Event Planning Packs

Event Planning Packs are designed to guide you through the things that you will need to think about for your event, and can be found on the Forms page. There are different packs for different kinds of event:

• Balls
• Trips & Tours
• Theatre Productions
• Events in Union Venues
• Other Events Outside Union Venues

Each pack consists of a Checklist telling you what you need to include with the pack, a Risk Assessment and a Financial Planner.

Exec training courses, run by the SU, include more detailed information about the packs. If you have any troubles with them, speak to the Societies Coordinator, Pam Walker.

If you want to put on any sort of event, production, ball or trip, it must be approved by the Event Planning Committee. When you have completed your pack and handed it to Pam in the Student Activities Room, you'll be invited to an Event Planning meeting.

The Event Planning Process

1. Get an idea for an event and obtain advice from the relevant people (see below).
2. Get the appropriate Event Planning pack (available from the Student Activities Room) and start planning.
3. Submit your Event Planning pack to the Student Activities Room (see below for the various deadlines for different event types).
4. Pam will email you asking you to come to an Event Planning Committee meeting, where you will discuss your event with the staff. If anything needs to be sorted out we will tell you there and then.
5. When all issues are sorted, your pack is signed off, go ahead and have an awesome event!

The Event Planning Committee - Who and Why?

The Event Planning Committee approve all events carried out by Societies and Sports Clubs.

The committee consists of:

• Societies Officer (for society events)
• Sports Officer (for sports club events)
• Union Development Officer (to oversee finances)
• Societies Coordinator, Pam Walker
• Entertainments Manager, Rob Chamberlain
• Students' Union Admin Supervisor, Lesley Shortland
• Management Accountant, Alex Tovey

The committee meets with you about your event, and advises you if anything needs to be done before your event can be passed. They will also point you in the right direction for support in anything that needs to be done for your event.

Support from Union staff

You can find a comprehensive guide to the huge amount support the Students' Union can provide you with on the page Union Staff.

The key people for events will be the Societies Officer and the Societies Coordinator, Pam Walker.

Things to note

Quotes

It is important to obtain quotes for all aspects of your event, and to include these with the pack. However, you must not make any financial commitment before meeting with the Event Planning Committee, in case something about your event needs to be changed!

VAT

When you're getting quotes, don't forget to find out if the amount you've been quoted includes VAT or not. Value Added Tax (VAT) is 20%, and it would not be good to find the invoice land in your lap with 20% more than you originally thought.

Hiring Union Venues

If you are hiring a Union venue, you can make a provisional booking with the Students' Union Admin Supervisor Lesley Shortland (in the Central Admin Office, or lesley.shortland@warwicksu.com). Find out more on the Room Bookings page. If you are hiring an external venue, you should make a provisional booking where there is no cost for cancellation.

Tech hire

You can obtain quotes for hire of techical equipment from the Students' Union by emailing the Union's Facilities and Building Manager Andy Bastable andy.bastable@warwicksu.com with your requirements. If you're obtaining quotes from outside the Union, make sure no financial commitment is incurred.

Contracts

It is also important that you do not sign any contracts before your event has been approved, and certainly don't pay any deposits. If the Event Planning Committee hasn't signed off your event, you could end up personally liable for the costs because you signed! This is not the case if your event has been approved and you're signing something that you gave details of in the pack.

Deadlines for Event Planning Packs

Event Planning packs can be obtained from the Student Activities Room. Deadlines:

• Balls - a term before
• Tours - a term before
• Trips - four weeks before
• Productions - as soon as the submissions process has happened
• Smaller events - two weeks before

The earlier the better!