Flock bid process

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Flock 2016 will be held in Europe. Please create bid proposals for locations by August 29, 2015.

Submit a proposal

Proposals for location will be accepted through August 29, 2015. A proposal must include at a minimum:

• Staff: We need the names of at least two local people who will participate on the Flock committee and actively help organize the event. Please note this will require a significant time commitment over the next year and should not be undertaken lightly. This is especially true if your country's primary language is not English, reducing the ability of the Flock staff to make arrangements without you.
• Brief description of the city
• Major local airport(s)
  • Distance from airport(s) to proposed lodging
  • Transportation options and costs for getting attendees from the airport to the the lodging (e.g., shuttle, public transportation, taxi)
  • Estimated costs of flights from BOS, RDU, BOM, CDG, and PRG
• Notes about local transportation, including mass transit and taxi availability
• Proposed venue, including:
  • Cost of venue
  • Room availability for keynotes and capacity (assume 250 attendees)
  • Room availability for sessions--number of rooms available, capacity of each, and configuration (classroom style, conference style, etc.) -- we need 6-8 of these, each with a capacity of at least 40
  • Internet availability
• Proposed lodging
  • Cost of lodging--please provide written agreement from lodging specifying rates
  • Number of single and double rooms available
  • Note Internet availability and cost in lodging
  • Distance from venue and transportation required between them
• Proposed evening event locations (at least 2, preferably 3)
• Pros and cons of the proposed location.

Please create your proposal at fedoraproject.org/wiki/Flock2016-[CITY]-proposal, then email the link to the flock-planning mailing list.

Flock dates

Flock has been held in August for a few reasons, but largely based on the expected release schedule and avoiding other conferences that were likely to draw people who would also want to be at Flock. The 2016 dates can be similarly flexible, so take into consideration local events that we may want to avoid conflicting with (e.g., large festivals that will make hotel space difficult), as well as other conferences. (The dates of GUADEC and LinuxCon North America are unfortunately not yet available. OSCON will be held much earlier in 2016 and thus will not be a problem.)

Review and decision

After bids have been submitted, question and answer will take place on the flock-planning mailing list. The Flock planning committee will consider all bids and make a choice based on the proposals, expected budget, and community voting.

Bid Tips

Use your existing connections and experience
The bid process expects you to have existing connections you can use in finding facilities and so forth. It will be hard to make a proper bid without these connections.
To organize an event you need to be resourceful, as well as willing to bargain and negotiate.

• When you're estimating needs, past Flock events have had roughly 200-250 attendees. About 150 of them require hotel rooms, most of which were shared rooms.
• Play vendors off against each other. Don't commit to one vendor (such as a hotel) early--let them know that you're considering other vendors, and talk about the strengths of the other vendors. Specifically ask for the best price available. If you prefer vendor A, but vendor B has a better price (even if for a less-desirable product or service), let vendor A know the lower price, and ask them to improve their offer.
• Know what has incremental cost for the vendor and what does not (e.g., food costs money, space or network access that already exists and would otherwise be unused or underutilized doesn't). Ask the vendor about throwing in some things that have no or low incremental cost.
• If the vendor offers an incentive that you don't care about (a half-hour welcome reception, for example, in a situation where the guests will be arriving over a long period of time), ask about substituting something that has more value to you (food for the hack room).
• Contact your local Convention and Visitors Bureau and ask them to supply as much information for the bid to limit your time investment.
• Contact airlines that service the region to discuss possible discounts for attendees.