Panel Discussion RACI Chart: Clarify Roles and Responsibilities

Deliver on Your Panel Discussion Title Promise

September 4, 2024

The 2024 Panel Report: The State of the Panel Discussion

September 26, 2024

In the soon-to-be-released 2024 Panels Report, we discovered a variety of tasks and decisions involved when you plan/design a panel discussion:

Select diverse, experienced panelists with varied perspectives – 24%
Select a relevant topic (scope) that is aligned with organizational/meeting objectives – 14%
Prepare/meet/align with the panelists – 10%
Develop great questions to ask the panelists(15)
Design the best format – 6%
Plan for audience participation – 6%
Research the audience – 5%
Plan for the timing/duration of the panel – 4%
Select a skilled moderator – 4%
Room set and staging – 4%
Review feedback from previous panels – 2%
Research the topic – 2%
Market/Promote the panel – 2%
Organizer to brief the moderator – 2%
Research the panelists – 2%)
Audience Q&A – 2%
Practice/Rehearsal -1%
Panel follow up -1%
Production – 1%
Develop the script – 1%
Training – 1%

We also discovered there is a tremendous overlap between roles and responsibilities. Based on the data, we thought a “RACI chart” might be appropriate to clarify the roles and responsibilities:

R (Responsible): Those who do the work to complete the task
A (Accountable): The one ultimately answerable for the correct and thorough completion of the deliverable or task
C (Consulted): Those whose opinions are sought
I (Informed): Those who are kept up-to-date on progress

Here\’s a high-level example of a RACI chart for panel discussions:

While I prepared this RACI chart with the top tasks identified in the survey and our ten years of research on panel discussions, you can access a more detailed, editable RACI chart here.

Panel organizers may use this as a starting point to create their own RACI chart for panel discussions. I hope this clarifies the tasks, roles, and responsibilities of organizing a panel discussion!

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For more information about how to moderate a lively & informative panel discussion, check out our free 7-part video series on how to moderate a panel and other resources to help you organize, moderate, or be a panel member.