Run a 60-minute online cross-border exchange that ends with next steps

Design an online exchange around a decision rather than a panel. This 60-minute format gives participants context, a structured conversation, a way to capture needs and offers, and a final five-minute commitment round that produces named owners and dates.

### Use this when Use this when you need a small, purposeful cross-border conversation: comparing market-entry questions, finding programme collaborators, sharing a practical lesson or testing a potential exchange. Do not use the format for a disguised sales pitch or for a topic so broad that nobody can act on it. MaRS recommends preparing the structure, tools and practice for online events, using purpose, outcomes and process, and opening with purpose, outcomes, roles, rules and timing. It also recommends breaking remote meetings into shorter blocks and using a co-host. [1] ### The outcome Participants leave with a shared record of the key insight, a short list of needs and offers, and one or more next steps with owners and dates. People who cannot take a task still know how to continue the conversation or access the agreed resource. ### Before you start **Inputs:** a one-sentence purpose, three intended outcomes, participant list, time-zone check, short briefing note, consent and recording decision, facilitator script, shared notes and follow-up message. **People:** facilitator, co-host or chat monitor, one note-taker, and no more speakers than the conversation can support. Brief speakers to contribute a question or example, not a long presentation. **Time:** allow preparation, a technical rehearsal and a follow-up block. Use a familiar video platform and a single place for links and decisions. ### Step by step 1. **Choose the decision.** Write “By the end, we want to know/choose...” If the answer is “share perspectives”, add what participants will do with those perspectives. A useful exchange has a job beyond filling an hour. 2. **Invite for fit and contribution.** State who the session is for, what they will be asked to contribute, the time-zone window, and what will happen after. Ask one registration question that helps you shape the discussion. 3. **Send a one-page pre-read.** Include purpose, three questions, participant names and roles if consented, the interaction rules, and what will not be covered. Ask participants to bring one example and one open question. 4. **Build the 60-minute agenda.** Use the template below. Keep the first round short. Put the most important discussion before the final ten minutes so the action round is protected. 5. **Rehearse the mechanics.** Test links, screen sharing, chat, breakout rooms, captions and the note-taking document. Agree a hand signal for the co-host, a backup contact route and what happens if the facilitator disconnects. 6. **Open with a contract.** State purpose, outcomes, timing, roles, participation expectations, recording and confidentiality. Acknowledge the countries and time zones represented without making assumptions about them. 7. **Facilitate for balanced contribution.** Invite responses by name, use chat for quieter participants, and interrupt politely when a contribution becomes a presentation. Ask, “What would this change in your programme next week?” Keep a parking list for topics outside scope. 8. **Capture needs and offers live.** Use two columns: “We need...” and “We can offer...”. Ask the contributor to define the next conversation or resource, not merely state an aspiration. 9. **Run the commitment round.** Read back the proposed actions. Ask each owner to confirm the action, date and dependencies. Give participants permission to decline an action rather than accepting an unrealistic promise. 10. **Follow up quickly.** Send notes, resources, the needs-and-offers table, corrections window and next meeting or owner. Mark what is public and what is private. Ask one question about usefulness, not just satisfaction. ### Templates **60-minute agenda** ```text 00:00–00:05 Welcome, purpose, outcomes, roles, rules and consent 00:05–00:12 Fast introductions: role, geography, one question 00:12–00:25 Two short examples or prompts (not presentations) 00:25–00:40 Guided discussion: what is transferable, what is local? 00:40–00:50 Needs and offers: capture concrete requests 00:50–00:57 Next-step round: owner, action, date, dependency 00:57–01:00 Read-back, follow-up route and close ``` **Commitment sentence:** “I will [action] for [person/group] by [date]. I need [dependency]. If that changes, I will update [owner] by [date].” ### Common mistakes Do not invite people without defining the contribution. Do not spend half the hour on introductions. Do not assume an online platform creates interaction by itself. Do not let a speaker consume the action round. Do not publish private comments. Do not send notes that blur suggestions, decisions and owners. ### How to tell it worked The agenda finished on time. Participants can name the purpose and next step. The needs-and-offers table contains specific items. Owners confirmed actions rather than being assigned silently. The follow-up message required few corrections. A later check shows whether at least one promised action was attempted, adapted or consciously closed. ### Using LINKK for this List the exchange in LINKK’s Events & webinars space when the audience and purpose are clear. Use a Network feed Event or Resource post for the public invitation and follow-up. After the session, convert concrete needs and offers into marketplace posts so the exchange has a discoverable continuation beyond the meeting. ### Sources [1]: https://learn.marsdd.com/article/facilitating-effective-meetings-and-events-online-guide/ "MaRS Facilitating Effective Meetings and Events Online" ---