Contingency Planning for Events: What is it and why do we do it?

Contingency Planning is a backup plan designed to address unexpected risks or events that could impact the events timeline, budget and/or quality.  To put this into the event context, it is taking an overall or holistic view of the event and looking at what potential risks, issues, events there could be, and then working out ways to remove or mitigate their potential impact on the event.

How I like to look at this is:

When you are going out with friends, what do you do before you go out?  Check the weather, check trains/ tubes are running, make sure you have money, wallet, means to pay, check timings…  If it looks like it is going to rain, what do you do? Take an umbrella or a coat.  If the trains/ tubes aren’t running – how are you going to meet up? Taxi, walk, get a lift.  How are you going to get home?  Uber, phone a friend?  This ‘checking’ before you leave this house is something that we all do without really thinking about it – this is contingency planning.

For an event, you are doing the same thing:

• You are checking the weather and the news 

• You are checking travel options to the venue (airports, trains, tubes, buses)

• You are checking suppliers 

• You are checking the venue

(there are lots more areas to look at, this give you an example of what to do.)

If any problems or potential problems appear in the area you are looking into, what are you going to do, and most importantly who is going to do this.  

The best way to capture any risks is on a spreadsheet and give access to everyone who needs this. It is important to review the risk in a timely manner.

Example of the spreadsheet below:

Sector	Activity/Risk	Level of Risk	Mitigation/Action	Key Dates	Responsibility
Venue		Low
		Medium +

One of the most important parts of contingency planning is communication.  Making sure you have open, honest and clear lines of communication with your team, the venue, your suppliers, the delegates and the exhibitors means that information can be shared quicky.   Everyone knows what it going on and what is expected from them, and if anything needs to change on the event due to a risk or activity, this can be effectively communicated.

There will always be issues on events, the skill is knowing how to react and resolve them.