Information and guidelines for those running BHBIA training sessions

Running BHBIA workshops and events – Guidelines for Conveners/Speakers
Attendees 

Workshops are available to pharma and agency delegates and to both BHBIA members and non-members. At both face to face and virtual workshops, we aim for around 12-16 delegates to balance interactivity and individual learning and we strive for a good mix of pharma/agency. Please let us know if there is maximum number for your training. 

We would normally expect to go ahead with a minimum of 6-8 delegates, however this will depend on the individual event (e.g. the extent to which its success relies on a particular number or mix of delegates). 

For webinars, which are exclusive events for BHBIA members, we register up to 100 delegates via Zoom. They are able to listen via audio broadcast and can submit questions online. Typical attendance varies from 30-60 people.

Speaker fees/expenses 

BHBIA member companies normally provide their time and expertise free of charge. 

In certain circumstances, the payment of direct expenses may be considered. 

Some face-to-face sessions have a budget allocated for the payment of honoraria to external guest speakers. We will make you aware at the outset if this is the case. If you wish to bring in a paid speaker, please discuss this with us at the earliest opportunity. 

All honoraria and expense payments must be agreed at the outset of arrangements for the session. See the BHBIA Expenses and Honoraria Policy for details. 

Pitching the session at the right level 

It is always a challenge to pitch sessions at the right level. In an ideal world, we would run all topics at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels but this isn't viable. Our experience is that the sessions attract a wide range of experience and it is therefore important that the facilitators can accommodate this, unless a specific level has been pre-defined and agreed. 

As a general guide, we would expect those running the sessions to: 

  • Provide relevant content and address the issues from the perspective of both pharma company and agency delegates. Theory should be grounded in the context of commercial reality. 
  • Include both a short overview of the fundamentals and a look at the latest thinking/new developments so that all delegates can benefit from attending, regardless of experience levels. 
  • Include opportunities for interaction/discussion and case studies, where practical, so that experienced delegates can share ideas and learn from each other. 
  • Be flexible to accommodate varying experience levels.
  • Make sure there is enough solid, upfront delivery of best practice, techniques and guidance. Do not simply facilitate discussion and rely on the delegates to provide the learning. Delegates expect conveners to be experts and can feel short-changed if there is too much facilitation and not enough delivery of information. 
  • Given the relative seniority of many of the delegates, we would normally expect to see significant director level involvement both in planning sessions and running them on the day. 

For webinars, we can use platform features to encourage interaction, e.g. via polls and chat to help engage the attendees.

Ensuring that the training is non-promotional 

Running training sessions provides members with an opportunity to raise their profile amongst industry peers but it’s important to ensure that the content is non-promotional, unbiased and offers a balanced and fair perspective of the topic. 

This does not mean you have to avoid referring to your own organisation's data or methodologies but this should only be done in a balanced way within the context of other available sources. 

For further information, please view our Guidelines for Avoiding Promotion at BHBIA Training document. 

Practical arrangements

The BHBIA will organise and cover the costs of room hire, lunch, refreshments and administrative expenses, where applicable. We will keep in contact with you in the run up to the event to discuss practical arrangements and delegate bookings. 

Promotion of the event and post-event publicity 

We will liaise with you in advance to ensure that we have all the information we need to promote the event via the Events, Courses & Webinars section of our website, email and social media. We aim to start promotion in earnest around 3 months before the event. There is an ‘early-bird’ discount for those who register at least 8 weeks in advance. 

We encourage facilitators to join us in sharing their excitement about the event on social media as long as this is not done in a way that promotes their company’s products or services. 

The BHBIA reserves the right to publish course reviews, including quotations from delegates in BHBIA publications.  For face-to-face events, we also normally publish a course photograph which is taken on the day. 

Consent for use of images, video and sound recordings containing personal data 

Facilitating or speaking at a BHBIA events and training assumes: 

  • you give permission to BHBIA for photographs/video/sound recordings of you to be captured and used in digital and printed media for promotional purposes. 
  • you understand that some images or recordings may be selected for permanent preservation in the BHBIA archives and may be used for publication, broadcasting, public performance, displays and exhibitions. 

If you do not consent to this, please inform us prior to the event and we will ensure that your image is not identifiable in any footage that we publish.