Buyer worries, capacity and internal approval
Choosing between project fees and dedicated event-manager capacity
Finance has asked whether outside help should be a fixed project or a set number of days, and the committee has no view yet.
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The short answer
Pay a project fee when the scope, deliverables and end date can be written down now. Buy dedicated event-manager capacity when the work will keep changing, spans several events, or needs one person embedded in your team for agreed days each week.
The choice is about how well you can describe the work today, not about which option looks cheaper on paper. A fixed scope that keeps being reopened becomes expensive in a different way.
The two models in plain terms
| Question | Project fee | Dedicated capacity |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A defined outcome: for example a planning pack, or coordination of one conference to an agreed scope. | A set number of days or hours of an event manager working inside your team. |
| Who sets priorities | The scope document. | Your named manager, week by week. |
| Handles change by | A change conversation against the scope. | Re-ordering tasks within the same days. |
| Main risk | Scope too tight or too loose for what turns up. | Days used on low-value tasks without a clear list. |
| Review point | Deliverables and milestones. | Weekly priorities and a regular review of days used. |
Questions that decide it
- Can the work be described as deliverables with an end date? If yes, lean towards a project fee.
- Will priorities change weekly as committee decisions arrive? If yes, lean towards dedicated capacity.
- Is there one event or several, or a programme running through the year? Several events and a year-round programme favour capacity, or recurring programme management.
- Does someone in your team have time to direct a manager day to day? Without that person, a defined scope works better.
- What will finance be able to approve? Some organisations approve a project sum more easily than an open-ended number of days.
Mixed arrangements
The two are not exclusive. A common pattern is a project fee for the planning phase, then a block of dedicated days for the weeks around delivery when decisions move quickly. Another is a fixed scope for the conference plus an agreed number of extra days for work that turns up.
Whichever you choose, write down who can instruct the manager, how extra requests are logged and when the arrangement is reviewed.
What to put in the approval request
- The work to be covered, described as deliverables or as a prioritised task list.
- How progress will be reported and how often.
- What happens if the scope grows or the days run out.
- Who in the organisation directs the work and who approves any change.
- The review date at which you decide to continue, change or stop.
Worked example · Fictional example
A secretariat choosing between two ways to get support
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
Persatuan Fiktif Perunding Bersekutu runs one annual conference and four member evenings. The secretariat head has no deputy and the committee changes its mind on the programme most weeks.
The secretariat first considers a fixed project fee for the conference. Writing the scope, it finds that the programme and speaker list are still open. It chooses a block of dedicated days for the ten weeks before the conference, directed by the secretariat head through a weekly priorities list, and a small fixed scope for the post-event report.
Use this yourself
Fee model decision worksheet
Fill in with finance and the person who would direct the work. Score each line 1 (project fee) to 5 (dedicated capacity).
| Question | Our answer | Score 1 to 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Can deliverables and an end date be written now? | ||
| How often will priorities change? | ||
| Number of events or programmes covered: | ||
| Who will direct the manager each week? | ||
| What can finance approve: a sum or a number of days? | ||
| What is the review date? |
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- Your team has one person with time to direct a manager and a clear task list.
- The scope is stable and a short planning document would cover it.
- The need is a single peak with a fixed end.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Several people give instructions and priorities change every week.
- Finance wants a defensible basis for the approval but the scope is not yet clear.
- You need temporary capacity across more than one event.
Want to test the options against your own plan?
An embedded event project manager can be set up for agreed days with a prioritised task list and a review date, while a project lead or Event Blueprint suits work that can be scoped as deliverables. Tell us how the work is shaped now and who would direct it, and we can talk through which arrangement fits.
Questions organisers ask
Is a project fee always the safer option for finance?
Only when the scope is stable. If the scope keeps changing, the fee is renegotiated repeatedly. A clear task list with a review date can give finance equal control over dedicated days.
How do we stop dedicated days being wasted?
Keep a short prioritised list, review it weekly and record what the days were used for. A named person in your team should direct the work.
Can we start with one and switch?
Yes, if the agreement says how and when. Build in a review point so the change is a planned decision.
Related resources
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