EuroPython 2015 Call for Participation: On-site Teams

The EuroPython Society (EPS) is happy to announce the Call for Participation (CFP) for EuroPython 2015. The purpose of this call is to select teams willing to help organize the EuroPython conference on-site at a suitable location.

Introduction

This Call for Participation is meant to collect proposals from teams wishing to help run EuroPython 2015 in a location they are local to. As on-site team, you will be integrated into the new workgroups organizational structure the EPS is currently putting in place to run future EuroPython conferences:

EuroPython Workgroups: Call for Volunteers

The main idea behind this workgroup model is to make sure that tasks which do not need to be done by on-site team members can be implemented by distributed workgroups, that can work remotely and persist from location to location, greatly reducing the loss of institutional knowledge we have seen in recent location switches.

Another major aspect of setting up the EPS workgroups rather than having a structure centered around a local organizer, is to reduce the amount of work and financial risk for the on-site teams. As on-site team you no longer have to enter 5-6 figure Euro contracts for the venue or catering and you don’t have to bother with running a website or arranging the conference program. Please note that we still encourage local team members to participate in the workgroups for these tasks, since this simplifies coordination.

The EPS strives to keep the EuroPython conference quality as high as possible, in all of its components. We expect the on-site team to take their proposals very seriously, knowing that they will need to work hard to make the conference a real success.

Timeline for Proposals

The Call for Participation will run until the following deadline for submissions. Proposals must be submitted until midnight UTC on the deadline day, and must adhere the requirements specified in this document. Please make sure to read the whole document carefully.

2014-11-28 - Deadline for submissions (announcement + 4 weeks)
2014-12-05 - Deadline for EPS to review proposals (1 week)
2014-12-12 - Deadline for amended proposals (1 week)
2014-12-26 - Decision on the next EP host (within 2 weeks)

Proposal Workflow

Send your proposal as PDF to the board list: board@europython.eu. This is a private list, so you can include confidential information such as quotes from venues and caterers.
The board will review the proposals and possibly request amendments directly from the submitters. This is done in private between the submitters and the EPS board.
The final version of each proposal will be released to the public after the amendment deadline (with confidential information removed). The EPS will ask to the Python community to provide comments relating to the proposals and take an active role in to discussions.
The final decision for the selection of the on-site team and location will be announced by the EPS board within two weeks after the deadline for amended proposals.

What is EuroPython

EuroPython is the second largest Python conference in the world, right after PyCon US in North America. These are some statistics from EuroPython 2014, to give you an idea of what the on-site team should be ready to handle:

1200 participants
7 days of conference
7 parallel tracks (5 talk tracks, 2 training tracks)
Total revenue of about 500,000 EUR

Note that we are open to accepting proposal which can only host fewer attendees, with 600 attendees being the minimum. These numbers are just to give you an idea of how big the EuroPython event has become over the years and how much potential there is for growth.

Please see the EPS EuroPython page for more details on past EuroPython conferences:

http://www.europython-society.org/europython

How EuroPython is run

The EuroPython conference series brand is owned by the EPS. In the past the EPS granted permission to use the brand to local organizers based on a set of requirements, and the local organizing team then had to run the event in collaboration with the EPS.

Since this model no longer scales and doesn’t encourage the community to take part in the organization process, we have started a new approach based on workgroups as explained in the document linked to in the introduction. The on-site team will integrate with the other EPS workgroups and be responsible for taking care of the tasks related to the conference organization on site.

Unlike in previous years, and to further reduce the burden on the on-site teams, we will only request the on-site teams to sign up for one year, keeping in mind, of course, that the team may want to submit a follow-up proposal for the next year. The EPS will take such prior knowledge into account when deciding on the proposals.

On-site Team Requirements

These are the requirements the on-site teams signs up to when submitting a proposal. Changes to these requirements are possible, but must be signed off by the EPS board before they can be put in place.

The conference will be financially and legally run by the EPS, so the on-site team does not have to be a legal entity or enter into high-risk contracts.
The on-site team should be geographically located in a specific country within Europe.
The on-site team must be willing to actively coordinate with the EPS board and the other workgroups, so that all parts of the EuroPython ecosystem can work together in a productive way.
The on-site team must be composed of at least 5 active people. We feel that 5 is the bare minimum for the team to successfully handle the amount of work. Please keep in mind that the team is required to grow significantly during the conference days and it’s considered an advantage, if the on-site team can show that they already have a good number of volunteers to count on during the conference days.
The on-site team must provide at least 2 available venue options, together with catering options for the venues. Locations must provide room for hosting at least 600 attendees, but please keep in mind that demand for EuroPython is more in the range of 1000+ attendees.
The conference must provide the following services to all attendees. Proposals will have to provide details about how these can be implemented at the proposed venues.

Food and drinks for lunches and breaks on all conference days and the sprints
Optionally, breakfast on all conference days (not necessarily on the sprint days)
WLAN service to access the Internet during the conference and the sprints
At least one social event, which can be a dinner, a show or some other form of entertainment, where food and drinks are served. The main social event should ideally be available to all attendees, but may also be limited to a lower number of people, if the selected venue cannot serve as many participants.
A partner program
Audio/video facilities to support speakers and talk recordings.

The conference must take place within the following timeframe: May 1st - October 31th. The venues have to be available for one week plus a setup day during this timeframe. It is possible to propose more than just one possible conference date, since the costs may vary across this timeframe.
The on-site team will work as on-site workgroup in the context of the EPS (see below for details) and has to follow the same rules as all other workgroups in the EPS. Members of the on-site team should also participate in other workgroups to simplify coordination, e.g. there should be on-site team members in the sponsors workgroup to help the sponsors with booth setups, shipment of goods, customs, etc.
The on-site team will coordinate with the EPS board and workgroups to implement the chosen EuroPython structure. The current structure is: conference days from Monday to Sunday, in which 5 days are used for parallels talks and trainings, and 2 weekend days for sprints.
The on-site team must provide a local expenses budget plan as part of the proposal. A example budget plan can be provided on request. The budget figures will then be used as basis for the conference budget maintained by the EPS and its workgroups, so care has to be taken to provide sound numbers in the budget plan.
The on-site team will receive a budget for the work on site, e.g. to pay for logistics, printing, local service companies, etc. It must work together with the EPS financial workgroup to keep it updated on any spendings and changes in a timely manner. Budget changes must be approved by the EPS board.
The on-site team must be able to provide supporting letters for visa applicants wanting to attend the conference.

Proposal Structure

The proposal must cover all of the following points:

A proposal introduction which describes the motivation for the proposal, underlines the willingness to commit to the needed work and acknowledges the above requirements.
A description of the on-site team, its members and history in the context of their local Python community.
Short biography of the key members and their previous experience in conference and events organizations.
Previous conference history of the on-site team (if any). Describe which conferences were run and provide some figures on their size (registrations, tracks, total income)
Assignment of key positions to on-site team members. Positions to be assigned (one member can be responsible for more than one of the following roles):

Chairperson of the on-site team workgroup: usually also the conference chair and representative of conference for that year
Sponsor manager: on site contact for all sponsor activities, responsible for local sponsors
Venue manager: handling all contacts with the venue and caterer
Logistics manager: handling all aspects of local logistics and customs
Conference desk manager: responsible for the on site help desk, on site registrations, tickets, cash refunds, attendee support, etc.

List of all team members that will be present during the conference itself as volunteers (but not necessarily help before the conference begins), and/or sources from which people can be or will be acquired if needed (eg: universities, other local associations, etc.). This list is indicative, as most of the volunteers helping during the conference are usually enrolled during the last months/weeks before the conference, usually started of through a call for volunteers.
List of potential local sponsors. The EPS manages contacts with international sponsors, but local sponsors also help a lot in funding the conference. These are often smaller companies which will not move to new locations with the conference, so a local contact is highly beneficial in attracting these sponsors.
Proposed dates for EuroPython 2015.
Conference Events. Describe which kind of (social) events you can propose for the conference and are able to provide support for.
Expected differences from previous EuroPython conferences (2013 and 2014). Please highlight what things would need to be changed in the way the conference is run on site. Examples of things we would consider worthwhile to be mentioned:

“We can get additional support from the local government / city council”
“We need to provide tickets to city locals at reduced prices”
“We intend to serve meals in a different venue”
“We have some extra space available for posters / sponsors”
“We want to have our local Python conference run as satellite event”

Venue proposal. Describe the following subitems:

Location, reachability by car, train, plane
Venue floor plans, catering floor plans (if different from venue)
Total capacity for talk rooms, training rooms, plenary sessions, booth space and catering/restaurants; if possible, including room plans
A/V equipment
Video recording, availability of on-site support for A/V recordings, possibly even including live- or post-editing
Lightning equipment, availability of on-site support for lighting
Upstream internet connection (at least 100Mbit/s up and downstream)
WLAN structure, service provider, their experience with similar events (WLAN has to be able to handle more than 1000 devices without problems)
Available space for conference desk, sponsor booths, posters, social event, etc., planned locations of these on the floor plans

Accomodation. Describe the following subitems:

Available hotels/hostels near the conference venues, their distance from the conference venue, city center, airport and train station
Rates for the hotels/hostels and, optionally, special rates which can be made available to attendees
The above for three different categories: high end, average and low end
Optionally, a “main” hotel that serves as default choice for conference attendees and serves as social hub

City tourist information. Describe the following subitems:

General information: touristic information, restaurants, mobility
Travel information: how to get to the city and to the conference venue. This information should indicate how easily the conference city and venue are accessible from across Europe and from overseas. It should also answer questions like: Are there convenient ways to get to the conference venue from airports/trains and bus stations and without having a car/taxi?
Travel costs from the previous mentioned travel hubs to the conference venue

Visa: if attendees may require a visa to enter the country/city, please provide detailed information.
Proposed local budget.

The budget should include all expected costs for the on-site support, including the venue costs, catering, on-site rental of equipment, costs for venue services and logistics, extras like public transport passes, museum/tourist passes, etc. Optional budget positions should be indicated as such, to give more flexibility in comparing proposals.
The budget must handle different scenarios related to different venues, including fixed rooms costs, catering, services, etc. Please provide cost estimates for 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 attendees (if possible with the venue).
Please write to the EPS board if you need help with setting up a budget plan.

Taxes/Legal. If there are special tax/legal requirements in the on-site team’s country that require the EPS to register with the local government or pay attention to special regulations, please describe the necessary steps and provide a local accounting/legal contact who can help us work out the details.

Proposal Format

Some things to consider when sending the proposal document.

Please mark information that you consider confidential in the proposal, so that we can remove those parts from the version that will be published during the Call for Participation process.
The proposal itself should be sent as PDF, LibreOffice, Word document, or shared as Google Docs document.
When using third party content (e.g. pictures, graphics, special fonts), please add a section which includes the references for these elements of the proposal. We need to publish the proposals to the general public and thus adhere to copyright restrictions that may apply to the content.

This Call for Participation (CFP) is also available as PDF file.

Thank you
–
EuroPython Society