Principal Sponsors
The Principal Sponsors listed in alphabetical order.
This will be an educational grant of £15,000 for
general support of the Society’s educational aspirations. This
will include support for many of the academic/educational activities
out with scientific meetings of the BFS such as support for training,
the production of the society’s publications (the Journal and
the newsletters), public relations activities, the maintenance of
a web site, personal communication with BFS membership and other
professional bodies including HFEA, the Dept of Health, Royal Colleges
and other Societies. Some resource from this grant may be assigned
to academic elements of meetings management but it is anticipated
that most resource will be allocated as above. |
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Principal Sponsorship will provide:
- Clear visibility of the principal sponsors in BFS publications
(Human Fertility, The BFS Newsletter, programmes for meetings
and other promotional material).
- One free full-page advert in Human Fertility (this
is currently published 4 times a year and the Principal Sponsors
will be invited to pay for adverts in the other issues should they
wish).
- Company logo to be featured on BFS Website, with availability
of direct link to sponsor's own site. No advertising or direct promotion
will be allowed on the BFS Website.
- The Principal sponsors will be invited to a liaison meeting
on a twice-yearly basis to discuss the planning of academic meetings
and sponsorship opportunities. This will also provide a regular opportunity
for feedback between the Principal Sponsors, The BFS Executive and
the BFS Secretariat. Whilst input on the general structure of the
academic meetings will be welcomed, the scientific / academic content
of all meetings and symposia will be planned and sanctioned by the
BFS Meetings Sub-Committee.
- One representative from the Principal Sponsors will be invited
to attend Meetings Sub-Committee Meetings to facilitate communication
between industry and the BFS.
At the main annual meetings the following will be provided:
- The Principal Sponsors will be clearly visible as Principal
Sponsors of the Society.
- Sponsorship will cover the cost of a double stand at a premium
site. If the sponsor wishes a larger stand space or additional facilities
in the exhibition area then these can be negotiated separately.
- 4 full delegate registrations will be provided per meeting
that will permit entry to both the exhibition and scientific meetings
(this would exclude accommodation or registration for social events,
dinners).
Additional delegate registrations may be made at 2 rates:
- Company delegates who wish to attend both the scientific meetings
and the exhibition will be charged per day at 50% of the standard
daily rate.
- For company delegates wishing only to attend the exhibition hall
and not the scientific meetings, the daily charge will be 25% of
the standard delegate rate.
Sponsorship will not cover the cost of additional stands at other
BFS meetings. These will be charged at the standard rate.
Satellite symposia
In addition the opportunity to sponsor, at an agreed cost,
a Company Sponsored Symposium will be provided once per year on a
rolling allocation basis. (For example, there may be 2 sponsored
symposia in the Summer College and 1 in the Winter College and the
allocation of these will be shared equally. It is recognized that
the nature and the size of the meetings may change and timing of
the sponsored symposia may also vary to reflect this.)
These company-sponsored symposia will not conflict with the main
programme of the meeting and therefore may occur either before the
days academic proceedings commence - for example, a breakfast meeting
or an early morning meeting / morning meetings for those meetings
that commence later in the day. Alternatively, the company-sponsored
symposia could be after the close the day’s academic meeting
and could take place combined with refreshments at the end of the
day. The running of company sponsored symposia at lunch times will
be discouraged as this detracts from other lunchtime activities and
the opportunity for delegates to visit trade stands and the exhibition
centre.
It is anticipated that a company-sponsored symposium will usually
last for between 1 and 2 hours. The content of company-sponsored
symposia will have to be sanctioned and agreed by the BFS Meetings
Sub-committee and the local organising committee of the meeting.
With appropriate planning and advanced agreement, it may be possible
for company-sponsored symposia to run parallel to another session
within the academic meeting.
Principal Sponsorship will therefore provide the opportunity to
secure a venue for a sponsored symposium, appropriate advertising
in the programme and signage at the meeting. The Principal Sponsor
will be responsible for all other organisational aspects and costs
of the symposium: additional flyers and advertisements, speakers'
travel expenses and honoraria and any additional audio-visual equipment
or facilities over and above those that are supplied as standard
by the conference venue.
Additional commercial sponsorship at meetings by Principal
Sponsors
Support for meetings management including running symposia, social
activities, is a separate need of the Society and the involvement
of principal sponsors in this has in the past been a huge help to
the Society. It is intended that commercial sponsorship opportunities
will be maintained. The maximum level of sponsorship request per
year for BFS meetings will be £12,000 + VAT .
In past years this sponsorship has been requested and provided ad
hoc, and the principal sponsors have found it difficult to budget
for amounts requested in this way. It is recognized that the summer
and winter meetings vary in size and timing and will be held on a
regular basis in conjunction with sister societies. The BFS Executive
Committee will decide on an annual basis the relative split of sponsorship
between the meetings, but the general principles of provision of
facilities to the Principal Sponsors will remain constant. This proposal
allows for sound financial planning for the Society and its sponsors.
It is entirely possible that the financial sponsorship sought at
the BFS meetings will be less than £12k per sponsor per year
but the BFS will not request more than this amount. The Society will
be able to assign a portion of this amount to the sponsorship of
within meeting symposia, plenary sessions or free communication sessions
within the main meeting. The treasurer of the Society will negotiate
the amount allocated of commercial sponsorship to be allocated for
these activities.
The Principal Sponsors will thus be offered the opportunity for
example to sponsor delegate bags on a rolling basis in rotation.
The sponsorship arrangement will cover the cost of the bags but any
inserts will not be covered and may be shared with other companies,
either Principal Sponsors or otherwise (on negotiation with the Secretariat,
with the Principal Sponsor retaining the right to be the sole sponsor
of the delegate bags if so wished).
The Principal Sponsors will have first priority in all other sponsorship
opportunities at the meetings. Thus opportunities to sponsor the
additional symposia, plenary sessions and free communication sessions
or the conference dinner and other social events will be offered
to the Principal Sponsors on a first refusal basis.
- The Principal Sponsors are requested not to run social events
or to invite delegates to dinner at times that conflict with the
social events organised by the BFS for the meeting.
Prizes and Awards
The sponsorship of prizes, awards and travel grants is welcomed
and will be acknowledged separately. These awards will be given profile
both in the meetings' programmes, at the conference dinner and also
in the BFS Newsletter. The entire cost of these prizes and awards
will be met separately from the main sponsorship agreement, which
will not cover either the cost of the prize or any travel arrangements
etc. The costs of any medals or scrolls awarded will also be met
separately.
- The Principal Sponsors will also have priority over other
companies in sponsorship opportunities at all other BFS meetings.
These will be negotiated separately as each meeting is planned.
- If other sponsorship opportunities arise, the Principal
Sponsors will be given first refusal to avail themselves of these
opportunities.
- Principal Sponsors will receive 2 free copies of each edition
of Human Fertility plus 4 copies of the BFS Newsletter.
- Representatives of Principal Sponsors will be welcome to
attend the Annual General Meeting of the Society, but will not be
entitled to vote.
Payment Terms
Principal Sponsors
The British Fertility Society requests that the educational grant
of £15,000 (payable to the BFS Educational Charity Ltd) to
support the activities of the Society be provided in full on an annual
basis at the start of the financial year, and at the latest by March
31st.
The British Fertility Society requests that the £12,000 +
VAT (payable to the British Fertility Society) for additional commercial
sponsorship at meetings is provided in full on an annual basis at
the start of the financial year, and at the latest by March 31st.