Guide: How to Plan Web Meetings

• GSICS web meetings are usually been held on a Thursday, typically between 11:00-13:30 UTC in summer and 11:30-14:00 UTC in winter

  • This time slots optimises the attendance across the time zones from East Asia to East Coast USA
  • The timeanddate website provides a meeting planning tool to identify time slots for other time zone combinations
  • although this windows may be reduced if less time is needed

• The different sub-groups follow a roster:

  • IR Sub-Group - 1st Thursday of each month
  • VIS/NIR Sub-Group - 2nd Thursday of each month
  • Microwave Sub-Group - 3rd Thursday of each month
  • Data Working Group - 4th Thursday of each month
  • UVNS Spectrometer Sub-Group - 5th Thursday - when available

• The advantage of this system is that we all knew months in advance when a meeting could take place

  • although meetings are not needed every month
  • The GRWG Chair may also call meetings - e.g. to coordinate annual meetings in any of these slots - or at any other time to suit
• Smaller specialist meetings may agree to run them at different times
  • If you need to select a date, we suggest Doodle because it does not require an account to set up a meeting time poll:
    • Giving people 6-9 options is usually enough.
    • The only time we can all meet is 11:00-13:30 UTC in summer and 11:30-14:00 UTC in winter. So only give one choice per day. And enable "Time Zone Support".
    • Some people don’t like to get up early on Monday or stay late on Friday, so don’t bother with those options.
    • Doodle automatically adjusts for the user’s time zone, if you enable "Time Zone Support", then you can just need to state yours.
    • Click 'Schedule an Event', give it a title including "GSICS web meeting" and the topic.
    • Choose some possible dates. Typically aim for a Tuesday, but Wednesday and Thursday are also acceptable as options.
    • Select some times. We suggest 11:30-13:30 UTC in winter, 11:00-13:00 UTC in summer. (Doodle poll form allows coping the first row to save time.)
    • Choose 'Basic Poll' on the next page.
    • Then 'You send the invitation'.
    • Copy the 'Participation Link' into an email and send it with an outline agenda to
      gsics-dev@googlegroups.com, specifying the deadline
    • Run the poll for a only few days - typically over a weekend, so you catch people who may be away one week.
      • Running polls for longer means the info will be out of date before its over

• Select a topic for the meeting and outline a few items for the agenda
• Ask 2 or 3 people to prepare presentations on this topic
• Set up a meeting using your online meeting tool of choice
• Create a topic page for the web meeting on the wiki using the form below ( available only to wiki users; all others contact either TimHewison or ManikBali ):
• 
  Web meeting's date:
  
  
• Link this topic page from MeetingsAndConferences ( available only to wiki users).
• Ask presenters to upload their presentations to the wiki page 1 week before the scheduled date.

• Send a reminder to gsics-dev@googlegroups.com, again asking presenters to upload their presentations to the Wiki.

• Write a short summary of the meeting, highlighting any actions.
• Upload this to the meeting's wiki page.
• Send another email to gsics-dev@googlegroups.com with the link to the summary, checking the actions.
• Take pride in what you have achieved!