A meeting becomes a Summit Meeting when the need to involve the leadership of key stakeholder groups in the deliberations is apparent. A Summit Meeting on iodine deficiency disease in South Asia involved the health ministers of all seven countries. A Summit Meeting on the future of a very large school district involved the superintendents and principals of all the schools. The 2000 Summit Meeting on Children at Risk in the US involved all living US Presidents as well as the mayors of 50 US cities. Gaining the commitment of key leaders smooths the implementation process.
Other than this leadership issue, a Summit Meeting is just another whole system engagement.