This section takes you through our 10-step guide to make your workshop a success. If you would like this information in pdf format, please contact us and we will email you a copy.

Step one:

Choose your workshop. You may need to enlist the help of colleagues to decide, but if you are still unsure, we are happy to receive informal enquiries and we will be able to identify which programme will most closely meet your needs, or we can develop a tailor-made solution for you.

Step two:

Identify the key people who need to attend. This may include your immediate colleagues, or you may wish to invite a wider audience. Equally, you may wish to hold a multidisciplinary workshop or limit the participants to a single discipline.

Our diabetes workshops are developed to help health professionals with skills and service development, but it can be really useful to also invite people with diabetes to attend. This not only breaks down barriers but also provides useful insight into how the workshop content ultimately affects someone with diabetes attending your service.

Step three:

Identify the funding you need. Information about workshop costings is contained in our terms and conditions, which include cancellation and postponement charges for any last-minute changes of plan. Venue and refreshment costs need to be added to facilitator costs, although these can be kept to a minimum by using local facilities and participants bringing their own lunch. Local training budgets or pharmaceutical sponsorship are common ways of funding the workshops.

Step four:

Decide where and when you want to hold your workshop - How far ahead? What day of the week? Are there local limiting factors or clashes with other events? We can often run a workshop at relatively short notice but ensuring that people can attend is often the factor that influences how far ahead you need to plan.

Step five:

Contact us, if you have not already done so. If you have an idea of which workshop you would like, and a rough idea of when (eg 'a Thursday in May'), this will make the process easier. We will answer any queries you have, and provide a number of dates for you to choose from.

Step six:

Agree a date - one where your venue is available and when the participants are likely to be able to attend. We appreciate that dates can be subject to change, and our generous terms and conditions reflect that, so please approach us early if you need to alter a date you have already booked with us. We can provisionally hold a small number of dates for up to 2 weeks if you need time to confirm local arrangements.

Step seven:

Complete a booking form and send it in to us. If you don't have a booking form by this time, contact us to arrange this.

Step eight:

We will liaise with you or other key people to determine the specific outcomes you want to achieve, and will confirm all arrangements in writing (usually by email).

Step nine:

We will supply all the information you need in terms of room layout, equipment required, breakout rooms (usually applies to workshops of more than 20 people), and the timing of the day including break times and refreshment requirements.

Step ten:

In the month leading up to the workshop, we ask you to confirm numbers of people, to ensure the workshop activities are appropriate and that we bring enough copies of any handouts for participants.

That's it! By following these 10 steps we can ensure you a successful, trouble-free workshop! You can of course contact us at any time if you require additional information or you have anything you wish to discuss.