Developing an agenda

Formatting the agenda

In addition to the standard headings that guide the structure of a meeting, an agenda may also include:

Suggested time allocations
This allows participants to judge the relative importance of topics and helps to keep the meeting on track.
Draft motions
Draft wording for a motion may be provided in advance and included on the agenda.
Statement of action required
Notations such as 'for information', 'for discussion', 'for approval' and 'confidential' tell the meeting participants what they are required to do and help expedite the meeting.
The name of each responsible agent
Sometimes meetings make decisions, but the subsequent action doesn't always happen. Tagging a person to a meeting item helps avoid this problem.
Spaces for notes
It is useful to providespace on the agenda so that participants can make notes.
A 'chairperson's agenda' is a version prepared for the chairperson and minutes secretary. It contains additional space for making notes both prior to and during the meeting.

Tips for formatting agendas

Agendas should have a layout and format that is consistent and appropriate for all meetings of the same type. To make your task of developing regular agendas easier you could prepare a template document from which all agendas will be developed. Your template should be designed with:

a font that is easy to read
a hierarchy of heading styles, so participants can easily see which items are most important
plenty of white space
very little use of bold or italic text
no underlining (underlining is now used to indicate hyperlinks).

It is also useful to:

number the agenda items
items if necessary
provide an estimate of the time allotted to discussion of each item
clearly indicate starting time for the meeting, the time of any known adjournment and the finishing time
schedule breaks (morning tea, lunch).

Locate the minutes for the Wineries for Wheelies Steering Committee meeting in the ValleyView Intranet.

What should the agenda have looked like? Discuss this in the ValleyView Meeting room, using the heading Formatting the agenda, before developing your final answer. Keep a record.

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Developing an agenda

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