How to: run your own Huddle and Webinar

How to: run your own Huddle and Webinar

Introduction

The Digital.gov team wants you to always be prepared to support your Community, even when we are not available. Please find below a simple guide to hosting your own meetings. In addition, make sure to read up on our Event Best Practices to set yourself up for success.

How to: run your own Huddle and Webinar

Step 1: Understand the difference between the two

First things first, what’s the difference between the two? Please find a quick summary below. Want more details? Read up more in our Wiki.

Community Huddles: Some communities hold regular community meetings or “huddles” to improve connections, increase knowledge-sharing, and gather inputs from members. These meetings are on a monthly or quarterly basis with a limited agenda focused on letting the community members discuss their work, challenges, a news topic, or ask questions among the group.

Community Webinars: Digital.gov communities often host Webinars to highlight innovations, case studies, solutions, and resources related to the technologies and innovations that people in government need most. These meetings are also on a monthly or quarterly basis but have a structured agenda, presentation, and goals.

Both Huddles and Webinars are held on online platforms, can be recorded, and valuable content can be posted on Digital.gov.

Please note that any Huddles or Meetings that communities want to turn into Digital.gov resources must follow our Event Process guidelines and GSA TTS Guidance.

Step 2: Decide on your platform

When running your own meeting, you want to reach the most people possible and use an agency approved platform.

For GSA CoP Managers

You have some options including Zoom for Government, Webex and Google Meet. Each will provide you with a platform and a phone number (for those who cannot access the platform). Use Zoom for Government or Webex to reach the most participants.

• While Google Meet remains the enterprise standard for all GSA web meetings with under 250 participants, Zoom for Government and Webex host licenses are made available to those who routinely host meetings that are not well suited for Google Meetings.

  • We recommend using Google Meet:
    • For events that are internal, for GSA employees and GSA contractors only.
  • We recommend using Zoom for Gov Meetings:
    • For virtual and hybrid events for medium scale events (up to 500 participants).
  • We recommend using Zoom for Gov Webinars:
    • For virtual and hybrid webinar events for large scale events (up to 3000 participants).
  • We recommend using Webex:
    • For large scale meetings that will have attendance numbers of more than 500 participants and less than 1000 participants.

• For more information regarding webinar platform options check out our Digital.gov Webinar Platform Options document.

• To get a Zoom for Government or Webex license, submit a Service Catalog Request, or write to webmeetings@gsa.gov.

• Zoom for Government allows up to 500 participants per meeting, and 3000 participants for a broadcast. Webex allows up to 1000 participants per meeting or broadcast.

Educate yourself

• There is a team directly responsible for helping you manage your platforms. Use them! Follow the GSA Web Conference Transition Team Chatter Group and review the training tutorials they have for both Zoom for Government and Webex.
• In addition to those recorded trainings review the following additional information
  • Daily Live & Interactive Zoom for Government Webinars
  • Zoom for Government Video Tutorial(for short videos on specific topics)
  • Zoom for Government & Webex InSite Pages
• Additional questions? Write to webmeetings@gsa.gov.