organisational functions - Alpine-space.org

2. Preliminary guidelines for each function
Priorities must be defined and ranked for each function. A strategy document
should be prepared for each function describing how the actions undertaken
within that function contribute to the project as a whole.
Guidelines covering the following aspects should be drawn up at the beginning of
the project:
• Relevant laws and regulations
• Draught task-sheets, including main difficulties/major challenges
• Key stages
• Principle risks and opportunities
• Minimum level of service and how it is to be provided
• Evaluation of the human and material resources required
• Estimate of the cost and the terms of finance
• Recommendations regarding local particularities
• When the function manager must be appointed
3. The operational plan
The guidelines are used to draw up an operational plan, in the form an operations
manual. This plan should cover the points included in the guidelines in more
detail, i.e. it should be more concrete and more practical. It should describe all
the procedures and actions to be carried out during the period of the event to
ensure volunteers are successfully integrated into the organising team.
4. Remarks on some key functions
a. Sponsoring
The objective of the sponsoring function is to sell the event to private and
public partners, who, in return, can develop their own public relations
strategy around the event. Therefore it is essential that the partner’s public
relations strategy is in accord with the values supported by the event. It is
often more effective to call upon the services of a specialist agency than to try
to run this function internally.
b. Television coverage
The television audience for the event will be much larger than the actual
number of live spectators. It is through this television audience that the
event’s partners expect to get the largest return on their investment in terms
of developing their image. Particular attention must be paid to partner
exposure, especially when negotiating agreements between the rights holders
and television channels.
Although television rights provide a significant source of income for the largest
sports events (Olympic Games, World Championships, etc), for smaller events,
the organisation of television coverage is only an expense. However, it is
generally an indispensable expense as television coverage can be a major
factor in attracting public partners and private sponsors.
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