Benefits may be difficult to quantify. For example, experts agree that the top benefit of attending an event is the networking value. Although it is the most important benefit of attending a conference, it may be the toughest to quantify. Are there solutions you are not aware of?

When you propose TTS 2018 for approval, try not to focus on how much you want to go; instead focus specifically on the knowledge and experience you will bring back to your organization.

Here are some tips to guide you in your request for approval to attend TTS 2018:

• Your organization is investing in you; provide details about what you will bring back from the event. Consider giving a short presentation to your department on recent advances you learned at the Congress.
• What sessions will you attend and how will they have an immediate impact on your work?
• What vendors will you visit on the exhibition floor and how will this help your organization?
• Which experts will you have access to, and what knowledge would you bring back to share with your organization?
• Were you invited to present an abstract, chair a talk or enjoy other responsibilities? Don’t forget to share these details with your seniors.
• Take advantage of the Early Bird Deadline by March 1, 2018

Congress expenses are affected by a number of factors. Before you can even begin to justify your expenses, you need to calculate what those expenses are. Use the worksheet below to develop a cost estimate for attending TTS 2018. Refer to the registration and hotel information online at www.tts2018.org for further details.

(Date)

Dear (Manager/Supervisor Name),

After reviewing the program and activities, I am interested in attending the 27th International Congress of the Transplantation Society, to be held in Madrid from June 30 to July 5, 2018. I have submitted an abstract to the meeting and look forward to presenting my work to an international audience.

The Congress will enable me to attend a number of technical sessions that are directly applicable to my work, such as: (list names of 4-5 sessions). Thought leaders and experts who have faced similar challenges will be facilitating each of these presentations. By attending, not only will it be useful to prepare us with, but it will also be beneficial to learn from how they overcame these obstacles. Incidentally, I have only listed some of the technical sessions I am planning on attending, as including all would make this letter quite lengthy.

The Congress will also be a prime location to network with a variety of academic and industry leaders in our field from around the world. Many of the presentations are tailored to (enter your field here) and give information on how to (list benefits to your responsibilities). Aside from attending the Congress, I also plan on cross-training another lab colleague to be tasked with my duties while I am away. This will afford the opportunity for our colleague to experiment a different work setting and responsibility.

Therefore, I am seeking sponsorship of the registration fee and travel-related expenses during the Congress. A detailed cost breakdown is here below.

The full-price conference fee is ($), if registered before March 1, 2018. The registration includes access to all sessions, exhibit area, materials, internet access, welcome reception and food and beverage offered onsite (coffee breaks and lunches).

The cost breakdown is as follows:

Roundtrip airfare:
Transportation:
Accommodations:
Meals:
Conference Add-ons: (ticketed events)

The total cost associated with attending is:

I will be applying for external grants to help support my attendance, including the TTS Mentee-Mentor award and hope that these will help to subsidize the costs of attendance. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Executive Summary:

On June 30 to July 5, 2018, (organization name) was represented at the 27th International Congress of The Transplantation Society in Madrid, Spain. The purpose of attending was to:

• Identify solutions to the problems our department faces today or may face in the future
• Find new ways we can better perform at better cost-efficiency over time
• Keep our finger on the pulse of the industry so that we know where it is going and how these changes will affect (organization name)
• Fulfill continuing educational requirements to maintain my certification, and;
• Establish contacts at other companies, universities, regulatory agencies, vendors and delegates that can help us continue to deliver high performance.

Solutions:

A number of items have been identified to be of beneficial impact to our organization which are described as follows:

Existing Process Improvements:
(issues we are currently struggling with)

Leading Edge Concerns:
(new rule changes that are about to be implemented)

Networking Takeaways:
(new contacts, why they are important for the department, who will follow-up and when)

Trade Show Exhibit Takeaways:
(information gathered from the Exhibit area about products and services of interest)

Program Ideas or Recommendations Inspired from the Congress:
(what process or innovation is your organization currently doing that could be showcased at a future TTS event, who will prepare and submit an abstract to cover this topic from your organization)

Action items:
(who will do what and when; dissemination plan for briefing staff on information gathered, timeline for planning for the next TTS Congress)

Conclusions and Recommendations:
(Comment on the overall cost-effectiveness of the TTS 2018 experience. Would you recommend continued attendance from your organization?)