IAWP 2014 The Strength of Many Embracing Human Rights
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada September 28, 2014 to October 2, 2014
Final Report
Disclaimer
This report is submitted to the IAWP Board of Directors and Board of Trustees for the purpose outlined in Policy 10 of the IAWP. It is also intended to track the conference planning experiences in the context of the IAWP Conference Review Project.
Please contact the Conference Director, Sandra Martin, prior to the release of this document, or any associated data included in the Appendices, to any third party or for any use other than stated.
Key Performance Metrics
Total number of Delegates: 602 (28 % CDN)
Total number of Speakers: 65 (49 CDN, 16 ITNL)
Number of countries represented: 56
Total room count for conference week: 1558 (confirmed)
Total number of sponsors: 35
Total number of exhibitors (Trade Show): 21
Total number or speakers: 65
Total number of venues: 7 locations www.iawp2014.org website hits for September 2014 248,061
@IAWP12 Twitter (account of Conference Director) had 45 followers, 186 Tweets at time of conference
@IAWP2014 Twitter has 652 followers, 573 Tweets to date
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Table of Contents
1. Selected Conference Achievements
2. Financial Summary
3. Overview of the IAWP 2014 Executive Committee
4. Committee Reports Senior Executive Committee Finance Committee Fundraising Sponsorship Marketing and Merchandise Program Committee Logistics and Operations Companion and Post Conference Special Events Volunteers
5. Record Keeping
6. Legacy of IAWP 2014
7. Summary of Recommendations
8. Appendices Companion and Post Conference Data FWILE Grant Committee Reports from University of Manitoba Students Report from Manitoba Status of Women Operations and Logistics Planning Templates Sponsorship and Tradeshow Update reports Volunteers Website Conference Agenda (PDF) Organization Chart (PDF) Business Identification Number (PDF) IAWP 2014 Goals and Objectives
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1. Selected Conference Achievements
Victim Identification Lab (VI Lab) The deployment of the VI Lab during the IAWP 2014 was a success. The VI lab welcomed delegates from Trinidad & Tobago, Australia, Finland, Romania, Indonesia, UK, and the United States. These visitors reported that they viewed the VI Lab as a valuable tool in solving sexual abuse investigations and expressed an interest in seeing the VI Lab at future conferences. Over the course of the conference week 156 visitors viewed images in the lab which generated 110 investigational leads in unsolved child exploitation cases. Unfortunately staff report that no cases were solved.
Tourism Winnipeg Tourism Winnipeg was the first major sponsor for IAWP 2014 with a commitment of $45,000. This funding was based on projected hotel room sales of 2,000 rooms over the span of ten days. IAWP 2014 missed the target hotel sales and used only 1800 rooms. Due to other economic activity generated from the conference, Tourism Winnipeg awarded the full funding. IAWP 2014 was presented the Tourism Winnipeg Award of Distinction for the conference.
To date, IAWP 2014 can boast that this is the largest law enforcement conference held in Manitoba.
Future Women in Law Enforcement IAWP 2014 saw an opportunity to create excitement and enthusiasm for a career in law enforcement for a new generation of officers. What could be more inspiring than women officers from around the globe gathering to share experiences and stories of success!? With that in mind, IAWP 2014 hosted the first “Future Women in Law Enforcement” (FWILE) two day conference program for students interested in a career in law enforcement. FWILE was a hit for both the 115 students who participated as well as the event organizers. In the words of one student “it was a life altering experience” while one of the event organizers said “the excitement of the students was best pay back for years of planning.” As well, a few young women have reported that they have applied to local agencies.
Fundraising efforts for IAWP Foundation (IAWPF)/International Scholarship During board meetings in 2013 IAWP tabled a motion that all conferences be directed to share profits realized from silent auction and any other fundraising activity during the conference week. IAWP 2014 committed to this partnership right away.
IAWP raised $4000 during the silent auction. In addition to the silent auction, IAWP 2014 hosted a pre-conference Golf Tournament at LaSalle Golf and
4 Country Club in LaSalle, Manitoba. This event raised $12,000. The profit sharing agreement will see $8,000 for the IAWPF and $8,000 toward the IAWP 2014 Legacy Fund.
Support for local women’s shelters IAWP conferences have a history for supporting local agencies with donations of toiletries, clothing and other items. IAWP 2014 advertised a donation bin which collected the unused portion of any toiletries to local shelters. Conference delegates were very generous and two large boxes of items were delivered to a local shelter.
Launch of IAWP 2014 Legacy Fund Full details of the Legacy Fund will be presented during the 2015 Late Board Meeting by representatives of the IAWP 2014 Executive Committee. The creation of this fund will see Manitoba based law enforcement officer attend IAWP conferences for at least the next two years. The overarching goal of this initiative is to encourage increased participation in IAWP among Manitoba based officers.
French Language Services and Program Options Manitoba is a bilingual Province and a commitment to offer French language services proved to be a good decision for IAWP 2014. The French language services offered during IAWP 2014 included: • Simultaneous translation in the main room during all main events, • French language program options, • Printed French language program guide, and • French/Bilingual volunteers on staff to assist conference delegates.
The infrastructure for simultaneous translation is very costly but the commitment to this service demonstrates a commitment to diversity. Once the infrastructure is in place for the translation it is adaptable to other languages if required. Of note, Mexican authorities made contact with IAWP 2014 and required the use of the simultaneous translation booth and they supported the translators.
Traditional Media Coverage IAWP 2014 received great response from local (Manitoba) media starting with a newspaper article in 2011 to announce the success bid to host the conference. Over the four years leading up to the conference the committee used key milestones/dates/events to keep the profile of IAWP and IAWP 2014 elevated. Other milestones/dates/events included: • International Women’s Day, March 8, 2013 (Forces of Fashion), which featured television interviews, radio talk show interview, and featured column in local newspaper, • One year count down, preplanned media brief distributed from Durban, South Africa featuring photo of conference delegation at IAWP 2013,
5 • 100 day count down media event hosted by partner agencies (RCMP, Winnipeg Police Service, Brandon Police Service and Corrections Services of Canada, • 30 day count down on social media, and • Variety of interviews for print, television and radio media during the conference which featured conference delegates and IAWP Board Members to highlight the global perspectives of women in policing and IAWP.
IAWP 2014 hoped to receive national media coverage but fell short of achieving this goal. The conference committee did achieve their goal of “raising the profile of IAWP in Manitoba” through all of these efforts.
2. Financial Summary
PLEASE NOTE: This sections requires extensive revisions. Of note, the calculations of the 10% owed and the BOD expenses were incorrectly calculated. My interpretation of Policy 10 (10%) was based on the fact that the number of registrations at that particular point in time because it is near impossible to estimate what the number of delegate would be at a future point in time.
BOD/BOT will be notified of the posted updates via Carol Paterick when the revisions are in the board room.
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10% Registration There were 68 confirmed registrations at the start of 2014. Four registrations have been transferred forward to IAWP 2015 and two were refunded.
The early bird registration rate, $450.00, was still in effect at this time and IAWP accepted payment in either US of Canadian dollars because the currencies were nearly at par.
62 registrations x $450.00 $27,900.00 X 10% $2,790.00
Profit Estimates Current Account Balance $49,297.22 Proceeds from Golf/Silent Auction ($16,000.00)
Adjusted balance $33,297.22
6 10% registration ($2,790.00)
Profit from Operations $30,507.22 60% IAWP $18,304.33 Board of Directors Expenses ($8,816.84)
Adjusted total for IAWP $13,534.69
IAWP 2014 Legacy Fund $16,972.53
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Cash Flow IAWP 2014 experienced cash flow issues stemming from a two main issues: • Two large grants, Tourism Winnipeg and Government of Canada, were payable post conference. The last payment of grant money was received late March, 2015.
• Delayed payment of conference registration fees. As noted below some funds are still outstanding and mostly considered “written off” by IAWP 2014.
All funds raised during the time period of 2011 to 2014 remained in the IAWP 2014 bank account. This includes the 10% of conference proceeds payable to IAWP at the start of the conference year and the funds raised during the Golf Tournament and Silent Auction (not normally considered operating funds). This was a necessary step to insure sufficient funds to pay all invoices. These funds will be reflected in the final pay out to IAWP
A special note needs to be made regarding staggered payments to the Fort Garry Hotel (main venue). It is the right of any supplier to add 30% penalty to the final invoice for late payments. The Fort Garry Hotel graciously negotiated a payment plan with IAWP 2014 and waived the surcharge.
Board of Directors Expenses The Board of Directors relies on the local conference committee to plan for board meetings and the Annual General Meeting. IAWP 2014 did not receive payment for these expenses but choose to pay for the expenses on behalf of the board. These expenses will be settled in the final payout to IAWP.
IAWP policy allows for $3,000 to arrange for board meetings. The first estimate of a meeting room, basic AV, and basic catering was in excess of $8,000. In order to keep costs within budget IAWP 2014 sought space at another venue. Space was donated by the Government of Manitoba inside of the Manitoba Legislative Building. The donated space may have saved costs but added extra
7 responsibilities on the IAWP 2014 Executive Committee. The space was also not equipped with Wi-Fi, internet service or air conditioning. In short, free is not always better.
Total BOD Expenses 7 x Award Recipient Registrations @ $450.00 $3,150.00 1 x International Scholarship Registration @ $400.00 $400.00 Award Plaques $497.20 Total catering for Board of Director Meeting $3,096.66 General Liability Insurance $1,219.32 Printing (Afghanistan Campaign Flyer) $92.00 Shipping (Flags to Cardiff, Wales) $361.66
Total $8,816.84
Recommendations: • The IAWP Finance committee should update and revise the budget allotted to board meetings. The cost of the meeting has increased and services such as internet connections and Wi-Fi are essential to conduct business. For example, any board member not able to attend a meeting should be allowed to participate via Skype which requires internet services.
Expenses As noted in the discussion following this section, controlling expenses becomes very challenging with a large planning committee. The effect is best described as “death by a thousand cuts” and happens when each committee adds an expense or does not accurate project expenses. It is a reality of Project Management and Event Planning and it requires a detailed, written and tightly controlled financial decision making process. The IAWP 2014 experience is that the decision making process was not a tight as it should have been.
The upside to this discussion is that IAWP 2014 experiences will help future conference committee and IAWP/IAWP 2014 was able to pay all bills and still realize profit.
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Cost overruns resulted from:
• Increased cost of Program Guide – Information and photos of award recipients and speakers caused delays in the finalization of layout for the program guide. As a result the cost of the final program increased.
• AV Service – original needs and estimates for AV Services had not included the use of services after hours for the Whistleblower Movie, additional rooms for training sessions and laptop computers. This resulted in approximately $10,000 additional costs then first estimated.
• Catering – Food and beverages were added unexpectedly during the conference week.
• Increased cost for Planner’s Plus (Registration Services) – a number of registrations were transferred without notification to the conference committee. In addition, an outdated registration list was used for reference adding to the confusion of the number of delegates who had not checked in. On site services for Planner’s Plus were extend for an additional two days thus increasing the cost of this contract.
• Program Committee/Speakers – the cost of the speakers was underestimated by approximately $50,000
• Parade set up – barricades and signage to close the parade cost approximately $4,000, which the committee originally believed would have been supplied free by the City of Winnipeg Streets and Operations Department.
• Hotel services – the command center in the basement of the hotel required a hard line telephone line activated, at a cost of approximately $1,000. With each additional cost, included increased catering and an extra hotel room for the Program Committee, Provincial Sales and Hospitality Tax also increased.
Other areas which have contributed the reduced projections of profit:
• Extension of reduced registration rates to encourage registration for the conference,
• Outstanding registration fees,
• Delegates attending with guests who did not pay for events/registration,
9 • Diversion of efforts to sell out Golf Tournament (added to the agenda in 2014) away from ticket sales of Final Gala Tickets (committed into the conference plan in 2012), and extension of reduced rates for conference delegates, and
• Loss of profit associated to poor merchandise sales.
Upon reflection, there are number of areas where IAWP 2014 (and future conference committees) could reduce costs without impacting the quality of the training and overall event. These areas include:
• Printed conference material is mostly unnecessary and costly. Website and social media updates are more effective communication tools. Conference agendas and speaker biographies or material can be posted on the conference website in a PDF format suitable for printing if the delegate chooses. A souvenir copy of the media release for Award Recipients and the International Scholarship can be produced and included in the award package for each of the recipients. The exception to this “rule of thumb” is sponsors will require signage to advertise their donations.
• Decorations such as flowers should be minimal. The exception to this is a local supplier is willing to donate these items and services.
• Hospitality events are not a critical input for the success of the conference. Delegates can be provided with information and volunteer assistance to enjoy local tourism venues. Or, as IAWP 2015 has opted a user pay option for hospitality events is a viable option. Local tourism bureaus can assist with this planning. Over the years the annual conferences have increasingly incorporated hospitality events into the conference plan. The focus should remain directed to meaningful, current training. IAWP 2014 hosted hospitality events in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
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PLEASE NOTE: This section has been added as IAWP 2014 view is to be full transparent regarding financial based decision making.
Decision Making Affecting Overall Profit In response to some preliminary questions regarding the overall profit this section has been added to explain the overall decision making process for IAWP 2014. These decision impact IAWP as well as the IAWP 2014 Committee.
1. IAWP 2014 began the planning process by hosting two strategic planning sessions. The result of the two strategic planning sessions was a list of
10 goals and objectives we set out to achieve for the conference. Every goal has been met, with the one caveat being we have not fully realized the amount of profit we expected to start our IAWP 2014 Legacy Fund.
a. Original plans stemming from the goals and objectives included our commitment to a budget for the training program. The goals and objectives of the training program support IAWP goals and current resolutions (Human Trafficking and violence against women/children).
b. IAWP 2014 invested time and energy to facilitate two delegates from Afghanistan (also an IAWP resolution). The planning involved arranging rooms, arranging translators and local community members to attend and provide support, and security. Two days prior to the conference, we were advised that they were not able to attend. While we are far more disappointed that they could not be part of IAWP 2014, the point here is that some costs are associated with these plans.
c. IAWP 2014 was always transparent in our plans to devote funds toward the training program and support overall IAWP objectives.
d. The training program was created with some volunteer speakers as well as some specific companies who provided support by waiving normal fees (SETCAN) or offering a reduced rate (Human Potential Inc.)
2. In 2011 during the BOD/BOT meeting in Lexington, Kentucky, Anne Marie Alleyne expressed concern over the rising cost of delegate fees. Linda Cherry, and others, agreed with this view. Sandra Martin made a commitment to keep delegate fees as low as possible. IAWP 2014 held rates to of the lowest delegate fees in recent years.
3. In 2012 during the BOD/BOT meeting in Port Au Spain, Trinidad a motion was presented and passed to have 50/50 profit sharing for any fundraising activities, such a silent auction, between the host committee and IAWPF. IAWP 2014 was the first conference to be impacted by this decision. Even though planning was well underway, the commitment was honoured by IAWP 2014 with 50 percent profit from silent auction (originally intended solely for the IAWP 2014 Legacy Fund) and 50% profit from the golf tournament (would have solely been directed to IAWP 2014 Legacy) shared 50/50.
4. Certain grants and sponsors dictate the terms of use for funding. For IAWP 2014 those include:
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a. Manitoba Justice Criminal and Civil Forfeiture provided $35,000.00 to the Keynote Speaker. IAWP 2014 was required to submit receipts/invoices to prove this money was used as indicated.
b. The RCMP provided $20,000.00 to be used for the training program. IAWP 2014 was required to submit invoices to prove this money was used as indicated.
c. Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation provided $5,000.00 toward general training program with the understanding there was benefit to local women and girls. The funds were directed toward Future Women in Law Enforcement (FWILE). A general report was required post conference.
d. Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation provided $4,200.00 in cash and donations of product (wine) to support the final banquet. The funding was provided with the understanding that there was benefit to local women and girls. They provided support because programming had been provided to FWILE and IAWP 2014 had mentored two groups of university students during our planning.
e. Target Corporation provided $10,000.00 in funding (routed through the IAWPF) with the direction that the funds are used for training or AV support. Target Corporation officials attended and required a follow up email and photographs as a final report.
To summarize IAWP 2014 believes that the investment of funds toward the training program was made with the best interests of IAWP and IAWP 2014 delegates as the focal point.
Further questions or concerns on this issue can be directed to Sandra Martin at [email protected].
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Registration Services IAWP 2014 used a local event planner, Planner’s Plus Inc., to handle registration for the conference. The company set up the online registration process and could take payment using several options: online credit card payment, cheque or payment on site.
The negotiated agreement between the company and IAWP 2014 stated that they would open an account to receive payment in US dollars. IAWP 2014 could
12 draw funds out of the account as needed over the agreed period of time. The company also accepted payment for the Tradeshow participants.
Website development and registration webpage was coordinated with Carol Paterick, website developer for IAWP 2014. The services of an event planner are costly, an issue raised by other conference committees. By comparison, the tasks associated with the registration are timely and would divert the time of the conference committee away from tasks such as planning the training program. As well, for the purpose of cost comparison the services of an event planner in Winnipeg, Manitoba range from $45.00 to $60.00 per hour whereas the cost of the Conference Director (Sergeant Wages) are double those rates.
Recommendations: • Registration issues have been discussed over the past several years by conference committees reporting the IAWP. There has been no formal research or movement toward resolution as the how best serve IAWP, each conference committee and obtain the best value for delegates. This Conference Project should be tasked with research and recommendations to be presented at the 2016 Early Board Meeting.
3. Overview of IAWP 2014 Executive Committee
The first decision for the IAWP 2014 Executive Committee was to follow a Project Management Process (PMP). The rationale to commit to this process was twofold: Project Management is a recognized planning process, with a set of associated tools and practices, which seemed to fit with a lengthy planning period and IAWP 2014 committee members desired concrete experience in PMP.
In keeping with PMP the Executive Committee was structured to give subcommittee autonomy to research their needs and budget items. Each subcommittee was structured to have two Co-Chairs. Four years is a lengthy period and should one Chair have to exit the project, the second could provide continuity in the planning. Inevitably this proved a necessary contingency plan. The Program Committee, Sponsorship and Fundraising and Marketing Committee all changed over team members.
PMP encourages the development of a Team Charter at the start of each project. This document outlines the team meetings, decision making process, change management strategies, record keeping, and conflict resolution. The IAWP 2014 Committee developed a Team Charter and each subcommittee followed suit and developed a Team Charter. This document was critical to the success of IAWP 2014. Committee Chair each developed skills in PMP, thus increasing the
13 motivation and engagement during the planning period. See Appendices for sample.
There was one downside to the size and structure of the IAWP 2014 Executive Committee. Committee members were advised that financial decision making was the responsibility of the Conference Chair and /or the Finance Chair and no additional expenses could be authorized during the conference week without this approval. During the post conference debrief, the committee discovered that this decision making process was not followed and additional expenses (PMP refers to this as cost over runs) were incurred. Large committees create more decentralized control.
The other challenge for the IAWP 2014 Committee was balancing the needs and unique culture of each police agency involved in the conference. The needs of IAWP must also be taken into account. Ultimately we were able to navigate the needs of each agency and incorporate the best of each. For example, the Winnipeg Police Service hosts a daily media briefing and interview requests and media scrums are delegated to frontline officers. This allowed for the Conference Director to take part in many media events and react quickly to media requests during the conference week. The RCMP is more formal with external messaging so longer time is required for approval to do media interviews. Conversely, the RCMP is highly adept and operates an international network of officers that assisted with Visa Applications for International Delegates. Municipal police agencies would not be as efficient with this process.
Recommendations • Project Management Process is a viable planning process for IAWP conference committee. Conference committees should be encouraged to spend time in the early stages of planning and give consideration to Team Charters (decision making process) and committee structure. Planning ahead for conflict, changes in scope and committee members can alleviate frustration.
• Financial decisions must be controlled and authorized by the Conference Director and/or possibly a small finance committee who work closely with the Conference Director. Strict adherence to PMP, which dictates the decision making hierarchy, would reinforce the financial management structure.
Reflections from the Conference Director Developing leadership skills was an overarching goal for the conference committee (see Conference Goals and Objectives in Appendices). Volunteers who stepped forward to work on the organizing committee were encouraged to Chair a committee which would develop new skills such as grant writing or financial management. In some areas this was highly effective but others
14 struggled and in some instances exited the Executive Committee early in the planning stages of the conference.
One of the most successful areas for skill development occurred during the Executive Committee meetings. During Executive Committee meetings the duty to Chair the meeting was rotated. The rationale for this initiative was to give opportunity to every person to develop the skill of directing a meeting. Soft spoken volunteers learned to “speak up” and more eager, strong personalities had to learn to let someone else take the lead.
A “project” as large as an IAWP conference presents many opportunities to foster leadership development. A Conference Director I would encourage future conference committees to reach out to younger officers and staff and build this into the conference plan.
There have been several challenges over the past year as we attempt to close out the conference operations. The Executive Committee negotiated staggered full time assignments to the conference operations. The Conference Director and Project Manager were assigned for the longest time period however that was ended October 30, 2014. The Executive Committee underestimated the number of remaining tasks and time period required to complete the close out. In hindsight a longer time period would have eased the stress to complete these tasks. As well, we started to stray from our PMP and had not completed a work plan for this phase of the conference.
Recommendations: • The annual conference follows a natural pattern of tasks and timeframe that have been documented in past conference final reports. This information should be included in a future conference planning guide to assist with planning.
3. Committee Reports
Senior Executive Committee
The main purpose of this committee was to “make the hard decisions” in regards to budgets, planning and coordinating with ranking officials for each partner agency. The initial Executive Committee structure did not include this group became a valuable change in the overall committee structure and planning process.
This committee has continued to meet to this date in order to fulfill reporting obligations to IAWP. In addition, members of the Senior Executive (Agency Liaison) were responsible to ensure payment for each agency delegates.
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The Senior Executive Committee, and representatives from each partner agency, attended to the Tourism Winnipeg Awards to represent the IAWP 2014 Executive Committee.
Conference Director - Sandra Martin, IAWP • Responsible for the overall direction of conference planning and operations, • Main contact with the IAWP Board of Directors and ensures needs of the IAWP are met, • Tracking and coordinating registration with Event Planners, • Responsible for media communications, and • Responsible for overall budget and financial reporting
Agency Liaison – Allison Stephanson, Winnipeg Police Service • Responsible for coordinating Winnipeg Police Service resources assigned to the conference operations, • Main contact with the Winnipeg Police Service Executive Management Team, and • Ranking officer on site during conference operations in the event critical incident occurs.
Agency Liaison – Joanne Keeping, RCMP D Division • Responsible for coordinating RCMP D Division resources assigned to the conference operations, • Main contact RCMP D Division Executive Management Team, • Provided media interviews (French and English) on behalf of RCMP, • Coordinated training program, and • Facilitated funding provided by RCMP
Agency Liaison – Jacqueline Lawford, Brandon Police Service • Main contact with the Brandon Police Service Executive Management Team, • Coordinated registrations and volunteers from the Brandon Police Service, and • Attended media events on behalf of the Brandon Police Service
Project Manager – Genie Valdez, RCMP D Division • Manage overall conference schedule, • Coordinate duties of committees during lead up events (IAWP 2012, IAWP 2013), • Record and maintain record keeping for all committees (including meeting agendas and minutes), • Secondary contact for RCMP D Division Executive Management Team, • Assisted with processing of Visa Applications, and
16 • Facilitated registration from RCMP delegates
Volunteer Coordinator – Connie Johansson, Corrections Service of Canada • Main contact with Corrections Services of Canada, • Facilitated registration of delegates from Corrections Service of Canada, • Provided media interviews, • Recruit and coordinate all volunteers for conference operations, • Coordinate volunteer orientation, and • Plan and coordinate volunteer appreciation event
Finance Manager – Cheryl Larson, Winnipeg Police Service • Responsible for setting up bank account, • Responsible for all bank deposits, receiving and paying invoices, • Coordinated GST (Canadian Goods and Services Tax) reporting, • Coordinated Business Number for IAWP 2014, and • Maintained all financial records
Finance Committee
Committee Members: Cheryl Larson, Winnipeg Police Service Jacqueline Lawford, Brandon Police Service Breanne Channel, RCMP D Division
The finance committee assumed responsibility for all tasks associated with cash, bank deposits, and recording of financial transactions.
All on instances were cash was collected, such as during IAWP 2012 and IAWP 2013 conferences, it was the practice of the finance committee that two persons count, record and deposit cash. During these conferences, the committee also arranged for payment of the invoices associated to hosting hospitality events.
As the lead up to IAWP 2013, the finance committee researched banking practices in South Africa. The banking system is closed meaning there is limited ability to deposit cash, exchange currency, or wire transfer funds. For this reason, expenses incurred at the ICC in Durban were paid in cash to reduce the amount of cash on hand. In the end, Conference Director was still required to transport approximately $5,000.00 back to Canada on her person. This practice has been raised and discussed during IAWP Board of Directors meetings however no final decisions have been made to guide conference committees. Of note, Canadian law (American law required the same declaration) requires that
17 that anyone travelling with $10,000.00 in currency must declare this cash with Canada Boarder Services. Many other countries have similar regulations.
The bank account for IAWP 2014 was established at the Winnipeg Police Service Credit Union. Three persons had authority to sign cheques, with two signatures required for each cheque. The following three persons have authority to sign cheques on this account:
• Cheryl Larson, Finance Chair • Sandra Martin, Conference Director • Lisa Mandziak, (incoming) Region 12 Coordinator and Chair of Companion/Post Conference Tours
Once the final accounting is resolved between IAWP and IAWP 2014 the bank account will be maintained by the IAWP 2014 Legacy Fund.
Recommendations • A member of the IAWP Finance Committee, other than the Treasurer, should be a member of the Conference Liaison Committee (currently being discussed at Board level) to assist with research and guidance on banking issues.
• In certain countries where the banking system is closed, such as South Africa, any expenses incurred by the upcoming conference committee should be paid by the current conference committee, recorded as an expense for accounting purposes and then funds can be reconciled through IAWP.
Fundraising, Sponsorship and Grants
Committee Chairs: Larry Dalman, RCMP D Division Michelle Roch, Winnipeg Police Service Alana Morton-O’Halloran, Winnipeg Police Service (Grants) Darryl Drewniak, Winnipeg Police Service (Tradeshow)
Fundraising activities were focused on three key areas: • “Traditional” fundraising activities such as raffles, smaller events and pre- conference merchandise sales. • Conference Sponsorship contracts and relationships • Grant applications
“Traditional Fundraising” IAWP 2014 hosted several “traditional” fundraising events starting with a Christmas Poinsettia plant sale in December, 2011. The funds raised from this event were added to the $2,500.00 provided by IAWP as conference startup
18 funds to pay the deposit and secure the main the conference hotel, Fort Garry Hotel.
The committee fundraising committee arranged a “safe ride” program where volunteer drivers provided a ride home after the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band Scotch Tasting for a donation. This event continued for three years and proved to be a great opportunity to promote the IAWP 2014 conference. During the last “safe ride” IAWP 2014 secured a sponsor (Birchwood Automotive) who donated vehicles for transportation during the conference week.
On March 8th, 2013 IAWP hosted “Forces of Fashion”. The goals of this event were to recognize International Women’s Day, promote IAWP and IAWP 2014 with a visual presentation of women in uniform, attract larger sponsors for IAWP 2014, and to raise funds. This was one of most successful fundraising events hosted during our planning phase. Mr. Albert El Tassi, Peerless Garments, attended and shortly after the event committed to conference sponsorship. The event was highlighted by every media outlet, television, radio and print, bringing profile to the conference and IAWP. Ticket sales, coupled with a successful silent auction, resulted in approximately $5,000.00 in profit.
Other events hosted by the fundraising committee were a “Zumba” event (tons of fun!), RCMP “Turkey Shoot”, Golf Tournaments (one in 2013 and one pre- conference in 2014), and individual donations.
In general, fundraising events described above require tremendous energy and time commitments. The decision to host such events was carefully weighed and scaled back during the last year of conference planning so that committee members could focus on “high impact” areas. The Conference Director expressed concern for “fatigue” on this committee on several occasions and did see this impact the committee.
Sponsorship
Drafting and completing a highly polished and professional sponsorship package was the first major task of this committee. IAWP 2014 had gathered past sponsorship packages, IAWP 2012 and IAWP 2006, to use as reference. IAWP 2014 created sponsorship packages in English and French in keeping with our commitment to promote a bilingual event. See Appendix for samples.
The second step of the sponsorship program was to create a detailed list of potential sponsors and conduct an “open source” screening process for each potential sponsor. The committee could only conduct “open source” searches in keeping with policies governing the use of police data bases for personal gain. IAWP 2014 made a commitment to not negotiate with any company who had ties to criminal organizations or represented a conflict with the values and principles of IAWP and police agencies. To illustrate this point, one highly successful
19 women’s clothing manufacturer located in Winnipeg was eliminated from the list due to several references to the owner having relationships with young models (child exploitation and human trafficking allegations). In another example, the Conference Director learned of a local company with ties to organized crime in the execution of her regular duties. Negotiations were ended immediately.
In general, courting sponsors, developing a relationship that suits the needs of IAWP and the company, and (many times) receiving rejection makes working on the sponsorship an unattractive and challenging role for volunteers. A small number of volunteers stepped forward to take on this challenge. In the end over 100 sponsorship packages were distributed. A full list of sponsors is included in the Appendices.
IAWP 2014 also intended to set out and attract long term sponsors for IAWP. The conference presents an optimal opportunity to connect IAWP officials with company representatives. In some instances sponsors expect the opportunity to address and/or coordinate meetings with IAWP. For this reason, IAWP 2014 hosted a sponsor reception at newly opened Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR). The CMHR made a generous offer of space for the reception and included private tours for delegates later this same evening. A key strategy to ensure sponsors were introduced to IAWP officials, each sponsor was assigned an IAWP 2014 “handler”. Each handler was instructed to: • Greet the company officials, • Remain attentive to the company officials, and • Facilitate introductions among the IAWP Official guests and the local host agencies ranking officers.
The strategy to assign “handlers” was successful. In hindsight, we believe that the handler should have remained assigned to major sponsors, such as Continental Tire, Target Corporation, and Peerless Garments, throughout the entire conference week.
Many sponsors require the opportunity to promote their products and company in exchange for the support they provide to conference committee or events. As with past conferences, Trade Show space was offered to sponsors. Additional space was offered and sold to some local vendors and suppliers to fill up the final space for the trade show.
IAWP 2014 received requests from Continental Tire and Target Corporation to address the entire conference delegation. The request from Target Corporation was successfully obliged during the closing remarks for the keynote address on the first morning of training sessions. Unfortunately, Continental Tire was greatly disappointed in the time frame they were provided during the Awards Luncheon, and the lack of ability to promote their products, and in turn ended the relationship with IAWP.
20 IAWP 2014 included advertising in WomenPolice as an additional benefit to sponsors. A few companies took advantage of this offer.
Recommendations • Careful consideration of the needs and goals of each sponsor company need to be weighed against the ability for IAWP and the conference committee, in this instance IAWP 2014, to meet those needs. Upon reflection their needs Continental Tire (as a corporation) and IAWP 2014 was not an optimal partnership. To protect the reputation of the parent organization, IAWP, we should have declined this funding. Future conferences should seek advice from the Conference Liaison committee to ensure best fit.
• IAWP should create a standardized sponsorship package (already exists in practice) to save time and effort of the host conference committee. This document can be updated and customized in language and logo to suit the individual committee.
Grant Writing Grant writing proved to be a valuable area for IAWP 2014. Grant applications were submitted for several grants and funds were secured from: • Manitoba Criminal and Civil Forfeiture ($35,000.00) • Target Corporation ($10,000.00) • Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation ($5,000.00) • Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries ($5,000.00 plus donations of product) • Government of Canada Western Economic Development ($65,000.00) • Tourism Winnipeg ($45,000.00) • City of Winnipeg Transit Grant ($5,000.00 in kind for bus service)
The grant writing committee researched available grants on the internet and by word of mouth. The committee then hosted a grant writing seminar, using the experience and talents of a civilian staff member from the Winnipeg Police Service, to instruct committee members how to “write” and negotiate the applications.
Once applications were submitted there was considerable work involved to secure the funding. In all examples listed above the funders returned to the grant committee with follow up questions and counter proposals to ensure that the application was in compliance with the intent of the grant. The best example of this as the grant application for the Government of Canada which required two addendum documents and six months to negotiate.
Grants are usually aimed for specific “things” and funds must be used and accounted for in keeping with the grant. The Manitoba Civil Forfeiture Grant
21 approved funds to pay for the keynote speaker on the opening morning of the conference. The Government of Canada grant provided funding toward to translations services and tradeshow. Tourism Winnipeg and Target Corporation had much less strict rules. Tourism Winnipeg allows for funds to be used for marketing materials and local hospitality events while Target would pay for AV Services or speakers.
Most grants also require post conference reporting. Target Corporation only required a post conference email with a few photographs of the conference but the other grants required far more details. Tourism Winnipeg required a follow up report and the Government of Canada required a detailed report including cancelled cheques, invoices and a summary of specific performance metrics. Both of these reports are included in the Appendices. The post conference reporting process was greatly underestimated. For example, the final report for the Government of Canada was only completed at the end of March, 2015. The Conference Director had already returned to regular duties (shift rotation) which delayed the report. Looking back, a longer time assigned to “post conference” duties would have expedited the report.
Recommendations • Grant writing is a high impact and worthwhile process for securing conference (or project) funding. The research conducted during the IAWP 2014 conference indicated that even private companies now use a written grant application process to secure donations of items or funds (examples include West Jet Airlines, Cabella’s, and Mountain Equipment Coop). Conference committees should be encouraged to research and make application for grants as early as possible in the planning stages.
• IAWP should continue to research, track and file grant applications for use by future conference (or project) committees. All grant applications and applicable final reports are included in the Appendices. Certain key performance metrics, such as delegate count/breakdown, is recurring input for applications. This data is fairly easy to track and pass forward each year.
Marketing and Merchandise
This section prepared and submitted by Susan Desjardine.
Committee Chairs: Theresa Daranciang, RCMP D Division Susan Desjardine, Winnipeg Police Service
22 I became involve in the IAWP planning for just under a year prior to the conference. Originally when I was brought into the committee I was advised that I would assist Theresa Daranciang with the RCMP in the purchase and design of IAWP merchandise to be sold at the conference. As well I was advised there would be a nominal amount of money available to be used to purchase swag for the delegate bags. Theresa and I originally each met with various local merchandise providers and received quotes and product designs from each. From those original quotes and designs we decided to streamline and purchase all merchandise from one provider. This decision was based on cost, design and ability to fill restocking orders as the week of the conference progressed if needed. As well this team contacted out of province sources for costs and samples of smaller swag bag items such as conference pins, notepads, stuffed animals, pens, zipper pulls, magnets, stress balls in the shapes of polar bears and the like. All of these items were presented to the executive committee as the samples came in. As the conference drew nearer we were advised that there was not enough funding to purchase any swag bag items and that all items for the bags would have to be donated. Another issue faced was that various events were being planned to fund raise for the conference so the danger was that sub-committees were approaching the same vendors for donations. We were at risk of turning off potential sponsors by inundating them with requests. It was important for us to maintain contact with each other so this did not happen. Sponsor lists were updated and shared amounts committee members on a regular basis to prevent this from occurring. We also had to work for the same cause and if one committee had a sponsor that wanted to contribute an item(s) that did not suit one purpose we had to consider its use for another event. For example some sponsors could only donate; - One item – this would be passed on to the silent auction table. - 150 items donated may be a good fit for a golf tournament - Some sponsors only wanted to contribute to the local delegates attending as this would see the best return on their donation. These items would be a best used in the future women delegate bags. - Some businesses could donate large quantity of product and this would be used in the conference delegate bags All of these items would still be collected and passed on to the other committee team so any contribution was accepted and utilized appropriately. The decision was made by Theresa, the executive committee and I to proceed with the purchase of new product consisting of; - Two short sleeve t-shirt designs (female and male sizing in each), - A sweatshirt (different design from shirts in unisex sizing) - Long sleeve (female and male sizing).
23 - Shot glasses with the IAWP logo only (this was done intentionally so that any remaining glasses could be sold at future conferences) This was the only new merchandise that was purchased. The remaining items that would be sold in the merchandise area were existing items the committee had left over from Africa consisting of; - Stuffed bears with circle of friends IAWP 2014 shirt on - Purse holders with circle of friends 2014 logo - Various jewelry items (necklaces and bracelets) - Silver charm of the IAWP star and two sizes of the circle of friends logo - Mittens embroidered with circle of friends logo and 2014 date We purchased 100 of each of the long sleeve and short sleeve shirt designs and 50 of the sweatshirt. We originally only pre-purchased the female shirts but when it was realized the sizing of these shirts were too small a fit for the average size of delegate we then purchased some men’s shirts (a larger fit) with the same design to accommodate this. In hindsight I would recommend obtaining a full size range of what is being ordered prior to placing the order with the personalized designs. With that knowledge a more accurate size range could be initially ordered eliminating the risk of having left over stock at the end of the conference. In essence we almost doubled our order of shirts because of the initial sizing issue with the women’s fit. Due to this, at no time were we required to place additional orders for clothing items and ultimately led to us having remaining merchandise at the end of the conference. Theresa worked closely with the committee Volunteer coordinator for staffing coverage of the merchandise tables. For the most part the coverage of the merchandise area was adequate. Our misstep in planning was that we included ourselves in the coverage of the merchandise area. Due to this, neither Theresa nor I were able to attend the majority of the conference as we were tied to the merchandise area. Better planning on our part would have easily permitted us to be away from the actual merchandise area to attend some of the speakers. If you speak to any business savvy person the most important aspect of having a successful venture is “location, location, location”. The location of our merchandise booth was not in a high traffic area of the conference, in fact, delegates had to go out of their way to attend the area of the trade show where the merchandise table was set up. In hind sight the Merchandise table should have been set up in a more prominent traffic flow area of the conference. This logistically would have been more difficult due to the design layout of the hotel. If we had set up in a high traffic area there was no way to secure the merchandise at the end of the day. This would have meant packing up the items nightly and transporting them to a secured room.
24 Evidence that location does make a difference is that we doubled our sales of any other day when we moved to the higher traffic area on the last day of the conference. We had also marked down our merchandise to clear at that time. The merchandise table was also nestled in with other vendors selling their own product. In essence giving our merchandise table competition for the delegates’ spending money. If possible the merchandise table should be in the most prominent location with the remaining vendors placed in a designate area for those interested in pursuing that information. Suggestions for the next country hosting the conference in regards to Merchandise would be; - Obtain funding in advance if possible for specific swag bag items such as conference pins (a highly collectable item) so there is no need to budget for these items.
- The digital images of the merchandise purchased is not sufficient. If possible get a sample of the item in advance so you can review sizes and colours used and make any amendments prior to ordering. Our largest size went first due to the small fit of the shirts.
- Make sure you have enough volunteers assigned to the merchandise area and overlap the shifts if possible. While workshops were occurring it was really slow and you could schedule breaks during these times. In between workshops and over lunch periods were the busiest times and you will need all hands on deck. You will have to work closely with the scheduling committee to ensure you have coverage at the right times.
- Location is key! Attend to the hotel hosting the event in advance and try and locate yourself outside the main conference room where you will see the most traffic. If possible have a secure room where you can lock up the area and merchandise on off hours. It is beneficial if you are not lumped in with the trade show as this is competition for the money spent.
- When setting up the merchandise area consider;
o The traffic flow to prevent congestion. o Set up the tables with the smaller merchandise pieces closest to where those working the table are. o Have a rolling rack of sample sizes this made maintaining the area easy to keep tidy. o Have a small make shift change room (we just used some curtains) for those that wish to try on an item o Make note of the closest bank machine to direct customers where to go if they have insufficient cash on them
25 o We only accepted Canadian and US currency – no cheques (unless it is a reliable local person) or credit cards. If you can accept credit cards I believe you sales would be higher.
- We used two part receipt books to track the merchandise. One part was handed to customers while another was kept in the book to keep up with merchandise inventory. If possible have a sample by the receipt book of information you want on the receipt for consistency. With so many volunteers working, the information documented on the receipt was not consistent.
- Some merchandise items will be taken for speaker gifts. Try to find out in advance what items will be taken and the sizes needed if possible. This information may dictate quantities and sizes ordered. Document what was taken so your inventory is not out of sorts by the end of the week.
Program Committee
This section was prepared and submitted by Joanne Keeping.
Committee Chairs: Jayne Bieber, RCMP D Division Joanne Keeping, RCMP D Division
Program Team: (names, structure and area of responsibilities)
Program Committee Co-Chairs Jayne Bieber Royal Canadian Mounted Police Email: [email protected] Joanne Keeping Royal Canadian Mounted Police Email: [email protected] Wellness and French Team Vanessa A Chopyk Royal Canadian Mounted Police Email:[email protected] Gill Berube Royal Canadian Mounted Police Email: [email protected] Leadership Team Bettina Schaible
26 Royal Canadian Mounted Police Email: [email protected]
Human Rights Team Kadria Fayed Canada Border Services Agency Kimberly O’Brien Canada Border Services Agency Email: Kimberly.O’[email protected] Lisa S. Mandziak Winnipeg Police Service Email: [email protected]
Responsibilities:
• Program development for a three stream training program.
• Identifying key topic, learning objectives and speaker selection.
• Speaker confirmations, contracts and expense management
• Editing of final conference program guide
• Program volunteer Team assignment-roles and responsibilities
Team Management:
• The Team was a multi- agency group made up of very committed, intelligent and dedicated individuals.
• Used a Project Mgmt process which – creation of team charter for Programming which helped outline what our “business rules” would be - how decisions were to be made/how to deal with disagreements.
• Communication varied depending on Team member’s shifts, availability, work commitments etc. and individuals and included “face to face”, teleconferences, emails and phone calls.
• Regular “recap” emails were sent out to all Team members to provide updates on the overall conference progress and to provide new information on program planning. This was helpful to keep all members on track.
Program Planning & Design (structure, streams, rationale and key deliverables)
27 • The overarching theme of the conference (Human Rights) had already been decided; therefore the main speakers were always going to fit within this stream. Besides that, two other complementary streams were decided which would fit nicely with the overall theme, but would reach a broad scope of participants. Also, the conference speakers were going to be well-rounded so that the attendees could sometimes pick a heavier topic then shift to something a little lighter • Brainstorming sessions were conducted at the beginning which allowed the program group to see what kind of speakers we were looking at – next step was to see what the group wanted to focus on – even though we had a general theme many did not know how to focus our speakers into learning stream. And to assist with this an outside graphic facilitator was used along with the “key topic” guide: See attached
• Once learning objectives were identified, program was broken into learning streams with team leaders assigned to each. Their role was to find potential speakers within the budget assigned. Team leads then continued to function in a small group setting for more of the detailed work and reconvene with the main group when required.
• The speakers were designed to give attendees with different skill-sets some options - those on the front line, those in detective/ investigative roles and those in various management roles - would all have one or two speakers of interest to attend at any given time.
• Variety was also something we really wanted to provide so that there was something there for everyone during each session
• We wanted conference attendees to be mad that they couldn't attend all the sessions that they were interested in - i.e. leave them wanting more!!
• Prior to Program week, primary speaker program volunteers (PVs) for each session/room were secured to assist with ensuring room was set- up, reading out the speaker bios, providing and collecting evaluation sheets, handing out gifts etc. The attachments provide a guideline that was provided to them to help with this role.
• Speaker orientation packages were prepared for each speaker and packages included Committee contact information, conference agenda, Speaker prep room and info on the hotel. These were provided to the Speaker greeter who met each speaker upon arrival to the Hotel.
Program Implementation (prepared bios, room monitors and program room volunteers, logistic, Speaker handler/greeter)
28 • At the conference, we set up a specific chain of command to report any problems or troubleshooting necessary that we encountered. Plus we had a crash room which the Team found valuable it provided a place in which we could have briefings, etc.
• Having the tour of the facility prior to the conference really helped most of the Team to become oriented and feel more prepared for the actual week of the conference.
• During the conference, we set up a instant programming messaging system on our phones, so that when one member sent out an text/message it went to the whole group all at once. This became extremely helpful during the conference to help with the inevitable trouble- shooting that occurred for audio/visual issues, speaker problems, delegate questions etc.
Challenges: • It was difficult for some of the Team members to be present for a lot of the meetings, etc. leading up to the conference especially those on a shift- work schedule. The fact that all Team members were from different agencies and working in different parts of the city meant travel was involved and this sometimes complicated the situation.
• The Program team was heavily involved in editing the final Conference guide book and overall information for the IAWP 2014 website etc. However, this responsibilities good have been managed better with only “one” contact person assigned. There was often in accurate information or duplication occurring because the process was not streamlined and this lead to a significant amount of work being done by one person near the start of the actual program.
• The Program Team had no one central place for updates and information that all members from all agencies could access. The email “recaps” that the Program Chair sent out alleviated/addressed this cap only to some degree.
Recommendations
• It is imperative that one person deals with each speaker to avoid repetition, and allow the Program Team committee member to feel as prepared as possible so as to avoid any confusion the week of the conference.
• One aspect of the programming that one Team member recommended was for future conferences is to minimize the amount of speakers per timeslot slightly. Although the large variety of speakers available was
29 fantastic in terms of covering so many topics that was perhaps the one comment that she heard quite a few times from conference attendees was that they had too much choice.
• The schedule for the conference complete with AV contacts, PV (program volunteers) s, etc. was extremely helpful in keeping the Team organized during the week of the conference and knowing who to contact throughout the week. (See attachment).
• Group notebooks online or something need to be done, a blog with updates from each committee on a website or something perhaps? A central place to go and check on updates or status. As well, phones or other communication devices to utilize for enormous amounts of time outside of work, for those that had to use personal devices this could be a costing issue (phones).
• A central printing location established at the beginning and procedures to utilize it.
• Conference calls instead of face to face meetings more often.
• Confirm absolutely everything in writing AHEAD OF TIME with your speakers. One of the best things we did was to use the Letters of Agreements (LOAs) with the speakers so they know what is expected of them, and you know what you are required to pay for. Be specific here as to their per diem, if you're paying for taxis to/from the airport, if you're paying for their parking fees for their car in their home city, if they're getting a speakers fee or not.... also request their AV needs way ahead of time as you'll need that for the AV folks
• Two weeks or so prior to the conference - re-confirm everything with your speakers as there will be changes, so the more you know ahead of time, the less you'll have to scramble the week of the conference
• During the conference- have one or two programming people floating around that aren't assigned a specific task but will help with the trouble shooting. These people should be very knowledgeable about the overall conference as they'll be your go-to people when it hits the fan (and it will hit the fan, I guarantee it)
• United Nations - if you have anything to do with the UN people, ensure that you only have one liaison to the UN and that should be their only job. The UN is (shockingly) a handful and you will need to designate one consistent person to deal with them so that they're not playing one person against the other.
30 Logistics and Operations
Committee Chairs: Josh Ewatski, Winnipeg Police Service Saif Khan, Winnipeg Police Service Ronda Mann, RCMP D Division
The areas of responsibility for this committee included: • Coordinate transportation for IAWP officials and conference committee members, • Plan and coordinate security during the conference, and • Assist with final planning for the Parade of Nations, Memorial and Opening Ceremony (logistics and security operations).
This committee relied heavily upon their experiences from the Annual Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Conference hosted by Winnipeg Police in 2013. The CACP set up in the Fort Garry Hotel so the same format and templates for security and emergency plans were used. A command center was established in the basement of the hotel to coordinate transportation and provide easy contact with the Winnipeg Police Service Communications should the need to arise to summon additional police resources.
Conference security was challenge for a number of reasons. First, the Executive Committee made decision to shave costs by not requiring photo identification for delegate badges or even at the time of registration. We also permitted the “transfer” of conference registration among delegates, a practice adopted from past conferences. One major problem arises out of both of these decisions; there is no way to verity who had checked and who is actually on site during the conference.
Another related problem to the check in/registration process is that certain delegates attended with guests who were not registered, or purchased tickets, at all. While there is a cost to IAWP 2014 associated to people attending events while not paying for the event, the greater problem is the security and logistical problem this presents. If a critical event such as fire, bomb, or armed attack had occurred the ability to account for all persons was not possible. In fact, the ability to know if we had anyone on site who presented a threat to the conference was not possible.
Security during the Parade of Nations presents a greater challenge. Officers in uniform, mostly unarmed, gathering in one place presents a great risk in the current world climate of terrorism. The Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP were acutely aware of this risk. The week previous to IAWP 2014, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) had hosted a grand opening and intelligence sources indicated a heightened terrorist threat. Both agencies dedicated support
31 to ensure conference safety. A full description of the resources and plans are included in the Appendices (see report of Detective Sergeant Josh Ewatski).
Other associated security concerns included: • Understanding of the process if a delegate intends to defect while attending the conference, • Establishing a safe house or safe location is an international delegate comes under threat from a specific group, • Establishing a protocol if an international delegate become sick and requires transport to hospital (may require an interpreter and/or the hospital may require details of the delegate travel history), and • Establishing a protocol with the host/local agency in the event that a conference delegate is arrested and/or charged.
IAWP 2014 consulted with past conference committees regarding past procedures. IAWP 2015 took advantage of the time in Winnipeg to meet with IAWP 2014 Committee members and review best practices and plan for improvements. Face to face meetings is a best practice that should continue with all future conference committees.
Recommendations: • IAWP has specific and unique security issues due the diversity of our membership and conference delegations. The organization goals, objectives and program make IAWP a target for a variety of global terror organizations. IAWP and needs to develop an organization security plan and ensure that conference committee security plans are congruent with the organization plan.
• IAWP (Board of Directors) should give careful analysis to the costs and security issues associated with hosting an annual Parade of Nations and consider other options to this event.
• IAWP should consider a requirement for photo identification for conference registration process as a central component to conference security. IAWP 2012 and IAWP 2013 did use photo identification but due to cost IAWP 2014 (and other conferences) opted out of the photo identification process. Cost should not be a deciding factor in this process.
Transportation Issues IAWP 2014 provided minimal transportation services during the conference week. This was deliberate decision by the SEC to control costs. Vehicles for the transportation group were donated by a local car dealership, Birchwood Automotive Group. The drivers were hand selected by the security committee.
32 IAWP 2014 made a financial commitment to the program committee and to provide breakfast and lunch for delegates in lieu of transportation to delegates. Despite this message being communicated multiple times, delegates pushed for these services. There were many frustrations over these issues.
IAWP 2014 selected venues in close proximity to each other in the downtown area so that delegates could walk (volunteers were on hand to provide safe walk) or utilize public transportation at minimal cost. This has happened at past conferences and is a viable strategy.
Companion and Post Conference
Committee Chairs: Lisa Mandziak, Winnipeg Police Service Kylie Harding, RCMP D Division
This section was prepared and submitted by Lisa Mandziak.
This committee was made up of six members with the following responsibilities:
• Conduct research on possible companion activities and determine feasibility of a private company handling the companion tour • Coordinate all activities, meals, etc. for companion program • Liaise with transportation coordinator to arrange required transportation • Research locations, plan itinerary and make all necessary arrangements for a pre and or post conference tour • Establish cost of tour and adhere to budget • Liaise with registration coordinator • Liaise with delegates signed up for post conference tour to ensure they are aware of all required details • Confirm all tour arrangements
From the beginning stages of our planning, we understood the importance of establishing timelines and adhere to our objectives to assist us in delivering our programs. We established a team charter, using the principles of project management. This was very helpful as we developed it in a in a group setting clarifying our team’s direction while establishing our boundaries. Within our charter, we created our mission: To provide companion and post-conference tours to expand the conference attendees/visitors’ knowledge of Canadian culture and lifestyles through various experiences in our city and within our Province. With regular monthly committee meetings starting from the spring of 2012, we were able to conduct research on the opportunities for companion programs and to approach various tour operators around the city and within Manitoba to determine their interest a partnership with IAWP 2014. We contacted our
33 partners in Tourism Winnipeg and Travel Manitoba to learn about the many opportunities within our Province. Our team developed a survey that was distributed at our IAWP 2014 booth during the IAWP NFLD 2012 conference in order to better understand the interests of our potential delegates related to companion and post event tours.
1) Companion/Retiree Program The information gathered from our surveys and from our research, our committee decided to partner with a private tour company to deliver our companion/retiree tours. Heartland International Travel & Tours a local Winnipeg company with a strong focus on local history and strong customer service was chosen (www.heartlandtravel.ca). Our companion/retiree programs consisted of 2 full days and 2 half days (refer to Document #1 for details of our program). The cost of the companion/retiree tours was $290 per person and we set our fee structure to cover costs of awards luncheon, hospitality night for IAWP 2014 (Gateway to Arctic- Assiniboine Park Zoo) and the final gala banquet. Total cost per person was estimated at $540 per person (includes taxes). Heartland International Travel & Tours prepared the agendas for each day, and once approved by the committee they also created the information pages used on the IAWP 2014 website for promoting the companion/retiree program. As IAWP 2014 was committed to using both official languages of English and French in all our published documents/website, this added to our timelines. By early Jan 2014, our Companion/Retiree program was published on our website at www.iawp2014.com. To ensure our delegates, retirees and companions received the best possible visitor-experience we planned to have a tourism information booth manned by volunteers at our host hotel and to have training sessions for our volunteers involved in the companion program delivered by Tourism Winnipeg staff. In consultation with our Volunteer Coordinator, we decided that Tourism Winnipeg would deliver an hour long presentation focusing on the key elements of hospitality and tourism information for all our volunteers. Two training sessions in September 2014 were organized and Tourism Winnipeg Visitor Experience Manager, Samantha Bason Manager delivered the sessions and the information she gave was of value to our volunteers. We had 28 people registered as companions or retirees by the time our conference started. Unfortunately, the company we used to handle our registration and delegate badges did not identify the various categories of attendees, namely: delegates, retiree, companion, speaker, volunteer or committee member, etc. and it caused a lot of confusion on the opening morning of the companion program. As well at least 5 delegates indicated that they had taken advantage of our early discounted registration during the NFLD conference
34 in 2012 and their names were not on the official registration list. These individuals were allowed to go on the tours but it did affect overall expenses of our tours. The first 2 full days of the companion program had 33 and 34 people attend. This caused some scrambling, especially for the meals as this had to be prepared in advance with our vendors and on the two half day programs, less than 25 people attended. With these fluctuations in numbers of participants, it was challenging for our vendor. Another issue that continues to happen at many of our conferences - is the situation when attendees register/sign up as a retiree (sometimes take advantage of the lower registration costs) ended up participating in the training program and not coming on the tours. IAWP 201 clearly indicated our on our website that the Companion/Retiree Program was only for specific events, namely Opening Ceremony/Awards Luncheon/Final Gala and Companion Tours. Some retirees missed our transportation as they attended the morning scholarship breakfast, even though it was clearly articulated that some of the events of the Training Program were not a part of the Companion/Retiree Program.
Future Recommendations: • If a host committee decides to use discounted or early-bird registration rates, our suggestion would be to use this discounted rate only for the Training program and not for the Companion segment. Our experience of pre-selling approx. 25 Registrations in NFLD 2012 at $450/Canadian funds had an impact on our bottom line, especially with the Companion program. • Updated and accurate registration lists should be available to Committee Chairs in advance of the program to aid in keeping track of all delegates on the tours. • Delegate badges or name tags should clearly indicate if you are a delegate, companion or retiree and a ticket or card should be given to those going on the tours to ensure only authorized persons participate. • Letters of Understanding should be drawn up to satisfy both the Committee and the Agency. IAWP 2014 did not take this route but I would suggest that for future committees, this would be a prudent action to complete. • A lot planning and effort went into this program. I question the rationale to continue with this practice of offering companion/retiree program. Many policing agencies around the world are reducing their travel expenditures and cutting out training budgets. As well, companions are not always travelling with their significant others during these conferences. The amount of effort going into the planning and execution of this program should be seriously considered and the decision to focus on the training portion of this conference should the primary focus.
35 2) Pre & Post-Conference Tours Our team wanted to provide a number of diverse opportunities for our delegates to explore the various areas within Manitoba. Our committee decided to provide both pre and post conference tour options to meet the needs of our delegates.
Members conducted research and three companies were approached to develop our tour options. These tours were developed in early 2013 and by identifying concerns brought forward by the vendor companies that if we did not receive minimum number of delegates by a specific date, the tour would not go ahead at the quoted prices. Each tour company was comfortable with that verbal agreement and were very happy to be a part of our international conference. All reservations and costs would be directly handled by each company with IAWP 2014 only responsible for the promotion of the tours. The following tours were offered to delegates as Pre-Conference Options:
• Riding Mountain Adventure developed by a Manitoba based-company, Frontiers North Adventures (www.frontiersnorth.com) offered a 3 day guided tour from September 22nd to 26th, 2014 to explore the prairie and parkland region of western Manitoba with cost of $750 per person.
• Mother & Cubs Adventure developed by Churchill Wild (www.churchillwild.com), another Manitoba adventure tour company. They already had a scheduled a 7 day guided eco-tour from September 18th to 24th, 2014 to northern Manitoba to experience life among the polar bears, we agreed to promote this tour as a part of IAWP 2014 pre- conference opportunities. Cost of this tour was $7495 per person. This tour was open to the public and was not an exclusive IAWP private tour.
• Four self-guided tours within Manitoba were created by Heartland International Travel & Tours (www.heartlandtravel.ca) providing various tour options that delegates could book any time before or after the conference, depending on their interests, amount of time available and budget with prices ranging between $150 to $2,000 per person:
Option #1 - Cat Fishing on the Red (north of Winnipeg, approx. 30 minutes) Option #2 - Elkhorn Resort and Spa (in Riding Mountain National Park in western Manitoba) Option #3 - Falcon Trails Resort (near Whiteshell Provincial Park in eastern Manitoba) Option #4- Rocky Mountaineer: First Passage to the West by Luxury Train (from Vancouver, British Columbia to Calgary, Alberta)
One Post Conference Tour, the Churchill Polar Bear Adventure was offered to our delegates developed by Frontiers North Adventures
36 (www.frontiersnorth.com). Delegates were offered a 5 day private group guided tour to Churchill, Manitoba. This area is known as the polar bear capital of the world where delegates would explore the tundra in search of polar bears in the world-famous Tundra Buggies. This tour was from October 3rd to 8th, 2014 at a cost of $4265 per person.
All tours were posted on our website by the end of July 2013 as we felt it was important to have these tours in order to promote them during the IAWP 2013 conference in Durban, South Africa. By the end of June 2014, eleven people had committed to the Post Conference tour. We did not meet the minimum number of delegates (20) and this caused some concerns we were under 60 days which identified as our cutoff date. Negotiations with Frontiers North were completed over the summer months and we were able to guarantee this tour. Frontiers North was gracious enough to maintain the tour costs at the quoted price even though at a loss to them as their posted advertised prices for this tour was approx. $300-500 per person lower than what we received. Efforts to add additional people to the tour with a media blitz had limited success. We sent out new flyers promoting the tour via the IAWP message service along with extra messages via our Twitter and Facebook pages to promote this exclusive tour to the other members within our police family (civilian, retired, family member of police/corrections) within Manitoba and Canada. Luckily on the last day of the conference, two delegates came forward and reserved their spots for the Churchill Adventure. In total, thirteen people from United States, Germany, and Australia took the trip of a lifetime to Churchill, Manitoba. From all accounts, everyone had a great time and took home lots of memories and photographs form their Churchill Adventure. As a thank you for supporting IAWP 2014 conference and our international delegates, we approached Frontiers North Adventures offering to provide a half page advertisement in Women Police magazine after receiving approval from IAWP Executive. This half page advertisement was published in the Spring 2015 issue and was offered to offset the loss of not having our minimum number of delegates for this tour. Value of the half page ad was approx. $750.
Future Recommendations: • Even though we developed numerous self-guided and private tour options, no other tours were booked. In checking with our vendors, very limited inquiries were made. I would suggest for future conference committees, they do not waste time and effort exploring the post/pre-conference tour option. I would suggest with the available information easily accessed on the internet, delegates can do their own research without having to divert valuable resources and time from committee members. A link on your conference website to your local tourism board/agency would be the best option.
37 Special Events
Committee Chairs: Janelle Bird, RCMP D Division (Parade/Opening Ceremonies and International Scholarship Breakfast) Cynthia Buglass, Winnipeg Police Service (Awards Luncheon) Jacqueline Lawford, Brandon Police Service Dianne Levesque, RCMP D Division (Final Banquet) Belinda Duncan (Journey to Churchill Hospitality Night)
IAWP 2014 Hospitality Night at the Assiniboine Park Zoo - Journey to Churchill This section prepared and submitted by Belinda Duncan. The event was held at the Assiniboine Park Zoo, 10 acre Journey to Churchill Exhibit on Monday September 29, 2014 from 18:00 to 22:00 hrs. The Journey to Churchill exhibit features an expansive polar bear, arctic fox, muskox, snowy owl and seal habitats, as well as interactive interpretive components including a film experience inside what is Manitoba’s largest 360-degree theatre featuring the film, Rhythms of the North. The Hospitality night cost was budgeted at approximately $50 per attendee and was included in the cost of the delegates/ companions registration fee. The event was a private function held after the regular public hours. IAWP 2014 hospitality night was held after the first full day of presentations with the purpose of providing our delegates an opportunity to discover the unique aspects of our Province while providing networking opportunities. Transportation to the venue was sponsored by the City of Winnipeg Transit Services with all delegates being shuttled to the venue via 6 full size transit buses (38 person capacity per bus), each with a qualified transit driver. The cost of transportation including the drivers was $5200. These expenditures were fully covered by a grant from the City of Winnipeg. The rental of the Journey to Churchill venue was $3500 which included the waiter staff, the interpretive guides (most of whom were volunteers) and three cash bars with servers. The catering costs included the non-alcoholic “welcome punch”, appetizers/ hors d'oeuvres, light meal and dainties, with tea/coffee came to just under $11,000. Total cost of the event was $16,953.08 (including taxes and gratuities). The participants who attended the event were advised to meet in the lobby of one of the two main host hotels (Fort Garry Hotel or Delta Hotel). The meeting place information was posted in the main conference area as well announcements were made at the end of the training sessions as a reminder for the delegates and within the information sheet sent to all prior to the conference. There were set departure times from each hotel starting at 17:30 hrs., 18:30 hrs. and 19:30 hrs. We had 2 Committee members/ volunteers at each hotel to
38 facilitate the loading of the buses and ensure departure times stayed on schedule. The ride from the hotels to the Assiniboine Park Zoo was approximately 20 minutes and departures began just as regular rush hour traffic was coming to an end. There were 2 volunteers on each bus to answer questions and on arrival at the Zoo there were 3 Committee members/ volunteers to welcome the guests and VIP’s.
Approximately 20 IAWP volunteers were utilized along with the approximately 25 volunteers (many who were multi-lingual) that the Assiniboine Park Zoo (APZ) provided for this event. APZ volunteers were stationed along the pathways within the exhibit to provide information and assist with directions. As well APZ volunteers also operated an 8 passenger golf cart to assist delegates that had mobility issues in exploring the venue without difficulty.
We planned for approximately 600 attendees, but the actual attendance was approximately 450. Once inside the Journey to Churchill exhibit, the attendees had an opportunity to visit the Wild Things Gift Shop at the Main Gate from 19:00 – 21:45 hrs. As our guests walked along the path of within the ten acre Journey to Churchill exhibit, each visitor was provided with a non-alcoholic glass of fruit punch and appetizers were available as waiter staff wondering throughout. At the indoor exhibit halls, there were food stations where delegates could have the light designated meal (vegetarian or chicken stir-fry with noodles or rice) while enjoying the exhibits as well as having the option to purchase a variety of alcoholic beverages at the designated bar station. Guests were encouraged to explore the many indoor and outdoor exhibits, including interpretive sessions with two zookeepers highlighting the significance of our arctic landscape, including the main attractions, our polar bears. As the delegates made their way to the conclusion of the exhibit, the last indoor area had dainties along with coffee/tea station while relaxing and viewing the polar bears within the indoor viewing area. At the conclusion of the event, all delegates were transported back to the two host hotels with return buses leaving at 20:00 hrs., 21:00 hrs. and 21:30 hrs. The Committee organizers were very impressed with the flow of the evening and received complimentary feedback from our delegates. The following are some issues that arose and some recommendations for future conference committees to consider: Recommendations/Issues:
• Past IAWP conferences has focused on having the hospitality events in a local pub or bar environment. Our committee made a conscious effort to organize hospitality event in a more “family focused” setting. With an approach focused on a family oriented event, delegates from different cultural and religious backgrounds will be able to participate making our hospitality events more inclusive, encouraging networking opportunities across many cultures.
39 • Having a variety of beverage options is important for our delegates. By providing our delegates with options such as non-alcoholic drinks is a “healthy” alternative that incorporates our overall theme of wellness and healthy lifestyles in our policing environment. A cash bar provides delegates with an option to purchase alcoholic beverages without adding extra costs to the host committee.
• The closure of the underwater viewing tunnel/pool within the Gateway to the Arctic building occurred on September 19, 2014 and this was a huge disappointment for our committee. This unforeseen circumstance was caused when the poar bears chewed into a water proof barrier within the pool forcing the closure of this popular underwater viewing gallery. When our guests arrived at the event, and when committee organizers saw the many happy, smiling faces of our delegates along with many positive reviews, it appears that this issue did not negatively impact our visitors’ experience. Thanks to the great work and hospitality of the Assiniboine Park Zoo staff and their volunteers in welcoming IAWP delegates. They all did an excellent job!
• As the weather is always unpredictable variable in any city around the world, we did experience some cooler weather during the conference. Temperatures during our evening event were around 8 to 10 degrees (46- 50 F) Celsius (lower than normal temperatures of daytime highs of 19 degrees Celsius (66 F) & 6 degrees Celsius (43F) at night). Some of our delegates were not used to the cooler temperature and did not have appropriate outerwear. Luckily, the whole event was not held outdoors and with three buildings with a variety of exhibits, delegates were able to warm up as they moved through the exhibit. Delegates need to be reminded prior to attending conference cities; they need to be prepared for the variety of weather situations and to pack accordingly. IAWP 2014 included an information sheet in all delegate communications/emails and again mentioned the importance of dressing warmly as many visitors are not accustomed to Winnipeg’s (or Canada’s) northern climate.
Parade of Nations and Opening Ceremonies The Parade of Nations and Opening Ceremonies were hosted in conjunction with the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Police and Peace Officer Memorial, last Sunday of September (in Canada). The parade in Winnipeg was the second largest memorial event in Canada in 2014.
Weather was a significant factor for the parade. McDonald’s sponsored the breakfast which was set up on the street, east side of the hotel. The cold weather prevented many participants from taking advantage of the breakfast as they took shelter until the parade commenced.
40 Issues stemming from security concerns have already been discussed. In addition to the security, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Services placed an ambulance on standby in the area. Organizers of the parade had to apply to the City of Winnipeg Special Events Committee for a permit to host this event. The cost of the ambulance was waived but a late invoice for signage and barricades for the parade route caught the committee by surprise.
Originally the memorial service was to be held outside, at the back, of the Manitoba Legislative Building and when that service ended the IAWP 2014 delegation and guests would move inside of the building for lunch and the opening ceremonies. The entire morning events were moved inside due the poor weather conditions.
International Scholarship Breakfast IAWP 2014 wanted to kick of the main agenda of the conference by paying tribute to the annual scholarship breakfast. By hosting a separate event to present this award, and allow time for speeches, the committee felt we were adapting recommendations from past conferences that indicated the Opening Ceremony was too long. This breakfast would break up the time.
It was a happy coincidence that the opening Keynote Speaker is born and raised in the Caribbean as was the 2014 International Scholarship recipient, Inspector Jones.
IAWP 2014 sponsors were invited to the breakfast and reported enjoying the event.
Awards Luncheon The annual awards luncheon was held in the Grand Ballroom of the main hotel. The space was large enough to host the delegation however the rush seating was problematic. Large groups of people congregate near the doorway for photos and cause delays and congestion. Volunteers attempted to alleviate this congestion and in the end delegates made their way into seats.
Awards Luncheon organizers adapted when Mrs. Laureen Harper, wife of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, made arrangements to attend the event. At Mrs. Harper’s request, she presented one of the awards.
Final Banquet The final banquet was hosted at the RBC Convention Center near the main hotel. The event space was large and could host up to 1,000 persons. The Executive Committee committed to the space and hoped to fill this event by selling additional tickets to guests and local companies as a fundraising effort. Ticket sales were estimated to be $20,000.00 but fell short with only $1,200.00 in sales.
41 Due to the poor ticket sales the extra meals and space were taken up by offering banquet tickets to volunteers and sponsors.
The theme for the event was to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Women in the RCMP. The theme was selected to help support the plan to sell additional tickets and to entice higher ranking officials to attend. Of note, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson did attend the event and retired RCMP Commissioner Bev Busson (the first and only female Commissioner to date) was in attendance. Feedback was received from conference delegates that the event seemed focused on “RCMP” instead of “IAWP”. In defense of the theme, IAWP had a mandate to “raise the profile of women in criminal justice” and by celebrating milestones, such as the 40th Anniversary, is in keeping with this goal.
The finale to the banquet was the dance featuring the Canadian Military Band, Jet Stream. The band generously donated their performance to IAWP 2014.
Volunteers
Volunteer Coordinator (VC)
Connie Johannson – Deputy Warden, Stony Mountain Institution, Correctional Services Canada. ([email protected])
Discussion
It would not be possible to host the IAWP Conference without a large number of volunteers. The 2014 IAWP conference was lucky to have approximately 282 volunteers. The short term and long term volunteers dedicated countless hours and energy to ensure the Winnipeg 2014 Conference was successful.
As the chairperson of the Volunteer portfolio, my main task was to assist the conference chairs and organizing committees with identification of volunteer needs specific to their areas. Volunteer recruitment and overall coordination of the volunteers, their information, availability, interests and assignment to the various opportunities were all part of the volunteer chairperson role.
Responsibilities
• Volunteer recruitment • Volunteer Application • Maintain volunteer files and data in Spreadsheet • Maintain volunteer work schedule and assign duties • Work with other portfolios to organize volunteer schedule • Define volunteer responsibilities for each area, ideally with a work description
42 • Work with marketing and sponsorship coordinators to get sponsor for volunteer t-shirts • Size, order and distribute volunteer t-shirts • Select volunteer coordinator assistants • Set up and organization of Volunteer Room and food services, parking, etc. for volunteers • Address any of the needs or concerns of the volunteers • Liaise with all committee chairs throughout the planning of the conference to accurately determine volunteer number requirements • Arrange volunteer identification • Coordinate and facilitate volunteer orientation and training • Design volunteer handbook • Coordinate volunteer appreciation event • Ensure volunteers are recognized and communicated with regularly during the planning of the conference, as well as throughout the conference
Volunteer Sub-Committee:
Each area was assigned a Volunteer Liaison in the following portfolios (refer to 2014 IAWP Organization Chart): 1. Fundraising & Sponsorship 2. Programming 3. Special Events 4. Marketing 5. Logistics & Operations 6. Companion & Post Conference Tours 7. Other Areas
Liaisons worked with each committee to determine specific volunteer needs for the conference. Liaisons would then communicate this information to the volunteer assistant who would enter in the master spreadsheet according to detailed information with timeframes, responsibilities and actual number of volunteers required during each timeslot. Each area is summarized below.
1. Fundraising & Sponsorship
Grants: A small team of volunteers were recruited with specific skills set to write grant proposals and letters. These volunteers were dedicated to this purpose well in advance of the conference (2-3 years).
Sponsorship for the conference and all other events (Fundraisers) also began years in advance of the conference, but were ongoing for each specific event. For example, we held two Golf Tournaments, Wine & Cheese, Forces of Fashion Show, Zumba Event, etc. that all required sponsors and donations to be sought.
43 This area required all members of the organizing committee to ask for donations from businesses locally and nationally.
A very large amount of time and energy was required to seek out donations for delegate bags, FWILE bags, and all other area donations. Volunteers were required predominantly to fill the hundreds of bags and provide assistance with movement to various areas as necessary in the hotel.
These areas could have used more volunteers for assistance, due to the large volume of good donated, coordinating and organizing same. Storage of these needs to be determined in advance and organized as much as possible in advance. This is very difficult to do unless you have all the donations received at the same time. Therefore a deadline is required to target receipt of delegate bag donations is recommended, but clearly a huge challenge to accomplish.
2. Programming
This portfolio was very large with 4 streams of Programming. For the main conference program areas (not including Future Women in Law Enforcement) there was on any given day, 10-25 program sessions being delivered in several different rooms of the hotel.
Program volunteers were required for introducing and thanking the speakers during the day, presenting speaker gifts, ensuring handouts (if any) were available, and assisting the speaker in any other ways required. Volunteers were also needed to ensure to ensure people movement and entrance to all areas was by conference delegates only and facilitated in a timely fashion in several areas of the hotel.
Program volunteers were predominantly recruited by the Program Chairs for each program stream. They were trained and provided biography and speaking notes on each speaker. This was considered a best practice and was very successful.
The Programming committee also dedicated one volunteer to ensure that when the speakers arrived they were welcomed to the conference (there was both local and international speakers) and provided with a package of information to assist each one of them (Great idea).
Keynote speakers were important and required special considerations, due not only to contractual obligations but also for other areas such as security requirements of the room, etc. Program volunteers assigned to these individuals were often senior members of our Executive or Organizing committee. This was another best practice and strongly encouraged.
44
Future Women in Law Enforcement
This unique 2 day program for students required volunteers to assist in many areas. The organizing committee required volunteers primarily in their specific program areas, as mentors and leaders in various law enforcement streams. These professionals were sought out early in the planning stages to ensure quality experiences for young students interested in the various fields. The FWILE committee coordinated all activities and volunteers required, with very minimal assistance required from the 2014 IAWP volunteer database.
3. Special Events
Parade of Nations
This big kick-off day required volunteers to work directly with Logistics and Operations to coordinate the large mass of delegates, local police members, students and even girl guides for the parade. Volunteers were thoroughly briefed by L & O for their responsibilities before, during and following the parade and ceremony. Visibility of our volunteers was important and helpful. Many delegates required assistance and direction on the activities being facilitated, as well as assistance back to their hotels and the area. Having a large, informed group of volunteers well briefed on the plans was seen as a best practice. Due to poor weather conditions, contingency plans for the mustering and memorial were essential.
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
This event required a small number of volunteers to be “walkers” of large groups of delegates to and from the museum. Volunteers were also chosen (committee members) to work the front door of the museum and assist museum staff.
Journey to Churchill
This event required volunteers to be Bus guides to and from the main hotel to the Assiniboine park zoo. The zoo provided an abundance of their own volunteers- quite amazing! If we had known how many they were providing our numbers could have been reduced, but again it is better to have too many, than too little.
International Scholarship Breakfast/Awards Luncheon/Gala Banquet & Hospitality Breaks
All of these events required committee organizers to plan well in advance the specifics details relative to their breakfast, lunch or gala dinner. Organizers recruited their own volunteers for many of their key responsibilities and then requested volunteers to assist with room monitoring and people movement.
45 At breaks, the hotel staff managed the coffee and snacks. Volunteers were required to ensure delegates returned back into meeting rooms in a timely fashion, as well as being visible and able to assist delegates with any needs they may have.
Volunteers could probably be better utilized in advance of these events to assist the organizers with the many chores and legwork required. I suspect the organizers took on much of this on their own with some assistance from recruited co-workers, friends, or family!
Silent Auction
While some donated items came in before the conference, a fair amount of donated items arrived within the first few days of the conference. Volunteers were required to assist with physical movement of items at the beginning and end of each day. Volunteers assisted with supervision of the Silent Auction tables and general enquires. No cash exchange was considered a very good practice to continue, (with bidding only on items).
4. Marketing (Includes Website, Trade Show, Printing & Signage, Merchandise)
Merchandise
Volunteers were required to assist with physical movement and display set up/take down of all products (large amount), as needed in the hotel. Volunteers were also needed to assist all day with cash sales and inventory counts- at the end of each day.
Volunteers could have been identified to assist the Organizers for this area, so that the key organizers did not need to be present the entire day and night. I would recommend 2 or 3 shifts of the key organizers with assistance from volunteers during those shifts. It was unrealistic (and recognized too late) to have this key player be there first thing in the morning and then right through until end of the day.
Registration
Registration volunteers assisted Planners Plus, the company our conference hired to coordinate all aspects of registration. These volunteers were extra hands and assistance to the employees of Planners Plus.
46 Given the large number of employees provided by this company to facilitate registration, the 2014 IAWP volunteers could have been reduced. Therefore communication with any outside agency providing service would be recommended in order to accurately determine volunteer requirements in these areas. But better to have too many volunteers, than not enough.
Tradeshow
The tradeshow was an area that did not require many volunteers as most vendors were responsible for the set up and take down of their displays and products, in areas that for the most part, the hotel would provide tables, etc. Volunteers assisted with these type of responsibilities and general security of the area.
5. Logistics and Operations (Includes Transportation and Security)
Coordinators for this area required numerous volunteers in several areas: Command Centre; Drivers for airport pick-up and return; Security for the host hotel and secondary hotel. Many of these volunteers were hand selected police personal and WPS cadets. Experience in police radio communication and security were key to many of these volunteer responsibilities.
6. Companion and Post Companion Tours
Volunteer assistance was necessary to coordinate participant’s identification and tour guide on the bus, etc. Minimal volunteers required, as organizers attended the tours with the participants.
7. Other Areas:
Volunteer Room This very large room was the hub and base for all volunteers to sign in, leave their belongings and also for rests and food. The room also housed the Command Centre and was very busy at all times. Volunteers who may not have been able to attend any of the advance Orientations/Training would have questions and want to know what their responsibilities, location and duties encompassed. This was also where T-Shirts volunteer and information was provided. It was important to have a volunteer assigned to this room for these purposes and security (with purses and other things left in this room).
The room became a meeting place for many committees, as well as where delegates bags, speaker gifts, etc. were assembled and stored until needed. As Volunteer coordinator, this is where both my assistant and I set up our laptops and coordinated all volunteers.
47 A great deal of information was emailed to volunteers (prior to conference) so that they had a base understanding of the conference agenda and activities. This is considered a good practice, although there are so many events and activities, it was hard to have every volunteer know and understand all things going on each day. Printed volunteer schedules were provided each day and each area is recommended to also receive a copy of their volunteers for reference. Volunteers could reference their area of responsibility and timeframes, etc.
I recommend having access to laptops, printers, office supplies and good communication devices (radios, cell phones, etc.) in order to communicate with all members of the organizing committee and the command centre.
Hotel Greeters
It was decided by the Organizing committee that bilingual volunteers be provided at the front of the hotels given the heavy promotion of our bilingual conference. Volunteers met delegates, trade show exhibitors, speakers, etc. and assisted in directing all with general information and often hotel maps/directory to program rooms and all areas. Volunteers were required to trouble shoot different challenges and help problem solve as necessary.
The selection of volunteers in this area, similar to Airport Information booths, was very important. As one of the first people our delegates met, these volunteers were required to be good ambassadors of our conference, our city and our country! Therefore a strong understanding of the overall conference and the many activities were key. A positive and helpful personality were essential!
Hotel Information, Airport Information & Tourism Booth
Volunteers were tasked with staffing information booths at the Winnipeg Airport for the first few days of the conference. This provided a visible presence for people arriving to Winnipeg who were directed to resources and able to obtain general information. Volunteers at the airport were able to meet delegates as they arrived as well as direct delegates, VIP’s; speakers to either IAWP drivers or taxi’s for transportation to their hotels.
Although delegates stayed at several hotels in our city, we provided information booths at the two main host hotels. Volunteers had tourist information, and were on hand to give directions to restaurants, entertainment venues, etc.
Further Discussion
Volunteers were utilized in almost every area. The majority of volunteers were utilized in the Programming portfolios and with Logistics and Operations.
48 As with information obtained from other conferences, the main duties for this portfolio were to ensure sufficient volunteers were in place; ascertain specific requirements from other committee chairs and assign volunteers accordingly; work with committee chairs on scheduling; develop the “volunteer application form”; ensure volunteers were adequately looked after during the conference in terms of food, beverages, and any other needs; and organize post-conference volunteer appreciation night.
Volunteer recruitment began several years prior to the conference. The breakdown of volunteers by department is as follows:
Organization Number of Percentage Volunteers
WPS 102 36% Other 87 30% RCMP 63 22% CSC 18 6% BPS 7 3% CBSA 5 3%
Total: 282 100% As with many conferences, family and friends also stepped up to assist with the 2014 conference.
Many volunteers were retired from their jobs and were able to contribute a great deal of time to the event. I would recommend seeking out retired members for volunteering with committees prior to the conference, as they have the time to do many things while the rest of us are attempting to work on conference planning while still working full time.
Another good idea was to utilize current Police volunteers who were very interested in assisting, as well as local schools, and we used Girl Guides for the Parade of Nations. It is always good to reach out to these groups in your community.
Observations and Recommendations
• The volunteer portfolio is large and requires its own committee to work strategically with each sub- committee to ensure each of their events and activities are successful. • Assigning a volunteer assistant to enter and coordinate all volunteer information and the ever changing schedule for each day was essential. • Assigning a volunteer liaison to each committee was helpful and assisted the volunteer chairperson and assistant to understand the specific needs for each event/activity.
49 • Each committee would typically recruit their own volunteers (colleagues, friends, etc.) and then identify to us who and where they have placed these volunteers. This worked well but only when communicated to the volunteer assistant or VC. If this was not communicated, we would see duplications of volunteers being identified for areas and volunteers unknown to us. • All volunteers were required to complete a volunteer application and this was required to provide all contact information, skills set and interests. • All volunteers were entered in our master database and master email. Each time a volunteer was identified to be assigned and working with a particular project or committee, the database and spreadsheets were updated. This was really important and labor intensive. • A timeline is recommended for the volunteer coordinator, ideally 2 years ahead of conference. During the final year, I recommend attending sub- committee meetings to understand all of the planned activities, events and needs. I did not do this and feel it would have been beneficial. • Communication is extremely important with VC and the executive, sub- committees, all volunteers and potential volunteers! • Volunteers who have expressed an interest to help like to be updated and kept informed. Keeping volunteers regularly informed during even the planning stages of events and activities, helps to keep them engaged and feeling a part of the conference. This is easily accomplished via email but was also good to communicate when Fundraising events were held or during our successful 100 day to Conference information session. • The VC and assistant utilized a volunteer to stay in the volunteer room at all times and this was certainly a good plan. This volunteer could assist all the other volunteers showing up for shifts signed in, provided direction and ensure room was monitored, had food, coffee, etc. This allowed the VC to leave the area and attend all areas to ensure volunteers and the conference was running smoothly. • It was very helpful to have the contact names of every committee member identified on the wall on a large poster with Name, contact number, area of responsibility. • I concur that the VC and assistant not be assigned to any other duties during the conference as I was busy trouble-shooting problems consistently! • One of the largest challenges as my assistant can verify, was to have to have the committee coordinators determine volunteer needs and duties early on. It was difficult to establish needs for each area and both contact and schedule volunteers without this key information.
4. Record Keeping
A full copy of all invoices, bank statements and financial documents has been copied onto a USB drive and turned over (at the board meeting) to the Treasurer.
50 The IAWP 2012 Committee provided similar information at the close of the St. John’s, Newfoundland conference. Further financial data can be accessed by contacting Sergeant Cheryl Larson, Winnipeg Police Service.
The entire planning and operation phase of IAWP 2014 has spanned five years. A great deal of information and correspondence was received in the form of email to [email protected] or [email protected]. These files are stored on the Winnipeg Police Service computer network. Due to the retirement of Conference Director, Sandra Martin, access to these files has been turned over to Sergeant Lisa Mandziak, Winnipeg Police Service (incoming Region 12 Coordinator).
Conference data and associated files, such as registration forms, correspondence, grant applications and reports, and contracts will be retained kept for seven years to comply with Canadian Tax Law (should an audit be triggered).
Recommendation: • Record keeping should be formalized in the conference policy update. The financial data, correspondence and related contracts should be available to
5. Legacy of IAWP 2014
IAWP 2014 set a goal to use any residual funds, in accordance with profit sharing agreement with IAWP, to create a legacy fund. The travel costs associated with IAWP conferences is not always paid/approved by law enforcement agencies. The legacy fund is intended to ensure that Manitoba law enforcement officers enjoy the opportunity to attend IAWP conferences even when agencies cannot offer financial support.
A separate committee to oversee the legacy fund has been created. A full status report on this initiative will be presented by Sergeant Lisa Mandziak during the IAWP 2015 Late Board Meeting.
Additional legacy effects include: • Future Women in Law Enforcement program outline (hope to host a second event), • Increased awareness of IAWP and women in policing in Manitoba (hope to build on this momentum as Winnipeg Police look to celebrate “100 years of Women in Policing” in 2016), • Skill building/increased capacity among committee members (leadership, PMP), and
51 • Written planning document for use by the partner agencies and/or IAWP Conference Project
6. Summary of Recommendations
The Conference Director for IAWP 2014 is the Project Manager for the IAWP Conference Policy Review. The original proposal and work plan for the project included a component of “living the experience” of planning a conference. The point of this is to provide recommendations and advice based on experience.
The full set of recommendations from the IAWP 2014 will conference will be transferred over into the Conference Project Update Report. Discussions based on some of the recommendations have already begun.
7. Appendices
See associated files provided on USB.
52