The Organizer's Tool Box is intended to provide conference planning tools and resources for Program Chairs and Local arrangement Coordinators. Here are tools to manage your association's programs (call for papers, paper submissions, abstracts, etc) as well as tools for handling the logistical aspects of your meeting (catering, a/v, budgets, etc).

Remember that the Congress Secretariat is always available to assist with any questions or concerns. Contact us.

Planning Tools:

Open Conference System (OCS)
The Federation is once again encouraging the use of the Open Conference Systems (OCS) for associations to plan and promote their conference .

OCS, developed by the Public Knowledge Project at UBC and Simon Fraser University, is a free web publishing tool that enables you to create a complete web presence for your session(s) at the 2009 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Just a few things you can do with OCS:

• Create a conference web site

• Post and distribute a call for papers

• Electronically accept paper and abstract submissions

• Post conference proceedings

Here are some websites with more resources for meeting planners:

Meeting News magazine and website offer the Meeting Planners’ Handbook. This comprehensive guide will provide tips on managing site selection, legal issues, registration, housing, food and beverage, speakers, audiovisual, on-site logistics and risk management.

Meetingsnet.com
This site provides the latest news, reports, and trends related to all types of association meetings, including reports on food and beverage, marketing your meeting, and how to increase attendance.

Corbin Ball Associates hosts a great website full of meeting planning tips, including an article database with over 100 articles on meetings technology and event planning. It also features an extensive bookmark list (nearly 3,000 links) to meeting planners’ favorite websites.

The Meeting Professionals International’s (MPI) website has many articles, statistics, and industry news.

The Professional Conference Management Association’s (PCMA) website includes facts and figures regarding the meetings industry as well as many tools such as checklists and sample contracts.