Risk Mitigation

Based on each individual risk identified during the risk assessment - a strategy is needed to prepare for and lessen the effects of risks if they occur. It is OK to say that you will not take any action for an identified risk, as long as you have taken it into account and assessed. Below are some mitigating strategies for risks identified for CW and CC events.

  • The main stakeholder
    • Make sure that the main stakeholder’s and event’s goals are clear and aligned, and get a sign-off for the event plan from the main stakeholder.
    • Think about the worst case scenario, consult with the legal and communication teams how such incidents could be handled, have a security policy in place that is clearly communicated with everyone.
    • Make sure that the budget is carefully monitored throughout the event planning and implementation stages.
  • Sponsors
    • Put sponsorship committee into place to look for sponsors and focus on those that share your values.
    • Have a range of sponsorship opportunities and levels and clearly communicate them to potential sponsors.
    • Make sure it is clear what the sponsorship money can be used for, e.g. whether it is intended for a specific purpose, such as travel grants, dinner sponsorship, coffee break sponsorship, etc. and that it is used as agreed.
  • Speakers
    • Make sure that the speaker’s needs are discussed ahead of the event and state clearly what is possible and what is not.
    • Communicate Code of Conduct clearly before and at the event.
    • Have back-up speakers in mind and on stand-by if possible.
    • Have time-keeper or session chair signal the time to the speaker.
  • Attendees
    • Define ticket prices based on the expected number of participants and make sure the ticket revenue can cover the basic costs of venue and catering.
    • Offer discounted tickets for certain categories, e.g. students or self-funded participants.
    • Block registrations after certain number is reached to avoid too many attendees you cannot handle or talk to the venue about increasing capacity.
    • Communicate Code of Conduct clearly before and at the event to set the expectations.
  • Session chairs
    • Have organising committee members as back up to step in if session chairs do not show up.
    • Make sure that chairing rules are communicated ahead of the event, talk to your chairs in person if possible before the session and use your organising committee members as back up.
  • Organising committee members
    • Define different roles and let people choose what they want to do, communicate clearly what is expected from each role.
    • Devise a duties roster for the event where everyone is assigned tasks and communicate it ahead of the event.
    • Thank your organising committee members in person, make sure they are made known to the audience and feel appreciated; send them ‘a ‘thank you’ note after the event and consider a small gift if possible.
  • Volunteers/helpers at the event
    • Plan ahead and recruit more local people if needed.
    • Communicate expectations clearly and make a duty rota for the event to make sure everyone knows what they are doing.
    • If budget allows, have special t-shirts for the helpers; thank them in person, make sure they are made known to the audience and feel appreciated; send them ‘a ‘thank you’ note after the event.
  • Budget
    • Go for a cheaper venue (get at least 3 quotes); only pay for absolutely necessary things (rooms and catering) and cut all extra and non-essential costs (they can be added if you attract sponsorship).
    • Look for more sponsorship.
    • Evaluate ticket prices (the registration revenue should roughly cover venue and catering costs).
    • Have a contingency fund.
    • Overspending should be avoided by careful budgeting before the event and keeping an eye on all costs and with contingency fund.
  • Event agenda
    • Communicate with the organising committee ahead of the event to make sure that the agenda satisfies your criteria and all potential opportunities are explored.
    • Have back-up speakers ready to step in at a short notice if possible.
    • Make alternative plans for activities that depend on weather (e.g. schedule a second indoor location for group photo).
    • If post-event feedback highlights something that was missed, make note of this information as “lessons learned” to pass them on the future events organisers (or future self).
  • Venue
    • Look at several venues, see if dates can be changed, put insurance in place for venue cancellation.
    • Visit venue ahead of booking and check accessibility, AV equipment, availability of technical support, fire alarm schedule.
  • Catering
    • Look at several caterers and make sure there are alternatives; put insurance in place for cancellations.
    • Ahead of the event, communicate clearly to the caterers attendees’ dietary requirements.
    • Early on you can discuss potential/expected dietary requirements and check if the caterers can fulfill them all (e.g. gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher).
    • Request all food to be labelled.
    • To avoid cases where not enough food is available, discuss portion sizes and quantities with the caterers ahead of the event and consider ordering 10% more or increase quantities for the following day.
  • Communication
    • Assess and prioritise stakeholders (based on their power and interest in your event) to know how to communicate with each of them.
    • Make communication and publicity plans and choose what communications channels you are going to use based on your audience (e.g. news items, emails, blogs, twitter, slack, etc.).
    • Define privacy policy for handling people’s sensitive data and stick to it for any communication with people who registered to attend your event.
    • Communicate the agenda clearly on various channels and in a timely manner.
    • Assign roles to organising committee for communication on different issues during the event (Code of Conduct committee, first point of contact, etc.) and make those roles clear to participants before and at the event.
    • Discuss placing signage with venue.
    • Communicate any follow-ups with participants according to your privacy policy.
  • Policies, guidelines and documentation
    • Document the processes, policies and guidelines and make notes of meeting minutes.
    • Make sure everyone knows where documentation is kept and has the correct access rights.
    • If any materials are made available ahead of the event, e.g. speakers’ presentations, slides, abstracts and talks, make sure they are communicated to the audience in a timely manner.
    • Use cloud infrastructures for storing documents (such as Google docs, GitHub), where document history is preserved and documents are backed up automatically.

An example detailed risk mitigation plan for each identified risk from the Risk Assessment section is available online.