Arizona APCO/NENA understands that the economy is impacting a number of public safety agency travel and training budgets. These budgets are either being reduced or eliminated. Regardless of the merits of a conference, we understand that you may need to justify the expense. We have provided some guidance to help you with that process:
- Use this Justification Toolkit and Making the Case Letter to present to your supervisor outlining the costs and benefits of attending the conference.
- Focus on what you will specifically bring back to the organization as return for the investment. For example:
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- You can advance your knowledge in a concentrated amount of time.
- Networking among others in your field to gain different perspectives on your job.
- After conference you will be bringing valuable knowledge home with you. When you return you can offer to share that knowledge with others in your unit.
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- Offer to prepare and deliver a short presentation and Q&A to your colleagues to share what you learned. That way others in your unit will get the benefits of your attendance, too.
- Share the syllabus and speaker handouts with your colleagues. As an attendee, you have unlimited access to materials posted by speakers.
- If needed, be ready with a plan that shows who will cover for you while you are attending the conference.
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