• Can allow organisation-wide sharing and decision-making by bringing all members to one place for a day or a number of days.
• Provides networking opportunities for members of an organisation that are spread over a wide area.
• Provides a large enough audience to draw presenters of reknown who may not be willing to come for a smaller gathering.
• Allows new information to be shared with a large number of people simultaneously.
• Usually provides time for serious consideration of issues over two or three days.
• Can provide an opportunity for public statements that bear the authority of coming from the collective group.