A ninety-minute briefing and a full-day workshop are not priced by the clock alone. Preparation, specialist expertise and the promised output can matter as much as delivery time. Start by making the work comparable; then ask for a fee.
Separate the budget components
The table is a list of potential cost components, not a statement that every item is required or included in an AISB proposal.
| Component | What may need a budget | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Brief review, interviews, research and adapting materials | Which inputs and iterations are included? |
| Expertise | Programme lead, facilitator, specialist contributors or mentors | Who is confirmed, and for what role? |
| Delivery | Sessions, practical tracks and facilitation | How many groups and supported activities? |
| Tools | Approved accounts, licenses, sandbox and technical support | Who supplies access and pays usage costs? |
| Venue and AV | Rooms, accessibility, equipment and connectivity | Buyer-provided or separately contracted? |
| Travel and hosting | Transport, accommodation, meals and host fees | Included, excluded or paid directly? |
| Production | Coordination, registration, running order and contingency | Which responsibilities belong to the provider? |
| Follow-up | Decision record, materials, review session or experiment support | What is handed over, and when does the engagement end? |
| Taxes and expenses | Applicable taxes and reimbursable expenses | How will the final amount be calculated? |
Use a simple worksheet: agreed provider fees plus confirmed third-party costs plus expected internal effort. Record currency, quantities, assumptions and who pays each line. Keep estimates separate from confirmed quotations.
Three scope examples to request a quote
These examples describe different work packages. They contain no prices and are not packaged products with fixed availability.
| Example scope | Core work | Dependencies | Common exclusions to clarify |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-question executive briefing | Prepare context, convene relevant expertise, deliver a private discussion and decision note | Clear question, participants and contributor confirmation | Wider strategy work, ongoing advisory and technical implementation |
| Leadership prioritisation workshop | Prepare workflow inputs, facilitate choices and hand over a prioritised action record | Decision-makers, permitted materials and internal owners | Feasibility proof, systems integration and project delivery |
| Internal AI day | Design programme and tracks, coordinate agreed contributors and deliver the specified event support | Audience, venue, AV, tool access and support roles | Unspecified production services, recording rights and continuing training |
Review the corresponding AISB briefing, workshop and event pages for their different purposes.
For a learning visit, add the access and travel assumptions in the Barcelona itinerary. For a practical challenge, specify tools, mentor coverage, data permissions and evaluation. Neither format should inherit an event quote without checking those dependencies.
Explain why proposals differ
Two quotes may differ because one includes discovery interviews, additional expertise or a usable handover while the other covers delivery only. An online format may reduce some travel or venue requirements but still require preparation and accessible facilitation.
Increasing participant numbers can change room requirements, breakout design and support. Adding languages can change contributors, materials or interpretation. Recording and distribution can change permissions and fees. A bespoke exercise on your own workflows may require more preparation than a public example.
Ask for a revised scope when those assumptions change. Do not treat an indicative estimate as a confirmed offer for a different group or purpose.
Budget for your organisation’s work
The buyer may still need to provide a sponsor, participant communications, approved accounts, workflow examples and reviewers. Staff time is part of the commitment even when it does not appear on the provider’s invoice.
Practical programmes also need somewhere for the outputs to go. If no team can own the experiment afterwards, buying a bigger session does not solve the problem. Use the follow-up plan to decide which internal effort and external support are needed.
Prepare the estimate request
Share the business question, audience, approximate headcount, preferred dates, location, language and expected output. State your available budget or approval constraint if useful, and clarify whether it includes taxes, travel and third-party costs. Do not send sensitive source documents at this stage.
Use the RFP checklist to ask for fees, inclusions, exclusions, change terms and dependencies in a comparable form. A scoped estimate should leave fewer unanswered questions than a headline price.
Methodology
About this cost framework
AISB editorial planning framework, published on 4 October 2026. No market-average prices, savings estimates or return-on-investment claims are asserted. Actual fees and applicable taxes require a proposal based on the confirmed scope.
Request an estimate based on your actual scope
Tell us the question, group and desired output, with any timing, language or budget constraints.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a corporate AI workshop cost?
There is no fixed AISB price published in this guide. A scoped estimate depends on preparation, group size, required expertise, language, location, outputs and follow-up. Ask for itemised inclusions and exclusions rather than comparing session length alone.
What costs can be missing from an AI learning expedition quote?
Check host or contributor fees, transport, accommodation, meals, interpretation, venue, cancellation conditions and follow-up. Some items may be paid directly by the buyer; others may be included. Confirm which arrangement applies.
Does an AI hackathon budget include production deployment?
Only if that work is explicitly scoped. Challenge design, mentor support and a demonstrator do not automatically include security review, integration, production hosting or operational support.
Published by
- AI Summit BarcelonaEditorial team
Related reading
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