Coordinator Guidelines

Thank you for accepting this important role. As coordinator you are responsible to oversee that the goals of the program is achieved by creating a session and defining its content; writing a description; selecting speakers and coordinating their presentations; ensuring that sessions focus on knowledge, avoiding sales presentations of products, services, or capabilities of the speaker’s organization. 

Consider the following when submitting a session:

• Topic: Must be relevant and cutting edge.
• Title: The name of the program must be clearly understandable and representative of the content.
• Description: A short description must provide enough information so individuals can understand the nature of the offering.
• Speakers: The quality and background of speakers is an important element in a submission. Select proven leaders in subject matter areas and effective presentation skills.
• Speaker Description: The submission should clearly identify the general title of each speaker and the speaker name if known. RIMS recognizes the difficulty of getting people to commit and know that you must occasionally change speakers. If this happens, we know you will provide a backup speaker with similar knowledge and presentation skills as the original presenter.
• Findings from Surveys or Data Analysis: Risk professionals attend RIMS conferences to learn new developments. We encourage submissions that include the findings from recent surveys or that interpret current data on topics of interest to attendees.
• Criteria for Speaker/Moderator: It is no longer a requirement that a moderator be an additional person on the session panel. However, it is a must that one or more speakers on the panel be a risk manager, who can also serve as the moderator.
• Knowledge: The program should be designed with formal presentations and interactive components where appropriate. On balance, the program should allow the introduction of new ideas, sharing of best practices, and dissemination of current developments and trends in the subject area.
• Levels: Remember the audience. Develop the program so it can match the audience. Vary topics to recognize that the audience will contain individuals of varying backgrounds and interests.

Preparation: The coordinator should work with the panel of speakers on matters such as:

• Understanding the format of the presentation.
• Reviewing the introduction and closure by the chosen panel moderator.
• Reviewing the content and role of all speakers on the panel.

On the day of the Session the coordinator performs the following tasks:

• Pick up the tent cards and other materials (if any) as instructed.  This applies only to Industry Session Coordinators.
• Arrive early to check the setup of the meeting room and comfort factors such as temperature and lighting.
• Test audiovisual equipments to make sure it is working properly.
• Greet attendees at the door, thank them for attending, and encourage them to sit in the front of the room.
• Inform the risk manager/moderator to remind attendees to complete the evaluation form. Feedback is very important.