TechWave 2011 Justification Toolkit: Post-Conference Reporting

Most organizations have an approval system and require justification for why they should pay for their employees to attend a conference. Even once the initial approval is obtained, the organization wants to see some proof that their investment will provide positive results. The easiest way to do this is to provide your manager with a detailed post-show report, explaining what the conference was all about, what you (and therefore the company) got out of it, and what you intend to do with the information you obtained.

Some examples of information you may wish to include in your report are:

• General overview of the conference
• Reasons for your attendance
• Summaries of each presentation you attended
• Copies of presentation slides, when available
• Details on any relevant networking conversations held (with exhibitors, other attendees, instructors)
• "Next Steps" – what will you do with the information you obtained?
• Return on Investment summary – was it worthwhile?
• Recommendations for future – should you or anyone else from your company attend next year?

It is often easiest to work on this report while you're at the conference, and all the information is fresh in your mind, before you return to the office and have to move on to the next project.

To get you started, we have provided a Post-Conference Report Template, that you can modify as needed.