This is the second in a series of posts about the WinchBiz unconference, which takes place on Friday 2nd March 2018. In case you missed it, the first post was Introducing WinchBiz.
This post is intended for attendees, and provides a ‘quick gist’ of what to expect on the day.
Quick Gist
Because this is our first WinchBiz event, we’re using a selection of photos from other unconferences to give you an idea of what’s involved.
Turn up
- You’ll arrive at the Guildhall for about 9:30am, register, take your name badge
- Go to Bapsy Hall (our ‘big room’) on the first floor. There will be fresh tea, coffee and pastries waiting for you when you arrive.
- At 10am there will be a welcome from our hosts Winchester City Council, and our MC for the day, Joseph Holmes will explain how the unconference works
Start with an idea
Session pitching starts at 10:30am, and anyone with an idea for a session can pitch their idea to the wider group. This involves:
- Having an idea
- Writing it down
- Joining a very civilised queue
- Spending no more than 30 seconds telling people your idea
Session pitching
There’s no single right way to pitch a session, but you need to try and convey your idea to the wider group so they know what you want to discuss. Thirty seconds can seem like both a very long – and a very short – amount of time, so it’s a good idea to plan what you want to say beforehand.
If you want to see some pitching in action, here are some of the pitches from the UKGovCamp unconference in January 2018, which is broadly about innovation in UK public services. Apologies for the shaky video, which was impromptu and filmed on a mobile ‘phone.
Not everyone is an extrovert, and there’s no need to worry if you aren’t comfortable pitching to a group of people – we will provide other ways to suggest topics.
When you have completed your pitch, head over to the session grid, and hand your post-it to one of the volunteers. Stay near to the grid in case they need to ask you anything.
Filling the grid
Volunteers begin creating the agenda whilst session pitching is underway, putting the post it notes into vacant slots on the session grid. They will carry on doing this while you go and top up your cuppa, or just chat with others. We will let you know as soon as the session grid has been finalised.
Once the physical session grid is complete, volunteers will transcribe the contents onto a digital version in Google Sheets, so attendees can access electronically
Over to you
Now, it’s over to you to decide which sessions to go to.
There will be a separate post telling you a bit more about what to expect at the sessions.
Thanks to our sponsors
This event has been instigated by the Economy and Arts team within Winchester City Council, who are the main sponsor and host. We are most grateful to them, and to our sponsors:
Not too late
The event is filling up fast, but it’s not too late to register.
We’d also welcome additional sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring, take a look at our Info for Sponsors.
We are also seeking volunteers to help make everything run smoothly on the day. There will be a separate post about that, but in the meantime if you think you might be interested in helping out, please get in touch.
Before we go
Just in case you haven’t already heard of VentureFest, there’s another event for businesses, and it’s the day before WinchBiz at the same venue. Head on over to the Venturefest South website for details.
It’s a wrap
That’s it for now – there will be more posts to follow, including some more information about sessions.
Photo credits
- Lining up to pitch a session: Photo by WN Bishop. https://flic.kr/p/Sz5om3, taken at Open Data Camp in Cardiff
- Spend no more than 30 seconds telling people your idea. Photo by WN Bishop. https://flic.kr/p/RoLcZH, taken at Open Data Camp in Cardiff
- Session pitching: Photo by David Pearson https://flic.kr/p/JL4TFZ, taken at UKGovCamp in London
- Volunteers arranging the session grid: Photo by WN Bishop. https://flic.kr/p/SoTKf5, taken at Open Data Camp in Cardiff
- Close-up of a session grid: Photo by WN Bishop https://flic.kr/p/22moaFx, taken at UKGovCamp in London
- Transcribing a session grid: Photo via UKGovCamp
- Deciding which sessions to go to. Photo by WN Bishop. https://flic.kr/p/22D4USN, taken at UKGovCamp in London
- Volunteer standup. Photo by David Pearson https://flic.kr/p/23E4zNE, taken at UKGovCamp in London
Are these just random ideas or are they ideas that are meant to adress a particular issue or problem?
Hi Sally. That’s a good question. There’s no pre-defined agenda, so it really depends on what people decide to pitch on the day.
I suspect it’ll be a mixture of both, with some wanting to find solutions to specific issues, and others floating ideas or opportunities. As long as pitches are associated with Winchester and business, there’s a great deal of flexibility, and both can be accommodated.