Association Innovation

Associations, not-for-profit organizations and societies need to ensure that their services to members and other stakeholders are innovative.

One ingredient for innovation that associations already possess is committed and passionate members and staff. These associations have a very strong sense of the need to create value for the association, often with limited resources. These are ideal conditions that create a sense of urgency to solve problems and to create new opportunities.

New opportunities are often at the core of new revenue sources. Many associations realize that the more innovative they are, the greater their opportunities to serve their members.

Ed Bernacki has an extensive background with associations internationally. His background includes five years of employment with a large sport association in Canada and providing consulting to numerous associations in New Zealand and Australia.

Association Magazine, the magazine of the American Society of Association Executives, published "Beyond the Buzz of Innovation", by Ed Bernacki, in February 2001.

The Idea Factory Services for Associations

Fostering Innovation Workshops
Staff and Board must focus on the same issues of finding new ideas to create value for their organizations. Presentations and briefings can provide key insights for making decisions involving long term solutions for associations.
Ed Bernacki has also led numerous idea factory workshops which were specifically defined to brainstorm and create new strategies, services or events for the organizations.

Conference Innovations
The Idea Factory has worked with numerous organizations to shape their conferences to have a strong focus on learning and related results. This may involve adding more interactive elements to the conference agenda. It may also involve shaping specific workshops to find solutions to tough challenges faced by the organizations.
In fact, every event should respect the fact that the experts are in the audience, not just on the stage. It may be as simple as orchestrating a round table facilitation that concludes with participants defining two major challenges they will face in the upcoming year. This alone provides a wealth of valuable insights for the organization.

Conference Workshops, Keynote Speeches and Presentations
Ed Bernacki has spoken at many association events. The themes range from How to Get More Value from This Conference to industry-specific workshops on innovative thinking. To discuss your event, please contact Ed Bernacki.