Creating Convening Excellence in Our Organizing Teams

Susan M. RootDirector, Conference Business Services & Strategic Programs

ICCA CongressNovember 2015

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IEEE Conferences

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Bright minds share the latest research at IEEE sponsored and co-sponsored conferences around the world.

1,600 Annual Conferences

Research Collaboration Publications

The Beginning… IEEE’s first conference

Conferences were recognized as a key AIEE activity right at the beginning

The first AIEE technical conference took place on 7-8 October 1884 in Philadelphia

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL E-23, NO. 3, AUGUST 1980

International Electrical Congress…of scientific men interested in the various departments of pure and applied science….

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IEEE Global Conference BusinessIn 2014 IEEE….

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With Universities and other not-for-profit organizationsPartnered with over 1000 non-IEEE entities

Sponsored 1635 conferences

800 financially sponsored

technically co-sponsored800

in 90+ countries

Over 480,000 attendees

250K+ Financially sponsored conferences

Technically co-sponsored conferences200K+

Acquired 1500 conference proceedings

In Their Own Words… Our Organizers Say Why Conferences Matter

Connecting with My CommunityConferences are about finding your PeopleConferences are about finding your PlaceConferences are about AccessConferences are about KnowledgeConferences are about Exchanging IdeasConferences are about InteractionConferences are about… the Aha! MomentConferences are about …. SolutionsDiscovering Your Community

Shifting Paradigms in Knowledge, Convening and Community

Events no longer exist solely within a specific space and timeKnowledge is no longer entirely scarce, controlled and “owned” it is everywhere all the timeIn the new events world, businesses collaborate for mutual benefit

SharingOwning

Controlling Collaborating

Conference Trends

• Modern attendees expect a variety of formats, content and experiences at events

• Personalization, innovation and rapid adaptation will help us stay relevant

• Event innovators blend knowledge, commerce, creativity and connection to compete

• Attendees want to influence content/agenda

Our traditional conference business is growing & evolving

How Do We Create Convening Excellence in Our Conference Organizing Teams?

• Developing Best Practices

• Building new communities

• Entering new markets

• Creating new opportunities to convene

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•Lead by Example•Educate •Communicate•Share Stories•Offer a Business Backbone

IEEE Panel of Conference Organizers

About POCO Annual IEEE Conference for Conference OrganizersEach JulyRotates… Now Around the WorldBegan in 2006– Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle, Prague,

Washington D.C., Beijing, Budapest, Portland, Singapore, Glasgow….

– 2016 will be in Montreal, Canada

The Agenda: Engaging the Whole Community

Day 1: Education and Expert Discovery– Educational Overview– For Experts: Appreciative Inquiry into – Tools Demo runs simultaneously

Day 2: Excellence in …… – Experts (Scholarly Publishing – 2015)– Industry invited

Day 3: Innovation Infusion– Chad Kaydo: X Letter, First Editor-In-Chief of BizBash

How Technology is Revolutionizing Live Events Sharing, Visual Storytelling, Interactivity, Access, Collaboration

Convening & Engaging the IEEE Conference Leadership

How do we engage our community to create conferences that fulfill the needs, desires and aspirations of a fully global engineering community?

Used Appreciative Inquiry to generate our very best, collective ideas & to create outcomes we can take forward

Plus Lots of Variety of Formats & Fun!

Keynote SpeakersGamificationInteractive PanelsVirtual: Google HangoutsLocal ColorInnovation CafesGold Star Idea DevelopmentAnd more….

Sponsors are an Important Part of Our Community!

Refer to our sponsors as partners as we have an interdependent relationship– Cities– Hotels and Venues– Trade Associations– Conference Technology Providers

We see it as much more than coming and supporting the eventWe create opportunities to share and engageReciprocal relationship: we each bring expertise

POCO 2016 – Montreal28-30 July

We use POCO for education and for engagement with our global conference

community! Sharing Best Practices Engaging with our Partners Creating new opportunities to

engage & convene Learning about new practices Building relationships and

communities

Thank You!