Drumbeat/events/kit/roadmap

Mozilla's Drumbeat initiative is being driven by individuals who initiate projects and organize events focused on keeping the web open.

The following is a "road map" of what is involved in organizing a Drumbeat Local Event, from concept to convening, and beyond.

And we encourage you to not only use the resources, but to edit them, improve them, and contribute your learnings as you join the ranks of Drumbeat Event Organizers.

The details and sequencing outlined below are guaranteed to vary for each event, but the following reflects experiences organizing Drumbeat events to date and other similar gatherings. While you won't necessarily need to do all the things below depending on your circumstances, we invite you to consider the following steps as you think about organizing a Drumbeat Local Event:

Decide On It

Talk with us early and often! While you don't need anybody's permission to organize a Drumbeat Local Event, we have a team of passionate people ready to help you with planning and answer your questions.

Decide what type of event you are interested in organizing. Drumbeat events can be anything from from a 1- or 2-hour meet-up to an all-day affair; plan to organize an event that matches your motivation and resources. A best practice is to start with a meet-up in your area to invite others with interest, and build to bigger event ideas from there.

Look for other partners who might be interested in helping to organize an event. These can be folks working on Drumbeat projects, or people passionate about the open web, or just folks wanting to get involved. In addition, if there are organizations in your area whose focus overlaps with Drumbeat, seek them out and see if they have interest in being involved.

Select a venue: Drumbeat agendas are designed to be simple and flexible, so venue just need to be the same. No need to rent a fancy hotel ballroom, but it is important to find a place where it's easy for participants to move around and arrange the chairs in collaborative setups.

Pick a date: Getting your event on the calendar is the essential step before you can start outreach and event planning in earnest. We've generally found that Saturdays work best for all day events, and evenings during the week for shorter formats, but you know what's likely to work best where you are.

Promote It

Get ready to spread the word: Outreach is the most important success factor in organizing a Drumbeat Local Event. Folks have to know it's happening in order to show up! And you really want to draw in a diverse crowd to create the most engaging event.

Spread the word: As soon as you have a date and a venue confirmed, start sending out "Save the Date" messages, and promise more information soon.

Engage registered participants to find out why they're coming, what they have to share, and what they are working on.

Organize It

Put together an initial agenda or session content. The Agenda doesn't need to be polished or final before you start spreading the word, just a good indication of how the event will play out, with plenty of room for others to contribute their ideas, sessions, and creativity.

Find your facilitators: In parallel with building out an agenda, you'll want to engage and identify the folks who will be helping to run sessions at the event.

Make a basic budget: The best Drumbeat events keep costs low by focusing on the essentials and tapping free and cheap resources. But it's still best to assess what it's going to cost to pull off your event.

Take care of the logistics: It's the little things that really make an event hum, and getting the logistics right is a fundamental difference maker.

Get ready for the event, doing all the pre-work to make sure the whole thing runs smoothly.

Hold It!

Host the event, following a well-documented plan to make everyone's experience the best.

Follow It Up and Grow It

Capture event proceedings: Follow these step-by-step instructions on how to document and share the results of local events back out to the larger Drumbeat Community.

Follow up on the event, working to continue the momentum you've built and keep participants in a collaborative frame of mind.