The Internal/Departmental Coordinator and committee members (see below) will need to create an information package for the different departments at your institution. These packages should contain information on the champion for your institution (i.e. Site Chair and/or Student Chair), and outline the benefits of their specific departmental involvement.

Set up a secure website with information for interdepartmental communication, including FAQ’s and a comment feed that allows coordinators to submit more specific questions, and departmental forms (more on this below).

The next step is to determine the appropriate person(s) in each department to speak with regarding the specifics of their departmental involvement. Many times a department will have a person who is either dedicated to outreach initiatives, or handles these types of requests. The Chair of each department will be a key contact in securing departmental support, and contact information for others within the department. The SR Site Chair should help gather the support of various departmental Chairs and Faculty Deans, as having their support for this initiative will increase efficiency for the departmental organizers.

Once the Internal/Departmental Coordinator and their committee have found the correct person(s) to meet with in the various departments, the next step is to set up an initial meeting. During this meeting it is important to highlight the following facts:

• Departments are only responsible for their own displays, not the overall organization of the event (though some departments may be interested in taking on larger roles).
• They are also responsible for funding their own displays/pavilions (unless your institution has agreed to help/subsidize individual displays).
• Finally, they are required to find their own set of volunteers (hopefully including faculty members) to “put on” their show – though volunteers should be provided by the central organizing committee or Executive Committee to help each department set up, take down, move and organize equipment as needed. Help should be provided to assist departments in finding volunteers. However, it must be made very clear to departments that any volunteers delegated to them by the Volunteer sub- Committee may not be trained in their specific subject area, and therefore may not be well equipped to handle subject-specific requests from the public on the day of the event.

This initial meeting of the department representatives should last only 20 – 30 minutes and is intended to get the department interested and excited about the initiative. The departmental representatives should then be left with detailed information regarding the overarching event plan, and directed to your internal website to begin planning their specific involvement. It is important to ensure that all departments are invited (not just ones that have shown a direct interest, or have been met with individually) as you want to cast as wide a net as possible for participants – and you never know who might show up.

Following the initial meeting, the Internal/Departmental Coordinator should meet with all departments (or their appointed representatives) on an individual basis to ensure their participation in the event. Then, the first “All Department Meeting” can be held for those planning to participate on the event-day (if time and schedules permit). This meeting is intended to present the strategic plan, and overarching goals of the event, as well as discuss the departments’ initial plans and answer questions.

The main purpose of the All Department Meeting is to generate greater interdepartmental communication, and to develop departmental event plans in coordination with the Logistics Committee Chair, Science Carnival Committee Chair, and Science Stage Committee Chair – all of whom should be present and active throughout this meeting. It is important to clarify what your central organizing committees need in terms of support and participation, as well as what they will require of the organizing committee (i.e. specific logistical support). The meeting will also introduce the Internal/Departmental Coordinator and committee members to any departmental representatives not yet familiar with these points of contact, the internal website (if available) and, if possible, an online discussion forum for all participating departments.

The Site Chair and Student Chair should be present at this meeting, and as many other members of the central organizing committee or Executive Committee as possible – this meeting will serve to introduce the central organizers, and establish essential points of contact. This introduction provides a recognizable face for the department representatives who may need to meet with these individuals in the future, and allows the departments to direct their questions specifically to those responsible for the overall organization of the event.

After the All Department Meeting, departments should continue to plan their specific event-day participation, demonstrations, and exhibits while maintaining interdepartmental communication.

The next “All Departmental” meeting should take place about a month or two after the first. At the second meeting, departments are provided with more information on the logistical coordination of the day-of event. They should also be provided with a “Departmental Requisition Form” to complete and submit to the Logistics Committee. This form contains information on what the departments will require on the event day in terms of equipment, volunteers, location, etc. This information should then be quickly disseminated by the Logistics Committee Chair to the appropriate sub-committees (i.e. Science Carnival Committee, Science Stage Committee, and Volunteer Coordinators) so that they are able to address any issues, and fulfill the requests of each department.

On the day of the event ensure that members of the Logistics, Volunteer, and Internal/Departmental Committees, as well as the Student Chair and Site Chair have the appropriate contact information for each of the departments in case of emergency, or impromptu adjustments to the event plan/organization (i.e. execution of a rain-day plan). The departments in turn will need to be made aware of their main contact person for event-day issues/concerns, and general assistance (a member of the Executive Committee should be assigned to each department for this purpose). The participation of each department should primarily serve to showcase the research and innovation going on within the department in a publicly accessible manner (please see below for more details), and promote direct interaction between researchers and the general public.