Conference Planning & Management
There is a close and logical relationship between conference planning and management and Paltech’s primary expertise in training services. Conferences – whether they’re virtual or physical meetings – are fundamentally about sharing knowledge and are an important part of professional development.
Paltech entered this arena initially because a government client needed to hold a major meeting, but had neither the staff nor the time to do it properly. Since that first successful endeavor in 1995, Paltech teams have planned and executed all aspects of major meetings for groups as large as 3,500, and earned stellar reviews for their efforts. Paltech will work with you at any level you wish … taking on the entire conference operation, or handling discrete elements.
Regardless of the subject matter, substance and logistics are the crucial elements of successful conferences along with a certain professional enthusiasm we call “Working to Wow.” This last element makes a meeting memorable and causes participants to feel their participation will significantly enhance their professional skills and careers. Participants leave energized and motivated to put what they have learned into practice when they return to their programs.
National Child Abuse and Neglect Training and Publications Project
Challenge: The Children’s Bureau sponsors the only National Conference devoted solely to issues of child abuse and neglect. Convened by the Children’s Bureau and its Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (OCAN), the Conference brings together more than 2,000 practitioners, policy makers, community organizers, and researchers for a weeklong meeting of plenary, workshop, and skill-building sessions, and features some of the best speakers the field has to offer. In April 2005, just two weeks prior to the start of the 16th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, Paltech received a cancellation notification from a keynote speaker.
Solution: OCAN and Paltech partner with national human service organizations who serve as National Co-Sponsors and who play a significant role in effectively planning the National Conferences. The Co-Sponsors help the Conference achieve national visibility and provide access to a broad array of human and financial resources. Because of the relationships it has cultivated with the National Co-Sponsors through the many years of working on these national child abuse conferences, Paltech was able to call upon the National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) for assistance with finding a national keynote speaker on such short notice. NCJFCJ was able to find a keynote speaker within 36 hours of the initial request.
Result: The 16th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, held in Portland, Oregon, attracted more than 1,800 conference participants and featured more than 400 speakers, 40 co-sponsors and 60 exhibitors. Paltech was credited by many for the success of this and other OCAN conferences.