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Alan Goss, Director of the COSI Science Festival in Columbus, Ohio, shares tips and tactics for improving the event planning process using automation. Alan’s practical guidance helps event organizers approach and develop an automation process best suited for them -- using tools they already have access to -- to save time, money, and energy.

Alan has generously shared materials developed by the COSI team below. The resources shared here are meant to inspire your planning process, not to be copied directly. Since every festival (and event!) is different, what worked for one event may not suit yours. We encourage you to use these as a starting point and think critically about what will truly serve your audience, your mission, and your community.

Karen Peterman, evaluator and researcher at Catalyst Consulting Group, shares specific resources and case studies to highlight how to implement event evaluation principles in practice. Karen shares tutorials and other resources for navigating consent forms, data collection methods, data management, and data analysis. In addition, Karen shares how Catalyst has used information from these resources and instruments to inform and improve future events, especially festivals.

Shaleiah Fox shares guidance for event organizers gleaned from her extensive experience working in philanthropy and community-centered fundraising. She shares insights about giving trends as well as recommendations for seeking funding from affinity groups as an opportunity to increase fundraising and strengthen relationships within your community.

Karen Peterman, evaluator and researcher at Catalyst Consulting Group, shares her wealth of knowledge in the realm of live event evaluation. In addition to practical guidance and helpful frameworks for designing evaluations, Karen shares useful tools and resources to maximize impact and foster growth within your evaluation process.