The Executive Committee

• Co-Chairs
• Administrative Team (Financial Officer)
• Program Liaison/Exhibit Team
• Volunteer Coordinators
• Sponsorship team
• Marketing Team
• Logistics Team
• Special Initiatives Team

Team sizes, categories, and objectives can vary between sites and years.  Team descriptions should convey the importance of these positions (Templates available)

Sub-Committees

The number of members for each sub-committee will vary based on the size and goals of your event. Approximately three committee members (including the Chair) per committee is generally sufficient to prevent scheduling conflicts and volunteer burnout, however, larger events will most likely require a greater number of committee members.

Each sub-Committee is responsible for specific components of the event organization that collectively produce the end product. The sub-Committees are:

• Treasurer:
  • The Treasurer is responsible for ensuring the event operates within budget. The Treasurer provides each sub-Committee with a target budget that has been previously approved by a financial officer of the institution. The Treasurer then collects a forecast from each sub- Committee outlining how their funds will be used throughout the organizing period; the Site Chair must then approve the allocation of funds proposed by the sub-Committees. The Treasurer will continuously collect all receipts from the committees to ensure the funds are used according to the approved budget. The Treasurer will also work in close contact with a member of the institution who is able to provide reimbursements, pay invoices and distribute funds.
• Logistics:
  • This committee is responsible for organizing and setting up the logistical aspects of your event. This includes securing insurance certificates, booking tents and event space, applying for street closure permits (if applicable), and securing logistical materials for departmental pavilions and other exhibits (such as power generators, tables, chairs, etc). The Logistics Committee also works in close collaboration with the Internal/Departmental Coordinator and the Volunteer Coordinator to ensure every department has the materials and human resource power required to operate successfully.
• Fundraising:
  • The Fundraising committee works with the Treasurer to obtain the necessary funds for the event. The committee will prepare a sponsorship package with which to approach both internal and external funding sources. They may work in collaboration with the Treasurer when approaching local businesses for sponsorship and establishing a network of key contacts.
• Volunteer:
  • The Volunteer committee is responsible for recruiting, distributing and training volunteers for the event. Depending on the size of your event this committee may be the largest as some sites get upwards of 1000 volunteers. The Volunteer Coordinator and their Committee is responsible for advertising volunteer positions, processing applications, and distributing the volunteers equally among all aspects of the event. Volunteers are typically needed to help set up and strike the pavilions, assist departments with their exhibits, act as tour guides, and assist other committees with event-day tasks, etc. The Volunteer Committee is also responsible for ordering SR T-shirts for all volunteers (including departmental volunteers) from the national organizers, providing a “volunteer lounge” on the day of the event, providing refreshments to the volunteers throughout the day, and issuing certificates/recognition for every volunteer. In addition, they are responsible for approving the hours of high school volunteers (if applicable). While the volunteer committee is not directly responsible for the recruitment and training of department-specific volunteers, some departments may require their assistance in advertising for, or training their volunteers. The Volunteer Committee will also need to be aware of the total number of volunteers, including those specific to the individual departments, for record keeping and reporting purposes.
• Publicity and Promotions:
  • The P&P Committee maintains the site’s website and page on the national website, social media platforms, creates ads and posters specific to the site, and advertises through local media outlets. This committee is entirely responsible for any local advertisement, and should plan and implement a community-based promotional campaign. The main purpose of the P&P Committee is to get the word out about the event to the local community.
• Science Carnival:
  • The Science Carnival Committee, in collaboration with the Logistics Committee, focuses on the layout of the event and filling in the areas between departmental pavilions with other activities such as busker stations, science stages, historical figures and large attractions. They are responsible for planning and organizing these interstitial stations, and working together with the Internal/Departmental Committee and Logistics Committee to organize the layout of the event as a whole. Depending on the size of your event, the Science Carnival may be one of the larger committees and require more volunteer assistance. This is especially true if your event plans on having a number of large attractions such as non-Newtonian pools, large scale volcanic eruptions, exploding fruit, etc. It is therefore very important for this committee to work in close collaboration with the other sub-Committees as needed. The Science Carnival Committee will also have the largest budget, and will need to work closely with the Treasurer in order to determine what funds are available and what events can presented.
• Science Stage:
  • The Science Stage is normally a sub-Committee of the Science Carnival Committee, and deals specifically with the auditions and booking of acts for any prominent, or stage venues. They can also develop science-based shows of their own to host on the stage. Depending on the size of your event you may, or may not have a stage component at the event.
• Science Chase:
  • The Science Chase Committee organizes The Amazing Science Chase event. This includes setting the challenges, organizing the flow of the chase, booking the spaces needed (in collaboration with the Logistics Committee) and creating an original theme for the chase. The Science Chase Committee will need to train their own volunteers, and produce registration forms for participants, as well as any applicable waivers. In collaboration with the Fundraising Committee, the Science Chase Committee may seek in-kind support from local area businesses to secure prizes for the winners of the chase. This committee will also need to work closely with the P&P Committee prior to the event in order to generate enthusiasm for the event, and early registration (although event-day registration is also encouraged).
• Internal/Departmental:
  • The Internal/Departmental committee works in close collaboration with the Logistics and Volunteer Committees to organize the departmental pavilions. They act as liaisons between department representatives and the Executive Committee as a whole. The departments are generally able to support their own activities, and do not have much contact with the Treasurer or other Executive Committee members other than the Internal/Departmental Coordinator and affiliated committee, however, this will depend on the level of financial support your institution is able to provide for outreach in each department. The Internal/Departmental Committee works closely with the P&P Committee in preparing site-specific promotional materials and activities (such as event maps, or brochures), providing information to the P&P Committee on the activities and exhibits planned by the departments for inclusion in all outgoing materials.

Team and Individual Responsibilities

Event Co-Chairs (2)

• Organize and run executive committee meetings throughout the year
• Attend Individual team meetings during the first term to provide guidance and ensure all planning is on schedule
• Act as a liaison between the executive committee and the [Institution’s Name] collaborators
• Act as a liaison between [ Institution’s Name] and Science Rendezvous National (e.g. attend National Meetings, contribute ideas and support to other SR sites, coordinate cross-Canada events)
• Review and approve new initiatives
• Work closely with all the other teams for large projects such as drafting the event theme, sponsorship strategies, site location
• Create a post-mortem document with a timeline and important materials for future festival planning

Administrative Team – Financial Officer/Secretary (1)

• Write and post meeting minutes from executive and steering meetings
• Organize and maintain Dropbox and/or Wikipage content
• Schedule and email executive about meetings and important dates/times/locations
• Prepare and maintain budget, financial reports and updates
• Work with sponsorship coordinators to aid external fundraising efforts
• Work closely with financial office to monitor transactions, prepare reimbursement cheques and organize receipts
• Allocating funds across executive teams and keep track of spending

Volunteer Coordinator Team (2)

• Recruiting day‐of volunteers from grads/postdocs, undergrads, staff/faculty, high school students
• Act as the primary point of contact for day‐of volunteers
• Organizing online application process (I.e., name, t‐shirt size, dietary restrictions, availability, activity preference) through sizeable Excel sheets of volunteers
• Organizing the volunteer lounge, t‐shirts and food tickets for volunteers on the day of the event
• Allocating all volunteers based on activity preference and supervising volunteer activity
• Ensure enough volunteers for different areas (departments requesting extra help, setup, cleanup/take‐down, SC Challenge volunteers, street volunteers [draw crowds, crowd control/directions, signs, announcements], first aid/lost children tents, demo volunteers) and organize training sessions for different groups of volunteers
• Coordinate with Program Liaisons and Science Chase to organize volunteers for departments as well as t-shirts and food tickets
• Create Recognition Certificates and host Volunteer Appreciation event

Program Team – Head Program Liaison (1), Program Liaisons (4‐5)

• Create lists of departments and organizations within [Institution’s Name] that could potentially participate in SR
• Contact all possible participants (either previous departmental organizers, departmental chairs, team, club, student union or organization presidents, etc.) and recruit as many as possible to join the SR
• Be the primary point of contact with all new and returning departments/teams/organizations throughout the process, and ensure that all forms are received in a timely fashion and well within deadlines (Note: each PL will likely be primary point of contact with ~6‐8 departments)
• Draft and distribute departmental program forms to all participants that will outline each department’s exhibit. Then, meet with each department individually to design exhibit, answer any questions or concerns, and relay information to other members on the SR executive committee.
• Collect all program forms within reasonable deadline – may need to be a bit tenacious to ensure everyone gets everything handed‐in in a timely manner!
• Compile all departmental forms and collaborate with Volunteer Team and Logistics team to organize required supplies and space needs
• Help organize volunteer lounge, prepare departmental bundles (t‐shirts, food tickets) before event

Head Program Liaison will also organize and run smaller PL Team meetings, ensure that all planning is running on schedule, provide complete documentation and timeline of team’s progress throughout planning process for use by future years’ executive

Marketing Team – Head Marketing Coordinator (1), Marketing Coordinators (2), *Webmaster/Social Media (1), **Promotions Coordinator (1) 

• Organize photographer and photography consent forms for future media releases and advertising
• Actively seek out media outlets (newspaper, online, television, radio, etc.) to advertise SR in the forms of video clips, interviews, advertisements, etc. This must be done in a timely
• Working closely with national SR directors to collaborate and share advertising options, school board promotions, promotions within other local SR participants
• Distribute university‐wide emails and web‐blasts to advertise SR, contact [Institution’s Name] websites, newspapers, radio and blogs to promote
• Send representatives to speak in undergraduate classes to promote the event
• Send invitations to prominent figures in city (political and/or scientific)
• Promotional events at Indigo/Chapters – organize and plan out event including demos and supplies, promotional materials/pamphlets/brochures
• Advertising and promoting Science Chase challenge
• *Website: update and maintain with new updates, maps, departments and groups involved
• *Social media outlets – establish, update and promote (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc)
• **Designing, planning, printing and distributing all promotional materials, including pamphlets, posters, brochures, maps, balloons, buttons, pens, stickers,
• **Requesting/ordering additional promotional materials for use as incentives for day‐of donations
• ** Working closely with national SR directors to plan out all physical promotional materials to be printed and advertised by [Institutions Name] (site‐specific). As well as ordering and properly distributing national and local promotional materials provided by SR National, as well as organizing advertisements to be distributed throughout local school boards and public libraries

Head Media Coordinator will also organize and run smaller Media Team meetings, ensure that all planning is running on schedule, provide complete documentation and timeline of team’s progress throughout planning process for use by future years’ executive

Logistics Team – Head Logistics Coordinator (1), Logistics Coordinators (3)

• Use program forms provided by the Program Liaisons to determine which supplies and equipment are required for departments’
• Order tables, tents and
• Determine water, power, generator needs, and organize providers for these services
• Using the program forms provided by the Program Liaisons, organize where all of the participants will be located, both indoors and outdoors according to their needs
• Building and room bookings through your institution
• Draft up comprehensive maps of the entire event outlining where every participant is located including where all tents are to be set up
• Create a inclement weather plan and ensure that appropriate buildings and rooms have been reserved in case of bad weather
• Work out waste management and clean up with your institution
• Devise an effective counting system that can be used to tally total number of visitors present throughout the day during the event (Coordinate with Volunteer Coordinators to get volunteers to help with this)
• Design and print large banners with arrows and departmental signs (generic enough to use every year) to improve signage and visitor flow on the day of the event

Sponsorship Team – Sponsorship Coordinators (2)

• Acquire external sponsorships and donations for raffle prizes
• Organize food and beverages for volunteers by recruiting a large sponsor willing to provide heavily discounted food for large numbers of
• Work with Volunteer Coordinators and Program liaisons to distribute food tickets to volunteers, to organize delivery of food for departmental volunteers, and dietary
• Organize unique and different food trucks to sell food on the day of the event at the event site
• Organize vendor permits for all food/beverage trucks present at the festival
• Organize the booking and arrival of any external food machines (i.e., popcorn and cotton candy)
• Record and gather all sales from food trucks and external productions

Special Initiative Teams (ie. Science Chase Team – Head SC Coordinator (1), SC Coordinators (3)): 

• Plan, organize and run an Amazing Race-styled science event with science challenges called Science Chase
• Plan 1-2 individual challenges/obstacles and supplies and full setup for all activities (different challenges in different types of science)
• Plan prizes for challenge winners, request donations
• Organize training sessions for day‐of SC volunteers to demonstrate how each challenge is to be run, and plan numbers of volunteers for entire event
• Potentially devise two age categories of challenges (child/youth?)
• Collaborate with Treasurer to plan budget for supplies
• Recruit larger team to help develop new and innovative challenges

Head SC Coordinator will also organize and run smaller SC Team meetings, ensure that all planning is on schedule, provide complete documentation and timeline of team’s progress throughout planning process for use by future years’ executive