Meetings

Section meetings are commonly lunchtime events often hosted at restaurants or hotels. Some are held at agency, consultant or university sites to reduce costs by bringing in take-out food. Finding speakers is a key role for Section leadership. Many Sections program their meeting presentation content prior to the coming year in a strategy session with the officers. Topics can be aligned with developing trends or emerging initiatives of ITE. Virtual meetings allow a wider range of potential speakers. If leaders struggle to identify topics or speakers, they can reach out to District officers, International officers or ITE Council and Standing Committee chairs for ideas and speakers.

Local Meeting Delivery

Adam Martin, ITE’s Director of Meetings, serves as your primary contact for meeting and event related information. He can be reached at amartin@ite.org or 202-464-6234.

In 2019, ITE began holding quarterly webinars for DSC members planning meetings/events. Each webinar focuses on a topic determined by questions submitted by DSC members. There is also a time for open discussions and Q&A. If your meeting managers are interested in joining the webinars, please have them email Adam Martin to be added to the email list.

Adam is available to review your venue and third-party contracts as well. You can email the contracts to his requesting review. Please allow 48 hours for review.

Return to In-Person Meetings

Differential Pricing for Members and Non members

Individuals who choose to join ITE as members should receive clear financial benefit from supporting the organization at all levels – International, District, Section/Chapter. This serves as an important incentive for non-members to join ITE.

At the International level we have adopted a policy of providing members with a minimum of a 33% discount for all paid conferences, professional development and publications. For example, a product that is priced at $150 for a non-member will be priced at $100 for a member. At times we may decide to provide a product to members for free. When we do so we continue to charge non-members the full value of that product. The only time we provide a product for free to members and non-members is when the delivery is fully subsidized by USDOT or a private sector entity.

We believe a similar approach must be implemented at the District and Section/Chapter levels. In-person events should have differential pricing for members and non-members. We recommend the 33% discount as a starting point, but recognize that depending on the nature of the event and the pricing structure there will be variation. In general, even when the Districts and Section/Chapters choose to offer events for free to members, non-members should be charged (at least nominally). General sponsorship support should accrue to members over non-members. When a sponsor is funding a specific event the District or Section/Chapter may choose to make it free for both members and non-members.

Discounted or free pricing can also be used to attract key target audiences. At the International level, former affiliate members have been offered the opportunity to join for free for the first year and at a 50% discount for the second. Meeting pricing has been discounted for groups of public agency participants (regardless of membership status) that register. Public agency members are offered free access to certain webinars sponsored by the private sector. Similarly, a District or Section/Chapter may choose to offer free or discounted pricing to public agency non-members or give non-members free access to a product or service for a limited time as an incentive to join ITE.

Guidelines for Issuing PDHs for Sessions at ITE District, Section or Chapter Meetings

Beginning in 2023, we are able to better support our Districts and Sections by helping to track PDH's for their events, for free.

The following information outlines ITE’s guidelines for issuing professional development hours (PDHs) for Districts, Sections and Chapters hosting local meetings. This service is provided for ITE programs only.

Two weeks prior to the event date, the following materials must be electronically submitted to ITE

using this form: https://forms.office.com/r/wPkeXqQ0vy

The information we need includes:

Meeting program/agenda
Presenter/Speaker resume or CV for each session presenter
Session Learning Objectives

Upon receipt of the event program/agenda and presenter resumes, ITE will:
1. Review technical program and determine qualifications for PDH.
2. Respond to your request with the number of PDHs that have been approved and provide the PDH link and instructions on how attendees can acquire their PDHs.

Event Coordinators should distribute the PDH link and instructions to their event attendees.

All meeting attendees will have 60 days to complete the evaluation provided and receive their certificate. After 60 days, the evaluation will not be available.

*For New York State: Sign-in sheets for each session must be submitted to ITE at the conclusion of the meeting.

Please note:

There should be one contact person to work with ITE staff.
PDH units will be rounded to the nearest half hour and no activity under a half hour will be accepted as qualifying for PDH credit. For technical tours, please subtract travel time.
Credit Calculation Formula: 1 contact hour = 1 PDH (minimum of 55 minutes to earn 1 PDH) This calculation does not include breaks.

Questions? Please feel free to contact Eunice Thoya, ITE Membership Associate, ethoya@ite.org

Offering CM Credits for AICP Certification

We recommend reviewing the AICP CM Providers Toolkit to see if your programming meets the qualifications for providing CM credit.

If your District or Section wants to apply to be a CM provider, we have this information to share related to pricing and the application process including examples of ITE Internationals programming that has been approved for CM credits, so you can view examples: CM Provider Information

However, the toolkit listed above and the CM Provider FAQ that APA makes available here: https://www.planning.org/cm/provider-faq/ are the most reliable and up to date references.

Should you have questions, please contact Colleen Agan, ITE Deputy Executive Director/Chief Membership Officer, at cagan@ite.org.

District Annual Meetings

District Annual Meetings are commonly larger events which include many elements of an International Annual Meeting. These require greater attention to contracting and space requirements due to their financial implications. Nearly all District Meetings are jointly hosted by the District and local arrangements committee from the local Section. Having procedures for these meetings is a District responsibility. They involve complexities that are expensive to address: audio visual, wifi, exhibit hall set-up, power, food & beverage, room attrition, deposits, liquidated damages, etc.

Each of our Districts hosts one (or more) Annual Meeting(s) and we try to coordinate ITE International and Executive Committee involvement with each of them. Districts are asked to stay within a window of time so as not to overlap with one another. Information on those windows, budget, and registration information for each of the Districts is available here. Guidance may be available on your District website.

Sponsorship Best Practices

Offer variety: It is important to offer a mix of sponsorship opportunities – from the traditional badge holders and lanyards – to new, digital opportunities like mobile apps. Different organizations look for different things when securing a sponsorship.
Sponsorship Tiers. ITE International’s sponsorship program includes both tiers with set sponsorship benefits and a la carte options. This helps capture those organizations which want to show their commitment to ITE and the transportation industry but do not want to sponsor a specific activity. Other sponsors prefer to put their name to a specific opportunity.
The price is right: Pricing sponsorships can be dicey. Here are some considerations when pricing a sponsorship: 1) for an item such as bags, the pricing should cover the cost of the production plus a small profit margin; 2) do not over price sponsorships for the what prospective organizations are willing to spend; and 3) make sure to offer a range of low-cost options so that you can capture some smaller organizations. Exclusive sponsorships should have a higher fee than those that allow multiple sponsors.
Right of first refusal. ITE strongly recommends that sponsors be offered the first opportunity to renew their sponsorship for the following year. Doing so helps build a relationship.
Update sponsorship listing with “pending” or “sold”. Keeping your list of sponsorship opportunities up to date creates a sense of urgency and competition.
Hold some sponsorships back. There will be times when an organization wants a “special” or “unique” opportunity. By having one or two of these types of sponsorships in your back pocket will help attract these organizations. However, these sponsorships need to be truly special and unique. If you do not have these opportunities, discuss with the prospective sponsor what types of opportunities they have supported in the past and be willing to put something together.
There cannot be enough recognition. Sponsorship recognition is critical and makes sure sponsors know that they are appreciated. Recognition should be both passive (logos on signage and in marketing materials) as well as active (the opportunity to make brief remarks and invitation to exclusive events). Social media is a great way to recognize sponsors. Thanking them by tagging them in a social media post shows appreciation to the sponsoring organization and signals their competitors, which could result in them reaching out.
Treat sponsors as partners. One of the best ways to lose a potential ongoing sponsor is to treat them as only an organization that is providing you with money. Cultivating a relationship with a sponsor can ensure they come back year and year again. Learn what is important to the sponsoring organization and reach out to them with opportunities that meet their goals.

Exhibitor Best Practices

Make the exhibit space a destination. Both attendees and exhibitors are looking to create a more vibrant environment within the exhibit hall to make it a place that people want to visit rather than feel compelled to do so. Ideas to create a destination include holding networking events in the area, allowing exhibitors to offer food and/or beverages from their space (this will need to be coordinated with the hotel), seting up lounges where exhibitors and attendees can talk and discuss products and services, host exhibitor tours, and give exhibitors the chance to present.
Non-compete time. Exhibitors will expect that there is time in the schedule that is exclusively for people to visit the exhibit hall and where no other activities are taking place.
Pricing. Pricing should include as many of the costs associated with the exhibitor’s space as possible. Do not nickel and dime exhibitors. If you are using pipe and drape, try to negotiate a booth package that includes a draped table, chairs, and waste basket, and if appropriate the carpet along with the cost of the pipe and drape. Also include fees related to exhibitors attending the conference or being part of the booth. Exhibitors will appreciate understanding what they are paying for and that there will not be additional costs.
Offer educational opportunities to exhibitors. Exhibitors are looking for opportunities to connect with attendees. Consider opportunities for exhibitors to present case studies, incorporating public agency partners, to demonstrate real world applicability of the products and services. This helps transition a sales pitch into an educational opportunity.

International ITE Annual Meetings

International ITE Annual Meetings involve collaboration with Districts and Sections. Some of the key aspects are noted below.

Call for Abstracts and Technical Program Development for Joint District and International Meetings

ITE opens Call for Abstracts for the Annual Meeting and Exhibition in October of each year. At that time, you are invited to submit an abstract in support of the upcoming Annual Meeting and Exhibition. ITE seeks abstracts that address the broad range of issues that underlie transportation's transformative role in building vibrant, livable, and healthy communities.

In developing your abstract, we encourage you to thoughtfully consider the conference theme and purpose of the meeting and shape your proposed presentation appropriately. An attendee needs to come away from your presentation with immediately applicable tools and/or skills or a clear vision how what you presented will shape the future of transportation.

If you have any questions regarding the Call for Abstracts, you should contact Matt Hardy, ITE Deputy Executive Director & CTO at mhardy@ite.org.

Meeting Rotation Including Joint Annual Meeting Opportunities

It is the intent of ITE that its Annual Meeting will be held in partnership with one of the ITE Districts and its regularly scheduled annual meeting. A joint meeting between two Districts also will be considered. The philosophy of the Annual Meeting will be to work with the District(s) in order for all to share in the success of the meeting. Initial planning for the meeting will include working out a suitable arrangement to ensure this mutual success.

A rotational schedule was developed in 2016 to boost meeting attendance, reduce expenses, and limit competition with district meetings. This has proven effective as attendance at the ITE Annual Meeting has grown with the 2019 meeting being the largest in-person Annual Meeting in 15 years.

Revised Road Map

2024: Mid-Colonial - Philadelphia
2025: Florida/Puerto Rico - Orlando
2026: Mountain - Denver
2027: Canada - Calgary
2028: Great Lakes - Detroit
2029: Texas (requested 75^th anniversary)
2030: Mid-Colonial - Pittsburgh

Annual Meeting Planning Guide for Local Arrangements Committees

View here

Annual Meeting Site Selection Guide Template

View here

International Board of Direction and LeadershipITE Joint Meeting Opportunities

In addition to joint Annual Meeting opportunities, there is also the opportunity to host the International Board of Direction and LeadershipITE in conjunction with your District Annual Meeting. You can find the requirements here.