NEWS
Specialist sections reach new audiences as they take conferences online
RCOT ’ s specialist sections have been able to attract new attendees to their conferences as they moved online throughout 2020 .
With COVID-19 putting a halt to in-person events last March , organisers faced the huge task of quickly moving their events online .
That included the organisers of RCOTSS – Housing ’ s annual conference , scheduled for November . In March , its plans were already up in the air as a planned event in Southampton was cancelled because of the collapse of airline FlyBe . By the summer , it was clear that online was the only way to go .
‘ We needed to make sure we offered something to people to justify the membership fee , but also to make sure we met obligations with our sponsor ,’ says chair Gill Owen-John .
The organisers asked members via its fortnightly email what they wanted , and the answer was clear : a Zoom event over two days , with a focus on presentations over workshops .
‘ We were very conscious that a whole day on Zoom is really taxing ,’ says Gill , ‘ so we spread the event over two days , but made them short days , just 9.45am to 2pm with half-hour breaks between the three sessions .’
The event was a huge success . While a typical in-person conference attracts 85 to 100 members , the online version attracted far more of the nearly 300-strong membership . The event was made free , although a small number of nonmembers paid £ 50 to attend .
The success was despite a dress rehearsal the week before the conference that Gill describes as ‘ a car crash ’, but which helped find problems early that meant that on the day the event went smoothly . Gill advises other organisers to ‘ make sure you ’ re familiar with the technology on the day and that everyone knows their roles .’
‘ If you ’ re an attendee , familiarise yourself with the technology beforehand , and be there early rather than trying to get in at the last minute ,’ she says . ‘ Use the chat and Q & A functions , but try and pace yourself – being on Zoom all day can be really tiring .’
If the event is repeated online , the organisers hope to better replicate networking opportunities with breakout rooms . ‘ People attend conferences for two reasons ,’ says Gill , ‘ the content , but also to see old friends and speak with new people about areas of common interest . It would be good to offer more of that .’
The organisers of RCOTSS – People with Learning Disabilities ’ annual conference got to have a trial run online before their big annual event , as they had to quickly take a sold-out Clinical Forum for Complex Behaviours event online in the spring . The event went ahead via Blackboard , capped at 60 attendees to make it manageable .
That first event meant the organisers learnt some valuable lessons by the time of their annual conference . ‘ I ’ ve been to a few online events and you really have to think about how much screen time people have , to make sure people get away from their computers ,’ says the specialist section chair Lindsey Mosley . ‘ You might move around between tables or around a hall at an event in person , but we learnt we had to be very on time with breaks as you can ’ t easily tell if people have lost focus .
‘ Having a really good chat functionality is also essential , as well as a Q & A functionality alongside it . And that means you need a few people to help you , as you need someone to run the event and let people in , and another person reading the chat through .’
Over 100 people attended , representing roughly two thirds of the membership and a higher number than in-person events .
The event took place on Zoom : while not everyone can use it at work because of organisational security concerns , it remains the most readily-accessible platform . However , Zoom does pose some tricky questions on what sort of licences to get . While the event had a pro licence with a webinar add-on so they could include over 100 people , the event didn ’ t have breakout rooms , meaning less interaction — something the organisers plan to rectify for this September ’ s online annual conference . September ’ s event will also move back to a twoday format of a study day and conference day , compared to 2020 ’ s one-day event .
‘ It takes longer to set things up than you think ,’ says Lindsey . ‘ If you ’ re holding online events then make sure you have a couple of people to help , allocate roles so you know who is doing what and when , and have a couple of test runs to make sure you know your platform really well .
‘ If you ’ re an attendee , use the chat to really engage with others . And make sure you ’ ve got a really comfy chair for the day .’
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10 OTnews January 2021