How to Justify Attending a Conference

Conferences are an excellent training opportunity and should offer a great return on your investment. However, getting approval to attend can sometimes be a challenge. In most circumstances, the right approach can help you justify your time away from work, travel expenses, and all relevant conference fees.
You simply need to present valid reasoning and sound objectives for your management to understand the value proposition.
Let management know the nature of the education you will receive at the conference and how it will help you on the job. Identify the classes, workshops or courses you plan to attend and establish the connection to your own job responsibilities
Here are few ideas for structuring a request for approval to attend DRI2013:

1. Provide an accurate estimate of expenses you will occur. Be sure to include all travel, dining and lodging expenses, and cost of materials or event tickets if applicable.
2. Identify the specific sessions you plan to attend. Sketch out your itinerary and suggest ways that the information you acquire will benefit both you and the company.
3. Offer to share the information with co-workers. Bring home your conference materials to let co-workers share in the conference content.
4. Close the loop—create a trip report after the conference. Summarize key points of discovery brought out during the conference and point out how those relate to BC efforts in your organization.

A sample memo to your manager is provided here.