MEDS Workshop proposal

From MEDS Wiki

You’re thinking of hosting a future MEDS Workshop? Awesome! Here are some tips and tricks on how to become a successful host!

Step one: On slack create a channel for your proposal. Through this we'll know that you want to propose and help you develop your proposal.

At MEDS Forum you will have 12 minutes to present, followed by a 25-minute Q&A session. This year we want the presentations to happen Pre Forum so that people are coming to forum already informed and ready for discussion and making decisions. We're still discussing the exact format – it will be something along the lines of uploading documents and a presentation or video; setting up a Q&A sheet and a Skype session; during Forum final answers to open questions some comparative discussion and an early decision on MEDS2021 so that the team of the winning proposal can begin work while at forum. (shadow 2020 team; develop Theme; Team building and Plannning exercises)

In your proposal you should cater for 150 - 200 participants, including up to 30 Tutors (reduced fee or other compensation).

In your proposal you should schedule the two-week event with Tutors arriving four days earlier for a Tutor Camp.


Team

Begin to establish a competent and qualified team. Organising MEDS Workshop is no one man job!

  • At MEDS Forum introduce us to all of the people who are at this point involved.
  • If you have a NC in your organising Team, nominate a new NC as being an organiser and NC is going to be too much
  • Share your expertise with us!
  • Collective MEDS experience of the team.
  • Other relevant experiences regarding project management
  • Who might take what role
  • It is not expected that you have a fully locked and loaded team for the proposal, but we need to see a group of people who stand behind the proposal and not just an individual with their own idea.

Location

The quality of the MEDS Workshop is highly dependent on the location. Share with us an overview of your proposed location.

  • Where is the location in your country?
  • How does the location complement or contrast with your concept?
  • Present images of the proposed venues.
  • Proximity of team to workshop location pre MEDS.
  • When selecting a location, please keep in mind the burden of travel distances and the distinct advantage of having contacts into the local community and insider’s knowledge of where we are going.
  • Present the Pros and Cons of your proposed location.
  • Cities, while attractive, can be of huge distraction to the projects. It can be harder to find sufficient accommodation, workspaces and communal hangout spaces. On the other hand, cities offer a greater opportunity for excursions, cultural exchange and experience of life outside the project. We have had MEDS in the middle of cities, on the outskirts and completely out in the wild – one is not generally better than the other – we just want to see that you are aware of the downsides as well as the advantages.

Accommodation

The way we sleep affects both work and play.

  • The accommodation must balance both privacy and communal experience.
  • It is a requirement that everyone (ideally including your team) lives together
  • Which options for accommodation are available? e.g. student dorms, hostel, barracks, affordable hotel, seminar centres, convent, summer lodges, etc.

Quality of Food

Three meals a day keeps the doctor away!

  • Present a suggested menu. What is available for breakfast, lunch (packed/ what’s on offer around the area) and dinner?
  • How do you propose to facilitate varying dietary requirements? e.g. vegetarians, vegans, halal, etc.
  • What is the proximity of the dining venue to workshop spaces and accommodation?

Project Possibilities + Infrastructure

As an interdisciplinary network, one thing essential to MEDS is a diversity in project type. Which opportunities for projects does your location offer?

  • Present project possibilities.
  • What can your workshop location and facilities offer for projects? e.g. analogue and digital facilities, university facilities, places for construction, etc.
  • What space is available for construction sites?
  • Is there a body of water?
  • Is there an open field?
  • Are there walls that can be graffitied?
  • Are there public theatre halls where we can put on performances?
  • Are there nature reserves?
  • What tools are accessible?
  • Both power tools and hand tools for construction
  • Digital tools? Computers, printers, cameras, etc.
  • Artistic tools?
  • What materials can be offered?
  • How close are worksites to project locations?
  • Is there potential for active collaboration with a community?
  • How do your projects affect the locality, during or after the workshop?
  • A local impact is not necessary, but a negative impact has to be avoided!
  • Is there potential for active collaboration with local companies or institutions (e.g. for tools and machines)?

Travel Costs + Logistics

The first experience of any MEDS Workshop is the arrival of each country’s team!

  • How well connected is your location by plane, train, road, boat, foot? (Is there a Ryanair or Easyjet Service nearby?)
  • Are there Visa restrictions when entering your country?
  • How much, on average, will it cost people to travel to your location?

Daily Expenses

It is important to remember that the living costs of different countries will vary greatly!

  • What does it cost to eat and drink per day?
  • How much is a beer is the supermarket/pub/club?
  • How much does public transport cost? (Will you provide alternative transport, eg. bikes?)
  • How much money is required for excursions?

Budget

Please provide us with an overall projected budget.

  • Your overview should consider a projected participant fee and reduced tutor fee
  • The participation fee should only cover accommodation, food, welcome pack and €10 MEDS Network contribution costs.
  • What does accommodation and food for 250 people cost?
  • What budget is available for workshop venues and tools?
  • Is an additional budget required for evening + social activities?

Organising Schedule

Remember, you’re making your proposal 2 years before the event will begin. It may seem like a lot of time, but you need to be careful to distribute your time wisely across the whole 2 years.

Your presentation should include rough details of the organisation team’s intended work structure for the 2 years leading up to the event.

Potential Sponsors

Given the projected budget above what sponsorship support will you require?

  • What national companies are strong or growing in your country?
  • Are there companies to sponsor advertising, web hosting, design consultation, branding advice, legal or financial support?

Concept

Each year the chosen MEDS Workshop develops from an individual ideology.

  • What is the coherency between the locations and what they will offer?
  • How do you envisage the projects will work?
  • What is your approach to the way the workshop will be run?

Alternative Events

Every year’s project portfolio is complimented by a selection of extra and alternative activities.

  • What do you see as potential and appropriate activities to compliment or contrast your concept?
  • Do you see members of the MEDS family facilitating the events e.g. PechaKucha Presentations or do you see external partnerships forming e.g. Lecture Series? Is there room for both?
  • What evening time social activities will be offered?
  • Is there the opportunity to host a series of mini workshops?

Venue for Collective Assembly?

Core to the organisation of MEDS events is a large social meeting space. This venue or space should offer flexible usage (e.g. lecture room, chill out space, dance floor, etc.) It should be a space that can be available for use at all times during the day.

  • What types of venues do you see as suitable for this collective assembly?
  • How close is this venue to the accommodation?
  • is there more than one space? outdoor and indoor?

The Workshop Schedule

Every year the Workshop Schedule varies slightly. There is a lot to be covered in the two weeks and an initial idea of how this would all slot together will help both us and you.

  • When do you think people could arrive? (Is there a cheaper day to arrive on?)
  • What day will the workshops start to work? Remember the induction and project presentations take a day at the beginning.
  • How will excursion days and days off fit into the schedule?
  • When will National Night take place?
  • Will there be a day of project presentations as the workshop comes to a close?
  • How might evening activities complement the busier workshop days?

Weighing up the Pros and Cons

When making your MEDS Workshop proposal remember to share not only the Pros but also the Cons for your proposed location and workshop! No workshop will tick all the boxes and an honest and fair judgement can only be made with the most coherent of location descriptions. It is up to you to teach us about your proposal.

Submission

The submission (pdf, video, recorded presentation etc.) must be in English and uploaded to Mega two weeks prior to the MEDS Forum. Add a brief statement outlining your group’s intent and reasons for hosting a MEDS Workshop (Approx. 500 words). Please upload additional documents like timetables and budget plans separately and share the link to your proposal on slack. This way everybody gets a detailed view of your proposal and will have their questions ready at the Forum.

When you apply for MEDS Forum, say that you will do a MEDS Workshop proposal. Each proposal team gets 3 to 4 seats at the Forum, depending on the overall number of seats and proposal teams.

We wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing you at MEDS Forum!