design-event-plan-and-budget

name	design-event-plan-and-budget
description	Design the event plan and budget: goal/KPIs, format (in-person/virtual/hybrid), audience, a budget with a named contingency line, the break-even point in registrations/sponsorship, and the dated go/no-go gate.

Design Event Plan & Budget

Decide the event before you spend on it. Goal first, then format, then the money.

The sequence

1. Goal + KPIs. Pick the primary goal (revenue / pipeline / community / education) and 2-4 measurable KPIs with targets and a baseline.
2. Format. In-person / virtual / hybrid — chosen against goal, audience reach, and budget. Hybrid is two productions; name the cost.
3. Budget. Fixed (venue, AV, platform, staff) + variable (per-attendee F&B, swag) costs, with a named contingency line (commonly 10-20%).
4. Break-even. The registrations and/or sponsorship needed to cover the budget. This number drives the go/no-go threshold.
5. Go/no-go gate. A date and a hard threshold (registrations, sponsorship secured, speakers confirmed) at which you proceed, pivot, or cancel.

What "done" looks like

• Every cost line has an owner and a confidence level.
• The contingency line exists and is sized, not zero.
• Break-even is a number, and the go/no-go threshold is derived from it with a date.

Anti-patterns

• A budget with no contingency/buffer line.
• A format chosen by fashion ("everyone does hybrid") rather than goal + budget.
• A go/no-go decision with no date or no threshold.

Traverse the format and break-even trees in ../../knowledge/event-management-decision-trees.md before committing. Output via ../../templates/event-plan-and-budget.md.