Association of Colleges

Management Services are experts in planning, organising and staging conferences, exhibitions and special events.

Experience

AoC Management Services conference and events team specialise in conferences of all sizes from workshops for a dozen delegates to major residential events for up to 1500 delegates. We run approximately 40 major events per year. Almost half of these events are run on an annual basis, such as the AoC's Annual Conference and the AoC Human Resources Conference. The team also organises a variety of national events based on current issues facing colleges in the sector. Events range from 1-3 days, often residential and regularly include entertainment, gala dinners, awards ceremonies and special activities for delegates.

Workshops are also run on a regional basis throughout the year. We provide services to a range of clients, both FE and in the wider public sector. These include AoC Directorates in areas such as Employment, Curriculum and Quality and Funding. We also manage and organise events on behalf of, and in partnership with, other major organisations such as the Department for Education and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council. The team manages and organises award processes and celebration ceremonies.

The conference team's key objective is to deliver top quality conferences and events and, as a not-for-profit organisation, we carefully control the cost of events while delivering to the highest standards. To support this approach we offer relevant companies the opportunity to exhibit at conferences in exchange for sponsorship of the event.

We also play a key role in developing strategic partnerships with leading organisations able to invest in key events, and the sector.

Ethos, expertise, excellence !

We have a dedicated team of conference and events professionals with extensive experience in education, the public sector and the private sector. Our model of delivery is based on the highest professional standards, flexibility to meet client needs and the ability to quickly understand the requirements and context of each individual event. This is demonstrated by the high level of organisation and innovation in our events.

Quality of delivery is crucial to us. Our clients will testify to this. Throughout the lead up to events, we schedule regular meetings which include a focus on evaluation as well as progress. We also schedule a post event evaluation session and, where appropriate, evaluate events formally with delegates and stakeholders. This is underpinned by the critical task at the outset of the event planning process, which is to fully understand the brief, objectives and target audience. AoC is best placed in this regard owing to the rich resource of relevant expertise.

Scope of services

These are some of the services that we can provide. You can choose any number of these services to suit your event needs.

 
•   Speaker sourcing and management
•   Venue selection and management
•   Delegate registration and management
•   Assistance with branding and logo design
•   Designing and producing marketing materials
•   Designing and producing event support material
•   Marketing and sales: exhibitors and sponsors
•   Exhibition management
•   Sponsor management and partnership development
•   Creating and managing social programmes
•   Logistics
•   Technical production
•   On-site management
•   Post-event administration and evaluation