Step 1: Contact Advisory Services
Step 2: Define the Assignment
Step 3: Advance Preparation
Step 4: The Panel Week
Step 5: Report Preparation
Step 6: Follow-Up

Detailed Description of Each Step

Step 1: Contact Advisory Services

Start the panel process by contacting advisory services at panels@uli.org or 202-624-7000.  Staff will help you select the right panel option for your assignment, provide you with sample reports, and schedule a visit to your site to discuss the panel process. You can also complete the application form and E-mail it to advisory services.

Step 2: Define the Assignment

Once you decide to undertake a panel, advisory services staff will help you define the panel’s assignment and create a list of questions for the panel to answer. The final assignment becomes part of the panel contract.

Step 3: Advance Preparation

You, the sponsor, and ULI both work hard to prepare for the panel’s visit. Your advance preparation responsibilities include:

Briefing Book: You prepare a briefing book that outlines the assignment, study area history, demographics, past studies, and other background information essential to the panel’s work.  You mail the briefing book directly to each panel member approximately two weeks before the panel’s arrival on site.

Resource Materials:  You prepare on-site reference materials for use during the panel’s visit.  Reference materials include previous reports, large-scale maps, and other reference materials.  ULI returns resource materials at the end of the panel’s visit.

ULI’s advance preparation responsibilities include:

Chair and Panel Selection:  ULI selects a chair and panel with the experience and knowledge required to respond to the assignment. ULI provides biographies of the panel to you in advance of the panel’s visit.

Logistics Planning: ULI plans most logistics for the panel’s visit, with the exception of the First Night Dinner, Monday Reception, Briefing, Tour, and Final Presentation. ULI books all hotel and meeting space for the panel and coordinates travels and meals.

Step 4: The Panel Week

First Night Dinner: You arrange dinner on the first night for the sponsor team and the panel. The dinner provides an opportunity for panel members to speak informally with your sponsor team, learn about the local climate, and explore your objectives for the week. ULI will absorb the dinner cost of the panelists and ULI staff.

Sponsor Briefing: On the first full day of the assignment, your representatives brief the panel on the study area and the specific details of the assignment. This briefing should include a history of the study area, an overview of the issues, and a discussion of expectations.

Study Area Tour:  Following the briefing, you lead a carefully planned and narrated tour of the study area.  Your sponsor team, and additional resource people, if necessary, should accompany the tour to answer the panel’s questions.  You arrange appropriate transportation for the tour and provide a hand-held map of the study area for each panelist.

Reception: During a 5-day assignment, you are encouraged to host an hour-and-a-half reception on Monday evening for the panel and local stakeholders.  The reception allows stakeholders to meet the panel in an informal setting and learn more about the panel’s assignment and agenda. A sponsor representative and the panel chair usually provide brief remarks.

Interviews:  You prepare a list of local resource people and schedule times for them to meet with the panel. The number of people the panel talks to depends on the assignment and the panel format. The list may include members of the private sector, community leaders, political leaders, local residents, key officials of public agencies, and any other individuals who might provide information and insight to the panel. ULI staff will work with you to compile this list. 

Panel Deliberations: After the briefing, tour, and interviews, the panel engages in private deliberations to develop recommendations. The time allotted for deliberations varies depending on the panel format.

Final Presentation: You secure a location for the final presentation. If it is a public presentation, the room should have a stage or podium from which the panel can address the audience and should have audio/video capabilities. Generally, if the presentation is public, about 100 people can be expected. The hotel ballroom, city council chambers, or a local venue such as a library, church or club auditorium can be used. If the presentation is a closed meeting, a conference room in the hotel or at the sponsor’s office may be used.

Step 5: Report Preparation

ULI will prepare a final report detailing the panel’s findings and recommendations presented on the final day of the assignment. The sponsor reviews a draft for correctness of factual information and ULI then produces a final report. There are no substantive changes to the recommendations from the final presentation to the final report; therefore a sponsor can begin implementation immediately!

Step 6: Follow-Up

ULI can help you connect with the local ULI District Council and other resources to plan follow-up strategies after the panel. ULI can also contract with you to provide future panel services to build on the panel’s recommendations.

Application Form (PDF)