Abstract
The organisation of a congress is a complex event. This article gives an overview of the topics that should be addressed when developing a congress programme. They include the needs assessment; the identification and attribution of different tasks; the aim of the congress programme; the definition of the characteristics and outcome; the target audience; the format; and the programme development. In addition, the challenges of the persons involved in the congress programme development are addressed.
Keywords::
Introduction
Several organisations within the medical field are organising congresses as part of their continuing medical education (CME) programmes. The aim of these programmes is to improve the quality of patient care, set standards of clinical competence for practice and encourage the continuing scholarship required for professional excellence over a lifetime of serviceCitation1
The organiser of a congress has to deal with several aspects, and this article addresses some of them.
Definitions
Definitions used in relation to the topic are given here.
A congress is defined as a formal meeting or assembly for the discussion, education or promotion of some matter of common interest.Citation2
A programme is the listing of the order of events and other pertinent information for a (public) presentation.Citation2 There are different types of programmes within a congress.
The educational programme covers the state-of-the-art information in the field of interest, standard approaches within this field and evidence- or consensus-based guideline sessions.
The scientific programme focuses on new information, new concepts, results of trials or experiments, or hypothesis generating data. This information is not yet ready to be applied in daily clinical practice until it is confirmed by studies that are accepted to change experimental or clinical practice (e.g. randomised trials).
The organiser of a congress is a person(s) or organisation who initiates the congress. The responsible organising body can be an organisation such as a hospital or hospital department, a university or a professional (scientific) group, a private congress organiser such as CME provider, a group of individuals or an individual.
Organising a congressCitation3
Evaluating the need for a congress
Before initiating the development of a congress, the organiser should perform a needs assessment. A needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or “gaps” between current conditions and desired conditions or “wants”. The discrepancy between the current condition and wanted condition should be measured to appropriately identify the needCitation4.
The organiser should evaluate the specific need among the target audience. The need may vary dependent on the stage of the knowledge on a specific topic. If the topic is new, there is a need to introduce new information and provide methods to improve skills to implement the new findings into daily clinical practice (e.g. new drug, new treatment technique).
If the knowledge on a specific treatment is well established but implementation is lacking, there may be a need to change attitudes.
A needs assessment can be based on inferred needs derived from new methods of diagnosis or treatment, availability of new medication(s) or indication(s), development of new technology, input from experts regarding advances in medical knowledge; acquisition of new facilities or equipment, or legislative, regulatory, or organisational changes affecting patient care; verbalised needs and interests derived from requests submitted on participants’ activity evaluation forms, formal surveys of potential participants (mail and internet-based), informal comments, patient problem inventories compiled by potential participants or consensus of faculty members within a department or service area; or proven needs based on objective external data sources such as epidemiological data, quality assurance/audit data, morbidity, mortality or treatment statistics, professional society requirements, journal articles or literature citations or news media.Citation5
Defining and attributing responsibilities and tasks
The practical organisation of a congress is composed of different steps, and different responsibilities should be defined and attributed.
The organiser of the congress defines the responsibilities and the tasks of the different involved parties.
A practical organising committee or congress staff has to be in place to deal with the practical aspects (e.g. venue, logistics), financial aspects (e.g. sponsors) and the secretarial tasks (e.g. production educational material, publicity, organisation meetings of different committees).
The scientific or educational committee should be given the responsibility to prepare and organise the scientific or education programme, respectively.
The organiser attributes the responsibility for the congress programme and appoints a Scientific Chair and a Steering Committee. The Congress Chair should be a (recognised) expert in the field of interest, an expert in organisation, in leading committees, and in communication. A Steering Committee member should have the same characteristics.
Defining the aim of a congress programme
Before starting to organise a congress programme, it is necessary that the aim of the programme is defined based on the needs assessment.
The aim can be defined according to the “7 level pyramid” of Moore et al. This pyramid ranges from level 1. participation; 2. satisfaction; 3. learning (3A = declarative knowledge; 3B = procedural knowledge); 4. competence; 5. performance; 6. patient health and 7. community health. Depending on the aim of the programme, outcome measures of the event should be adapted.Citation6
Most scientific programmes are aimed at enhancing and strengthening research, diffusion of new information in the field of interest, and proposals of new hypotheses around certain topics of interest (level 1–3). They also provide a podium to (young) researchers to present their data, promote interaction among delegates and initiate potential areas of future cooperation.
Educational programmes are aimed at improving state-of-the art knowledge and skill that are implemented by the use of guidelines (level 3–7).
Defining the characteristics and outcome of a congress programme
The characteristics and the outcome of the programme should be clearly defined. General characteristics include the topics to be covered, the focus of the programme on preclinical or clinical research, coverage of only theoretical aspects and also practice sessions.
The characteristics of the data that will be presented (e.g. research questions/early clinical results, mature clinical data) should also be defined, and this is an important issue in relation to abstract submission.
The educational outcome of the congress programme should be defined in advance such as a consensus statement, an article or a report on the topics covered or the development of educational material (e.g. educational book, webcast).
Defining the target audience
The target audience for the scientific programme should be defined in advance.
A target audience can be constituted by local, regional, national, European delegates or cover the whole world.
The number of delegates should be determined, and this should be in relation to the possibilities of the venue. It should be determined if the scientific programme is open to all researchers or limited to a group that is invited, and the type of limitations that will be used if the number of participants is exceeding the possibilities of the venue should be discussed (e.g. competitive subscriptions).
The programme should be adapted to the target audience. The programme can focus on preclinical versus clinical researchers, researchers versus clinicians or novice versus experienced participants
Defining the format of the congress programme
The format of the congress programme should be defined in advance. The format can be constituted of different kinds of lectures such as plenary sessions; presidential, educational or scientific symposia; keynote lectures or expert sessions. A more interactive approach can be used in oral abstract sessions, poster discussion sessions and general poster sessions.
Although lectures are a common way of transmitting information, interactive sessions with the audience are more stimulating and facilitate participation by the delegates.
Other formats are constantly being developed to improve the interactions with the delegates such as workshops, demonstrations or plays.
Constructing the programme
Before starting the construction of a congress programme, strict guidelines for communication about the programme should be known to all participants of the Steering Committee and/or Faculties. The definitive version of the programme and the list of speakers should only be distributed by the organising secretariat to prevent conflicts.
Since most of the congresses cover a large field of interest, the framework of the different sessions (tracks) should be delegated to a faculty of experts in the specific field.
The faculty members should be involved in the suggestions of titles of the different topics, the speakers and whether an abstract should be submitted for selection.
The proposals made by the different faculties are evaluated by the Congress Chair and Steering Committee in order to avoid duplications and overlapping topics, identify topics that are not covered and to constitute the list of speakers. They have also the possibility to select abstracts for special symposia.
During the construction of the programme, one should limit the number of speakers since many of them will exceed the specified time and questions and discussions are as important as the presentation. Also, extra time should be scheduled for the first presentations in the morning and after lunch since at those moments delegates are slower in getting seated.
Challenges for the persons involved in a congress programme
All members of the organisation of the congress programme are experts that encounter time constraints. They have to incorporate the organisation of the programme within their personal life and professional activity. Beside these challenges, specific problems are associated with specific functions.
Challenges of the Congress Chair
The challenges of the Congress Chair are the interactions with the organiser and with the members of the Steering Committee and the Faculty.
The Congress Chair may come into conflict with the organiser in relation to the selection of topics and speakers. Also there may be a conflict of interest between Congress Chair and organiser. To avoid these kinds of conflicts, a written document with the responsibilities and tasks should be made and signed before start of the organisation of the congress.
The Congress Chair has also to deal with the Steering Committee and Faculty members in relation to controversial topics, speakers and deadlines. Therefore, he/she should be able to communicate in a positive but firm way with his/her colleagues.
The Congress Chair should confirm the Steering Committee/Faculty members and speakers as soon as possible after appointment by the organiser and should interact with the organisational team and define the frequency of committee meetings, the amount of work to be accomplished at each meeting, oversee and solve problems with agendas, formats and venue possibilities, production of educational material and the proposed timeline.
The “Code of Content” of the Congress Chair should be to criticise only ideas or behaviours and not people, respect each person, keep an open mind, actively participate in the process and discussion but keep focused on the subject, listen constructively, and start and end on time.
In addition, the Congress Chair should ensure that minutes of the meetings are taken by a person other than him/herself and is responsible for designating a secretary for all working group sessions, provide members copies of meeting minutes and clarify the progress and agreement if necessary.
Steering Committee member/Faculty member
A Steering Committee or Faculty member should be aware of his/her conflicts of interest and state this at the start of the term of service. The task of a member is interacting with the Congress Chair in order to obtain the best programme in relation to topics and speakers. Hereby he/she should take the suggestions of other Steering Committee or Faculty members into consideration. Overlapping topics and speakers should thereby be avoided.
The member should be careful about interaction with speakers, colleagues and friends around the topic of the programme since the final decision about who is appointed lies with the Congress Chair. If a member is already inviting people, this may lead to difficult situations for him and all persons involved. Therefore, each communication around programme and speakers should be done by the Organising Secretariat.
It is of utmost importance that deadlines are respected in order to develop a flawless congress programme and congress. Members of the Steering Committee or Faculty should only make a commitment if they are certain that they can deliver within the deadlines. This commitment should be to all tasks such as provision of topics, speakers or abstract evaluation deadlines.
Challenges for the Session Chair(s)
Once the programme is constructed and the sessions are identified, Session Chair(s) should be appointed.
It is helpful if those persons designated as Session Chair(s) have experience chairing sessions. They should also be experienced in the topic that is covered by the session and with the format of the session.
The Session Chair(s) should be at the meeting place at least a half hour before the start of the session to check the practical aspects related to the session: presence of speaker, slide presentation, other technicalities (e.g. presence of pointer, water on the tables for speaker and Session Chair(s), correct signs at the door). They should start and end the session on time and should not present their own opinions in relation to the topic, since they are seen as neutral moderators. They should be familiar with the affiliation of the speaker(s) and act in an open way with the speakers. They should be able to indicate to the speakers when their time for lecturing has ended.
The Session Chair(s) should introduce the topic and the speaker to the audience and place the new findings into perspective. They should enable the speaker to deliver his/her lecture undisturbed (e.g. silencing cell phones, controlling interfering audiences).
After the lecture, Session Chair(s) should stimulate discussion but keep the focus. If there are no questions from the audience, the Session Chair(s) have to ask a question themselves. After the session they should be able to give a summary of the session.
The Session Chair(s) should be aware of potential tasks such as some administrative work, reviewing lectures (in advance), giving a summary (e.g. highlight session) or a written report that may be required.
Challenges for the speaker(s)
Speakers should before starting the lecture state their conflict(s) of interest. They should be expert in relation to the topic with enough experience in the field of the session. They should be aware of the time constraints and normally one slide per minute is the limitation in relation to lecturing time attributed. Slides should not be crowded and normally seven lines are the limit to ensure visibility by the audience.
Speakers should be at the meeting place at least 30 minutes before the start of the lecture and introduce themselves to the Session Chair(s), check the slide presentation, and other technicalities.
Speakers should be able to interact with the audience and stimulate participation and questions by the audience. They should be able to produce the requested deliverables (e.g. abstract, full paper, slides) within the set timeframe.
Speakers should acknowledge the organiser for the invitation and the Session Chair(s) and audience for their attention and participation.
Practical organisation of a congress
Implementation of the programme
After the construction of the programme and sessions comes the implementation phase. Invitations should be sent to the speakers and Session Chair(s) by the Organising Secretariat. All further communication should be by the secretariat.
The invitation for the speaker should clearly state the topic to be covered, the time attributed, other topics of the session to avoid overlapping, the deliverables requested (e.g. abstract, paper, slides) and the deadline for the deliverables. The letter also should contain a declaration in relation to conflict of interest and the permission for use of the deliverables after the congress (e.g. posting on website, journal).
The invitation for the Session Chair(s) should state the topic of the session, the speakers and their respective topics and the timeframe. The Session Chair(s) should receive the abstracts and the slides beforehand to evaluate the content in relation to the sessions and look for overlapping topics. If it is necessary for the Chair(s) to review the session, this should be clearly stated in the invitation letter. The letter should also contain a declaration in relation to conflict of interest.
The Organising Secretariat should also be responsible for the publicity of the congress. To this aim, specific brochures or web-based publicity can be produced. It is important that the secretariat has a list of target audiences to address in relation to the topic of the congress.
The secretariat must also schedule and monitor the agreed timelines. To this end, it should plan phone conferences with the involved parties in order to facilitate the process.
The secretariat is also responsible for organising the call for abstracts, its procedures in relation to deadlines, the possibility of late-breaking abstracts and the reviewing process. For all these events, disclosure authorisation for the involved parties should be anticipated.
Evaluation of the programme
There should be a structure/body to ensure the quality control of the Congress Programme. This structure/body should evaluate the meeting and its products. To this end, evaluation instruments should be incorporated from the start of the organisation of the congress. Evaluation can be asked from participants of the meeting, the Congress Chair, the Steering Committee members or the organiser.
At the end of the congress, a summary report of evaluation should be provided to the organiser, the Congress Chair and the Steering Committee members.
Lessons learned during the congress should be kept by the secretariat for future events.
Final phase
After the congress, the Congress Chair and organiser should thank all involved persons within 2–4 weeks after the event with the help of the Organising Secretariat. This can be done with letters and/or certificates of appreciation. This is also the moment to ask for feedback and for participation in future events. The deliverables of the scientific sessions should be put in the public domain as soon as possible.
Conclusion
The organisation of a Congress Programme is a group effort and every partner in the process is of importance. Clear communication from the start of the scientific programme facilitates this process.
Declaration of Interest
Funding
No commercial support was provided for this manuscript.
Author(s) Financial Disclosure
D.S has disclosed that he has received grant/research funding from Amgen, Cougar, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Wyeth; is a consultant to Janssen Pharmaceuticals; and is on the speakers’ bureau for Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Peer Reviewers Financial Disclosure
Peer Reviewer 1 has disclosed that he/she has no relevant financial relationships.
Peer Reviewer 2 has disclosed that he/she has no relevant financial relationships.
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