Contact Bentley: New user groups are usually initiated by one or more motivated users in an area. They contact the user group support team with their interest and we provide them with materials from the Be User Group support program.
User Group Survey: Bentley will send out a survey questionnaire via e-mail to research the level of interest from our users in the area. After a week or two the results of the survey are collected and forwarded on to the initial requestor. The requestor is encouraged to contact these interested parties to set up an initial meeting. At which point decisions about the first meeting will have to be made such as date, venue, and agenda.
If the responses show a few officer candidates, you are a step ahead of the game—finding people willing to take leadership roles in a group is the toughest part. Groups require strong leadership in order to organize their meetings and conferences.
First Meeting: The users develop the agenda for the first meeting. The meeting agenda addresses activities such as developing a charter, electing officers, deciding membership fees, etc. Bentley helps to support the meeting (with up to $1,000 to defray cost of meeting such as food and beverage, meeting space, etc. if requested). For your reference, review this sample charter.
Second meeting: Newly elected officers are responsible for a follow-up meeting to discuss group plans. Once officers are elected at the first meeting, a second meeting is scheduled for officers to plan the Be User Group activities for the year. Bentley will support the second meeting with an additional $250 to defray meeting costs, if requested.
Reimbursement: As stated above, Bentley will help defray the costs of these meetings. After the meeting has occurred, send a list of attendees, expense receipts, and a completed invoice to beusergroup@bentley.com.
Subsequent meetings and Be User Group Meetings
Subsequent meetings that take place that first year are typically not supported by Bentley. However, after the group has been established for a year, they are eligible to take part in the full Be User Group Support Program.
This program provides additional money, loaner hardware, Bentley presenters at your events, printed materials, and more, based on the number of attendees at your major annual Be meetings (fully outlined here). To take part in the program, we ask that officers complete various online forms so that we know what is being requested.
Contact Us
If you are interested in starting a new group in your area, please contact the Be User Group program manager by phone at 1-800-Bentley or via e-mail at beusergroup@bentley.com.