Four meetings in three years, and a trainee conference delivered 52% below its original estimates.
A California state research funding agency brings the students and early-career scientists in its training programs together every summer to present their research and meet the people who could shape their careers. CTC has run that conference for three years, in three cities, and in 2025 took on a new statewide research program meeting as well. In 2025 the items CTC negotiated for the conference came in 52% below their original estimates, and across three events the figure was 47%.
California state research funding agencyGovernment & Public SectorResearch trainee conference2024 – 2026Three California cities
52%
Below the original estimates on negotiated items, 2025 conference
47%
Below the original estimates across three events, 2024 – 2025
110%
Of the 2025 contracted room block picked up
01 – The brief
A public agency’s conference, held to public rules.
The agency funds research across California and trains the next generation of scientists. Its annual trainee conference brings undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs and program staff together for three days of talks, career panels, workshops and poster sessions, paid for with public funds and held to state per diem limits on every meal and room. CTC first ran it on a university campus in 2024. The goals, set at the start of each year, were to:
- Leave at least 90% of attendees satisfied with the presentations and workshops
- Give at least 90% of attendees a poster or a talk of their own
- Complete registration on time and never exceed the budget
- Build a network that trainees keep using after they go home
- Launch a smaller research program meeting built around collaboration between research teams
02 – What we did
Source widely, price to the per diem, and push back on every estimate.
CTC runs the meetings end to end: venue sourcing and contracts, housing, registration and the event app, food and beverage, audio visual and stage management, speakers, poster sessions, signage, budget tracking and the post-event report. Four things did most of the work.
Put every venue to the test. For the 2026 conference CTC sent requests for proposals to 62 venues before recommending one, and the program meeting drew 20 proposals from 37 requests.
Price every menu to the per diem. Menus were negotiated inside state per diem limits, and in 2025 they came in 44% below the original menu estimate.
Trade the rental for the minimum. In 2025 the meeting-space rental was waived once the food and beverage minimum was met, and the 2026 hotel contract carried the same terms plus a 20% audio visual discount.
Hold the room rate down. The 2025 group rate was 34% below the hotel’s rate, and attendees booked 110% of the contracted room block.
03 – The results
Under the original estimates, three times over.
Costs against the original estimates, on the items CTC negotiated:
| Year | Below original estimates |
|---|---|
| 2024 conference | 30% |
| 2025 program meeting | 29% |
| 2025 conference | 52% |
Across the three, costs came in 47% below the original estimates.
- 52% below the original estimates, on the items CTC negotiated for the 2025 conference
- 110% of the contracted room block picked up in 2025
- The 2024 conference stayed in budget, in its first year with CTC
- The first program meeting was delivered on time and on budget, and 100% of surveyed attendees said it met their expectations
- 95% of surveyed attendees made new scientific or professional connections at the 2024 conference
04 – Services
What CTC delivered.
- Venue Management
- Housing & Room Blocks
- Registration
- Mobile App
- Food & Beverage
- Audio Visual Management
- Speaker Management
- Stage Management
- Financial Management
- Onsite Management
- Post Event Report
05 – More case studies
Three Annual Sessions in three cities, every one under the original estimates
CTC planned five American Student Dental Association conferences from 2024 to 2026, and every Annual Session came in under its original estimates.
Year three of California CASA’s State Conference: 44% under the original estimates
Three years into the partnership, California CASA's State Conference beat its attendance goal every year and came in 44% under the original estimates in 2026.
56% off the original quotes, and a summit that came together in under three months
A film industry association's new studio summit in Hollywood came together in under three months across five venues, with renegotiated costs 56% below the original quotes and early-bird registrations 57% over target.
06 – Start here
Tell us the date and the budget.
We will tell you what is possible.
Four meetings in three years started with one conversation about a single trainee conference on a university campus.