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September 2021 Manager Meeting: New Event Brief

Alexander Schulte edited this page Oct 18, 2021 · 1 revision

Our new event brief is streamlined in a way to make planning an event with Digital.gov more seamless. The event brief is used for all Digital.gov events, from summits to panel discussions to one hour webinars. If you are a community lead who keeps a copy of the old brief in your files, please contact us at [email protected] to get the latest version of the brief when planning your next event. When using the new brief, please provide us with feedback on what you like about it, what could be better, and changes you would like the Digital.gov team to consider.

Q&A: Below are questions that were asked during the meeting, but we ran out of time to fully answer!

Q: When will this new template be rolled out? We were recently given version 2.2, and it looks like this is even more updated, version 3.0.

A: We are using the new version 3.0 now.


Q: One suggestion I have for the "event page" creation table of elements, it would be great if you could provide a sample event page screenshot with all the requested elements blocked out/identified.

A: Great idea. We’ve added examples to the instruction link in the event brief as well as the link to the actual event page for easy reference to a live or past event page.


Q: Would a session on 508/accessible PPTS/slides/etc. specifically for the COP managers work?

A: Yes! We did a similar session in June and can do another one more focused on PowerPoint slide accessibility. In the meantime, the online resource Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities has great tips.


Q: Maybe a recorded video (on 508/accessible PPTS/slides) that we could share would work?

A: We recommend sharing this video series, How to Author and Test Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations for Accessibility.


Q: What type of events do we need to submit the event brief? Do we need to submit the event brief for Open Discussion meetings or Office Hour type meetings?

A: The event brief is only used for Digital.gov events. If you’re holding office hours or an internal meeting that is not a Digital.gov event, you do not need to use this template.


Q: Are there different requirements for panel discussion events instead of webinars where someone presents?

A: No. The same event brief should be used and the same accessibility requirements apply. However, slides are never required for an event, and may not be needed for a panel discussion.


Q: Can event pages go live before the speaker bios are ready?

A: Typically, no. However, for summits with multiple sessions and presenters, we can be flexible.


Q: Speaking of live captioning - is this a requirement for more informal events like Office Hours? or Huddles?

A: We recommend captioning for huddles but typically we don’t arrange captioning for office hours unless someone has requested it. We always recommend asking invitees ahead of time if they require any accommodations, such as live captioning.


Q: Could Digital.gov provide a calendar that would show availability for events in the future?

A: So far we have not come up with a good way to do this, as Digital.gov availability shifts depending upon non-event tasks, assignments, and priorities that come up throughout the year. Digital.gov is responsible for several other workstreams outside of events, and sometimes it’s hard to predict availability. However, once we commit to an event date and time, we very rarely request a date change. For more information, please visit our Wiki and go to Step 3 on How to Request an Event.


Q: Can we do a “Save the Date” type page on Digital.gov if our event copy is not yet finalized?

A: Yes, we have done this in the past for larger, multi-day summits.

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