Ballpark costs and typical processes for Keynote speeches from Open Education Leaders

I'm putting together programming for our OER initiative in the coming year, and I'm curious about others' experiences hiring/contracting "leaders" in the open education space to give keynotes and/or workshops as representatives of their university or organization.

First, what is the ballpark cost for a keynote? I suppose the "caliber" or notability of the speaker will make a difference, and this may have changed over the last few years. $1500? $3000? Or are these expenses sometimes or partially covered by the speaker's institution if the person's primary job or role is to evangelize OER or open practices?

Second, are these contracting fees typically paid to the speaker personally, or to their institution or organization? I suppose this would depend on how the person represents themselves on their title slides or work, and the rules or expectations of both the institution paying and the person receiving. At my university, we are expected to report contract fees related to our work that meet or exceed a dollar amount/threshold.

Third, do these speaking fees typically include or stack on top of the travel costs of the speaker? This can make a difference for certain locales, but may not make as much of a difference for virtual events or speaking/workshop engagemements.

I'm aware of a confusing case in the past (Lansing Community College 2017 OER summit) where Cable Green requested a $5000 check to be written to him personally while representing Creative Commons (yes, on his slides), where he was likely already being paid to do this work out of CC's Hewlett Foundation grant. Is this commonplace among other speakers representing comparable organizations (SPARC, ISKME, OpenStax, etc)? Or do these speaking fees typically flow through the organization itself?

The costs of a keynote can take up the majority of an OER initiatives event budget (if they have one), and many of us have institutional policies that dictate how and how much we are able to compensate folks for speaking fees, workshop fees, etc. We should be careful and thoughtful about how this process works, and share preferred (read: not "best") practices across the OER community.

Hoping there is something useful that will come from a broader discussion from representatives of the institutions where open education speakers provide keynote and workshop services. Inspirational and motivational speaking on OER is an asset to the movement, and it seems there aren't many norms that extend outside of local institutional policies.

Mahalo!

Billy

PS you can message me off-thread if you prefer not to advertise your experiences on the list(s)

PPS the list cross-posting was meant to capture perspectives from folks that aren't on all the same OER lists
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Aloha Bill,

Here is Bard's answer to your honorarium question. 

cheers, Ron

"In general, keynote speakers can expect to earn between $500 and $100,000 for their time.

Here is a breakdown of the average honorarium for keynote speakers by experience level:

• Beginner speakers: Beginner speakers may earn between $500 and $1,500 for their time. These speakers may be new to the speaking industry or may not have a large following.
• Established speakers: Established speakers may earn between $1,500 and $5,000 for their time. These speakers have a track record of delivering engaging and informative speeches.
• Celebrity speakers: Celebrity speakers may earn between $5,000 and $100,000 for their time. These speakers are well-known and have a large following.

The type of event can also impact the honorarium that a speaker receives. For example, keynote speakers at industry conferences typically earn more than keynote speakers at corporate events.

When negotiating an honorarium, it is important to consider the following factors:

• The speaker's experience and reputation
• The type of event
• The speaker's travel and accommodations
• The speaker's marketing and promotional materials

It is also important to remember that the speaker's honorarium is not the only cost associated with booking a keynote speaker. The event organizer may also need to cover the speaker's travel and accommodations, as well as the cost of marketing and promoting the event.

Here are some tips for negotiating a fair honorarium for a keynote speaker:

• Do your research. Before you contact the speaker, research their experience, reputation, and the type of events they typically speak at. This will give you a better idea of what they are worth.
• Be prepared to negotiate. The speaker's initial offer may not be their final offer. Be prepared to negotiate and be willing to compromise.
• Be professional. When negotiating with the speaker, be professional and respectful. Remember that they are a valuable asset to your event and you want to create a positive relationship with them."

From: cccoer-...@googlegroups.com <cccoer-...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Billy C Meinke <wme...@hawaii.edu>
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Subject: Ballpark costs and typical processes for Keynote speeches from Open Education Leaders

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I'll provide a summary next week.

Cheers,

Billy

Aloha OER lists-

Thanks to all that replied! As I assumed, the topic of costs and processes for bringing in motivational speakers in Open Education is a gray area, the movement would be better with clarity around norms and expectations. In the absence of universal rules, preferred practices can help leadership in the movement shine and let the outliers or undesirable/unsustainable practices be placed to the side.

Each of the replies I received on this thread came off-list, which points to the sensitive nature of the topic. I'm going to generalize the points here, and leave out specific names of those who chimed in. If they wish to clarify what I've synthesized, they are welcome to reach out to me or do so on the main thread.

Troubled Budgets

Several responses indicated that their budgets for OER activities including putting on events and hiring speakers have changed during the first few years of the COVID pandemic. Funding designated for specific initiatives often shrinks when the money goes unspent, and the inability to host in-person events (or events at all) meant that OER budgets at many institutions changed significantly.

Costs

The anecdote I shared about a top earner/speaker in Open Education requesting $5,000 seems to have been an outlier. While I can't say the responses I received were a representative sample of what happens broadly across the movement, the speaking fees shared with me ranged from $300 to $2,000 per speaker. The notoriety of the speaker, the scope of work, and the structure/level of the hosting institution were all factors in how the honorarium was decided. Travel costs are typically added on top of the speaking fee, and some responses indicated that speakers had to decline the invitation if the costs of travel/hotel/roof-overhead were not covered, or expected to be deducted from the honorarium. All this said, more than one respondent indicated that they significantly reduced or waived their speaking fee entirely if the perceived benefit to the movement was very high, or the "lift" to offer a talk were low, or an add-on to another speaking engagement they were already being compensated for.

Process

Some level of negotiation seems to be common, and this is an area that might be the most sensitive part. In my experience (yes, I have been an invited keynote and workshop facilitator) these negotiations, when done in good faith, usually result in a workable fee and process. Some institutions are more involved in assisting with booking travel and accomodations, and others simply cut a check and expect the speaker to handle the rest. Both seem acceptable, and there doesn't seem to be a common expectation here. Regarding direct payment to the speaker, multiple responses indicated that a check was written directly to the speaker at the time of service, or shortly thereafter.

Leadership

Part of my inquiry had to do with expectations and norms for "leaders" in Open Education. I heard from one person at the director level of a non-profit in this space who offered a really useful take. They indicated that for their staff who are invited to speak on Open Education, the expectation is that the honorarium is routed through the parent organization or institution as opposed to a direct payment to the person for their talk. While this is impossible to track 100% of the time, the person indicated that speaking on Open Education fulfills part of their organization's mission and so the preferred option is to support this mission, not the individual. Again, the leading organizations are often already working off a large grant to do this work.

Diversity

One interesting comment I received had to do with the lack of diversity, or the "same folks on the speaking circuit" for Open Education. From my personal experience, there are many speakers from lesser-known institutions who do incredible work in Open Education that might actually be more easily transferred to comparable institutions or initiatives than high-level "leaders" whose work is notably abstracted from the work being done on the ground. I would encourage you to bring in speakers who are not only the loudest voices in the movement, but rather those whose work is tangible (OER published, new processes established, policy initiated, etc). Unlike a fine wine, recycled slide decks with aged talking points do not get better with time.

Mahalo, Billy. I appreciate your summary!!!

Subject: Re: Ballpark costs and typical processes for Keynote speeches from Open Education Leaders

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