GENERAL FAQS

I want to speak at Baltimore Innovation Week, how do I submit my talk?

Fill out this brief Speaker Submission form by July 11.

I’m interested in showing off or demoing my app, company, game or startup during Baltimore Innovation Week, where do I apply?

Fill out this brief Tabletop Demo form by August 1.

Who is organizing #BIW14?

Technical.ly Baltimore, a news site that covers technology, startups and venture capital in Baltimore, leads the effort, and we partner with dozens of community groups and event organizers. We also have an advisory board that helps shape the week.

-Advisory Board:

-Andrew Rose, Naden Lean & Associates

-Jeannie Howe, Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance

-Deborah Tillett, Emerging Technology Centers

-Jen Gunner, Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore

-Christopher Wink, Technical.ly Baltimore

Why is Technical.ly Baltimore organizing this event?

As a news organization that covers this space, we are committed to helping to increase Baltimore’s impact regionally and nationally and to increase the reach and relevance of Baltimore’s innovation community.

I want to volunteer during BIW; how can I help?

Please sign up on this quick form and we will be in touch with information as it gets closer to the week.

I want to request accessibility services for an event I am attending. How do I go about doing that?

Please send over a detailed request to [us] (events@technical.ly), including the titles of the events as well as the specific service you are requesting by Friday, August 22nd. We can help arrange those services, but please be sure to get your request in before the deadline.

How can I sponsor Baltimore Innovation Week?

Sponsorship information is available here.

Have a question about sponsorship? Contact Brian.

What’s your refund policy for events hosted by Technical.ly Baltimore?

For events hosted by Technical.ly, Technical.ly will honor full refunds for orders canceled 30 days or more prior to the ticketed event. If cancelled 29 days or fewer before the event, the ticket can be transferred to another guest or applied as credit for a future Technical.ly event. NO CREDITS OR REFUNDS will be given to cancellations made within 24 hours or less of the event. Attendees are responsible for their own travel to and timely arrival at the event.

Priority Registration Disclaimer

Technical.ly event organizers reserve the right to give priority registration to technologists, students, entrepreneurs and investors. Individuals or groups who partner with technology organizations to provide services/products and wish to attend may be wait listed.To ensure event entry as a service provider, contact Peter for supporting opportunities.

I see a bug on the site. Who should I contact?

Please send a detailed description to us.

Is Technical.ly Baltimore making money from BIW?

Baltimore Innovation Week is part of many efforts by Technical.ly Baltimore to help fund operations. Baltimore Innovation Week currently helps the company support 1 full-time reporter in the Baltimore region dedicated to reporting on the community and growing an impactful Week.

EVENT ORGANIZER GUIDE

GENERAL INFO

• WHAT: A week-long celebration of technology and innovation in Baltimore
• WHY: To make a better Baltimore through technology
• WHEN: Friday, September 12 - Saturday, September 20, 2014 
• WHERE: Various locations throughout the region
• WHO: BIW is organized by news site Technical.ly Baltimore and includes events from organizations and individuals from throughout the region
• CONTACT: Catherine Sontag | catherine@technical.ly

TIMELINE

• Tue. June 10, 2014: Event Organizer Q&A Hangout #1. Watch it here.
• Fri. June 27, 2014: Event Organizer Deadlines & Details Hangout #2 Watch it here
• Tue. July 1, 2014: Event proposals due. High-res images & logo due.
• Fri. July 18, 2014: Confirmed event venue, date & timing due. (These details may not be changed after this date.)
• Mon. Aug 4, 2014: Deadline for final event details.
• Mon. Sept. 2, 2014: Print programs will land in more than 100 retailers
• Fri. Sept. 12, 2014: Kickoff event for third annual Baltimore Innovation Week

OVERVIEW

Your event should match the goals of Baltimore Innovation Week, which are to:

• Provide exposure to Baltimore’s tech community (locally, regionally and nationally).
• Encourage collaboration across industries through the common thread of technology.
• Make a better Baltimore through technology.
• Have a great time celebrating Baltimore’s fantastic tech community.

Listing an event on the BIW calendar is free of cost.

That’s right, free! We are able to offer this community approach with respect to the guidelines presented in this organizer guide, which includes helping us recognize the sponsors that allow us to support organizing this effort. For #BIW14, we will require event organizers to agree to a process that ensures a more disciplined process of promotion and collaboration. To get started, create a login on BaltimoreInnovationWeek.com; Click Add an Event and fill in the required fields.

Your event should fall under the Baltimore Innovation Week programming tracks:

• ACCESS — Discussing technology issues that affect everyday citizens. Think: digital divide, digital education.
• BUSINESS — The startup and business community conversation. Think: Venture capital, startups, bootstrapping, entrepreneur stories.
• CIVIC — The impact of technology on media and data. Think: digital media, social networks, Open Data.
• CREATIVE — Where art and technology collide. Think: Video games, digital art, community initiatives.
• DEV — Where programmers, designers, developers and project managers come together. Think: coding, front and back-end development, and more.
• MEDIA — The strategy around technology coverage & promotion. Think: content marketing, digital marketing strategy, social networks.

Each Baltimore Innovation Week event is independently organized, so its programming rests in your hands. This approach allows us to include organizations from across the community, from large to small. We’ll promote the heck out of your event and help you through hurdles.

Baltimore Innovation Week organizers are committed to making the week successful for everyone involved. We provide:

• Help with promotion and marketing of your event
• A central hub for communication, branding and coordination
• Placement in a print program to be distributed to all attendees
• Communication with local and national press
• Assistance in securing a venue, ticketing and other infrastructure, if necessary

We ask our event organizers for the same commitment. You provide:

• Your organization is required to attend the Kickoff Breakfast event to pick up the print program to distribute and network with other local tech leaders
• Your organization is asked to market its event as a part of Baltimore Innovation Week
• Your organization is required to recognize the Track Sponsor of your assigned track during the event and to display official Baltimore Innovation Week signage
• Your organization will be asked for a count of attendees after the event
• Your organization is responsible for insurance and liability of your event
• A really great event!

EVENT ORGANIZER FAQS

Why should I get involved? Our event organizers see new attendees, increase the visibility of their programs and partners, and help show support for a growing community. Oh, and because you <3 the Baltimore tech community.

Tell me about last year’s event, Baltimore Innovation Week 2013

• 10 days length
• 45 events
• 80+ partners
• 5,500+ attendees
• Too many good connections to document

What about qualitative impact? Read the Baltimore Innovation Week comprehensive wrap coverage on Technical.ly Baltimore from 2012 here, and read about last year’s (2013) event here.

Can I partner with other organizations? We encourage events that cross-over between industries and partners rather than a typical meetup. Think beyond your regular constituency.

At what time should my event take place? Events will be take place throughout each day. We promise to curate the calendar as best as possible to make sure that your event gets noticed. You should fit your event to the following time slots:

• Morning: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
• Lunch: 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Happy Hour: 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
• Evening: 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Can I charge for events? Can I find my own sponsors? Yes. We realize that these events cost money to organize. In the case of sponsorship, we ask that you notify Technical.ly Baltimore of all sponsorships to avoid overlap with other BIW efforts.

What if I have an event idea but no venue? Technical.ly Baltimore has several partnerships with local venues. Please contact us and allow us to help make your event a reality.

HOW TO ORGANIZE AN EVENT

1. Come up with a brief concept for your event.
2. Pick a location and a preferred time.
3. Reach out to potential partner organizations if applicable.
4. Create a login on BaltimoreInnovationWeek.com; Click Add an Event and fill in the required fields.
5. If your event is true to the BIW mission, we’ll notify you and place the event on the calendar.
6. We’ll work with you as the event date nears.
7. Hold your awesome event.
8. Send us your photos, links, video and other media for posting on Technical.ly Baltimore.

CODE OF CONDUCT

We value the participation of each member of the Baltimore Innovation Week community and want all attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Accordingly, all attendees are expected to show respect and courtesy to other attendees throughout the conference and at all conference events, whether officially organized by Baltimore Innovation Week or not. To make clear what is expected, all delegates/attendees, speakers, exhibitors, organizers and volunteers at any Baltimore Innovation Week event are required to conform to the following Code of Conduct.

The Short Version

Baltimore Innovation Week is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form.

All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks.

Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate for Baltimore Innovation Week. Attendees violating these rules may be asked to leave events without a refund at the sole discretion of the conference organizers.

Thank you for helping make this a welcoming, friendly event for all.

The Long Version

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Be careful in the words that you choose. Remember that sexist, racist, and other exclusionary jokes can be offensive to those around you. Excessive swearing and offensive jokes are not appropriate for Baltimore Innovation Week.

If a participant engages in behavior that violates this code of conduct, the event organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from an event with no refund.

License

This Code of Conduct was forked from PyCon’s Code of Conduct Policy, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.