20+ SAMPLE Conference Report

What Is a Conference Report?

A conference report records all the significant processes, decisions, and developments discussed at a conference. Whoever is assigned to write the report should take notes during the conference. That way, the writing process comes off easy after the conference. Conference reports involve important information, such as the conference’s executive summary, so anyone who has not attended the conference can picture what went on at the conference and what the main takeaways from it are.

Why Are Conference Reports Important?

From the definition of a conference report alone, you can tell that it is a document that involves an arduous amount of effort and data. But why should you create one after a conference or a meeting? A conference is not just some fancy paperwork to submit for requirements’ sake. And here are the top reasons why a conference report is essential in any industry:

Overall Detailed Report

From the conference title, date, location, goals and objectives, down to the main points discussed at a conference, you can expect loads of information discussed inside a conference report. Conference reports are your best executive summaries in case you forget what happened during a conference. So if you have questions and clarifications to consider from a conference that was already done, simply refer to the conference report to catch up.

For People Who Failed to Attend the Conference

Speaking of catching up, a conference report is made for people who weren’t able to attend the conference itself. An example is when you organized a conference for specific employees. For the rest of the stakeholders who weren’t part of the conference but may want to know what was discussed in the conference, send them the conference report instead. And if the attendance sheet matters a lot about who was present and absent from a conference, it will also be noted in the report.

Proof of Action

A conference report is also useful as proof of action. Some conferences cover important topics such as legal actions, business decisions, and transactions. So rather than just basing on an action plan of a conference, a conference report is more credible since it is written after the conference. Use the report as proof of what occurred in a conference such as if there was a guest speaker in the conference, a document signed by the attendees during the conference, and other details.

Conference Analysis and Evaluation

Did you know that a conference report gives room for a conference evaluation and analysis report? After the conference, it is essential to break down whether the conference was a hit or a miss. Analyze in the conference report what factors caused the conference to be a success or a failure after thorough evaluation. You can use plenty of factors for analysis such as asking for the attendees’ feedback, checking if the conference goals and objectives were met, etc.

Various Conference Purposes

Conferences are not limited to businesses and legal departments alone. You can always set an academic conference, press conference, nonprofit conference, church conference, or a meeting discussing a conference proposal. And with every purpose per conference, expect a lot of topics to be covered. It can be hard to keep up sometimes with lots of information to memorize or put in your head. So it only makes sense to create a conference report after every conference no matter what the conference’s purpose is.

What Are the Elements of a Conference Report?

Indeed, conference reports involve numerous details that occurred during a conference. But there is also a common format as to how every detail is presented in the report. In this section, learn about the standard elements inside a conference report.

Conference Title: First things first, input the main title page of your conference report. The title serves as the basic introductory statement of your conference report. That way, anyone who checks the document would get the gist of what the conference is called or about.Conference Date or Schedule: A crucial factor for recordkeeping of a conference report is the conference schedule or date. Specify the day, month, and year of when the conference took place. The same goes for the complete time and duration of when it happened. If a conference took a number of days, don’t forget to mention how many days as well.Venue/s: Report the complete address of the conference from the building name, room number, street, etc. And if the conference happened at more than one location, state the rest of the addresses in the document too.Statement of Purpose: Introduce your conference by giving a context of what it is about. State the history, list of organizers, and most importantly, the statement of purpose. What is the conference for? There should be a reason behind doing it or it may be considered useless. Be sure to write this part clearly since the purpose statement is meant to remind readers of the conference’s importance.Goals and Objectives: After the purpose statement marks the goals and objectives. Indeed, there is a reason for the conference to happen. But what is meant to be achieved in the conference in the first place? Enumerate the specific goals, mission statement, and milestones expected to complete after the conference in this segment of the conference report.Executive Summary: The main meat of the conference report is the conference’s complete executive summary. In chronological order, write what happened at the conference. You can expound on what time the conference started, who was the first speaker, what was the seating capacity, and other key observations. The conference or meeting agenda would be placed in this part.Budget Overview: Show the cost sheet overview of the conference’s budget. So what was spent on the conference? From the snacks, tokens, rented equipment, down to the venue fee, report those expenses in the budget overview section. If more elements were spent for the conference, don’t forget to list them down.Attendance List: Of course, insert the full attendance list of your conference by stating every attendee’s name, company/position, and contact details. And if you need to distinguish the invitees and the attendees of a conference, be sure to write the names of who was invited and who actually came during the conference for comparison.Documentation: Don’t forget to insert supporting documents and media that prove what went down at a conference. An example is to include the conference photos to provide visual evidence. Also, you can credit links to social media posts and media coverage if the conference made some attention online.Conference Evaluation: A conference report must have a section for the conference evaluation report. So what were the outcomes and results observed at the conference? Note if the number of attendees expected was reached, if the conference went according to plan, or if guests were actually satisfied with the conference by surveying. Expect this part to confirm whether the conference is a success or a fail.Recommendations: After careful analysis and assessment of the conference, the final step is to write a recommendation report for future conferences. Whether a conference is bad or good, you will always aim for improvements so a better and more streamlined conference is guaranteed in the future. Hence, don’t just comment about what happened but also how to make a conference better next time.

How to Make a Conference Report in Easy Steps

Conference reports give you thoughtful insights about anything from business communication, trial readiness, international trip agenda, to a congress committee decision. But no matter what purpose behind the conference was and how effective it was, the main question is how sure are you that you made an excellent conference report? For the real deal, here are the steps on how to create an effective conference report:

Step 1: Set a Plan and Take Notes during Conference

First, make a strategic plan of what details are covered from the conference that are worth inputting in the conference report. The key is to see the conference plan or agenda ahead as your basis. And during the actual conference, take notes and be observant of what happened, when something happens, and other details. Besides writing notes, assign someone else to take photos and videos during the conference in case there are things you missed in the report that you may notice after seeing those pieces of evidence.

Step 2: Pick a Sample Conference Report

There are a bunch of sample conference report templates in PDF and MS Word format waiting for you above this article. So don’t forget to check out each option and optimize the sample conference report template of your choice. Premade samples save you the hassle of writing conference reports from scratch. Instead, the rest of the formats and elements are outlined for you. And you have plenty of examples to select from including an academic conference report, joint case conference report, post-conference report, conference summary report, and more.

Step 3: Add the Elements of a Conference Report

Slowly complete your conference report’s elements from the title down to the recommendations section. Remember that is it through these elements that you can specify the essential parts of a conference report. If you lack the attendance sheet, executive summary, date and venue, or any vital component, your report would be incomplete. Nonetheless, you can still add more components to the report. For example, a conference that took too long may have covered lots of discussions so you can enumerate every discussion in the report.

Step 4: Write Professionally yet Easy to Comprehend

Just like how you write any business report, you should be formal and professional in writing the tone of your conference report. There is no need to write it as a personal letter because it is used for documentation. And just because a conference report is formal, it doesn’t mean that you force into using complex technical terms all throughout. Make it understandable for your audience to read so they won’t have a hard time following it.

Step 5: Fact-Check and Organize Your Report

Polish your work starting with fact-checking. The worst thing you can make in writing the conference report is when it contains inaccurate information. Be sure what has been recorded there is correct or verified. Also, you can simplify your report by organizing your details. A tip is to know how to arrange each element in the report such as writing with smooth transitions from one topic to another. And after a careful assessment of your report, it is ready to be submitted.


FAQs

What is a conference report in the US Congress?

A conference report has a special meaning in the United States Congress. It is actually the last version of a bill that aligns with the agreement between the House of Representatives and the Senate through the conference committee. And each party should be given a copy of such a report.

What is a conference report in research?

In research, a conference report refers to the critical data analysis based on numerous researches that were presented at a credible national or international conference.

What is the purpose of conference proceedings?

It is through conference proceedings that researchers get to explain their research in layman’s terms or in an informal way. It isn’t as formal as how journals are written. Also, conference proceedings give room for any researcher to post or share any research concept before actually developing it.

Conference executive summaries, attendance lists, session highlights, event takeaways, and program recommendations—you can learn so much from an organized conference. If there is a serious strategy map allocated for organizing the conference itself, the same amount of effort should also be practiced in creating the post-conference report. And this is where sample conference report templates come into the picture to make your conference report writing a lot easier and more efficient. Download a sample now!