NASA has taken the lead in exploring yet another new frontier - the world of virtual conferences. This FCW article highlights how the agency has cut costs with virtual world shows. Some highlights:
- NASA hosted their first Virtual Executive Summit in October 2012 as a series of prerecorded and live sessions, activities and interactions hosted through NASA's human resources portal and Adobe Connect. Nearly 500 NASA leaders participated in the virtual events.
- According to officials, the agency saved $750,000 in travel expenses and another $250,000 in logistics and venue costs -- for a total of more than $1 million in savings.
- Virtual technology also allows agencies to host more events. NASA was able to do six times as many events in 2013 as it did in 2011.
While these numbers are impressive, we wanted to get the story behind what it takes to make the culture shift to virtual events. We spoke with Jennifer Neptune, Program Analyst with NASA's Independent Verification & Validation Program to get her experience planning their annual international IV&V workshop.
Q: What drove the decision to do virtual conferences?
A: NASA is always interested in finding ways to be more economical. When it comes to conference attendance, providing a virtual option is generally very economical. The agency has tools available to communicate with colleagues electronically for these types of events, so when we can use them effectively to meet the needs of the event, we take advantage of the opportunity.
Q: Was there pushback from people within NASA?
A: No, finding new ways to incorporate technology is really a part of the culture at NASA. There was a learning curve, but no pushback.
Q: Was there pushback from attendees?
A: Exactly the opposite actually. We were able to have international participants that otherwise would not be able to attend due to the cost of the international trip.
Q: What unique challenges did you face with planning and carrying out a virtual event?
A: Our challenges were similar to those of planning an in-person conference. You have to take audio and video into consideration to a different level than you do if you have all attendees in one room, but otherwise, the logistics of a purely virtual conference can be a lot more simple than those of a regular, in-person, conference.
Q: What one piece of advice would you give to people looking to make the move to a virtual environment for events?
A: Find someone who is familiar with the goals of your event, and has held a virtual conference before, then ask them for help. Asking for and accepting help on an event like this is critical to pulling off a successful event.
While not every organization will have the technology resources or be as forward thinking as NASA (they are rocket scientists afterall....), the success that the agency has had with virtual events is a great case study for those looking to sell the concept of online events to leadership. Would love to hear about your experience in moving to a virtual platform for events in the comments.
