Setting up a single source of truth for your event
Three people hold three versions of the run sheet, and nobody is sure which one the venue has.
The short answer
A single source of truth means each event fact, such as the programme, the budget or the speaker list, has exactly one master file, one named owner and one place everyone reads it from.
Copies are allowed only when they are labelled as copies and carry the date and version of the master they came from.
Decide the master per fact, not one master for everything
Do not try to put the whole event in one document. Choose one master for each kind of fact: programme, budget, registration figures, speaker details, supplier contracts, tasks and decisions.
Each master can live in a different tool. What matters is that nobody has to ask which one is current.
What makes a master trustworthy
- One owner role who may edit it, and a named deputy for leave.
- A visible version number and last-updated date at the top.
- A fixed location that does not change when staff change, such as a shared drive owned by the organisation and not by one person's account.
- A rule that anything sent outside, such as to the venue, is exported from the master with the version on it.
How copies are handled
Suppliers will always ask for a PDF or a spreadsheet by email. Allow it, but stamp the copy with the master name, version and date, and log who received it.
When the master changes, the owner decides which recipients must be told. Use the conference materials and translation-version checker for session materials that exist in several languages.
Settle disputes by the register
When two files disagree, the one named in the source register wins, and the other is corrected. Do not average them or pick the newer file by feel.
If the register is silent on that fact, add a line to it the same day.
Keep the register short and alive
- List every fact type the committee asks about.
- Assign master, owner and deputy.
- Agree where each master lives and who has edit access, following your project folder structure.
- Review the register at every committee meeting for the first month, then monthly.
Worked example · Fictional example
A secretariat with three run sheets
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
Persatuan Fiktif Pengurus Logistik runs a one-day forum for about 220 members. The honorary secretary keeps a run sheet, the treasurer keeps a second one with catering counts, and the AV supplier works from a PDF received six weeks earlier.
They name the honorary secretary's sheet as the master for programme timing, the treasurer's budget file as the master for catering counts, and add the version and date to the footer of both. The AV supplier receives a fresh export after each committee meeting, and the old PDF is marked superseded.
Use this yourself
Source register
Copy this table into a shared document and complete one row for each fact type.
- Programme timing: master, owner, deputy, who reads copies, last reviewed
- Budget and commitments: master, owner, deputy, who reads copies, last reviewed
- Speaker details and approvals: master, owner, deputy, who reads copies, last reviewed
- Supplier contracts and quotes: master, owner, deputy, who reads copies, last reviewed
- Registration and headcount figures: master, owner, deputy, who reads copies, last reviewed
- Tasks and decisions: master, owner, deputy, who reads copies, last reviewed
| Fact type | Master and location | Owner role | Deputy | Who reads copies | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programme timing | Run sheet, shared drive | Secretary | Vice chair | Venue, AV, MC | Date |
| Budget and commitments | Budget file, finance folder | Treasurer | Finance officer | Committee | Date |
| Speaker details | Speaker tracker | Programme lead | Secretary | Moderators | Date |
| Decisions | Decision log | Chair | Secretary | Committee | Date |
Open the tool: Conference materials and translation-version checker
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- One person already coordinates the files and can enforce the register.
- The event has fewer than five masters and one committee.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Several departments edit the same files and no one has authority to settle disputes.
- Suppliers have been working from older versions and the committee needs the files reconciled before a decision.
Need someone to hold the register?
A conference project lead can set up the source register with your committee, keep it current through the planning period and settle which version applies when files disagree. Decisions about content stay with your owners.
Questions organisers ask
Does a single source of truth mean one shared folder?
Not necessarily. A folder is a location. The point is one master per fact with a named owner. A well-organised folder helps, but the register is what resolves conflicts.
Who should own the register?
Usually the secretariat head or conference owner. The owner must be someone who attends committee meetings and can say which file wins.
What if a supplier keeps using an old file?
Send a dated export, ask them to confirm receipt of the new version in writing, and mark the old one superseded in your log. Record the date of the confirmation.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.