A copy of the programme proposal should be emailed to the Head of Facilities & Events in the first instance, who will then send it to the relevant specialty Standing Advisory Committee or Sub-Committee for final approval.

General format:

The proposal should include the topics to be covered and if possible, the provisional speakers.  A successful programme should contain 6-8 sessions, usually between 30-40 minutes each. It is essential that you allow time for questions after each speaker or include dedicated discussion sessions. You do not have to follow the usual format of continuous lectures we can incorporate workshops or debates. To ensure that delegates from further afield can arrive at the College in time, a suitable registration time is 9.30am or 10.00am and a suitable finish would be 4.30pm. 

• All speakers must be informally contacted with regards to their participation in the meeting by the organiser.
• The programme organiser must send full contact details of the speakers to the Events Manager 
• The Events Co-ordinator will then send the formal invitations to all speakers on behalf of the College.
• The formal invitation letters will include lecture title, lecture timing, request for abstract and reference, AV requirements, hotel requirements* and a College expense claim form
• The Events Manager will format the programme into RCPath style ready for publication

* The College will book and pay for any hotel accommodation required by the organiser or the speakers, if they reside outside London.

Sponsorship

The Royal College of Pathologists is a registered charity and relies on sponsorship to keep attendance costs as low as possible or cover the expenses of international speakers and is always extremely grateful to sponsors for their valuable support.  We do have sponsorship guidelines which can be emailed to you on request

Key principles:

• Sponsorship must be approved by the medical/scientific organiser of the event.
• It must be made clear that sponsorship does not imply College approval or endorsement of the company or any of its products.
• Individual contributors of the meeting (speakers or chairpersons) must declare any relevant links with the sponsors (paid or otherwise) and sponsors will not be able to dictate the names of speakers or the content of the meeting.
• Sponsors must not use the College logo or any record (photographic or otherwise) of the meeting for promotional material purposes.
• If overseas speakers are listed on the programme, sponsorship must be confirmed to cover travel expenses before the meeting is advertised.

The Events Coordinators will liaise with the organiser on possible sponsors.  If the organiser has direct contacts they may contact them on the College’s behalf

Promotion

• Once invitations have been sent out, the programme will be listed on the College website and included in all forthcoming issues of The Bulletin and the e-Newsletter
• The Events Team will liaise with the organiser on suitable external advertising
• All avenues of advertising will be researched and confirmed within budget restrictions
• The Events team will keep the organiser updated of confirmed advertising

Registration fees

Registration fees are agreed by the Royal College of Pathologist’s Trustee Board. They do differ from programme to programme and multiple-day, half day or reduced fees will need to be agreed prior to publication of event.  Fees are likely to increase each year.

• If sponsorship is secured prior to the event at a high enough level, then we can reduce the registration fees, but this will need to be approved by the College Treasurer prior to the programme being advertised.
• All registrations come direct to the College and are dealt with by the Events Department
• Registrations can be made via application form included in the Bulletin, the College website or via the telephone.
• A receipt is issued once payment has been processed.

Contact with speakers

At least 6 weeks prior to the meeting, all speakers will be contacted who have not submitted an abstract to confirm submission for the delegate pack.

Contact with delegates

2 weeks prior to the meeting, all registered delegates will be sent the final details for the event.  This will include:

• Final programme
• Directions to the venue
• Hotel information
• At this time, the speakers will also be sent final details which will include:
• Final programme
• Directions to the venue
• Confirmation of hotel booking (if any)
• Expense details (Via our online platform, Rydoo)

Expenses 

The College will cover all reasonable expenses incurred.  An expenses form will be issued and should be returned to the College for reimbursement via our online expense platform Rydoo.  All speakers/chairmen/organisers should refer to the College Expenses Policy which will be emailed to all speakers on invitation and abide by the requests set within.  Funding/Sponsorship should be confirmed for Non-European speakers.  We would also advise Non-European speakers to clarify the advertised flight charges prior to booking. All claims must be submitted within three months of the expenditure being incurred.  Consideration must be given to using the most cost-effective method of travel.  As the College is a charity, claimants are encouraged to keep expenses to a minimum.

If you haven’t claimed any expenses using the new Rydoo program from the College in the past, you will need to complete a ‘New User Details’ form, which can be obtained by contacting finance@rcpath.org.  Once your Rydoo account has been set up and activated, you will then receive an email from our finance team and followed by an email from rydoo.com inviting you to create a password for your account (this link will only be valid for 5 days so please act on it as soon possible).