Preparing poster-session instructions and allocations
Thirty authors have been told their abstracts are accepted as posters, and they now want to know when, where and in what size to present.
The short answer
Poster instructions combine facts the venue must confirm, such as board size and display hours, with choices the committee makes, such as presentation type and judging. Allocation of authors to slots and board numbers is a secretariat task once those two are fixed.
Send one instruction sheet with a version number, so that every author works from the same facts.
Who supplies each piece of the instruction sheet
| Item | Source |
|---|---|
| Which abstracts are posters | Scientific committee |
| Whether there is judging or a prize, and criteria | Scientific committee |
| Board dimensions, orientation, fixings, display hours | Venue or supplier, confirmed in writing |
| Set-up and take-down times | Venue, agreed with the programme |
| Presenter attendance time at the board | Committee decides; secretariat schedules |
| Board number and session slot | Secretariat, from the allocation sheet |
| Print and upload deadline, file format | Secretariat, from the supplier or printer |
Allocation sequence
- Take the locked list of poster abstracts from the committee, with theme groupings if the chair wants posters grouped by theme.
- Count boards and display sessions the venue has confirmed, and compare against the number of posters.
- Assign board numbers by the committee's theme grouping, then assign presenter attendance slots by availability notes.
- Check the plan against room use in the multi-room allocation checker if the poster hall shares space with another session.
- Publish the instruction sheet and the allocation list together, and log the version in the materials version checker.
Points that need a written answer
- Board size and whether posters are portrait or landscape. Ask the venue or board supplier to confirm, not an earlier event's figure.
- Whether posters may be fixed with tape, pins or magnets, and who provides them.
- Whether electronic posters or screens are allowed, and who owns the equipment.
- What happens to posters left after take-down.
Worked example · Fictional example
Thirty posters over two display sessions
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
A fictional nursing association accepts 30 posters and the venue confirms 20 boards. The committee decides on two display sessions of 15 posters each, grouped by theme.
The secretariat builds the allocation sheet with session, board number and presenter attendance time, and sends it with the instruction sheet version 1. When the venue later replaces the boards, version 2 goes to all authors together with a changed-items note.
Use this yourself
Poster-session instruction sheet
Use as the skeleton of your sheet. Items marked venue or committee need a confirmed answer before the sheet is released.
- Sheet version and date:
- Poster session name, location and display hours (venue):
- Board dimensions and orientation (venue to confirm in writing):
- Fixing materials provided or to be brought:
- Set-up window and take-down window (venue):
- Presenter attendance time at the board (committee):
- Judging or prize arrangement, if any, and criteria (committee):
- Board number and session for each poster (allocation list attached):
- Print and file requirements and the deadline for any print service:
- Who to contact for changes, and the last date for changes:
Open the tool: Conference materials and translation-version checker
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- Fewer than 40 posters, one session, and a venue that supplies boards with documented dimensions.
- The committee has already decided grouping and judging.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Multiple display sessions, a shared hall, or printing coordinated for many authors.
- Late withdrawals and corrections keep changing the allocation list.
Want the poster allocation coordinated?
A conference project lead can collect board and hall facts from the venue, build the allocation list, issue the instruction sheet and keep each version in step. Poster acceptance, grouping and judging stay with your scientific committee.
Questions organisers ask
Who decides poster size?
Board size is a venue or supplier fact, so ask them to confirm it in writing. Within that, the committee can set rules about orientation and content.
Can the secretariat reorder posters to fill boards neatly?
Not by changing theme groupings the committee has set. If a rearrangement helps the layout, put it to the chair as an option.
How do late withdrawals affect board numbers?
Leave the number empty rather than renumbering, unless the chair approves a re-issue. Log the new sheet version and notify every author.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.