Strategy agreed for British Pharmaceutical Conference
The British Pharmaceutical Conference should be developed
into a world-class scientific and professional event but needs to operate
on a robust business basis from now on, the Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society decided at its December meeting.
The Council considered strategies from its Conference
Committee for delivering the 2002 conference within the budget and proposals
of a review group established to look at the future direction of the conference.
The Council agreed that the conference should continue
to include scientific, professional and political elements and that the
conference programme should be designed to meet the continuing professional
development needs of practising pharmacists.
The conference will continue to be held in autumn
each year and will take place over three days. Day programmes will be
tailored as integrated packages, with day tickets costing £125, in line
with other similar events.
The conference is to be budgeted and accounted for
as a business enterprise, with its costs identified and separated from
those of the Society. Sponsorship and exhibition income are to be developed
with the aim of creating a surplus for the Society.
A number of cost savings have been identified. One
major burden for the conference is having to absorb the fees and expenses
of staff, Council members and branch representatives attending. In future,
the conference will only bear the costs of those staff and Council members
who are directly involved in its organisation or programming. So far as
the branches as concerned, the Council agreed that they should continue
to be encouraged to send delegates to the conference but should in future
cover their costs from general branch grant funds rather than from an
extra central allocation. The Council agreed, as an experiment, to hold
the branch representatives' meeting at the conference for one year. It
is hoped that this will encourage pharmacists to attend.
The Society is to establish a small committee to
develop an integrated conference programme.
Marshall Davies, President of the Society, said:
"The British Pharmaceutical Conference is a brand name that has been developed
over many years and I am delighted with recent progress. But if we want
it to continue and thrive, we need to ensure that it is financially robust.
"The redesigned conference will be a showcase for
pharmacy in all its aspects, with, I hope, more appeal to practising pharmacists.
Conference symposia, blending science and practice, will be designed to
support pharmacists in carrying out their work."
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