Justification Toolkit

We encourage you to review the materials in this section to gain a greater understanding of the conference and to communicate the value participating in Connections 2012 can provide when attempting to gain attendance approval from your manager.

SHSMD now offers you all the materials you need in order to gain funding for your attendance at Connections 2012 in one easy location.  With expert advice, pre-conference justification documents and post-conference reporting templates, your manager or supervisor is sure to appreciate the investment made into your training and development as well as to your company's success.

Why SHSMD Connections 2012?

Benefits of Employee Engagement

Tangible Benefits of Participation

When you propose the attending Connections 2012, focus on specifically what you will bring back to the organization to demonstrate return on the investment. Use this “benefits guide” to help state your case:

Knowledge Benefits from the Educational Program	State your organization's or program's specific goals or needs, and then state how specific components of the conference will help meet those needs. Session Content: Which topic tracks or specific sessions have particular relevance to your department's or organization's current priorities and goals? Are there sessions that will provide insight into a particular challenge or goal your organization is facing right now, or expects to face in the next 12 months? Identify specifically what you can use, and how. Training and Skills Development: Which of the sessions are most relevant to your professional development goals or your organization's expectations of you? What new skill(s) or approach(es) will you bring back?
Strategic Benefits from Educational Program	"The field is changing rapidly and in uncertain ways. It is difficult to view the 'forest' when we're working at the 'tree' level. Our organization needs to anticipate, understand, and adapt to changes both in the policy environment and in professional practice. "Attending Connections 2011 will enable us to see how the forest is changing: the poor economy, national health reform, community benefit, ACOs, and increasing need to understand and align our physicians."
Networking Benefits	"This conference will enable me/us to meet and interact with healthcare strategy professionals in similar roles and organizations around the country. We will be able to take the pulse of what our peer organizations are talking about and planning for, and how they are accomplishing [specific goal or activity]."
Team Capacity-building Benefits (if multiple individuals from your division/organization attend)	"The conference will help build our team by providing a forum for team members to learn and discuss best practices, new tools, and emerging trends. Doing this together will build a shared knowledge base for applying this information to improve our strategies, programs, processes, and outcomes."
Exhibit Hall Benefits	Will the conference showcase vendors with tools or services you use or are evaluating for potential future use? Is this an opportunity to collect first-hand information and to compare competing firms? "This is our chance to collect information and evaluate multiple vendors for [state your vendor or product need] all at once, helping us make a more informed decision more quickly."

 
 Pre-Conference Justification Documents:

Prior to the conference, you are likely to have to convince your manager(s) to invest their professional develop funds in your attendance at the conference.  The cost of attendance consists of the conference registration fee, travel costs and time-away-from-work costs.  The total cost is considerable, so most managers want some serious justification for employees attending a conference.  We have located several resources, in the form of documents that you can use in your efforts. 

ROI (Return on Investment)
How much would it cost for you not to attend an SHSMD conference?  Learn how to justify your professional development costs and how you could actually save money through your conference attendance.

Customizable Letter to a Manager
Customize this letter and provide your manager with a detailed explanation of the education you'll receive at SHSMD's Annual Conference.  

More Justification Tips

Post-Conference Reporting Documents:

Justify SHSMD Connections 2013 Now!
The SHSMD Conference, like any other expenditure, requires clear proof that the company will benefit from an outstanding return on investment when we attend these conferences.  Learn how to ease the process of gaining approvals for your attendance at Connections 2013, September 29 - October 2 in Chicago.

After the conference is the time the ground work is laid for attendance at future SHSMD events.  One technique that is used by a number of attendees is the use of a conference report.  A conference report gives information about the conference to people that did not attend the conference.  Examples of information that may be included in the report are:

• General conference information
• Presentation summaries
• General Session summaries
• Concurrent Session summaries
• Networking event summaries
• Vendor presentation (VSP) summaries
• Special Interest Group (SIG) summaries
• Information about products gathered from conversations with vendors in the vendor hall
• Ideas to be used upon returning from the conference

Many people work on the trip report while at the conference or during travel back home.  This is when the information is freshest in your mind, so it makes the trip report much easier to write.

Some attendees return home and put together a presentation which they give to their teammates to summarize key information from the conference.

Sample Conference Report
Have you ever wondered how to begin an explanation of your conference experience in a post-conference report?  Impress your manager and fellow staff by using this sample report template.