In every office when there are people who are part of an ongoing conference or any certain group projects and when the individual in charge wants to an active participation by all the present members in a clear way so as to have a group opinion present in front of them, then the concept of a “Call for Participation” is used as a means of inviting them forward to discuss and share their opinions amongst one another.
The concept of a “Call for Participation” known as “Call for Papers” or a “Request for Proposals” especially uses in places like conferences, or at certain projects and grants.
It is a very common form of proposing an invitation. It is divided into parts, as the most important information along with what is being discussed is considered as the first part, which is next followed by the brief details of the ongoing matter concluding with the deadline given for completing the submissions.
There are some basic steps towards how a call for participation needs to do and what needs to keep in mind.
Crafting the Perfect Call for Participation:
1. Planning it Out:
One of the most important parts which come before preparing a call for participation is planning it out briefly. This planning should consider certain contributors outside the ongoing conference program or project also. It acts as a blueprint sometimes in so many ways.
A person should always remember that they shouldn’t send a call without clearly having a plan and schedule before. The planning process should consist of giving clear definitions of what kind of sessions going to offer along with its duration.
2. Identifying the Audience:
Before sending out a call for participation in an ongoing conference the individual should always remember that they need to identify the contributors present who essential towards the project discussion and who can help in guiding the style of the ongoing matter.
The person should start making lists of different candidates which may be beneficial for the ongoing matter and who it can help for the future of the company.
3. Know the needs of Contributors:
The person should always keep a list and know certain things regarding the individuals that are under consideration to invited by the company.
They need to be motivated by the plan for the company and should come to know how they may benefit from the future decisions made by the company.
The greater their benefits may be the better they will attracted to the ideas presented by the company and will consider coming to that particular company.
4. Making a draft:
Preparation of the draft about what required to be present in the call for participation is essential. A draft at the initial stage acts as a very good guideline for the person to know whether everything has been done and arranged properly.
After knowing and finally understanding that everything arranged in an appropriate and orderly manner then the person should proceed towards preparing the call for participation.
5. Reviewing Draft:
After the draft is reviewed first by the individual and they are content enough that everything has been done appropriately, then they need to send the draft out to other people to know whether everything is okay in their opinion.
Having a different person’s opinion towards finding out if everything is right is beneficial in many ways and a person who has a similar background may be able to help more and will help in improving the quality of the draft.
6. Title of the Call:
The title of the Call needs to be appealing in all aspects. The words “Call for Participation to ___” should always mention in the title. Along with it the location and all the main dates and events should be mentioned.
Also things like deadlines for all submissions to given. This makes very convenient for the individual who wishes to contribute in deciding whether they really can commit submitting the proposal.
7. Initial Text Description:
The basic text towards introducing the participation of others in the call should consist of certain well-known phrases that can impress the person reading it. Also, it should consist of issues that they consider and care about need to be mentioned, along with a summary of the project as a whole. This already starts setting certain expectations in the mind of the reader and they consider wanting to be a part of the proposal.
8. Main body:
The main body of the call needs to consists of all the important and essential concepts regarding the proposal which should be brief in comparison to the introductory text. The description regarding the different kinds of proposals should mention along with a format regarding all different descriptions and the expectations for each of them should be mentioned. Also, the duration for how long the person requires to work should mention.
9. Listing Individual Points:
This is also known as a checklist which is a convenient way for the people reading the call to understand what is required. Certain important points such as all the basic required elements, also the number of words per section should be mentioned.
Also once again deadlines regarding the proposal should mention and certain links regarding the entire detailed information and ways to submit the form online should mention.
10. Acceptance criteria:
This column in specific talks about some of the basics of the format towards what are the elements require and what will be the best proposal to include. This criterion in particular normally acts as a guide towards certain writers who are writing as well as reading the proposal mentioned.
11. Other Important Facts:
Certain another important fact regarding the proposal that had already occur or will occur in the future also needs to be mentioned. Some of the links which consider relevant by the writer need to be mentioned concerning certain FAQs.
Past events regarding the proposal along with some of the necessary contact information should give in case any of the possible contributors have any questions regarding the proposal.
12. Posting the Call Online:
In the world today everything happens faster online. The same should be considered for a person who is about to send a call for participation out. They should always post the call for participation first on their website and then send it out.
This is because nowadays everything is easily available on the Internet and before acquiring a physical proposal the person can easily find the proposal first on the website and get a brief idea about it.
13. Testing the Process:
This is concerning testing the proposal before actually submitting it out to the readers. The person should be sure that they have completed all the necessary steps that need to describe the proposal.
They should also see that all the links that mention in the proposal are relevant and that they are functioning properly so that the other readers shouldn’t face any problem if they wish to obtain some information regarding it.
14. A Downloadable Template:
This is a way to make it easier for people interested in contributing to the project. The people interested may draft their proposal along with completing a downloadable template given in the form to fill in some sections and can be handled online itself. This is helpful for the people who want to circulate and provide the drafts to others before actually submitting it.
15. Email Introduction:
Whenever the person sends out the call it can come along with an Email or as an attachment too. So the person sending out the call needs to know that it is a good prospect for them. So the Email needs an appropriate and attractive subject and an opening message which attracts the reader and gains their attention.
Mostly the information about the date should be mentioned as it helps the reader decide more quickly whether it is something they would likely interested in and also request them to forward it to people who may be interested in the prospect.
16. Time is taken for Presentation:
Most of the presenters who are showing the proposal to the contributors have a habit of blocking time so that they have some more additional time to present their proposal and do it often by having a few more minutes.
So the presenters should consider having breaks between each presentation with which the room will clear and they have enough time to set up for the new presentation for a different individual.
17. Sending it to the appropriate audience:
In any task that a person does, they need to make sure that the information they have send to the proper audience who are in and around that field. It is essential as the call in this format sends as a big mass and some of these mailing addresses may be fake and the letters might return to the individual and time addressed for such situations need to schedule and review appropriately in addressing it.
18. Response Rate:
Before every person sends out a call to the people, they always want their response rate to the highest possible. So if the proposer has some names which notable and connect with their proposed project, the response rate can mainly be high as the invitation for the proposal might come automatically from the person and their name attached along with it.
19. Scheduling time for Re-sending the letters:
When all the proposals send out at the first attempt, some of the invites will likely return to the individual. So, later on, the person needs to find time in their schedule to resend the proposals. And for certain proposals, even a third attempt would be required. So the individual needs to be prepared for such an event that may occur at this time.
20. Market Research:
If this is real in nature or a myth it isn’t yet known but recently market research has shown that if a person receives their Email on a Tuesday morning then the response rate is higher in comparison to the other days on average.
So if the individual has enough time they can match their available time and send it to the possible contributors on a Tuesday morning as they may be most likely to consider the opportunity and read the mentioned proposal.
21. Plan for Reviews:
Once the invites and proposals are sent out to the possible contributors, the waiting period towards what all the individual reviews need to be known by the individual. The time should already be scheduled for having a plan in consideration towards reviewing most of the submissions that have been sent out and also towards all the different methods by which each of the submitters has responded to the person regarding the proposal.
Conclusion:
So for a person to write a “Call for participation”, they need to have a lot of things kept inside their mind as it is essential to do it appropriately. If the person wishes to see growth in their company, they need to do this part correctly as this is the main initial stage at which they need to start their growth itself.
If the people, who are interested in the company, openly share their ideas as to how things can be improved, then only the company can reach their objectives faster. So prepare the call for participation appropriately and keep all the necessary points in mind.
