Logistics:Venue Checklist

Ideally, the meeting space offers both a large room where the group can meet as a whole, as well as "break-out" spaces, where smaller sets of participants can have discussions and collaborate.

In particular, an optimal venue for a participatory event has:

• Capacity to seat all participants in a circle, oval or square arrangement of chairs in the main meeting area
  • An ideal main meeting room can support a circle, oval or square for twice the number of anticipated participants. This insures that multiple breakout conversations can be held simultaneously in the main meeting space.
• Easily movable chairs: lightweight and not inter-connected.
• Ideally 1 breakout space/room per 10-12 participants
• Empty/open walls, ideally with permission to use post-it notes on the walls.
• No fixed-in-place furniture; collaborative events go better when participants face each other without any furniture between them
• No columns in the main meeting area that block views across the room
• Wireless internet. See Wireless Best Practices
• Multiple cordless microphones
• Easels and flip-charts at non-usurious rates. Some types of whiteboards are also good.
• Natural light is always a plus
• Gender-flexible rest rooms: do they have gender-neutral/gender-inclusive/single occupant restrooms?
• Accessibility: are all meeting spaces fully accessible, in particular for mobility- and vision-impaired participants?

The following are not needed:

• Projectors, screens or any other "presentation" technology
• A stage of speaker platform
• Any setup or arrangement for "panels"

Things to obtain for venue comparison include:

• A floor plan that shows what space we have to work with, ideally with
• A link to images of the event space
• Information about building security: do folks have to sign in to enter, is it easy to go outside for a smoke or fresh air, are there other protocol issues?
• Any other venue guidelines, policies or constraints to be aware of
• Confirm hours of access, and verify that you can be inside at least 1 hour (ideally 2 hours) before event start time and stay up to 1 hour after event closing time

Other considerations include:

• Catering: Can you bring in your own food/catering, or are you obligated to use the facility's caterers? Is there a fee for using non-approved caterers?
• Cost: If you're lucky, you can find a free or cheap facility, but beware, as you often get what you pay for.
  • In most US cities, $20/person/day is a good price for rental, and we've gone as high as $40/person/day.
• Can supplies be shipped to the venue in advance?
  • If so, is there any charge for storage or handling?

• Policies on cancellation and reschedule: if you have to move your event dates or cancel outright, what happens with venue, including deposits, any penalities, and other responsibilities
• Insurance requirements: What does the venue require in terms of insurance coverage, can they provide it, and what does it cost?

• Ask about any potential conflicts within the space. If other people/orgs will be using space and overhearing proceedings, make sure to explore potential noise and resource conflicts (e.g. limited bathrooms or a slow internet connection for the facility)
• Noise issues: Another one we have learned the hard way to ask even though the venue is not highly like to know the answer this far in advance: "Is there any construction or other noisy activities (tree trimming, etc.) scheduled for the event days?" This would mainly be useful to find out if a new big building is going up nearby. This has wrecked events in the past.
• Are there security cameras in the space? If so, where and how is the data stored? How long is it kept, etc.?