#SPANC23 Bidding Guide

National Conference Bidding Guide #SPANC23

SPA National Conference Bidding Guide 2022-23 The Student Publication CIO is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 1187383)

Welcome Hello, and thank you for your interest in hosting the SPA National Conference (SPANC) in 2023.

SPANC is one of the highlights of the student media year, and we know that #SPANC23 will be no exception. Last year saw around 30 individual talks and workshops over two days, with nearly 150 students from across the UK and Republic of Ireland joining us in Sheffield.

Of course, as well as talks and workshops with amazing guests, #SPANC23 will be home to the 2023 SPA Awards, celebrating the work of our student publications over the previous year.

This guide should help you create a great bid to host #SPANC23 next Easter. Hosting SPANC is a serious commitment, and you’ll need to make sure your publication(s) and university/students’ union have the resources, facilities and commitment to take that responsibility on.

We’ve tried to include as much information as we can in this guide, but if you have any questions at all please get in touch with Matt on events@spajournalism.com - we are here to support any bid to be the best it can be.

This document might seem daunting at first, but we have tried to provide as much detail as we can to help you put together the best bid possible. We have also provided examples of successful bids from previous years, so please take a look at these on our Issuu page so you have a greater idea of what we’re looking for, and maybe to get some inspiration for your own bid.

While there are some things we ask for from every proposal, we’d encourage you to be creative. If you’ve got new ideas for how to make #SPANC23 the best ever, we want to know about them!

The SPA Executive Committee 2022/23

The Bid The way to submit your main proposal to host #SPANC23 is through a PDF document. This document must include everything about your plans, and by the stage of submission should be a step-by-step plan of how your conference would happen, providing enough information that the SPA team can imagine what your conference will look like in detail. Of course, plenty can (and will) change between now and next Easter, so we will always be flexible as we work towards the event.

You may also include any additional documents and media that you think will help us to understand your proposal. Whether in your main bid document or separately, you must include an indication from your students’ union and/or university that they are willing to support your hosting of the conference.

All SPA members are welcome to apply to host #SPANC23, regardless of location, age, or previous involvement. You are also welcome to submit a joint bid alongside other member publications.

All proposals must be submitted by 23:59 on Friday 2 September 2022 to events@spajournalism.com.

Once this deadline has passed, we will scrutinise each bid, and may send follow-up questions.

The SPA’s elected Executive Officers will select a host within two months of the bid deadline.

Please do not discuss your bid with anybody outside of your host publication(s), relevant third parties (e.g. hotels, suppliers, and your university or students’ union), and the SPA.

About You This section is all about helping us to get to know more about your publication. It is also a chance to succinctly explain why you would like to host #SPANC23.

Here are some ideas of what you could include: � Tell us more about your publication(s) and its history. What type of publication(s) are you? � How big is your team and how do you envisage they would work with the SPA Exec, Trustees and other volunteers to deliver the conference? � What would hosting this conference mean for you and your university? � How will your university or students’ union support the conference organisation process? � Does your publication, its members or university/students’ union have any relevant experience of organising events on this scale? � How would your publication(s) make this a unique or memorable SPANC?

Location and Travel The location of your conference will have a significant impact on the ways that students travel to the conference, and the additional costs they may have. It can also be a factor in booking speakers and guests.

SPA members will be travelling from everywhere from the very top of Scotland to the English South Coast, as well as from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Please provide a map with all key locations for your conference.

This includes: � � � � � � � �

Arrival location Bus stops/stations Train station Car parks Venues for talks Friday night social event venue Awards venue Hotel(s)

If it would be useful, this information can be provided in two separate maps, one with a wider overview detailing hotels and transport arrival locations, and another detailing points of interest within your university or campus.

You should also detail travel routes between transport and the campus, as well as the university campus and hotels. Distance between accommodation and other facilities will be a major consideration for us in judging any bid.

You should also detail travel information from major points across the UK and Republic of Ireland. This should describe expected travel costs and times across trains, coach, air, and car travel. To make comparison easier, train times should be calculated as a standard class advance single, 12 weeks before departure.

Please also include details of parking arrangements. Is there parking available for cars and minibuses? Would this be secure

overnight? What charges would be involved?

If events are spread out through the city, please detail how you would propose helping students to get around, and the costs this could involve.

Facilities The facilities available for the conference and awards will form the main part of this bid. We need to have access to a range of rooms and other facilities across the #SPANC23 weekend that are accessible, high quality and within budget.

Daytime facilities Keynote room - this must be a room with capacity to fit at least 150 students, for keynotes and our AGM when we require all delegates to be able to gather in one room.

Three talk/workshop rooms - these rooms should have a capacity of around 70 for training, workshops and talks each day Careers’ fair/swap shop - this should be a large open space with space for around 10 tables Bag drop - secure space for delegates to leave bags on the final day of #SPANC23 Green room - a private area for speakers and guests away from the public conference areas Meal area - where can we provide meals during the Saturday and Sunday of the conference Here are some questions to consider: � Where are your rooms in relation to each other? Remember, the vast majority of delegates will not be familiar with your campus or city � Is there a cost to book these rooms? You must include any costs in your overall budget � Are all your facilities accessible? #SPANC23 is an inclusive event that must cater to all student publication members � Do your session rooms include the correct AV equipment, as well as people to operate this equipment? Rooms must include

a projector/screen, microphones (at least three), and speakers. � We would ideally like to have video of some speaker sessions.

What options, including student television, are available to provide this? What cost would this involve?

Daytime facilities Night 1 social space - in 2022 around 80-90 delegates attended the first night of SPANC. What spaces are available at your university to provide an entertaining event for the first night of #SPANC23?

SPA Awards - any bid should provide a professional standard venue for the Awards. This should include a stage setup, sound and lighting setup and projection screen(s), with the capacity to hold at least 180 people. The SPA Awards should be livestreamed on the SPA’s online channels.

Here are some questions to consider: � What entertainment can you provide for the evening events? � Do you have any student groups that can operate (or even provide) AV equipment for the awards? � What cost would the hiring and operating of AV equipment have from your university or SU? � What additional nighttime venues are located nearby?

Delegates may want to continue their night after the social or SPA Awards. � Could your student television station, or students at your university, provide a livestream of the event? If yes, what cost (if any) would be included? If not, what other options for live video are available?

Catering The way to a SPANC delegate’s heart is through their stomach!

Look into different catering options to find cost-effective proposals.

Delegates must be provided with lunch on the Saturday and Sunday of SPANC and dinner on Saturday, and we recommend (but do not require) that they are provided with dinner on the Friday.

Delegates with accommodated tickets should be provided with breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

Catering on Saturday night normally takes the form of a formal three-course meal as part of the SPA Awards. While we would prefer for a formal meal to be part of the awards evening, you can consider other options for that meal if, for example, the best venue for the awards event is not one where you can provide food.

Please include menus (or, if these are not available, sample menus) for each of the meals you will provide.

Here are some questions to consider: � Will catering be provided on site? If not, how will we get delegates to meals, and what could this cost? � Can breakfast be served in hotels, or is it cheaper to provide this separately? � How will you cater to people with various dietary needs? � What options are available at different price levels? Feel free to provide different options for us to consider

Accommodation This will likely be the largest cost in your proposal, but there are normally lots of different accommodation types available at different price points. Make sure to shop around for the best deal.

Here are some things to consider: � Are there halls of residence that could be used during the Easter break? � Is there a hotel nearby that could house all delegates? Would we split delegates between different hotels? � What are the facilities like at each proposed hotel? Are they accessible? � Would delegates need to share rooms? � What would the cost be per delegate? � Is a deposit required to secure the booking? If yes, how much?

(Please consider the cancellation policies of different hotels when searching) � How close is the accommodation to your venues? If it’s more than a short walk away, how will delegates get around?

Budget Finances are a major part of what we will consider when deciding which bids to move forward with. We have to stick to a strict budget to protect the SPA and the event.

Everything contained within your bid should be fully costed. Even if an element is unlikely to cost anything, please note that it is expected to be free within your finances section. Please avoid any hidden costs or fees.

We need you to carefully add up all the costs, and ideally to share an Excel/Google Sheets spreadsheet with financial details.

These costs could include, but are absolutely not limited to: � � � � � � � � � �

Room hire AV and other equipment hire Production costs Video provision costs Decor for the SPA Awards Catering Accommodation Entertainment costs Transport Expenses for speakers

Please include anything at all that costs (or could cost) anything in this section.

Be careful when stating costs, and make sure that you find out how long quotes are valid for. Also, make sure to note any payment terms, as well as deposit amounts and dates.

Make sure to include all prices as quoted to you. If you want to do additional calculations (such as per-person costs) that’s fine, but we still require the raw figures, and will be checking calculations as we go.

Also, remember that VAT is an important part of pricing. Please can you provide figures both with and without VAT. In all cases,

please specify which figures were provided to you in quotes, and which you’ve calculated yourself (whether that is adding or subtracting VAT).

In this section, please also provide details of any additional funding you can secure, such as grants from your university or students’ union. Please let us know how much could be applied for, the process for applying, and the likelihood of receiving this funding, if you have not secured it already.

Organisation Each year, SPANC relies on the work of a strong team, and #SPANC23 will be no different.

In this section, please set out how you will pull together your team to oversee the hosting of SPANC. You could include members of the committees of your publication(s), students’ union officers or staff members, university staff, or anyone else that will be part of delivering #SPANC23. It’s ok if you don’t have a full list of names at this stage, but we are looking to see that there will be a structured team that we can work with in the lead up to the event.

You must identify one person as your proposed National Conference Host Officer. This person will be the primary point of contact between your host team and the SPA, and will become a Project Officer within the SPA. We will require regular meetings between the host team and SPA team, which will begin once a bid has been chosen. These will become increasingly regular as we approach SPANC. We also regularly plan outside of meetings, so members of the host team must be easily contactable. Members of the host team will work with us in a number of logistical areas, such as liaising with suppliers.

We will provide a limited number of free tickets to #SPANC23 to members of the host team.

Other Information What makes your bid stand out? A host team that can provide speakers and connections is a positive, so make sure to highlight this. The same applies to sponsorship, as the SPA is always looking for alternative sources of funding to make sure the event is as affordable as possible for our members.

Remember, anything you can provide to #SPANC23, no matter how small, should be included in your bid! If there’s anything that doesn’t fit elsewhere, make sure to include it in this section.

Dates SPANC is usually held in late March or April, avoiding the Easter weekend. It’s held over two nights, starting on Friday evening and ending on Sunday afternoon.

You may wish to consider university term dates (it may be helpful to research the term dates of other universities) as well as the dates of other events in considering the best times to host this event.

You should ensure that venues are available during your selected dates, as well as the availability of amenities and transport.

Having considered a range of university Easter periods and the dates of other student media events, the SPA’s preferred dates for SPANC23 are Friday 31 March - Sunday 2 April. We will consider other dates following this during the Easter break.

Endorsements Please attach, along with your bid, confirmation from your university/students’ union that they are happy to assist with the hosting of the event. This could include Sabbatical officers, university staff, senior management, or even any local representatives (one previous host publication even had an endorsement from their MP!). Please include, in full, copies of any quotes referenced in your bid.

Thank you for your interest in hosting #SPANC23. Without publications like yours, this event wouldn’t be possible.

Please contact events@spajournalism.com with any questions about your bid.

We look forward to seeing your bid, and good luck!

For more information, please email events@spajournalism.com

The Student Publication Association CIO is a charity registered in England and Wales (No. 1187383)