Societies Event Pack 3 About University of Westminster Students’ Union About This Pack Useful Contacts 4 Don’t Forget Getting Started Type of Event What Does Success Look Like? Time Management Set a Budget 5 Make the Booking Charity/Fundraising Events 6 Booking Stalls Refreshments External Speakers and Guests 7 Room Options 8 Ticket Sales How to Plan Your Event 10 Technical Equipment (AV) Marketing Support and Guidance Website Posters 11 Leaflets Miscellaneous Music Equipment Social Media Platforms Storage 12 RAG Risk Assessment 13 Guidance on Completing the Risk Assessment 15 University of Westminster Food and Beverage Disclaimer 16 Event Planning Checklist 2 About University of Westminster Students' Union UWSU works in partnership with the University to provide rooms for society and sporting activities. We truly appreciate the individual needs of each and every event and will always try our best to meet them. We will give you as much input in planning and organising your event as needed, and we will advise and guide you in catering options, technical support and in-house facilities to ensure that you have all the support you need for your event to run smoothly. About This Pack This pack contains all the information you should need to help plan and run a successful event. Whether your event is simply a large meeting, a talk given by a guest speaker, or a celebration, the tools within this pack should help you to identify what you need to do. Remember that the staff and Officers at UWSU are here to support you, and it is recommended that you talk to us about your plans so that we can use our experience from past events to help make yours a success too. Useful Contacts Society Coordinator society.coordinator@su.westminster.ac.uk Andita Santoso Activities Assistant TBC TBC Room Booking Enquiries roombooking@su.westminster.ac.uk Smoke TV Filming smoketv@su.westminster.ac.uk External Speaker Guidance Yusef Kaplan UoW Front Receptions Room Layout requests When emailing external guest list CC Andita Santoso y.kaplan@westminster.ac.uk reception-rgt@westminster.ac.uk reception-ncs@westminster.ac.uk reception-mrd@westminster.ac.uk reception-har@westminster.ac.uk Events Manager Rob Tidey (for ticketed events only) r.tidey2@westminster.ac.uk 3 Don't Forget! We are here to help and advise you, so don't forget to contact the people above to arrange an informal chat about your event so that we can assist you. This is your event and we will support you but it’s up to you to meet with the relevant departments to get what you need. Getting Started Putting on your own event can be a really rewarding experience, but the success of it will depend on how much planning you do at the start. Type of Event First you need to decide what event to put on, and then what goals you have for your event. Read reviews of other events to find out what works and what has been a success. You might want to consider sharing and delegating the responsibilities of event planning by forming an Event Team with your committee. Make sure you all meet well in advance of your proposed event date, discuss ideas and assign tasks to help your event run smoothly. The better you plan your event normally the better it will be. What Does Success Look Like? Thinking what a successful event might look like during your planning will help you to achieve your aims and stop potential issues from arising. Time Management When planning your event allow two weeks minimum notice to ensure all relevant bookings are completed in a reasonable time frame. University staff typically reply within three working days, so to secure the date and venue for your event please allow sufficient time for complete confirmation between all individuals involved. Set a Budget Your budget needs to include a breakdown of your expected expenditure for the event, which could include venue hire, decorations, entertainment, catering, equipment etc. If you are planning to ticket your event, you may want to plan the projected ticket sales. Make your budget as accurate as possible by getting quotes and estimates from suppliers. Meet with your Society Coordinator to discuss your planned expenditures and receive approval. 4 Make the Booking When will the event be best scheduled? When will the program have the best attendance? Identify a timeframe when you’d like to run your event, along with a few back-up dates and times. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time. All rooms come with a standard projector, computer, lectern with built-in sound. If you require an extra microphone or AV support, please include this in the room booking form. In order to make your booking you will need to complete a Room Booking Form online. There may very well be resources you need for your event that we cannot provide at the Union. However, we can still support you to obtain these items or services. Speak to the Society Coordinator to discuss what you need. Please note that the submission of a room booking request does not confirm use of that room on the requested day/time. Charity/Fundraising Events Possible events for societies are charity and fundraising events were activities are held to raise money for a given charity. Charites must be based in the UK and be fully registered. Before holding your event you will need to provide information to the Society Coordinator of the following information: UK charity name UK charity number UK charity website In addition to this societies will need to submit a mini proposal of their charity event stating the following information: A brief outline of the charity and your reasoning’s for fundraising The proposed date, time and venue of your event Will you be selling products (food, clothes, jewellery, make up etc.) and if so where are these products coming from? If you are bringing equipment on site (popcorn maker, candyfloss maker etc.) where are they coming from and have they been safety tested? Who is responsible for the event and who is responsible for money collection? How will the money be raised? How will the money be stored? If you are bringing in external guests to help your campaigning efforts do they have the correct qualifications (a makeup artist giving tutorials/offering makeup services or a sporting coach offering instruction)? 5 Charity bank account information Any money raised at charity or fundraising events affiliated with the Westminster Students’ Union will have to be banked with our finance account. We will then transfer the money to the charity via bank transfer. You will need to ensure the charity accepts this form of payment before raising any money, and details of the charity bank account(s) will need to be provided to the Society Coordinator in your mini proposal. Booking Stalls If you wish to book a stall opposed to a room for your event please complete the Stall Booking Form Online. Please note if you’re booking a stall to raise money for a charity you will need to provide the UK charity name, UK charity registration number and UK charity website address. Bookable areas for stalls are as follows: Cavendish: Foyer Marylebone: Learning Platform Regent Street: Old Gym & Deep End Harrow: The Forum & The Street Refreshments If you intend to serve any refreshments you will need to sign a Food Disclaimer Form which needs to be handed into the reception desk at the respective campus of the event. This form is attached at the end of this event pack on page 15. Snacks and soft drinks should be stated on the online room booking form, however if you require hot food and/or alcohol, this needs to be discussed and approved by the Society Coordinator. Again, please state this on the online booking form but also get in touch with the Society Coordinator for approval. For large catering events this also needs to be discussed with the Society Coordinator who will talk you through your options. One month’s notice will be needed for events where this high level of catering is required. External Speakers and Guests We encourage you to invite external speakers to your events as it will enhance students as well as your own learning experience. If you do wish to book external speaker(s) we require at least four weeks’ notice before the event. All external speakers will have to be vetted by our Interfaith Advisor Yusef Kaplan irrespective of the nature of the talk. Once done we can place the booking for your event. Make sure your speaker is approved in good time to avoid rejection of your booking request. External guests are limited to thirty people per event. If you wish to invite guests from outside the university to your on-site event you need to submit a list of names for all the expected guests to the Room Booking Officer at least 24 hours before the given date of the event. They will pass this information to the reception desk at the campus the event is being held at. Your guests will need to sign in at reception upon arrival. 6 Room Options and Layouts The room options available to you have been clearly outlined for your convenience. Normal classrooms vary in size at each campus, but you can request a particular room (if known), or you can give us an idea as to what room you would like based on the information here. For larger events lecture theatres and large space rooms would be best and are outlined for each campus. Please note that numbers in brackets represent the capacity. If your event has no special room requirements simply state the campus and your second choice campus on the Room Booking Form online. Cavendish Normal Cavendish classrooms building (numbers in (18-50) brackets represent capacity) Copland building (23-53) Harrow Marylebone Regents LTS Wells Street Maria Hewlett Building (A Block) (1454) Chiltern Hall (28-40) Regent Street (2536) Little Titchfield Street (1426) Wells Street (1060) E&F Blocks (18-40) Luxborough Building (30) RS 451 (129) Portland Hall (180) Marylebone Building 1250) Lecture Theatres Small Lecture Theatre (80) Kodak Lecture Theatre (100) Cayley Lecture Theatre (200) Large Lecture Theatre (220) LT1 (114) Wood Lecture Theatre (100) LTS 2.05a/b (130) LT2 (100) Hogg Lecture Theatre (300) LTS 2.05c (97) LT3 (100) Large Spaces CLG.06 (90) The Forum (n/a) Chiltern Hall (148) CLG.09 (80) Auditorium (230) LA103 (60) Cayley Room (60) LTS 2.06 (60) C1.03 (100) 7 C1.04 (90) C1.15 (120) Pavilion (80) C2.14 (70) C2.15 (65) N1.109 (86) N1.110 (58) If you have a specific room layout please submit your request to the Room Bookings Officer three working days prior to your event. If necessary include a diagram Ticket Sales If you are producing tickets for the event then you must include the UWSU logo on them, this can be obtained by contacting the society president who will have access to all society related logos affiliated with the Students’ Union. If you will be collecting money please ensure this will be securely stored and paid in as soon as possible to the Students’ Union Finance Office. Please note that money raised from ticket sales will need to be banked with the UWSU finance account. If you intend to use this money for future events it will be transferred to your budget and can be accessed through the Society Coordinator. Once you’ve outlined your plan put yourself in the position of someone attending your event and ask yourself the following questions: Would you know where to go? How much will things cost? What is happening? How to Plan Your Event The flow chart on the following page will help you effectively execute your event from start to end. Depending on the type of event you wish to hold this may take some time to plan, therefore please keep this in mind when planning your event! 8 Event Idea Yes Do you need budget? Request funding from Society Coordinator No Discuss with team & delegate tasks Yes Any queries? Contact Society Coordinator No Query resolved? No Yes Do you want Smoke TV to film event? Yes No Request Smoke TV team Place room booking & any AV request online Room booking processed & confirmation received Confirm catering requests Yes Contact Society Coordinator for confirmation Yes Contact Room Booking Officer for confirmation Yes Contact Room Booking Officer for confirmation No Confirm room layout requests No Confirm AV requests No Do you have external guests? Technical Equipment (AV) Yes Submit external list 48 hours before event to the front reception and Society Coordinator No Event commences Submit receipts of previously agreed reimbursement to Society Coordinator 9 We can offer packages to suit all requirements with a wide range of equipment available for hire. AV must be booked three days before an event by the Society Coordinator with more complex requests needing five days. Please ensure you take this into consideration when submitting your booking form. Basic AV equipment is as follows, however others can be requested and we can look into hiring these for your event: Audio recorder CD/DVD player Data projector Flipchart stand Video camera Microphones Extension cables TV Marketing support and guidance UWSU's Marketing team can offer you the below support to help promote your event. Please note: we need at least 1 months’ notice before the start of your event to complete these for you. Website Students should forward on the details of their event (including start time, location, ticket prices (if applicable), and a small description of the event) to the Website and Social Media Coordinator at web@su.westminster.ac.uk for it to be included within our newsletter, website and social media platforms. Posters All society posters will have to follow the UWSU poster template which can be found on the Committee Hub if you do not already have a downloaded copy. You are entitled to put up a reasonable amount of posters around the Union to advertise your event. Posters can be printed at any Students’ Union reception office, however please note the following printing allowance: Poster Size Quantity A3 25 A4 40 A5 75 A6 150 10 All posters must include the UWSU logo; if this is not present Students’ Union reception staff will inform you to include this before printing, however if you print these yourself and put them around campus without the relevant logos, University staff will remove them. You should not write the below on your posters unless you have been given permission by Union management to do so: 'The Official UWSU Friday Night' 'UWSU presents' You cannot make it sound like your event is Westminster Students' Union own event unless you have been given permission. Reception staff at each respective campus will print your posters for your society and keep a log of your printing activity. They will inform you of the appropriate places to put the poster as some campuses do not allow marketing material in certain areas. University staff will take them down if they are found to be placed here. Leaflets You will be able to place a reasonable amount of leaflets around the Union to advertise your event. Again, ask the reception staff at the respective campus for appropriate areas to distribute these. Don't forget to think of other ways you can promote your event to students too! Miscellaneous If your event has specific needs or requirements please consult some of the topics listed below: Music Equipment If you require musical equipment that the Students’ Union currently has, this can be requested from the Society Coordinator. Please ensure you give reasonable notice (at least two weeks), as the booking may require moving equipment to a different site. Social Media Platforms Each society will have their own social media presence where you can communicate with your members easily, and promote upcoming events. Please ensure presidents join the ‘UWSU Society Presidents’ Facebook page for regular updates from the Society Coordinator. It is also a great way of interacting with other societies and forming joint events so make sure you join! Storage Societies are able to utilise the storage room for storing equipment, decorations, paper plates/cutlery etc. This is available at the Regent Street campus in room B5; you will need to ask for access from the Students’ Union reception office there. Please note that food and drink cannot be stored there, any such products found will be disposed of. RAG 11 RAG stands for Raise and Give where fundraising takes place for the four main charities of UWSU. It involves a group of dedicated students who come together to plan fundraising events, activities and RAG week. RAG is well known around the country and is a fantastic opportunity to help charities all over the world. Please contact the Society Coordinator if you want to incorporate any fundraising activities for RAG into your event! Risk Assessment Once your plans begin to take shape you MUST complete a risk assessment (it is a legal requirement). This will allow you to see where any potential health and safety hazards are, and you can identify what steps need to be taken to minimise the risks. It is much easier to do the risk assessment at the same time as the planning and organising, so that you can organise any control measures as well. For example, you may need 100 attendees to break even on the cost of the event, and the risk assessment could show that you need to have security staff for that number in your chosen venue. By identifying this early in the planning, you have time to book security staff for the date of your event. You should note that all events carry some element of risk, but this should not stop the event from going ahead. Your risk assessment will show us your intended audience/guests, the venue and anyone else involved exactly what you have done to reduce the risks as much as possible. A template risk assessment form is included in this pack on page 14 with an example of the risks you should be covering for your event. Please ensure a copy of your risk assessment for each event is sent to the Societies Coordinator. This risk assessment can be accessed from the committee hub if you do not already have a downloaded copy. Guidance on Completing the Risk Assessment 12 1. The Hazard(s): A brief description of the potential for causing harm or loss e.g. moving parts of machinery; entanglement; contact with electricity, lifting heavy loads. 2. Persons at Risk: E = Employees; V = Visitors; MP = Members of the public; S = Students; EM = Expectant Mothers; DP = Disabled persons. The types and numbers of person at risk may impact the degree and likelihood of the risk. 3. Existing Controls: Considerations could include: guarding; training; safe systems of work; segregation; safety equipment; examination and testing; emergency arrangements. 4. Risk Classification: In considering the likelihood of an injury or incident occurring the following potential contributory factors should be considered: How frequent is the activity carried out? A higher frequency may increase the risk. Whether those carrying out the activity are more at risk e.g. a disabled person, an expectant mother, or someone with little experience. Are suitable tools and equipment available that are properly maintained? Has a safe system of work been established and implemented? Has suitable information, instruction and training been provided? Is there adequate supervision? Are the controls in place adequate or are additional controls required? 5. Task or Process: A brief description of the specific work being carried out e.g. use of workshop; bulk waste collection or the process being assessed. Please note that section 8 & 9 must be completed on the day of the event; section 1-7 can be completed prior to the date of the event. 13 Brief description of activity: Society/Club: Assessed By: Location: Date: Time of Activity: Review Date: 1. What are the hazards? 2. Who might be at harm and how? E, C, S, Mp, V, Em, Mp, Dp * Example: S, V, EM, DP Tripping over bags in classroom 3. Current control measures Personal belongings to be stored well under the table or at the back of the room away from the activity. 4. Initial Risk Rating: H/M/L * L 5. Additional control measures (if required) Remind everyone at the beginning of the activity to put belongings out of the way 6. Action 7. Action by whom? by when? (Date) President or committee member Event date 8. Date done Event date 9. Residual risk rating. H/M/L L 14 University of Westminster Food and Beverage Disclaimer The University will not be held responsible for the provision of catering by third party providers, including food and beverages. The University will in no circumstances have any liability, whether expressed or implied for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss, damage, illness or injury suffered by the (hirer) or any delegate/guest/visitors, including loss of profit, goodwill or any other financial loss or damage to the (hirer’s) or any delegate’s property. This is supplementary to our normal Terms & Conditions. Please list refreshments: Booking reference number: Number of attendees: Date: Print Name: Signature: Name of Organisation: Position in Organisation: 15 Event Planning Checklist Name of event: Date: Time: SCHEDULING Discuss requirement with Society Coordinator - room size, tech support, room layout Reserve a date Submit external speakers information to Interfaith Advisor Confirm booking with Room Bookings Officer Schedule a meeting to go over your tech needs and room set-up Submit Risk Assessment ADVERTISING Posters Leaflets Website promotions VENUE Booking of room(s) Start/end time Tickets Catering EQUIPMENT Purchase/hire decorations Projector Microphones Speaker system EXTERNAL SPEAKERS AND GUESTS 1 External speaker approved Guest list submitted 24 hours prior to the event 16