The ISSUP Webinars have evolved into a wonderful space to share ideas, lessons and evidence, and facilitate exposure to emerging trends and strategies in drug demand reduction (DDR). Two hundred and sixty-two webinars have been hosted since 2020, reaching over 72,500 attendees from over 164 countries, with 52 of these hosted over the past year alone, attracting 14,453 attendees from 157 countries.
This success in reach is due in great part to the engagement of ISSUP’s National Chapters, as organisers of webinars and speakers as well as of members of the ISSUP extended network, and all our shared commitment to contribute to ISSUP’s mission to assure best practice knowledge sharing and practitioner networking.
Recognising the significant value of the webinar platform, the ISSUP Scientific Support Team has updated the webinar proposal form to ensure consistency across submissions, and to ensure that we can provide the most comprehensive yet succinct information to our network’s members about upcoming events. Each field on the form, available to download here, is now accompanied by clarifying statements to obtain the following depth of information:
This initial set of information enables potential attendees to immediately engage with the content of the webinar and spark an interest in attending, so it is important for the information to be as comprehensive as possible while being concise and easy to digest.
Webinar title
We recommend a concise and informative webinar title that immediately indicates the proposed content and focus, for example: “Delivery of Harm Reduction Services in Los Angeles, California: Lessons for Practitioners”.
Topic area
The information entered in this field should indicate the general topic area within which the webinar fits. There are also often overlapping areas of focus in DDR, and the webinar might be focused on one specific topic area. Highlighting this helps prepare potential attendees and allows the community to engage in some exploratory pre-reading should they choose to do so. It also has the potential to educate network members around an area of focus they may not have previously considered, for a specific topic.
Description
The description need not be long or overly inclusive and may even be presented in bullet point form. It should seek to provide an overview of what the webinar will cover. For example, “We will provide an overview of the harm reduction services provided in Los Angeles, demonstrate the evidence base for each and outline the processes and outcomes of implementation. We will expand on the provision of medication assisted therapy, testing for Hepatitis and HIV, etc.” This section should also include any elements of participant engagement planned by the speakers, such as polls or surveys, so that potential attendees are prepared. Activities are a great way to keep attendees engaged and interactive.
Intended audience
The ISSUP community is diverse, and includes specialist workers, non-specialist workers, peers, allied workers, managers and policymakers amongst others. Providing an indication of the target audience might help catch the attention of a specific group. This does not stop other cadres from hopping onto a webinar for exposure to areas of interest. We suggest being as comprehensive as possible in indicating the potential audience that might benefit from the webinar.
Learning outcomes
Please provide a succinct list of learning outcomes in bullet point. This allows potential attendees to prepare for the webinar and to attend intentionally. If there are additional outcomes which an attendee feels are pertinent, it might be possible for the attendee to raise this during the webinar, and thus spark further engagement. For example: “Following the webinar, participants will:
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Become familiar with best practice harm reduction packages
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Learn how to engage communities around the establishment of harm reduction services
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Understand how to establish and monitor a harm reduction service collaboratively with community and other local stakeholders
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Etc.
We suggest 3-5 learning outcomes.
References, if available.
ISSUP, as a platform for knowledge sharing, values opportunities to share best practice reading material for our network. Sharing some references ahead of the webinar allows attendees the opportunity to delve into the topic area and facilitates their readiness to engage meaningfully in the webinar.
Preferred dates and times
This information allows ISSUP to review available gaps for supporting the hosting of the webinar. A lot of planning goes on behind the scenes by the ISSUP team to ensure the smooth running of the webinar, including finalising the description text of the webinar, planning practice sessions and event dissemination through wide advertising, so we want to ensure every webinar has the best chance of success. The excellent satisfaction data indicate that the ISSUP community suggests we are on the right track.
Languages
If the webinar is going to be delivered in a language other than English, please let us know so that we can explore the availability of translation services.
Presenters
Presenting this information allows members of our community to engage, where possible, with the broader body of work of each presenter. Attendees can choose whether to learn more about the specific areas of expertise of speakers, and potentially broaden their horizons by exploring new areas of interest. This information also allows ISSUP to guarantee speaker credentials for an assurance of quality in the webinars presented.
Presenter email addresses
This information allows ISSUP to contact speakers to confirm specific information where required. Usually, this information will be confirmed with the individual submitting the webinar proposal. Presenters may choose to share their email address with attendees during the webinar or after.
Moderator/s
ISSUP works closely with webinar moderators to plan the general conduct of a webinar, particularly planning the flow from presentation to participant engagement. We suggest choosing a moderator with some knowledge of the topic area and who has some experience moderating such a session. The moderator would be able to interrogate and integrate questions to facilitate flow and encourage engagement.
Moderator email addresses
In order to ensure we can schedule planning and practice sessions with speakers and moderators, this contact information is essential.
Proposal submission and review process
Webinar proposal forms can be submitted via an ISSUP National Chapter or by emailing info [at] issup [dot] net (sst[at]issup[dot]net).
Once a webinar proposal is received, the following process unfolds.
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The proposal is submitted to ISSUP via the National Chapter at least 4 weeks ahead of the proposed date for the webinar.
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An initial review of the proposal is conducted by the National Chapter Coordinator and is refined collaboratively with the submitter.
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The Regional Network Coordinator submits the refined proposal to the Scientific Support Team for final review.
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The proposal is either accepted or sent back to the Regional Network Coordinator with feedback to strengthen the proposal.
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Once the proposal is accepted, the webinar is scheduled, posted on the ISSUP Webinars page, and advertised across ISSUP’s networks.
For any clarification, please feel free to reach out to your National Chapter Coordinator, or alternatively you may contact Kwadwo Adu by emailing kwadwo [dot] adu [at] issup [dot] net (kwadwo[dot]adu[at]issup[dot]net) or sst [at] issup [dot] net (sst[at]issup[dot]net)
We look forward to seeing you at our next webinar and hope you continue to enjoy and find value in the engagement.