Events policy

IN DRAFT

About this policy

This policy is how things stand at present. If it doesn't work we'll change it!

General principles

Events are either:

• members only
• open to the public

For any event open to non-members, the usual rules about guests in the space apply. In other words, the members organising the event are responsible for the people attending and must be ready to handle emergencies, escort them out in case of fire, and if anything goes wrong (kit is broken or stolen, etc) the member(s) running the event will need to deal with the consequences as they will be held responsible.

If a member brings in a few guests to show them around, have a meeting, work on a project etc, that's not an event, because it's all people the member knows and is escorting in the space - that's normal Makespace stuff :)

Children attending the space should always be accompanied by a responsible adult; no more than 1 child per adult member or visitor (as it isn't always possible to supervise more than 1 child in a workshop situation).

Members only events

These events are organised by one or more members.

• because everyone attending is a member, things are fairly straightforward
• event may anywhere in the space
• if most of any one room in teh space will be used and it won't be possible/nice/easy for other members to do stuff in that room whilst the event is happening, then the event should book the room(s) in advance on the calendar.
• the event can be free or subject to a charge (the funds could pay for materials and/or a trainer's time or travel expenses etc, or could be donated to Makespace). If the event has a charge, the member(s) organising it are responsible for collecting the money and making any payments.
• The event can be open to all members or restricted to just some members (for example, only members who have been trained on the 3D printer; only a fixed number of members; only specific members for some other reason).

Events open to the public

These events are organised by one or more members.

• Events may be held in the classroom (preferred) or the main space. if you want to run a public event in the workshop please check with management@ makespace first.

• It's useful to run some sort of RSVP system so you aren't overwhelmed with people turning up unexpectedly. Whether you do or don't get an idea of numbers in advance, if more people turn up than the organisers or space can handle, the organisers MUST close the doors and not permit more people in.

• remember, if you're the sole organiser, you have to be there or your event can't take place! You might want to make sure you can notify attendees if you are ill or unable to attend at the lsast minute.

Numbers of guests

Depending on the number of people attending, there are requirements on how many members must be organising and attending the event.

• For up to 10 guests, one member can organise the event; for up to 20 guests, two members; etc.
• No event should allow more than 100 people into the space at once. It may be useful to count people in on the door so you know when to stop admitting people.
• If the space feels overcrowded, immediately close the front door and do not permit more people to come in.

Hosting a public event

• Non-members attending your event should be encouraged to read the Visitors rules (posted at the internal door of makespace (NB not posted quite yet)) and to sign in the Visitors Book (if we have one).

• Encourage non-members attending your event to take a Makespace card and consider becoming a member :)

• If there are more than 10 non-members present, the organiser should give a brief housekeeping intro at the start of the event, pointing out fire exits, and potentially also other useful info (toilet location, first aid or other safety information that may be needed).

Doors

• The exterior front door should not be propped open unless you have a member waiting in the foyer at all times

• For larger events you may want to open the inner front door so that guests can let themselves out. DO NOT DO THIS if the exterior front door is propped open, or anyone could just walk into Makespace!

• there is an access token in the cafe which can be used to give access to the toilets. for big events you might want to relocate the token to the corridor just outside the cafe so anyone returning from the toilets can let themselves in. If you do that when your event ends YOU MUST BRING THE TOKEN BACK IN TO MAKESPACE.

big events and regular events and tracking attendance

Knowing who attends our events is important for Makespace to demonstrate its reach, which both meets the criteria of our bootstrap grant funding and is likely to unlock future funding opportunities. In particular we have a target to get 500 people each doing 6 hours of Makespace stuff!

So, if your event is 6 hours or longer, please ensure you have a sign in sheet where everyone signs in with their full name and signs to confirm they are attending a 6+ hour event. Once you have this sheet completed please scan it or email an electronic copy to management@makespace.org, so we can report to our funders.

If your event is less than 6 hours long but forms part of a series, for example, a course of 6 or more 1-hour talks or workshops, where you expect many people to attend the whole series, you will want to have a sign in sheet where it's easy to see how many events each person attended. You could use a matrix where each person signs in once and then ticks or signs for subsequent events. Again, once the course is complete (or you have lots of people who have done 6 hours of stuff) please scan it or email an electronic copy to management@makespace.org, so we can report to our funders.

The target is 6 hours in total of engagement and this can be made up of one 6 hour block, several shorter blocks of time, whatever.

Publicity for events

• Events open to Members only can be advertised on the google group and/or on the Meetup group. It's essential that the event clearly indicates that it's members only.

• Events open to the public can be advertised on the Meetup group

Space

• Whichever room the event is held in should be returned to its usual layout after the event.
• Organisers are responsible for cleaning up after events and this should be done immediately after the event, not later in the day or the next morning.

Food and drink

• Makespace doesn't provide catering.
• Organisers can arrange food and drink, or use existing honesty box snacks and tea/coffee facilities.
• Alcohol can only be served at events with the prior permission of the Directors. This applies even if there happens to be beer in the kitchen.