Application for Hosting
Each year, the NCCER Conference & Competition is proudly hosted by a campus emergency response team committed to advancing responder education, collaboration, and excellence. Hosting NCCER is a unique opportunity to showcase your institution, develop leadership within your team, and contribute meaningfully to the national campus responder community.
Host teams play a central role in shaping the conference experience, from logistics and competition execution to social programming and community engagement.
Hosting NCCER is no easy task, but it’s a highly regarded achievement that’s guaranteed to create new memories and friendships! To learn more about what it takes to host one of our conferences and determine if it’s the right fit for you, read on below!
Dedication
Submitting your bid to ACERT is the first step to hosting – and the one that we feel requires the most courage. It requires committing to the journey and seeing it through to the end. We’re looking for teams and individuals who see the fun treks in getting around roadblocks and enjoy getting creative when facing the drawing board. If your team has the organizational skills to tackle multiple projects and activity requests while working with time-sensitive deadlines, this is the conference for you!
Teamwork
Hosting a conference takes a lot of work, and sometimes you’ll need a helping hand or two (or fifty…). A strong sense of teamwork, leadership, and initiative in all stages of conference planning is something ACERT expects of your team – and hopefully you do, too! Whether it be putting together committees, working with representatives from your sponsors, outreach on your campus community for fundraising, or even dealing with admin, strong teamwork and communication is the absolute foundation of hosting.
Physical Resources
Unstoppable force (your team) meets immovable object (your campus admin): a tale as old as time.
You can organize and arrange and have enough finances to cover hosting for next year, but if there’s no place to host it then it’s all moot. If your campus or local conference hosting services have the ability to host a conference with up to 150 attendees, keynote speakers, workshops, and situations, then you’re already halfway there. Catering, socials, hotels, and access to transport/parking are also things to consider when you apply to host.
Logistics
Who will help guide attendees around activities during the conference? How will you use technology and social media to help promote and organize? What kind of scenarios will you design for the round robins? What kind of budget are you working with and how will you ensure you’re not terrifically in the red by the end of this?
These are only a fraction of the kinds of questions your team needs to ask itself when untangling the cat’s cradle that is conference logistics. Don’t worry – ACERT is here to help guide you if you need it!
What Does Hosting Involve?
The host team works closely with the NCCER organizing body and ACERT to plan and deliver the conference and competition. Key responsibilities include:
Securing appropriate venues for competition scenarios, workshops, meetings, and the banquet
Coordinating logistics such as room bookings, catering, equipment, and signage
Supporting the execution of the First Aid Competition and Mass Casualty Incident
Recruiting and coordinating volunteers, simulated patients, and local support
Assisting with on-site registration, wayfinding, and event flow
Representing NCCER in a professional and welcoming manner throughout the event
Comprehensive guidance, documentation, and ongoing support are provided to host teams throughout the planning process.
Application Process
Teams interested in hosting NCCER are invited to submit a Host Application Form which includes information about your team, institution, available facilities, and proposed support structure.
Applications are reviewed by the NCCER organizing committee. Shortlisted teams may be contacted for follow-up questions or clarification prior to final selection.