Some brief notes on the SVPCA meetings

Organisation

Although the meeting is informal and continues from year to year because someone volunteers to run it, a committee was set up in 2017 to support the organisers and find suitable venues for future meetings. Most organisers set up a bank account for the meeting which is closed, and any surplus passed on to the organisers of the next meeting as a float to cover expenses incurred in the run-up to the meeting.

Numbers attending

Good records have been made since 2010. See Summaries.. This is not a complete record as some organisers have limited the degree to which they use the web site, but gives a pretty good idea.

Venue

The basic requirement is for a lecture theatre seating up to 150 people with facilities for PowerPoint presentation, and a space in which posters can be displayed for the duration of the conference. Most universities have poster boards which can be set up as freestanding units with posters on both sides. Posters vary in size, but are generally about 120cm x 80cm. Maximum numbers are around 40 posters.

If there is a high demand to give presentations authors are generally asked to submit posters rather than make an oral presentation. If this is the case provision needs to be made for more space for posters. An alternative might be to have longer sessions or shorter talks.

Programme

For most conferences the programme runs over three days, Wednesday to Friday, and involves up to 54 oral presentations of 20 minutes in four sessions each day. Each session needs a chair, usually someone working in the field relevant to the talks. The preparator's conference, the SPPC, is usually held on the Tuesday preceding the SVPCA. The number of talks for the SPPC is variable, and it frequently involves a morning of talks followed by a visit to preparation labs or practical demonstrations in the afternoon. In some years there has been an additional session on the Monday afternoon.

Arrangements for tea and coffee for the breaks between sessions need to be made.

Abstracts

An abstracts volume is produced for the conference, though it should be noted that this is not considered to be a formal publication, and as is the case with the PalAss newsletter it should contain the ICZN rider that this is not a publication for new names. There is no standard format for abstracts. Organisers have tried to ensure that an abstract is available for all presentations before the conference, though this can be a time-consuming job.

Circulars

A number of circulars are sent out to those on the emailing list. The number has varied from two to five depending on the enthusiasm of the organisers. This is basically to keep people up to date on dates, programme, accommodation and so on. If the first circular is sent out in early January people can decide that SVPCA is going to be one of their year's conferences, rather than being reminded by a later mailing when it may be too late to include it in their year's plan/budget. Sending out subsequent circular to remind people of approaching deadlines is also a good idea.

Accommodation

Accommodation in the past has usually been arranged in university halls of residence,but this is becomming less common. Historically universities offered cheap bed and breakfast accommodation but this has changed over recent years. Commercial pressures have led to universities charging rates which are in many cases more than those of cheap hotels or B&Bs. Some halls of residence have social facilities attached, and these have been a venue for informal evening gatherings for several meetings. Some delegates make their own arrangements, which in the case of students usually involves sleeping on someone's floor. Roughly 75%-80% of delegates will use official accommodation.

Conference dinner

Frequently held in an interesting and unusual venue - such as under the Diplodocus in the Natural History Museum - this is a formal dinner, followed by a few (short) speeches. It is a tradition that the organisers of the conference for the following year issue a formal invitation to the delegates. Some delegates may wish to invite partners to the dinner. Generally speaking, about 75%-80% of delegates will attend the dinner.

Auction

The auction raises money for the Jones-Fenleigh Fund, which is a bursary account managed as a Palaeontological Association 'designated fund', administered by each year's SVPCA organisers, with continuity by John Martin (ex-Leicester Museum). It helps pay for delegates with no institutional financial support to attend SVPCA meetings. Started in 1989 with money donated by the Jones-Fenleigh family in memory of the man who introduced the first museum-quality dinosaur models made by Invicta Plastics of Leicester, it has been increased by donations from delegates, including the proceeds of an annual auction. The fund pays for conference fees, accommodation and basic subsistence for one or more contributors every year who have no institutional financial support.

Other events

At least one other event is usually programmed. For some conferences this has been in the form of an official reception by local dignitaries, but many other rather less formal events have also been arranged. Receptions have also been held in museums, village halls and breweries. The nature and variety of such events is a reflection on the interests and enthusiasms of the organisers.

Field Trip

The field trip is usually run on the Saturday immediately after the conference. Format varies considerably, but usually involves a pub lunch at mid-day. Depending on the venue, the trip is usually timed to finish around 5pm or earlier so that participants can travel home. Depending on location the coach often stops at or close to a main line railway station to facilitate those who need to travel home immediately following the field trip.

T-shirt

Conference T-shirts can be a bit of a problem. People don't expect to pay much for a T-shirt, but the cost of producing them in small numbers can be relatively high. Demand is hard to predict and can depend on the quality of the design as much as the cost.

Conference Photograph

It has become customary for a group photograph to be taken during SVPCA, which may be made available, either on the web site, or available for purchase at or after the meeting.