attending a Conference for the guides on choosing events and making the case to your employer. Check the worked examples and templates, including a sample budget and a planning timeline.The six decisions organising a conference actually comes down to
Programme, speakers, venue and costs, ticket pricing, accessibility and conduct, and the online or hybrid question. Each guide covers the specifics you need to act on.
How to Get Your Employer to Pay for a Conference — conferences.co.uk
Build a conference funding request your manager can approve: frame the business case, cost it properly, and offer something concrete in return. Worked example included.
How to Actually Get Value From a Conference — conferences.co.uk
Preparation, session choices, meeting people without networking theatre, note-taking that lasts, and the follow-up that turns attendance into something your work can use.
Designing a Conference Programme — conferences.co.uk
How to shape a conference programme around what attendees came for: session formats, pacing, breaks, open calls vs curation, and designing spaces where people actually meet.
Finding, Choosing and Looking After Speakers — conferences.co.uk
Running a call for papers, reviewing fairly, building a programme beyond the usual names, what to pay speakers, and the practical care on the day that makes talks good.
Venues, Catering and the Costs Nobody Budgets For — conferences.co.uk
How to judge a UK conference venue against your programme, not a photograph — capacity, AV, wi-fi, catering for real dietary needs, and the costs that surprise first-time organisers.
Ticket Pricing and Making the Numbers Work — conferences.co.uk
Building a conference budget that stands up: break-even analysis, early-bird and tiered pricing, sponsorship without selling the programme, and funding diversity tickets properly.
Accessibility and Codes of Conduct — conferences.co.uk
Practical accessibility in venue selection, programme design and captioning, plus what a conference code of conduct needs to contain to be enforceable and worth having.
Speaking at a Conference: Getting Selected and Being Good — conferences.co.uk
How to write a conference proposal that gets accepted, what reviewers look for, how to prepare a talk that holds a room, and the practicalities of the day itself.
Running an Event Online or Hybrid — conferences.co.uk
Where online conferences genuinely work, the real costs and failure modes of hybrid, platform selection questions, and what changes in programme design when the audience is split.