Costing a Meeting
The Society recognises that different types of meeting aimed at different parts of the community may operate on very different financial bases. Council policy is that scientific meetings should at least break even, but the Society will normally make meeting facilities in Burlington House available free of charge. For some meetings, a grant towards speaker costs may be available, but Council’s view is that it is appropriate for attendees to pay a registration fee provided that this is pitched at a reasonable level for the intended audience. It is expected that Fellows will pay a significantly lower registration fee than non-Fellows, with members of Societies that are co-sponsors of a meeting being charged as Fellows. A reduced registration fee for students may also be appropriate.
The cost of holding a scientific meeting at Burlington House and hiring the Lecture Theatre is normally charged at the Earth Science rate (please contact the Conference Office for this rate) excluding refreshments. This charge is waived for Society Meetings and Specialist Groups for up to 8 meetings per year. Any outgoings for speakers must be met from registration fees, from any grant that may be allocated by Science Committee, or from external sources.
The Society’s Conference Office can provide a variety of levels of administrative assistance to those wishing to organise a meeting. For further information, please go to the Conference Services page.
For all meeting proposals, Convenors will be asked to produce a Business Plan, showing what income they expect to generate (including any grant requested) and what they expect to spend on speakers and meeting expenses. The registration fee will then be set to ensure that costs are covered, with differential charges for Fellows, non-Fellows and students. The Conference Office can offer advice on this. A simple budget template is available on the How to Submit a Proposal page, showing the income and expenditure items which should be considered.
Note that where the Society and a Specialist Group and/or an external society jointly support a meeting, it is expected that any profit or loss will be shared between the sponsors according to their relative investment. For the purposes of calculating a profit share, the Society’s room charge will be included in the Society’s contribution in cases where it has been waived.
The cost of holding a scientific meeting at Burlington House and hiring the Lecture Theatre is normally charged at the Earth Science rate (please contact the Conference Office for this rate) excluding refreshments. This charge is waived for Society Meetings and Specialist Groups for up to 8 meetings per year. Any outgoings for speakers must be met from registration fees, from any grant that may be allocated by Science Committee, or from external sources.
The Society’s Conference Office can provide a variety of levels of administrative assistance to those wishing to organise a meeting. For further information, please go to the Conference Services page.
For all meeting proposals, Convenors will be asked to produce a Business Plan, showing what income they expect to generate (including any grant requested) and what they expect to spend on speakers and meeting expenses. The registration fee will then be set to ensure that costs are covered, with differential charges for Fellows, non-Fellows and students. The Conference Office can offer advice on this. A simple budget template is available on the How to Submit a Proposal page, showing the income and expenditure items which should be considered.
Note that where the Society and a Specialist Group and/or an external society jointly support a meeting, it is expected that any profit or loss will be shared between the sponsors according to their relative investment. For the purposes of calculating a profit share, the Society’s room charge will be included in the Society’s contribution in cases where it has been waived.