Logistics:Venue Checklist

The basics

Ideally, a suitable 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...

Open, simple meeting spaces

• A large, open main meeting space with capacity to seat all participants in a circle, oval or square arrangement of chairs in the main meeting area
  • A simple question to ask the venue is "how many chairs fit side-by-side on the long and shorter sides of the main room?"
  • 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.
  • Permission for organizers and participants to move chairs around during the event
  • Easily movable chairs: lightweight and not inter-connected.
  • 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
• Ideally 1 breakout space/room per 10-12 participants
  • Breakout rooms are easy to get to from the plenary space (on the same floor, in the same building)

Basic collaboration infrastructure

• Empty/open walls, ideally with permission to use post-it notes on the walls.
• Easels and flip-charts at non-usurious rates.
• Both wall-mounted and movable whiteboards and pinboards can be useful but are not required
  • Fabric-based pinboards are not useful

Internet and audio basics

• Wireless internet. See Wireless Best Practices
• Multiple cordless microphones

Accessible and inclusive design

• Accessibility: are all meeting spaces fully accessible, in particular for mobility- and vision-impaired participants?
• Gender-flexible rest rooms: do they have gender-neutral/gender-inclusive/single occupant restrooms?

Flexible dining options

• Ideally meals happen in a different location than the main meeting room
• Meals should not require setup/take-down in the main room or in other critical meeting spaces
• Buffet-style or boxed serving is preferred over plated/seated serving
• For buffet-style, ability for participants to form multiple queues (e.g. on both sides of serving tables) is a big difference maker

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

• A floor plan that shows what space we have to work with, ideally with
• A link to images of the event space
• Confirm hours of access
  • Verify that organizers can be inside at least 1 hour (ideally 2 hours) before event start time and stay at least 1 hour after event end time
• Information about access to meeting space and building security
  • Do participants have to sign in or pass through any security to enter?
    • Is any biometric data collected (including pictures)?
  • Is it easy to go outside for a smoke or fresh air?
  • Are there other access protocol considerations?
• Any other venue guidelines, policies or constraints to be aware of

Other considerations

Costs

• What is the base cost for the venue?
  • 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/EU cities, 10-20 USD or EUR/person/day is a good price for rental, and we've gone as high as $40 USD or EUR/person/day.
  • Are there taxes or other local usage fees not included in the base cost?
• What kind of deposit is required to secure the space?
  • Are there any situations in which some or all of the deposit would not be returned after the event?
• Are there any fees for internet access?
• Are there any other potential costs we should be modeling or anticipating?
• Are any discounts provided to nonprofit/NGO organizations?
• What forms of payment are accepted?
• Can supplies be shipped to the venue in advance?
  • If so, is there any charge for storage or handling?

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?
• Are there any prohibitions on organizers bringing additional foodstuffs (snacks, candy, alternative beverages, etc)

Policies

• 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?

Transit

• Public transit: how reachable is the venue
• Parking: Is there parking for anyone who drives, and if so, what is the per-vehicle cost?
• Bike parking/storage: is there space for bicycles to be parked and locked?

Participant experience

• Does the space have a “good vibe”?
  • Does it feel like a warm and inviting space to meet?
  • Natural light is always a plus
  • Any potential triggers with the type of space (religious, political, governmental affiliation)?
  • Depending on the season, how does heating or air conditioning work? Can we easily adjust during the meeting?
• Any potential usage conflicts within the space?
  • If other people/orgs will be using the same or adjoining space, consider:
    • Can meeting conversations be overheard by non-participants?
    • Potential noise issues from adjacent meetings (applause, amplified audio, etc)
    • Resource conflicts (e.g. limited bathrooms, overloaded internet connection, or overtaxed service delivery for the facility)
• Noise issues: Another question we have learned the hard way to ask, even though the venue is not highly like to know the answer very far in advance:
  • "Is there any construction or any other noisy activities (tree trimming, etc.) scheduled for the event days?"
  • This would mainly be to find out if e.g. a new big building is going up nearby or loud trains or planes pass by outside.
  • 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.?